Monthly Archives: April 2018
It was a simple day, which started with more spinning. After lunch, Mary came over and measured the wedding dress I will be wearing, so I won’t be the one sweeping the floor. It is now 4″ shorter. With that done, we enjoyed looking at many of the movies she has taken of her grandson. He was 2 in January and that is such a go-go age and so cute.
Chores, housekeeping and a simple taco supper completed our day.Spinning, gardening
It’s been another rainy week. Today, I had some time, but not enough time to really get into a project, so I sat spinning for a few minutes.
Gardening:
The lettuce in front is doing well, but the peas behind are overdue for stringing.
Half of the pepper starts are in and doing well.
The Swiss chard, walking onions and winter broccoli are all overwintering and doing very well.
Cabbage starts are in and happy.
Leaf lettuce and more peas that also need stringing
The lime tree that I was quite sure I killed last summer is making a come back.
Happy overwintered kale and new potatoes.
Tiny new beets transplanted today
Spinach overwintered and growing faster than we can keep up
Tomatoes well started.
Two groups of small tomatoes that have volunteered. There will probably be many more as it gets warmed. Last year, I promised myself to not let any of these live, but since I haven’t planted any of the cherry size, maybe I should keep 2-3 of these volunteers. They are ready to eat before the others.
In addition to these photos, is garlic and overwintering broccoli on the far side. The garden is doing very good so far. I still want to plant celery, cucumbers, cantaloupe, and sauce tomatoes inside. Outside, I’d like to get potatoes, green beans, corn and squashes going. I just need enough days without rain to start them.
New barn cabinet
This photo was taken while the cabinet was still on the store shelf. Apparently this years colors for bathroom cabinets are either dark walnut or white. For the new barn cabinet, I thought either of those colors would show every bit of dirt. After a bit of hunting I found this. It is a barn and doesn’t need anything more than functional, so will be just fine. The man told me the sink was part of it, so I brought it home and box clearly says “no sink”. So tomorrow I will try to buy that to complete this job.
Then there was this little item of business. How long can it take to hang up a coat instead of draping it on the chair at the back door. Apparently, it can take all winter. Today, I found a hook and a stud in the wall and the coat can now be hung between visits to the barn. Of course soon, it will hang there until next winter. Sometimes simple tasks take me longer than more difficult ones. Can you relate?
All over eyelets cloth
This washcloth pattern is called “All over Eyelets’ by Janet Nogle. It measures 8” square and very easy to knit. However, I started it 3 times, before I was happy with the size I was making. Janet often posts “swatch” patterns. This one I liked, but also wanted it to be usable. The cotton fiber is leftover without any identification on it.
I worked in the garden this morning, pulling many weeds. I planted a few more tomatoes and cauliflower plants. I still have more tomatoes sprouting and beets and celery to plant.
Stack and flip flimsy
This “Stack and Flip” flimsy from Missouri Quilts was fast and easy to do, using a jelly roll. It’s also bright and fun. I used 33 of the strips and will use the others for binding. The instructions are on their site. For the sashing I used Kona Snow.
Some just want to be sure they are at the table in time to get the choicest morsels. And the easiest way to make sure is to lie on the table.
Tale of two foxes
As you can clearly see, I managed to reverse one of the two foxes. I should have a fox headed each direction which is not the case. Since the first one was created last year, I don’t remember enough to know what I did differently. I know that the vellums that came as the pattern were pointed opposite directions. They turned out the same size so it is not a big thing.
This is the Winter Wonderland set by Linda Hibbert of www.silverliningsoriginals.com. Each bird or animal comes with a left and a right vellum pattern, so you can face them the way that pleases you. I found that with being very scrimpy with the fabric kit included, I can get both the left and the right facing one made, which gives me more practice. (I have had to substitute a fabric where I ran out.)
I think I’ll go back and do the other cardinals and bunny and then attempt the squirrels and the moose. By then the fellows should have made headway outside on the road and I will no longer need to concern myself with that. This makes such a great diversion and takes real concentration
Paper pieced fox 2
We are having major infrastructure remodel on our property. In order to stay sane, I have taken my little paper piecing blocks back out and am working on them. This is the second little fox. It takes concentration for me to get the pieces on right so that when flipped they are in the right place. I now have all the pieces sew and hopefully this weekend I’ll get the block put together.
Little pieces make my day
It’s the little pieces that make my day. I finally purchased a new flannel backed tablecloth so hopefully my quilt pieces will stay up better. The last one was up for 2 plus years and had many extra threads on it. The cost was 1.50 and should have been done last year.
I had to go south to pick up the x-ray disc from the doctor there to take to the ankle doctor in Seattle next week. I asked them to forward it by computer which is what they usually do. They didn’t have what I thought a good reason that they didn’t want to do this. So I got to spend two hours going after the disc.
Now, since there is a wedding the end of the month, I need a dress, so Nordstrom’s Rack was my next stop. It’s amazing. I had this little talk with God, telling Him my needs and that I didn’t like shopping and wasting that time, would He please help. He did. I found exactly one dress that fit and that will work great for this purpose at a very low price. So half an hour was all it took to take care of a chore I dislike. I frequently have these talks with my Heavenly Father and am still amazed that He cares so much. No, I don’t always get what I ask for, but many times I do.
After checking in on the sheep and feeding them a bit early, I planted the tomatoes and peppers that I had started last month. I am hoping for enough energy to keep this garden going. So far, I have lettuce, sugar peas (which need stringing), garlic, and onions in as well as the winter crops that aren’t quite done. I have beets and zucchini that are started and are ready for planting – maybe tomorrow. I try to get just a half hour including watering in 3-4 days a week. I hope that will be enough to get everything growing and the weeds down.
Skirting fleeces
My neighbor came over today and we spent a good amount of time skirting fleeces for the show in 2 weeks. We first put them on this table which is made from spaced PVC tubes. Then we take off all the bad parts around the edges, neck, rear, all around. We checked to make sure there were no breaks in the fleece and removed as much of the hay, weeds, whatever they embedded in their fleeces as we could. We then rolled them up with the cut side up, and slipped them in plastic bags, ready for the judge to look at as well as the buyer.
We have many more fleeces to go through, clean and advertise.
I did get some more tomatoes started today. I’m hoping for a long summer so they will get ripe.
Practice piece
