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Three Saturday events, one site: Yarn bombing, indigo dyeing and 'Art Elephant' sale

Sacramento textile artists host colorful array at Shepard Center

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUN 3, 2024

Ever been to a yarn bombing? Local textile artists will attach yarn pieces to McKinley Park's trees on Saturday morning. Courtesy SCTA

Here’s quite a colorful combination Saturday at Sacramento’s McKinley Park: White elephants, indigo dye and yarn bombing.

On Saturday, June 8, the Sacramento Center for the Textile Arts hosts a triple-header of activities. It starts with the group’s annual “Yarn Bombing in Bloom” installation at 9 a.m. Members will decorate trees around Shepard Center with handmade yarn flowers and other crocheted decorations.

Local textile artists – specifically knitters, crocheters and needle workers – will attach yarn pieces to trees with more yarn. The installation is expected to stay on display for a month, adding some extra color to the park’s trees.

Activities then shift from a rainbow of yarn to deep, dark denim blue. Starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, the group will hold its “Indigo Dip Dye Day” on the center’s patio. The public is invited to dye their own bandanna or fat quarters, but snag a reservation right away. Those dye tubs can get crowded.

The Indigo Dip Dye Day will be led by indigo expert LuAnne Hansen, who also provides all instruction. Fee for this one-hour workshop is $27 and includes all materials. Time blocks are staggered through 2 p.m. (Make sure to wear old clothing; indigo stains!)

After indigo comes the white elephants, or in this case, “Art Elephants.” From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. inside Shepard Center, SCTA hosts its annual “Art Elephant Sale,” with dozens of vendors offering unique items. Find materials and tools for all sorts of arts and crafts plus some unusual results of projects. Admission is free.

Located in the north panhandle of McKinley Park, Shepard Center is at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento.

Details including a link for Indigo Dye reservations: https://sactextilearts.org/.

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Shepard Center textile arts weekend event art elephant sale Sacramento gardening McKinley Park yarn bombing indigo dyeing

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Garden checklist for week of May 10

Take it easy during that high heat – then get to work! Your garden is calling.

* Remember to irrigate your tender transplants. Seedlings need consistent moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants. Water early in the morning for best results.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Put your veggie garden on a regular diet. Set up a monthly feeding program, and keep track on your calendar. Make sure to water your garden before applying any fertilizer to prevent “burning” your plants.

* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.

* Don’t forget to weed! Those invaders are growing fast.

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