new blooms

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I have a lot of tatting to share, but this simply couldn't wait!

 It took a month and half for this orange jasmine or madhukamini plant to flourish in this way! We got a flower here a flower there, but not in such glory. A quick count today revealed at least 15 flowers, not to mention their lovely fragrance. 

And I wonder if you can see there are several more buds waiting to open in the next few days. Sadly the flowers remain open for only a day but they do spread so much joy. Gardening requires patience and perseverance.

Here's how the plant looked when I first posted pics here https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/03/spring-magic.html

freeform fun

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I've been enjoying some tatting time almost daily for the past several weeks/months. One of the outcomes is this freeform sprig with 4 colours which was tatted on the go using 'branching encapsulation' to pull out the desired colour where required (scroll to end for details).

I'm not fully satisfied with the shape or rather the length of some of the stems. Also I didn't spend time in choosing colours - just picked the first 'flowery' shades that had been used in recent samples. Wound four shuttles with the different colours, some of them using leftover threads. I've always multiple shuttles very freeing despite the risk and discomfort of tangling threads. 

I didn't start with all 4 threads together. Started normally with two colours and then added the 3rd and 4th colours where needed. If you look closely you might notice the difference in the thickness of the stems.

So this is the 2nd piece I am submitting for Natalie Rogers' PICOT Bingo 2026 (Level 2) which you can find here - https://www.patreon.com/posts/happy-new-year-147124370 and the boxes crossed out with this model include ....

• free-form tatting
• tat a flower
• tat nature

Huh, if only I had included a butterfly, I could've had a row bingo!!! Oh well, next time ...

A bit about Branching Encapsulation -

 The term was coined by Sherry Pence (2012) and she published a book dedicated specifically to this technique and you can scroll through her posts and samples here - https://ladyshuttlemaker.blogspot.com/search?q=branching+encapsulation. You can find Karen Cabrera's Lesson #155 - Branching Encapsulation video here - youtube.com/watch?v=2oB08uUYfzo&feature=youtu.be.

Elgiva Nicholls called it multiple dead ends in her 1962 book Tatting: Technique and History. Recently Marilee Rockeley (2024) worked the menorah from Elgiva's book using this technique and she also uploaded a video and free pattern here - https://yarnplayertats.blogspot.com/search?q=branching+encapsulation

I had used branching Josephine chains in a card here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2018/05/i-love-floating.html but since they were dead end chains without any flower or bead, I used scrap threads to hold the bare thread at the desired length. You can find pictorial with options here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2015/03/dead-end-start-to-split-chains.html

spring magic

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 It certainly feels like it! A mere week before there were no buds, no blooms. The potted plants were just about awakening from the cold winter months. And then here we are with such beautiful vibrant flowers! Spring magic or magic springs? Let's not forget the mighty role of the sun, though!

I haven't curated my pics .... sharing all I took, though a few were not rotated back to how I had taken them. Also these are only some of the plants in my hubby's balcony garden.

Petunias -

Love the vibrant shade! It is a darker magenta/purple than what I see here, though.

Dormant throughout winter. And now it can't seem to stop growing ;-D

 

A single plant. The very first flower dropped today after five days of giving pleasure. The buds just keep emerging and opening up. I'm glad they stay a while. 

Madhukamini or Orange Jasmine - 

These are not as fragrant as the mogra, and are also quite small. It is fun to look for them among the foliage each morning!

 

There are quite a few buds springing out almost daily and it has red berry-like fruit. Cute aromatic flowers. Expecting the plant to show many more flowers as the temperature and sunlight increases.

Ajwain or Oregano -

We have two plants and both have been fairly prolific even during winter. 

 

Last week I pruned and snipped off a Lot of the leaves and they are drying out in the fridge. Within a few days the branches and leaves are growing! 
Very happy and satisfied with their growth.

Money Plant -

It was difficult to take a good pic of the entire climber. The above pic shows only the leaves at the base.

We had to let go some of the plants sadly. Cycle of life. But the remaining potted plants continue to provide pleasure and hope. The moment the French doors are opened in the morning, we are greeted with enticing fragrance from the blooms and aromatic leaves/herbs. All this is my hubby's handiwork (including the title of this post!). This time my only contribution was to spot the first buds and/or leaves every morning and give him the good news! :-D

a lasting lacy legacy

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 Marigolds are an auspicious flower, present in almost all Hindu religious ceremonies, festivals, rituals, and pujas. Garlands made of marigolds (often combined with mango leaves) commonly adorn entrances, houses, temples, halls, etc. Garlands are used to welcome guests and dignitaries, placed around statues, even on a new car or vehicle. The florets are used for floral rangoli, natural dyes, etc. Not merely for happy occasions, even in death marigolds are an indispensable part of the ritual, adorning the body as well as the pyre reminding us that life is transient and we are here for a short period. 

It was sheer coincidence that hubby and I had taken pics of two fully bloomed yellow marigolds in our little garden when my buddy Anita sent me this heartfelt and heart-wrenching article. It was as if the universe was trying to send auspiciousness and peace to my friend and to her friend. 

Here is the full article which I have also saved as a PDF since Anita feels that this article is an incentive to tat everywhere and to tell people you tat, too. And I'd add - keep your lace stock as full as you can; share and replenish frequently. 

It is so interesting that what looks like a fully blossomed flower is actually a collection of a large number of little flowers or florets! Hopefully our lace collection reflects this - lots of lace to give away and spread cheer or fulfil a wish. 

A Lasting Wish by Anita Barry, Oct2025 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vYhQCPt5LREnw6ULUcMuY3g69tjPItpY/view

A lasting wish.

We’re Lacemakers. We receive requests for items. Requests may be for family, or for friends, maybe for churches or for historic places or societies. Grab a tissue. I received this recent heartfelt request.

 

A friend I knew 15 years ago contacted me on Facebook Messenger. I recalled her name in an instant. We had been in an organization together.  I responded to her correspondence and she later telephoned me. She updated me.  She had been stricken with Covid last year and again this year. Her heart had been severely compromised. She hopes to live through Thanksgiving and hopefully till Christmas. I was speechless.  She is younger than I am.  She’s only 60 years old.

 

Like me, she has two sons who are about the same age as my sons. Both her sons are married. One son already has a daughter, my friend’s granddaughter.

 

She told me when she was married on her wedding day, it was sentimental for her to carry her grandmother’s lacy handkerchief.

Now, with a short time to live, she wanted to provide lacy handkerchiefs for her granddaughter and for her future unborn grandchildren for their wedding days. She was asking for four lacy handkerchiefs from me. She was guessing maybe her sons would each have two children of their own and she’d need a total of four handkerchiefs. (Yes, you better believe I was grabbing for tissues as I was trying to steady my voice. Steadying my voice was a monumental task, but I needed a strong voice on the phone to keep her from crying.)

 

Remembering me as a tatter, she sought me out for this last and lasting gift. 

 

Absolutely. Absolutely!

With chills, rolling along my spine I responded I would surely provide her handkerchiefs with tatted lace in a quick manner.

 

I checked my stash. I sorted through my handkerchiefs with attractive tatted lace edgings, examining each one. I counted three suitable for her future grandchildren on their wedding days. I didn’t have enough in my stash to honor the request. So, I contacted another tatter to assist me.

 

I telephoned my dear friend and fellow tatter, Bonnie Swank. Although Bonnie and I now live many states away from each other, I knew Bonnie would have a collection of handkerchiefs with tatted lace. While on the phone Bonnie and I talked about our assortment of handkerchiefs, and about the request, and about future weddings. She selected two very lovely handkerchiefs in her collection trimmed with tatted lace appropriate to be carried on a wedding day.

 

Within two days, miles away from each other, Bonnie and I both prepped the handkerchiefs, ironed them, wrapped them in tissue, placed individual notes with the handkerchiefs, packaged the handkerchiefs, and mailed them destined to my friend.

 

Within days the handkerchiefs arrived in the mail and were received with deep appreciation. 

As Lacemakers, we were able to fulfill a last wish.

 

Lacers, you never know when you’re creating a memory.

You never know when your lace making is becoming a lasting memory to someone else.

You never know what type of request you’ll receive.

You never know when your talent, your skill, and your passion will be used to create a lasting wish for someone else.

 

Hugs to all of you who make lace,

Anita Barry

If you wish to save, print, and share the article here is the link again....

Julie's Request A Lasting Wish by Anita Barry, Oct2025 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vYhQCPt5LREnw6ULUcMuY3g69tjPItpY/view

Feel free to share it and we can only send our wishes that Julie gets to spend Christmas with her family and has a peaceful transition.

Related Posts with my tatted marigolds

my tatted marigolds, with pattern PDF - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2017/03/marigolds-in-row.html  and

  

spring garland with pattern PDF - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2017/04/sights-n-scents-of-indian-spring.html  

snapshots

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 Today felt good and I was energized enough to take photos of some of our plants. Some are recent, others have stayed with us for a couple years. Hubby has added so many pots and plants that our balcony is flourishing with flora after a long bleak winter. He has placed the smaller pots on two adjoining larger pots for a tiered effect!

 

Hubby bought 5 Portulaca plants in red to plant in a specially bought flattish pot. There appear to be two varieties; the others haven't bloomed yet. He had asked for the 10 o'clock ones, but I believe they could be a mix of 9 and 10 o'clock.

 

We had one such way back and the dense pink/magenta flowers were a pleasure to see blooming every morning! At times we got 40 flowers in that one little pot! And I made several other pots with their high prolification.  Hoping to see the same with these.

The little flowers in the Mayurpankhi (peacock plume) plant are more visible in this pic than with the naked eye, LOL.

 

Syngonium golden or the green Arrowhead is on the left, and it has been thriving and giving off new leaves throughout winter.

The Snake plant has also endured very nicely, Though not clearly discernible, the two original plants grew in height (and foliage) and are at the back (with the two brownish stems). At least four new plants came up at the base of the original during winters - the shorter ones in front.

 

After a long wait, finally the money plant also has new leaves on its branches.

And the curry leaf plant, after wilting in winter, has sprouted new twigs after I pruned it recently.

 

This is just a tiny snippet of the Jade plant! It has branched out so much that I couldn't capture it in one shot. The jade has turned out to be slow starter but sped, once it became stable! At the start of winter I had pruned and placed several twigs in water in our bathroom which gets very good sunlight. Three of them took root and are still alive. 

Then there's one of the ajwain pot. Don't know why it came out so pale in the pic.

Here's the other pot showing part of the ajwain plant. 

It's time to do a bit of pruning to allow both pots to fill up.

In the morning, these portulaca petals looked much more defined and curved. By the time I decided to take pics after a couple of hours, the petals had curved under exposing more of the center. Hoping to have lots of opportunities to take more pics.

Oh, and Finally hubby caved in and bought vermicompost. I used to swear by this when I was the gardener in our balcony. In the new version, hubby kept buying a spray-on liquid fertiliser. He can see the difference the compost has made and is converted, LOL!

waiting for spring

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 It's been a long winter and we are barely stepping into spring. We expect a few more weeks of waning winter since Holi is late this year.

Hubby has been prepping our little balcony garden and this time we have Jasmines. There are plenty of blooms and buds on the plant, I simply picked up two that had dropped. Their fragrance is milder than mogras (which I've shared before). 

Hubby took this sunrise pic on the leap day! The sun looks a lot farther (smaller and less red) than in real life, blame it on the phone camera. 

For almost three months we barely had any sunlight during the first half of the day which is mostly the only time we get direct sunlight. A lot of it had to do with severe air pollution. Finally the last ten days or so have been glorious and we've been able to sit and enjoy some Vitamin D time!

And I pruned some ajwain this morning. These leaves have since been washed and separated, and the twig broken into smaller pieces to dry and use in dishes. 

Just wanted to say Hi and hope you are all doing well! 

who knew!

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Came as a complete surprise several mornings back. Noticed this flower hidden among the now fairly dense foliage of our potted snake plant. I first shared a pic of the 'new' plant here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/09/balcony-diary.html

I took this pic on 30th June and it is still very much in bloom today. 

When I moved some leaves aside there are 2 more flower buds slowly waiting to bloom. They look just like a new leaf, rolled. However the bud is whiter and has more body to it, unlike the unopened leaf which is a hollow cylinder and has more green in it. These 2 buds haven't blossomed yet. Nature sure has a slow pace at times.

balcony diary

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 It's been a while since I last posted pics of my some of my plants. Itching for an update. 

Meanwhile my annual SQUIRREL made a cozy home for itself in our bird house, stuffing it with what-nots, prancing around, lying atop the roof, entertaining us, and in 3 weeks or so before I could rouse myself to take pics, it left overnight taking all its what-nots with it! I have never understood how the sheer net it manages to snag from somewhere every year, does not get snagged in it's claws.

The CROTON had 3 main stems. Very soon leaves of the 2 shorter ones withered, browned and drooped. The way it happened (all together instead of single leaves) sent alarm signals to my brain. Started looking under the leaves, and sure enough there were tiny brown spore sacs and even one tiny green leaf-shaped bug! I wiped the underside of each leaf down with vinegar and it worked. Saved this and you can see the new green shoots.

The CHILLI plant gave off 30+ blooms at one count, with an equal number of buds-in-waiting. Not a singe one turned into a chilli! Then noticed the top leaves of our chilli plant crinkling. shrinking and twisting. Yes, there were those same pests. So we bought Neem Oil and hubby sprayed it on all plants (including the croton). Worked like a charm and new leaves sprouted.

Eventually I pruned off the tips and some of them are arranged in a tiny pot adorning my study table above. You can still see some distorted older leaves.

We'll wait till end of winter and might replace this plant altogether.

The FICUS is thriving! So many new sap green shoots and some random figs/berries, too. Aerial roots have anchored in soil.

LEMON TREE - We've harvested 4 lemons from our tree and there are 3 more waiting to ripen. At present there is a stagnancy in growth. Growth hormone spray is on it's way. We're hoping it will make a difference.

The arrangement above has a couple of lemon twigs I snipped while pruning back in August. Like I said, I find it difficult to simply throw them away.

The JADE or ELEPHANT BUSH plant has shed most of its old leaves, though the twigs were lengthening with new leaves. I've cut off short lengths and planted the cuttings in another tiny pot for our bathroom in a spot where we get sunlight. 

This same spot has seen Money Plant cuttings in water in several past seasons.

The ASPARAGUS FERN is lush and some new fronds displayed pretty little white flowers. No new fronds for a while now.

The OREGANO/AJWAIN is another sight of beauty. I haven't dried leaves in a while, happy to watch the shape it takes, however one of the twigs will be planted for the 2nd bathroom later.

The GUAVA plant died off fairly quickly (in late August). For sure it wasn't the same pest because leaves dropped off one by one. It did however give us one ripe guava. There was some brown spotting on one side, but the fruit was sweet.

Meanwhile hubby bought a few more plants last week, totaling a dozen now.

This is the MOGRA (Arabian Jasmine) plant with it's first bloom and such a heavenly scent! I went around like Emperor Shahjahan (he had a rose, though) with it between my fingers, sniffing in the aroma all day and night!

We've had this in my earlier gardening stint and simply love the flowers. 2 more bloomed today.

You can see our next-in-line to ripen (5th) lemon on the left-center there.

This is a SNAKE plant variety we've never seen before. Despite what the camera shows, there is not a spot or tinge of yellow anywhere! It feels like snow. Love it.

On the left is a tiny portion of MINT (Pudina). This is the 3rd time we've bought mint and are hoping 3rd time lucky. I have my doubts because it does not get enough sunlight. In my earlier 'garden' when the mint thrived even from home cuttings, the pot was placed on the balcony parapet. It is no longer an option. So let's see - perhaps the growth hormone will play a role?

Our RAM TULSI (Holy Basil) plant has weathered the fall and is again giving off new leaves and shoots.

And the CURRY Leaf plant is in good condition, too.

This is my house plant diary for now - a way to keep track of their progress or otherwise.

Gardening brings such fun, joy and satisfaction, but a few disappointments and heartaches, too.