Sharon,

Jean is the most incredible quilter. She is also an Artist.

Her quilts are worthy of hanging on a wall behind the bed as art!

Her avatar is not typical of her actual works and while the style looks like a beloved Grandmother quilt;.....Jeans actual works these days humble the avatar.
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Yikes Jean!

I am so looking forward to seeing you, and the coolest thing is,...................................you are also a real gardener, and clearly aren't too picky about all the mess I will also show you in the outback these days! :

It will be great seeing you and I'll show you where the cool pots are built behind my plastic pot junk yard!!!

( I do love my plastic nursery pots though for all the cuttings and growing,... yet,.........................I had to start telling friends last year;.. "I so appreciate them, but please don't bring me any more!!! ((-: }

Then maybe our friend Jean will also come someday to the International Quilt Show here in Paducah. That would be exciting. The combo of art/quilting/gardening is a wonderfully connected lifetime passion. If it's too hot or too cold, too dry or too wet to do one of them, we can always occupy ourselves with the other.

I always have loved the sound of "Paducah"!

"............You come over here right now to me Paducah!!! Don't you Dare SASS me!!!!!

Just havin' fun with a great sounding name. No offense intended...... .............

You should know by now that I'm not easily offended, David. It's an interesting word, a legend says it came from the Chickasaw Indian chief, Paduke, but truth is, according to the Chickasaws, there was no Indian chief by that name. However the Comanches can claim a little closer version, they had a Chief Padoka. So who really knows. It was once well known and important for its location, on the Ohio River, the Tennessee and the close proximity of the Mississippi.

I thought it was a funny word, too, when I first moved to within about 20 miles of it. But it is of course a little easier on the tongue than saying you live near Possom Trot, Ky, which is located between my town and Paducah.

On the other hand it does have great market days and is a lively art community. Your talent with all things plant related would be an instant "Ahhhhhhh, How Beautiful" moment with all that dwell there. Including me, who though I dwell about 20 miles to the east of it nearer Kentucky Lake.

I love the teaching value of this thread.
And another thunderstorm is on its way tonight. I can hardly wait.

My place could be called Possum Trot! They trot around here at night and if I don't get the grapes right when they are ripe, the Opossums hang up in that arbor....suck out the middles and drop the skins below!

We also have 3 beautiful Chickasaw Plum trees...

See how much we have in common!

We are going to create fabulous pots together on this thread!

The above are the currently developing grapes the 'Possums love to trot and eat after midnight. Gotta' start grabbing these grapes by August!

Paducah is on my Bucket List. Did Houston a couple years ago & needed a "rest" after that. Need to get with my quilting friends & start thinking about that trip.

David - thank you for all the compliments. Now if I can get him to drive north some day & stroll thru my jungle!!!!! Maybe when it is hot in Deland, he will conside coming "north" for cooler weather!!!!!

So looking forward to seeing the pot creating area/process.

I'm back to learning to make these planters again. Looks like I should have something to show for my efforts. Probably end of the week. I'm really excited and have been trying to make mental notes of what I've figured out. Because writing down notes with cement on my hands is just not a good idea. I am especially looking forward to the painting stage of making these. Well, that and getting plants in them, of course. I have too many plants I want to put in permanent pots, but I wanted to finish this project so instead of buying more store bought. They didn't have the sizes I wanted at reasonable prices. Although I do plan to continue to make small ones until I am comfortable before trying to make larger ones.

My therapist thought that this project would be a good time to practice some relaxation techniques. The main problem I am having is that there aren't enough shaded areas in my yard, besides the porch, which is very small. I've been working under the Junipers. I'm allergic to Juniper.

Its going to be fun seeing your creations Chesire!

I'm looking forward to being surprised and see pictures of all your projects. We'll get ideas from each other!

You are all making me feel bad. I started this topic and I have not even tried to make one yet.

I have just been so busy and the rain has really held me back. I have all the stuff to make the pots I just need time and weather.

Thank you guys for testing. At least when I get around to it you all will have worked the kinks out for me.

Don't feel bad, Cinta, you are our hero!!
Without you chances are we wouldn't have known about it.

Kat You make me laugh!!! Oh the sacrifices we do for our plants and for art!!! Hanging out under bushes you're allergic too!!! I hope you don't feel too bad!!

Well, it was kind of a rough night. I wasn't done when I had to call it quits because I had to take the little one for a walk. (And eat and replace the fluids my body lost from the heat and allergies because I couldn't stay hydrated although several water breaks under the patio umbrella.) But I started feeling very unsteady and stumbling on the way back home with Itty Bitty. We had to stop and sit a long while on a curb about two blocks away because my legs were going numb and all I managed was jerky movements. We were walking along the busy street that is along the front of the house. I was more afraid someone would think I was drunk and call the cops.

Only managed to eat a bowl of soup for supper because my hands were also jerky and I was afraid I would drop something on my foot again. Then stumbled to bed, where I felt nice and safe from falling or dropping things. Woke up in the night feeling better. Gave myself a break from the junipers today, so my body can recover. I will have to finish my favorite planter of the set I made tomorrow. And hope to be painting them after several days curing on Friday. Not so fond of the gray look of the planters because the yard already has a lot of gray rocks where I don't have anything planted. Can't wait to have some colorful planters to use. I'll start making another set while these are curing. Too much cement left to stop. Itty Bitty enjoyed hanging out in bed most of the day, but I was all day pondering how to speed up the process, so I can move on to making bigger planters. It's possible I am just incredibly slow, besides needing to take a lot of breaks. Even with failing the first time, being slow, putting up with the heat, and made miserable by allergies, it will be worth it when all the pots in my yard will be made by me, so the yard won't look like any other in the neighborhood.

No. I don't feel bad at all. I feel great!

Wow amazing! Kat!!! Please do take care!!! And I totally want to see photos once you have them painted!!!

What about drainage holes in the bottom of the cement pot??

You bet Sylvia!

Its great that you have an interest in this fun project........

Welcome to the discussion!

David - maybe I missed it above - what cloth are you starting with?

That last planter looks thinner than your others, David. What fabric did you use?

I just came in to rest after working on mine all afternoon. I am tired. I probably wouldn't be tired if I hadn't decided I needed to start a new planter. What was I thinking? I should have waited until tomorrow to start a new set. Oh well. I still plan to start a new set tomorrow, but I wanted to try an experiment, and didn't want to try it on a whole set. Not sure yet whether the experiment is gonna work out.

Having a bite to eat before I go clean up my project area and take Itty Bitty for her evening walk.

@qwilter I'm not David but I think the first containers he made were made with towels, and the smaller one was an old Tshirt. I think old upholstery fabric or draperies would work as well.

Hiya Sylvia! Good to see you.

Ckat, I'm anxious to see what you are making.

Anyone like Ocean Spray juice?

My roommate buys a lot of juice, so I had him save a bunch of the bottles over the winter. I cut the tops off and used them for temporary planters for my tomatoes. I had a few leftover from transplanting them to the garden, so I made a cement planter out of one. Makes a planter of a nice shape and size and I love being able to re-use stuff a bunch of times before it goes to the recycling bin.

I also have a couple milk jugs to try also. I am trying to remember what else is under the ones I am currently working on. Oh, yeah, I used an ice cube bucket. You know, where you dump the ice cubes from the ice cube trays so you can refill the ice cube trays.

One of my cheap, throw-away, planters that some plant came in, didn't fare so well when I extracted it from the cement planter. It cracked and broke up. That's okay. Although, if it holds any kind of shape, I might try using it again, as it is still all in one piece. I am trying different things for the shape and size because I would like to have some pots of similar size and shape. So far, the juice bottle is the only shape I can still use again.

I think the sturdiest/most solid looking planter was made with a barely-used terrycloth washcloth. I'd like to find a fabric store around here to buy a few yards of terrycloth as I think I like that fabric best so far. The cement held to it very well, so less touch up and less time. Already checked Walmart for terrycloth, and sadly, they don't have it. I have other materials to try, but I think it will be worthwhile to invest in a few yards of terrycloth, even if I have to order from online. Gotta use up that big bag of cement.

And David, yes the cake batter for the thickness of the cement is about perfect. I soak my brushes in water while taking a break, or when not using one of them. I use the brush soaking water to soak the material I plan to use next. I also use the brush soaking water to keep the planters wet, instead of misting them. I have a nice fat brush for that. I also use the brush soaking water to thin the cement batter a little because it thickens before I'm done with it. Remember, I'm slow folks. I use my spray bottle to wash my hands so I don't get cement all over my drink, or Itty Bitty. Hehehehehe.

I do use old towels and I especially like the thicker ones. Wet them and hand wring well. I press squeeze and soak the towels from both side several times, and make sure every inch of fabric is equally infused.
The towel fibers seem to really have some grab and hold ability!

Send some pictures when you can Ckat!