The flower has a dark red center and very ruffled petals. This morning the flower was pink and drooping a bit.
I also planted some brown cotton separately, but it is a bit behind the Pima because I did not have it in a location that was sunny enough. In fact, it has really only turned hot and sunny enough here in San Diego over the past two weeks to get these plants going. I had pretty good germination for the Pima cotton; of the four seeds I planted, three sprouted. The brown cotton, however, had to be replanted. None of the first four seeds came up. I replanted two more seeds and one came up. That plant is now very vigorous and has some buds.
I had insect trouble when the plants were very small. A dollop of soapy water administered every week cured that problem. Now, they seem strong enough to take on anything.
Yesterday I finished this month's Blue Moon Sock Club shawl. This was a lot of fun to knit. I like the wave pattern and the lace really sets off the breaking waves theme. I had some yarn left over and I could have made the shawl a little longer. However, I did not want to mess with the design, so there it is. A bit short, but it works. I really like the thicker texture over the shoulders. My shoulders and back tend to get cold, so I am looking forward to wearing this in the cool office at work.
Today I am going to dye some pin drafted Merino. I dyed some last week and I really like the colors - but it felted a little. I started earlier today and will be more patient. I cleaned out the garage a couple of weeks ago and made myself a work space for this hot weather. It is really too hot to dye on the patio. There is a nice breeze through the garage.
I am going to try some different colors than what I usually end up using (that's right, no Turkey Red). Wish me luck.
Just for fun, here's a photo of the two buddies, Frida and Sally, relaxing on the bed. Frida is the large white cat. The quilt is my own design, made from Guatemalan fabrics - some of which I purchased in Guatemala while I was doing field work years ago. I pieced the top, and it was machine quilted by the talented Nancy Zelenka. She also added the binding. It has cotton batting.
Onward to the dye pot.
