bee creative

putting things together

Once I had this idea that I would only address one topic per post.  I think I might have read that somewhere on "how to write a blog."   I've given up on that.  Along with, "if you want more readers, no cute titles, they don't "google" well.  I don't think I've ever followed the piece of advice that a blog writer should pick one topic per blog.  More and more, I find that I want to write about whatever the day has brought me that makes me feel creative.  And that might mean mixing topics....  I don't think I could be accused of being a "specialist."  Maybe that means that I will never excel at one thing, but I'm okay with that. 

The wool quilt:

I knew when I started this project I'd really have to think about how I was going to sew the quilt together.  Past projects with wool haven't been successful because I didn't really think about how the seams would work.  Here's how I've solved the problem for the wool quilt. 

1.  Fold the squares right side to right side and sew the two inside layers together.

 

2.  Lay squares flat, overlap the back fabric and whip stitch the edges together.

I'm going to add another layer, probably flannel to the back.  The current back layer will become batting at that point.  I'll probably tie the two layers together. 

The garden:

Walking through the garden tonight I noticed that I have the first sprout coming up of something I've planted outside.  I had filled a cardboard tube with seed starting mix, placed it in the ground and covered it up with a mini hot house.  The dogs have only destroyed one so far.  I think this might be a workable solution for starting seeds in the garden and two playful dogs.  I love it when a plan comes together!

One baby kale coming up.  And a few more weeds, darn. 

Melinda, at One Green Generation has her seed list for the year up.  I think I'm going to do this in rotations of what I'm planting.  So here's what's going in the ground right now:

• Peas:  Cascadia, British Wonder, Amish Snap and Blauschokker (shelling variety).

• Tomatoes (indoors):  Italian Heirloom, Amish Paste, Gold Rush, Riesentraube, Yellow Currant, Matt's Wild Cherry, Carmello, Sun Gold, and Blondkopfchen. 

Blondkopfchen is the only variety that is new to me.  I'm trying to find a substitute for Sun Gold which is a hybrid but is so incredibly good.  I will also get some Seattle's Best from my mother and will probably buy one Brandywine start.  

• Cauliflower, Early Snowball.

• Uprising Salad Mix.  This is a lettuce mix done by a local seed company.  There are two small, organic seed companies in my area. 

• Kale, Lacinato.

• Cabbage, Copenhagen Market.

• Poppies. 

tolerance

 

I've been seeing this a lot lately and it's making me think:

   
Tolerance, and affection even, comes with familiarity. 

Briar and Hazel look a little disturbed because I kept wanting to take their picture and they just wanted to sleep.   Lola was sitting on my lap.  It's a zoo around here sometimes.

Anyone know what these are for?  On Friday the zoo is going to get a little stranger around here.  Peep, Peep, peep. 

And then will see just how tolerant they all are.  Well maybe when the chicks (I really love the Australian term chook.)  are a little older. 

When I went in today to check on chicks, they had turkeys and a duck.  Too cute!

 

a perfect day is gardening and sewing

 

Started out cold and foggy but the sun came out and warmed everything up enough to do some gardening.   Planted potatoes, shallots and pulled some weeds.  Harvested some spinach and divided up a clump of garlic that I missed last fall.   Admired my first tulips:  

While I was waiting for it to get warm enough to be outside and garden comfortably, I did some sewing and finished putting together the jacket I started last night.

The front was cut from a denim skirt, the back and the arms from the legs of jeans.  The print on the back was a cuff I had sewn on that particular pair of pants.

I've been wanting to do this project for about 2 years now and am a little unhappy with myself that I've waited this long.  I've even known this was the perfect pattern for me to make myself a denim jacket with.  I love how it's turning out.   It's super comfortable and much more flattering than the denim jackets I've tried on.  It looks a lot better on me than on the hanger. 

 On the other hand, two years ago I wouldn't have left the spot that I'd mended previously as part of the jacket.  I wouldn't have left the edges unfinished (I sewed a line of stay-stitching around the hem and am letting it fray to that point.).  I wouldn't have tied knots on the "right" side. 

I'm thinking of doing some  more hand stitching around the edges.  I tried a little section on the front.  I may also sew some small white buttons on.  And I might do a little bleaching. 

Finished up my perfect day with stew from the slow cooker, peach/blueberry crisp, and a little knitting.   Now it's time for a little reading. 

the productive part of being creative

There are two books that I’ve read recently that I really like and that I feel look at living life more deliberately.  Life is a Verb by Patti Digh and How to be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith.  Both books share common threads for me.  Slow down, look closer, be a part of the world around you, not just an observer.   Books like these address the need to find ways to sustain our souls, our personalities.  It’s a part of living a sustainable life style I believe.   

This morning as I was spending some time reading blogs, I found that Patti Digh has a challenge up on her blog (37 Days) to spend 37 days holding your self to a promise.  As it happens this is perfect timing for me because I’ve been thinking a lot about how I spend my time and how things get cluttered up.  So I’m making a promise to myself:  For the next 37 days I will spend at least 30 minutes organizing or removing clutter from my life.  I’m going to post about it every day to keep myself accountable. 

Of course, I’ve started on one project to make this happen, my monthly “project list.”  Since it’s the end of the month, it’s time to look at what I accomplished and what will be worked on next. 

• Medallion skirt: done
• Red paint:  another section of my living room floor is red.  I have about a 1/2 cup of paint left, just enough to paint one more section.
• Wool quilt:  I’ve been sewing on it just about every day. 
• Socks:  done
• Coat:  done enough to wear.  Looking for more silk yarn so that I can make trim for pocket and cowl to match.
• Yarn for next bus project:  picked the variegated yarn and started a cowl. 
• Trees:  Planted. 
• Sweater in progress:  On the fourth attempt I was finally able to get it to not twist.  I now have 2 inches done. 
• Wedding present:  I ended up buying a coffee press and a pound of coffee.  Deciding on what to give her was an interesting process and I’m going to post about that later. 

Projects for April:

The scratching post I want to try is at Design Sponge.   Design Sponge always makes me want to clean my house.  What is left of my cardboard stash (it's quite large) is going to be mulch in the garden.

The Denim is being used for a jacket and a vest.   I am deconstructing old jeans and an old skirt to reuse the fabric.   There is a great denim project and some links to other denim projects at Spirit Cloth.  I'm thinking this is one of those intersections where two (or more) people are working on similar projects with out meaning to. One of the things that I think is magical is the individual touch we all bring to projects, even when they are similar. 

The spiral garden will be planted with strawberries.  Maybe if the sun comes out and it doesn't snow tonight I'll get started on that tomorrow.     

productive use of bus time: the fourteenth pair of socks

I'm ready to start my next bus project, 'cause pair number 14 is done:

I think I'm going to try a cowl pattern out with the yarn I've chosen to work with. It will go with my raincoat quite well and I'm going to be wearing my raincoat for quite awhile longer I think. 

why blog? to find "sympathetic threads"

Hazel says:  "Watcha doing?  Can I see?  Can I help?  Can I come to the party?."  It sort of seems like blogging.  She might actually want to blog considering how much time she tries to sit on the key board.

I have a favorite quote in my side bar by Herman Melville.  It says:  "We cannot live only for ourselves.  A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men, and among these fibers, as sympathetic threads,  our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects."  

This month marked the end of the second year that I've been blogging. Thanks everyone for visiting, for leaving comments and feedback or just for lurking around ('cause sometimes that's all I do too -when I'm feeling quiet and shy), for being a blogger and sharing your ideas and thoughts, for making connections, for community. 

spring means

Rotating the tomatoes every day so that they grow straight. 

Tomatoes are one of the few things that I start indoors from seed.  Most other things I start outside.  It's a matter of prioritizing given the space and the time I have.  Next year I may be adding a few peppers to this mix.  They are on a shelf that is about 2 feet from a lightbulb and is right against a window. 

Spring also means...

Getting to wear light cotton tunics.  This one was given to me by a friend that was cleaning out her closet.  She didn't like that the facing flopped out.  Generally when I sew shirts like this I don't use facings, I just bind the edge (just like a quilt).  To make this more tidy I sewed some french knots amongst the embroidery that was there and added some french knots to the back neckline.  As I was working on this I started thinking about how I could continue to add more and more stitching to a shirt like this.  It was one of the things that I really liked when I read Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin.  One of the examples given in the book is a skirt that the author says she's had for years and that she's still adding beading and stitching to.

  Maybe nothing is ever quite done.

garden books of a sort and a recycling idea for the garden

This is a picture I took at a park near where my parents live.  My mother was the first to see the face in the log.  I thought of this picture as I started one of the books I'm currently reading, Gardening at the Dragon's Gate by Wendy Johnson.   This book is full of wisdom but isn't a "how to" book.  I'm about a fourth of the way into this book and finding it very enjoyable. 

I just finished reading One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka.  Another book that is not "how to" but is very thought provoking. 

One of the things I think both books are making me think about is the quest to keep trying things, to explore different possibilities, to be open...so in that spirit, I give you "mini-hot caps:"

Not beautiful, but I'm hoping that they will        speed the germination of a few things along and keep baby plants from being trampled by the dogs and dug up by the neighborhood cats.   I'm trying a few with lids on and a few without lids.  Clear plastic would probably be better, but I don't have any of that.  I've been saving the bottles that white vinegar comes in for this. 

Now I need to find some straw. 

 

Inspire Me Thursday- "I am..."

Creative.  The prompt this week for Inspire Me Thursday is to choose one word that sums up "the whole of your being in just one word. "  Creative works well for me I think, not just in the sense of "imaginative," but also defined as "productive." 

This morning while I was working in the garden I noticed this bumble bee making it's way through the crocus.  The definition associated with the name "Deborah," is "the bee." 

blue spring

I spent about 5 hours in the garden today.  It was too beautiful to be inside and there was so much to be done outside while it was dry.  There is a scattering of flowers tucked here and there.  The one above, liverwort, is one of my favorites.  I was very happy to find that my peas are sprouting and that they won't have to be replanted.  Tomorrow I'm going to start some lettuce, re-pot the tomato starts and harvest some spinach.  I'm betting that in less than 3 weeks there will be rhubarb to harvest. 

My other big project for the day:  I started over on the sweater I'm working on for the fourth time.  It's the first time I've done a sweater in the round (front and back knit together) and I kept getting a twist where there shouldn't be one.  I think I've finally got it right. 

Thanks to everyone that left feedback on my coat.  Paula asked if I've thought of making a scarf to match the trim and the answer is yes.  I think what I"m actually going to do is to knit a cowl (kind of like this one) in the silk.  That way if I wanted to,  I could still wear a scarf with the cowl.