Multi-tasking and Industriousness

I have been hard at work in the studio lately, working simultaneously on three large projects. I'm continuing to add beads to the Big Root Geranium. You can see the cloud forms above.

I'm also got the hibiscus quilt, now titled Fireball (after the variety), sandwiched and basted, and am beginning on the quilting. This is a Very Large Quilt, and requires a lot of upper body strength to maneuver it under the harp of my domestic Pfaff for stitching. I have stepped up my workouts at the gym to keep my back and shoulder muscles up to the task. This sounds like a joke, but it is all too true!

And finally, I am concurrently working on the design and construction stages of another Very Large Quilt featuring the Plume Poppy, a very large plant and one of my all time favorite perennials. I almost drove off the road the first time I spotted these in someone's front garden, and couldn't rest until I identified and acquired them.

I've used the leaves in a lot of fiber postcards and collages, they were one of the plants I used in Five Days Last Fall, below, and now I'm excited to spotlight this gorgeous plant in a quilt of its own. I've put labels for all three of these works-in-progress on the right so you can track them back if you so desire.
All of my hard work and focus, however, pales by comparison to the endeavors and dedication of a pair of Carolina wrens I am privileged to watch through the back door of the studio. They have built a nest in a potted plant just outside the door:
It seems like an unlikely spot to me, especially considering the presence of a neighborhood feline I have nicknamed Blackie the Attack Cat--she's a stone cold killer of small furry things-- and my comings and goings through the door, which are cause for alarm and diversionary tactics. But apparently wrens are apt to nest in planters, and so far it's a success. Here's the best shot I could get of the nest without undue disturbance:

I love wrens, not only for their perky demeanor and beautiful song, but because they consume huge quantities of insects. My garden is free of bean beetles for the first time in recent memory, and I'm sure the proximity of the wrens has a lot to do with it. I can see them darting to and from with little insect bits hanging from their beaks, and it does my heart good.