my garden makes a liar of me, part 7

Posted on Posted in food and garden, lace/shawls, projects


(flower of the day, toad lily)

they bloomed. and a little early, too, although from the looks of it, there are enough buds to last a while. i added my fingers in the picture for those who haven’t seen this miniature bloom before. it’s worth looking closely too . . it has more than a bit of the vegas showgirl thang going on in its lavish micorworld.
dream big, i always say.

and then i looked out my office window the other day and saw these from afar, amidst the hedge that separates our yard from our neighbor’s.

lots of them too. as if to say, “HEYβ€”it ain’t over til i say it’s over”
david planted a late batch of lily bulbs in the spring and stuck them in all sorts of unexpected paces in the yard. and now they are blooming so we have a whole new crop to gaze and. and smellβ€”the scent is phenomonal.

i’m really glad for the color . . it continues to be dreary. good knitting weather, but dark.
i’m plugging away on the BSP mostly, but yesterday i had classes so i worked on this

i also received a picture from nan, who is test knitting. she’s a lot further than me, and is knitting hers in misti alpaca laceweight

notes from the field on the pattern are all good . . . i’m hearing feedback like “i can’t put it down!”. now we just need something we can photograph to finalize the pattern.

besides the secret knitting i still have a couple of items i need to work up for other deadlines. anne and i are collaborating again on another (much smaller) project for her october kit of the month, which will make a nice holiday project. it’s a pair of mitts and the theme is snowflakes on cedars.

we are thinking about frosty blue-sage and black cherry as the two colorways. anne sent samples in this merino tencel yarn. i have my stitches picked out and will do some swatches when i take a break from the big project.

speaking of anne, i am slowly adding inches to the honeybee stole by working on it about an hour or so each night, and it’s looking luxurious. i’m on the swarm section now.

the other night i came home from an appointment to find that a long-awaited package arrived.

er, a big package.

it contained a spinning chair i ordered over a year ago, hand built by walter turpening, who shows at wooster every year. mine is walnut with a two-tone oatmeal seat and back.

i looked at and test drove his chairs for several years before finally committing to having one built. walter measures the spinner and takes information about your wheel, then builds a chair that will be comfortable while sitting with your feet on the treadles. he even makes the cording he uses to weave the seat and back, devising his weaving patterns using mathematical formulas.

the back of the chair is easily removable so that i can take the bench with me to spinning meetups. walter also builds weaving benches of all types.

my wheels are already flirting with it.

51 thoughts on “my garden makes a liar of me, part 7

  1. Stargazer lilies are my favorite flowers, too. I had them with red roses as my wedding flowers (not original, I admit, but beautiful).

    That chair is amazing. As a new spinner, I’ve tried every seat in the house (including an ottoman and an upturned basket) trying to find the best way to sit. Your solution is much more elegant than the folding chair from the garage that I’m currently using.

  2. Your lilies are beautiful. I went out yesterday to cut my Stargazer lilies and bring them in the house so I could have that wonderful scent inside only to discover stems with no flowers. A moose came during the previous night and ate all of them. (We’ve been invaded by moose this month) You have no idea how ticked off that made me. I hope they gave him/her a stomach ache. Sigh….

  3. Nice chair! Ten minutes ago I’d have said I was perfectly happy with my Ikea chair for spinning. Now I’m thinking how nice it might be to try out a custom fit chair. Maybe if I start to actually spend enough time spinning to justify it…

  4. You cram so many pretty things into one post!

    I really admire the chair. It’s impressive looking and the craftsmanship is obvious.

  5. Your new chair is wonderful! As a weaver of wool and baskets, I can appreciate the work that went into that chair πŸ™‚

  6. That chair is amazing! With everything that keeps you busy these days, I hope you won’t have to wait too long before you get some time to use it for real (i.e. more than just giving it a quick try)…
    It is nice to see you surrounded by little luxuries (this chair, Ed and Wanda’s needles, the nice wheels you’ve bought a few months ago,…) that make your work and hobbies even more agreeable! Enjoy! You really deserve it all.

  7. Congrats on the new chair and versatile too. I discovered this weekend at Revival that I need a proper spinning chair to take on the road – my beach/ baseball chair isn’t working out (feels like my ass is in a sling) and taking my diningroom chair is not an option nor convenient. Beautiful lilies! I find that gray days are a great backdrop for colorful flowers in the garden.

  8. You make me so envious–not only do you own that fantastic chair, you also have that gorgeous handmade distaff! (Bet you’d forgotten how much I covet the distaff.) πŸ™‚ I love the new lace design–it’s a stole, right?

  9. Obviously, the hit of the day is not the flowers or the knitting–it’s the simple splendor of the chair. It’s a piece of art.

  10. What a gorgeous chair! Not surprised to hear he uses mathematical formulas – the precision is exquisite! But of course, my fav is the ever-increasing rose lace (and the lilies are amazing, too…)
    (((hugs)))

  11. Oh my gosh, what a gorgeous chair. And imagine my amazement when I realized Walter is the same Walter whose woodwork I admired in Asheville last month, who is a member of an adjacent guild near ours and lives only an hour from me! When my spinning guild sees this chair and the weavers hear he does benches like this, they will fall over.
    Love your progress on your bee stole. Only 2 more committments to knit and I can start my bee shawl. What a nice project to look forward to as the leaves fall.

  12. Wow, my office chair is looking pretty shabby right about now. That spinning chair of yours is absolutely divine!

    The lilies are gorgeous. Your knitting is gorgeous. The chair is gorgeous. Even the wheel is gorgeous. I’m drowning in beauty here!

  13. Love the toad lilies! The chair is wonderful too, especially the removable back for travel. He really knows his spinners, doesn’t he.

  14. Oh I don’t know where to begin…first thought: “It’s ain’t over until the (last lily) sings” / your pattern looks absolutely ethereal in the Misty Alpaca / and the chair is so very COOL, especially the fact that the cane pattern is a math formula! Sometimes total instant gratification isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, whereas patient waiting brings such treasures.

  15. Where to begin! The flowers impressed, then there was the knitting and then the chair! I need t catch my breath! I feel I need a trip to the States to be meaured for a chair! Enjoy every second of that chair, I know it will making spinning an even more joyous experience for you.

  16. You’re so lucky! I would love to have a spinning chair but can’t afford one right now. I’m keeping an eye out at Target and such for something I can use as a temporary chair in the meantime . . .

  17. Rain in August. What an interesting concept. It’s 100 degrees here and will be for some time to come. If we’re lucky, it MIGHT rain in October. But I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting.

  18. holy crap that’s a pretty chair!
    (see why i’m behind in the blogosphere? because of posts like this … posts that require response!)
    i’m so curious about the kit project, but i’m still too busy drooling over the precious chair/stool !
    oh … and the flowers! i love those kind(s) of lilies too … they’re so “out there”, bold and beautiful, and to top it off, they have a wonderful scent πŸ™‚

  19. That chair is phenominal! Well worth the wait.

    OMG I have never seen the toad lilly. It holds a lot in one tiny package. Adorable!!!

    Both laces are so pretty. One day I am going to knit some lace. πŸ˜‰

  20. I’ve come to expect to find an endless stream of beautiful flowers and gorgeous knitting and design work here at KnitSpot, but you caught me offguard with the chair. I am in love! I don’t even spin and yet I covet that chair. It’s spectacular!

  21. Beautiful flowers, beautiful chair, and my fingers are itching to get started on that “Rubicund” lace… oh, what a gorgeous color!

  22. What a wonderful chair… are you sure, that you will get any knitting done now? The owerpowering flirtations of the weel and the chair might prove to much… πŸ™‚

    I love the flower pictures, thank you for reminding me that it’s not over till the fat lady (or flowers) sing (spring).

  23. What a beautiful chair! I’m going to have to put the Honeybee stole on my list of lust. I keep trying to be good and slog through my wips, but you are tempting me sorely!

  24. OMG – that chair is painfully beautiful. I can’t believe it took you years to get one. Now, ahem… you just need time to spin, eh? (PS – maybe you can slum it and knit in it too.)

  25. What a gorgeous chair!!!!!
    I love the pattern of the woven seat.
    Toad lilies are among my favorites. Mine, which bloomed magnificently last year, seem to have vanished this year. πŸ™

  26. I am so envious of your cool, autumn weather, so sick of it being hot and sticky. The only good news here (and it’s not yet certain) is that it’s supposed to be a little cooler today. I miss autumn. We just don’t get it here. Sigh. Enjoy those lovely days, and evenings of slight chill and the scent of dry leaves and wood smoke. Yum.

    That tiny little flower is delightful!

    The chair’s fabulous. Just love it.

  27. That chair is fantastic! It’s lovely to look at as well as being a nice, functional piece of furniture.

    I dried some cherry tomatoes yesterday using your method – your comparison to candy was spot-on. Yum.

  28. Anne and all
    Thank you for showing your chair. Thank you for your comments. I blush. I really enjoy making things that function well and can look good.

    For knitters (and spinners) I make the chair in a rocker version with the removable back and no arms.

    Those tiny lilies are wonderful!

    Blessings, Walt T.

  29. Your garden did make you eat your words, now didn’t it πŸ˜‰ And you’re just trying to tease us all in every single post about the BSP, I know it.
    Both of the shawls are looking lovely as usual, but I must say that the honey bee stole is particularly glowing. And wow, that chair is just about the neatest thing to come around the bend in awhile now. I just want one because it’s beautiful.

  30. I just found your blog (through someone who is knitting both the MS3 stole and your bees shawl)…and now I know what I will be knitting with the forest green laceweight Malabrigo that I just bought.

    *drool* This yarn told me it wanted something leafy, viney, lovely, and did I mention viney? I believe my search is over!

    (What do you mean I have to WAIT for the pattern??) How soon, how soon??

  31. What to rave about first???
    Okay, the spinning chair! WOW… wow… whoa… it is so cool. What a fabulous design – totally perfect combo of beauty and form.

    Leafy shawl…. hmmmm, it is calling my name… I might just have to knit that one before my Bee stole.. it’s divine.

    and stargazer lilies are just about the best of all. I am amazed that they have bloomed so late in the season – they are heavenly.

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