149 little purple hats – 146 from one bolt of fleece and 3 were from left over purple fleece. They are done and waiting for me to find a box to put them up until Sept. It feels so good to have things done with time to spare.
Then I finished a fun little wall hanging I was testing and sent in the report. I’ll have to show you that one in November.
The afternoon was spent playing with this. It takes 75 minutes to process a load of pints with beans after pressure is reached, about 45 minutes for it to cool down and then one must bring it back up to pressure and keep it there for another 75 minutes. Therefore 2 loads of beans takes about 4 hours. And I have to be there since the pressure changes “for no reason”. The stove is electric and doesn’t want to be constant. This time I soaked the beans for 24 hours, packed them in the jars without any cooking. It was so much easier, but next time I will put fewer beans in the jars and still fill them with water. I wonder if I could put salt in them or if that would keep them from getting soft. The top beans do seem a bit dry which is why I will try more liquid and a smidge fewer beans.
20 pints of red beans
I laid this fleece preparing to skirt it (take all the junk off it) when I realized, I need help determining how much to remove. It seems a bit matted to me. So I will wait until I find someone more knowledgeable to help me. There are three of these fleeces. By that time, I should have learned how to skirt them.
This is where the tomatoes have gone. I’m going to have to coax them back down. There are tons of blossoms, some fruits, but no color yet. And today the sweet potatoes opened their first blossoms.
Progress is very slow on these socks as ideally one has to sit down. I am nearly to the toe decrease and once there, the socks get done rapidly.
This little fellow and friend have visited us several times today. He is a black headed grosbeak and loves sunflower seeds. He tosses the other seeds overboard.
And look! This plant volunteered in the hoop house this year. It is right at the top and will be a delightful treat for these birds.
These came in the mail today from my cousin. I’m guessing my aunt had started a quilt before she had her stroke and these are the result.
I changed how I’m going to make this quilt. So I placed the pattern under my light blue background, then sprayed each cutout piece with an adhesive, using the box to catch the overspray. They I laid the pieces in the proper place on the background.
This is what he looks like now. I’m still deciding if I want to applique before or after adding the batting and backing. The pattern maker suggests, I applique all three pieces together.
This morning before the sun made our part of the world warm, I was able to get out to the garden and pick some food for breakfast and lunch. I wish photos could show how good these berries are.
For lunch I dug potatoes (the blue round items are blue potatoes) and onions, then picked some cabbage which turned into an excellent coleslaw. I had a red pepper which I added and dressed it with avocado/rice vinegar. We had the rest of it for dinner tonight.
I know I said I wasn’t going to test any more quilts for a bit, but this is a Christmas wall hanging and just too cute to pass up. The border for this quilt is these small log cabin blocks – just 28 of them. I quit for the day
. We have picked some of the broccoli, and replanted the lettuce.
And replanted parsley. I had some outside, but the sheep REALLY enjoy them.
This is what we found when we went into the hay building. Isn’t she a beautiful bird? Sadly for her, we took the eggs. We no longer have a rooster, nor do we want more chickens right now, and we do have someone who wants the eggs.
I really need a better background to hang these larger quilts, but until then, I’ll make do with this. Here is the finished flimsy. The pattern is called “Summer’s Promise” by Ann Lauer. The instructions are excellent. I found it in the American Quilter magazine dated May 2016. It does a good job of showing off the focus fabric. In this case, I had the daffodil fabric hanging on the wall, just waiting for the right pattern.
This afternoon’s harvest was three lovely heads of broccoli. I had planned to pick berries and lavender, but after fertilizing the hoop house and getting it water, the heaven’s opened and it poured. So maybe I can pick berries tomorrow as there is only a 30% chance of rain. And that will give me a break from the housework from which I am way behind.
This bit of unused yarn from a pair of socks is a very soft yarn from Lorna’s Laces. I made a full pair of socks from this yarn which I absolutely loved. However, last winter when I washed several pair of socks, the pair vanished. I have looked everywhere for them and they haven’t shown up. So, I will see how far I can get with the yarn left and finish with another yarn. I understand a single sock disappearing, but a pair of socks, where ever could they have gone?
