The blocks I finish this month will finish half the blocks for this year 2014. Difficult to believe we are that far already, isn’t it. Here is the first of the ones I’m doing this month.
And here are the ones for the year so far.
Category Archive: Life
Mother Earth News Fair
This is a terrific fair! I always learn so much about living without making such a big footprint. Come with me as I share with you a few of the photos I did remember to take. I usually forget to take photos when I am so enjoying the moment
First of all there were the organic seed companies which I enjoy perusing.
This was the first time I’ve seen a freeze drying machine which could have been all mine for “only” $4000.00.
And of course there were the chocolate and other food companies displaying their latest temptations
We saw a variety of composting toilets much improved from the old “out house”
Soft hot tubs and I can only guess that this way of living is going to make one’s muscles need soaking. But when would one have the time?
There were lovely folding shopping bags for when one would make a shopping trip — not often because most of this show is geared to “backs to the land”
These women are promoting the North American Wool Association
LOOK! these are the baby Cormo lambs I purchased a month ago. The Association wanted some Cormos on display so my babies were happy to oblige.
I had not seen sisal made into rope before and this man was demonstrating how it was made 100 years ago.
It’s always fun to have period costumes when one is doing a craft that once was a necessity.
Although the fair had so many other things as trees and bees and soaps and books and a myriad of marvelous things to see, I leave you with the delighted look on the face of my daughter who was a 4H-er for many years
as she looks at these pygmy goat kids.
summer socks pair 1 finished
These socks are intended to just cover the foot in the shoe. So I should be able to get two pair from the same fiber from which I usually get one pair since I always have some leftover. If I don’t have quite enough for the second pair, I’ll finish the toes with something else – who sees way down into your Nike’s anyway? I had a lot of waiting time this week so was able to finish them quickly. It may take the entire month of June to finish the second pair as the plan is for my brother and his granddaughter to visit as well as my daughter and grandson. And we will be doing some “going”.
Look closely as I’d like to point out some flaws. It’s difficult to see in this photo, but the top sock is definitely a lighter grey than the lower sock. I purchased this fiber at JoAnn’s and it is a decent sock yarn, but I didn’t bother to check if it was the same lot number and it isn’t. You will notice that the stripes also do not follow the same order. It’s as if one was rolled reverse from the other. Now on this pair of socks, none of this matters because when I make the second pair, it will be the same story, so by taking the dark sock from each pair, I will have a matching color pair – the same with the lighter gray ones (assuming I have enough to finish both socks with this yarn) However, if this had been a full pair of socks, I would have been unhappy and probably stopped after the first inch and reappropriated the yarn to another project – scarf or ?
So lesson learned. Lot number can be extremely important.
The second pair is barely started and will be put on hold until the house is company ready.
Quick fleece gift tutorial – scarf, blanket, hats
The Bible says, “the poor you have with you always” I take this as a call to service. For me summer is a great time to start on my charity gifts. By the time cold weather arrives, I usually have an arsenal of small gifts, none of which took me much time. I also have blankets and quilts, but they take a bit longer.
SCARF (fleece blankets can be done the same except use 2 yards and just trim the margins off the sides and use a plate to make round corners.
Yesterday’s blanket backing was fleece and left me with scraps. Buy a 1/4 yard of fleece in colors for the recipient. I suggest the dark or team colors for men. This does not need to be prewashed as it does not shrink.
Since the piece was 66″ long and 8+ inches wide on each side, I cut those sides off.
Then trimmed them to be 8″
Then fringed each end by laying a ruler across the end where I want the fringe to stop and cutting every 1/2″ up to that point. I do not measure, just eyeball it. (If the fringed pieces are pulled they will curl). The fringe is optional.
With little time and money you have a quick gift or charity project. We make these for street people along with fleece hats and in purple for the hospital “shaking babies” program.
HATS
Average Head Sizes from Martha Stewart
Newborn (6 months and younger) Circumference: 14 to 17 inches Crown: 8 to 10 inches
Infant (6 to 12 months) Circumference: 16 to 19 inches Crown: 11 to 12 inches
Child (12 months to 3 years) Circumference: 18 to 20 inches Crown: 11 to 12 inches
Child (3 years and older) Circumference: 20 to 22 inches Crown: 13 to 14 inches
Adult Woman Circumference: 21 to 23 1/2 inches Crown: 13 to 15 inches
Adult Man Circumference: 22 to 24 1/2 inches Crown: 14 to 16 inches
Using the infant size above I cut 2 hats with the 11 x 16″ measurements
Then sewed the long sides together with a 1/4″ seam to make a tube.
Sew a seam across the top of the hat
Sew the two points together using a strong thread (for a beginner, this is better done with a needle and thread)
Bare heads lose a lot of body heat, so I have not stitched the bottom of the hat. One can turn it up once or twice or even leave it full length. For a child, it can be used for a longer time.
Today, we have put away 2 scarves and 2 hats for gifts.
And because we paid for all the scraps, I want to use them. So using a bit of satin binding left over from another project and the last usable piece of this fleece, which is 10 x 11.5, I sewed the binding on for the baby to take along when they leave the house (esp in case she is a thumb sucker). In this way, mom can pin the piece to baby’s clothes and baby has her comfort piece.
In case you are concerned about the selvages cut off, they will become plant ties.
Pinwheel baby quilt
A good share of today was spent quilting and binding this baby quilt. These pinwheels were left over from making another quilt. I really enjoy being able to use parts that are put to the side when the first quilt is make. I’m quite happy with the way turned out It still needs to be wet down and laid out flat to relax the binding as I tend to stretch it to keep it straight as I sew it. I plan to do that in the morning.
The other part of the day was spent researching whether we will go with plan A, B, or C for our water. Our well no longer provides the amount of water it has in the past. So we have an appointment with a pump man and may get one with a well driller and will price holding tanks as well. Ah, the ebb and flow of money. It just isn’t flowing the right direction.
Staycation
Do you ever get up and just want to take a vacation from all you’ve been doing? That was how it was here today. Bill and I talked about all the people who fly to Seattle (big airfare), stay in hotels (another expense) and eat all their meals out. And since they have to make reservations, they can’t choose the weather. We live one hour from Seattle and don’t even go enjoy the city. Shameful. We are about to change that.
A reader mentioned that it sounds like we have lots of parks in this area – which is true and we were a bit sore from yesterday’s gardening. To add to that our daughter Kati raved about a Chinese foot massage for only $27.00 – an hour. A regular massage near here is 70 – 80 for an hour. Off we went to Seattle’s huge International district.
If you haven’t had one of these before, let me describe the scene. There were 20 red oversized chair/beds in this room, dim lights and beautiful, soft, music. I sat in the chair, took off my shoes and socks and was presented with a very warm (not hot) bucket of water into which I put my feet. Next he covered me with a blanket and the chair was laid back. Starting with my head, he worked the head, the neck and shoulders (which in my case was the purpose of going). Then he did each arm and hand and then the feet – think reflexology. After he was through with the feet and toes, I turned over and he worked the back a bit. This whole process took an hour. These people are skilled and if 20 people were sitting in those 20 chairs, all the masseuses would be doing the same thing at the same time. Amazing! An hour of this and I was ready for a nap – not going out to eat.
But remember this is a vacation day, so we did join Kati and Zach for lunch at a vegan tofu restaurant near by. The food was excellent! With full stomachs, we walked over to a huge marketplace where we saw many fruits and vegetables with which we are not familiar and a few exotic ones we did know from our trips. But one marketplace wasn’t enough – we visited another one and this one had many items besides the foods.
We had a WONDERFUL vacation day.
A pinwheel baby quilt ++
Some days have more interesting things than others and today was a good one. First I thought you might like to see what we use as insecticide. These are the baby Bantams you saw two months ago.
Another beautiful iris has opened.
The first broccoli of the season from our garden. The one was absolutely delicious for lunch and I may have been a little over exuberant on the other and picked it a bit too soon. But I’m sure it will also be delicious.
I was asked to make a quilt top for a baby girl arriving in July. When I asked what color, I got no response. Since she will be flooded with pink, I decided on something a bit different. What do you think?
For backing, I’ve picked out this fleece. They are now mounted on the quilting machine. My thinking was that they will be able to use it with the next baby, even if it is a boy. Any guesses how long it takes to get back to this project?
I saved the bad news until last. The coyote came to visit when the dogs were in the house because the neighbor thinks they are noisy at night (coyotes live in his yard) We now have only two geese left.
Fir Island
We took the day for an outing and went to Conway, Washington, particularly Fir Island This is a major wintering spot for Trumpeter and Tundra Swan as well as the Snow Goose. The state Fish and Wildlife has an area set aside so these birds will not be bothered. This area also attracts many other birds. I believe the sign said they have sighted more than 100 varieties.
In addition to checking that out, (of course we found out about this island too late for wintering birds to still be there) we drove around the small island and took in the sights. Most of the island is in food crops. I was surprised to see the name of the company from where we get our organic strawberries has their farm there. They do Sunday market here in town, so I didn’t think about them being on the island. So here are some views of the very beautiful land.
It appears someone wanted to remember the old country with the pile of rocks and a pretend goat.
And yes, we were happy to be in a small car when we had to turn around in a place that didn’t expect one to have to turn around. I had to get out and direct as the car barely fit the road. Deep drainage ditches were on each side.
Sock pair #5 finished
Today I slacked on creating with fiber and the garden to do house cleaning. If it gets too dirty, I find it difficult to work on projects
May is the fifth month and this is the fifth pair of socks, so I’m right on schedule. Somehow this yarn found its way into my yarn stash. While they may not be my choice in color, I do know two women who would love to have them. So they will have a home.
Our first peony is just opening.
My prayer is that all of you have a safe and happy holiday.
May Sew Fun purchases
Just sharing the nesting space. The bantam (now in back) lays claim to this spot, but can be pushed over for another to lay her eggs.
An interesting quilt I saw on the wall at the store yesterday.
And they still had what I consider a Halloween quilt up.
But this one REALLY caught my eye. The picnic cloth is 50″ square. What is cut off in the photo, is the quilter had embroidered a drumstick on the back of the oven mitt and ants marching across the towel.
So this cute pattern came home with me. I should be able to get this done in a month, don’t you think? Especially a month with lots of company. I’m with you – won’t happen this year, but there will be another summer.
This Angler 2 looks like a very handy tool, so it came to live at my house as well
Corner Cut 60 will make sewing these triangles so much easier and faster because the ears are cut off before you sew. Also because of that, the 1/4″ seams should be more accurate. I love tools that make life easier.
And the big prize was this “glue” paper. I have used rolls of Seam a Steam 2 lite. But they are having production problems and people are saying they like this just as well, if not better. This is what I use to do machine applique. I press this on the back of my applique and then draw the design on the paper on the reverse of this. After that I cut it out and position it on the background fabric where I want to make the scene. Since I have several quilts in mind of this type, 3 packages of this paper came to live with me.
It was a very good day. It is unusual to find so many usable items at one of these “infomercial: Sew Fun programs.
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