Brown birdie scarf

(Please excuse the horrible photo quality. My camera died a sad death this week, so this is my computer's attempt at acting like a camera. Thanks to my lovely wife for modeling.)

Today was the birthday of a good friend, and in what's become my usual last-minute state, I found myself without a gift for her this morning. I had an idea working around in my head though, shifting and changing forms throughout the night. Emily is a big fan of scarves, so that's where I started. Then I thought of this fabric, my first use of this stashs. The little birds, and the color combo, and especially the pink made it perfect for her. I've been wanting to try reverse applique, and also wanted to incorporate some patchwork. I had this lovely brown linen-like fabric I'd gotten once from a tag sale. Then I noticed this polka-dot fabric with all the right colors, and it all came together.

I used measurements for the scarf in The Crafter's Companion, and winged the rest of it. I should have read some directions for reverse applique, though; the fabric shifted around so when I was finished, it bubbled out rather than lying flat and I had to rip it all out and try again. I definitely want to do more--I love the look--but I've got to work on that technique!

From many, one

Remember this package of fabric scraps I sent off a while back? After making a gorgeous quilt for Craft Hope, Ronit (of 2Hippos) had been asked to make a few more for the Miracle Foundation, in shades of red and orange and pink. She asked her readers to send scraps to help build her stash for this project. She's now finished one of the commissioned quilts. Here it is.

I thought it was so fun to try to spot bits of the fabric I'd sent in this quilt pieced together from so many sources. And I love the feeling of this quilt--that little bits shared by many people come together in a whole so much greater than the parts. An outpouring of love through fabric. I can't wait to see the others.

Apron days ahead

It's been a crazy month around here. Wrapping up the school year, preparing for the new one, planning a visit to the in-laws for the one week in between, preparing for my re-licensing visit, plus all the day-to-day stuff that is life-with-a-new-baby-in-a-house-you-have-to-keep-presentable-because-it's-also-your-place-of-business...Well, you get the picture. Never mind that the summer's almost over and we've put away next to no food for the winter, we who have pledged to eat locally...

Tomorrow's my last day before I have a week off. Then there's a crazy day of laundry and packing, followed by a 12-hour train ride. I'm hoping after that, things might actually slow down a bit. Maybe I'll get to spend a day on the beach. Maybe, when I get home, the blueberries and the peaches will still be ripe for the picking, and I'll be able to do some serious canning.



In the meantime, I can dream. I found this lovely apron at the thrift store a few weeks back, and I'm looking forward to the day I can tie it on, think nothing of work, and lose myself in the satisfying task of filling those hundreds of jars waiting so patiently in the basement.

Independence Days challenge, week 17

Time again for Sharon's Independence Day's Challenge:

1. Plant something: No.
2. Harvest something: Eggs. 4 pecks peaches from a local farm.
3. Preserve something: Dried peaches. Froze shredded zucchini.
4. Waste not: I found creative uses for food I might otherwise have thrown away this week (does it make up for the veggies I let rot in the produce drawer?). When I drained the zucchini, I set the colander in a bowl and caught all the liquid. Blended it with some watermelon and froze it into popsicles. When I made green pepper puree for Lucy and she hated it (her first rejected food), I used the leftovers as part of a marinade for tofu.
5. Preparation and storage: No, and boy are we getting low on stored food. Need to get on the ball!
6. Build community food systems: No.
7. Eat the food: Made 5 loaves of zucchini bread. Tried a new (yummy) recipe for corn fritters.

Last-second crafting

It's been a crazy week around here. I've been staying up late every night, working after my family goes to bed, preparing for tonight's big celebration--the annual end-of-the-year party for my kids, with a ceremony for the first child to "graduate" from my program. She's been with me since the beginning--three years now--and I wanted to do it up right. I put together slide shows of the past year, and of the graduate's 3 years. I wrote the annual letter to the families, summarizing our year's work, illustrated with scanned drawings from the children. I printed programs, illustrated with self portraits of all the kids. Together with the kids, I altered the words to Bev Bos' "I Remember When You Couldn't Do That" to sing to her. I wrote a "diploma" for her, describing many of the things she's accomplished in her years with us. I assembled a book from the children: each page had a photo of one of the children, their message for her, and a drawing from them. Anyway, 11:00 last night rolled around, and I still didn't have a gift for her. So I made this bag (literally at the eleventh hour), and tucked the book inside.

She loved it. Success.

A Treasure Trove of Vintage Fabric

I've waited a few days to write about the wonderful gift I received this weekend, thinking I'd take some great photos. Of course, I never did. I couldn't wait any longer to share, so I went out (in my embarrassing nightgown, no less) to take photos in the dwindling light this evening. Oh, well. They're better than nothing. Anyway...

Our friend Melissa came over on Sunday and brought a trunkful of fabric she'd received from her "Ciocia" (aunt), who has sewn for everyone in their family for many years, and has the fabric to prove it. We had tons of fun going through the bags and bags, and Melissa let me take anything I wanted! I took only a small portion, as most of it was polyester (though some of that was in really cool prints!).

Here we are, asking Lucy to choose her favorite. She had a definite opinion!



Here's my big huge stack of possibility:



That purple and turquoise one is polyester, but I couldn't resist the print. Lucy's favorite was the blue and white stripe one with the red flowers, down near the bottom of the pile.

This one is my favorite:



I mean, seriously, how cute are these animals?





There's only a very small piece, so I'll have to think carefully about the perfect project for it. Oh, my gosh. Where will I start?

Thanks, Melissa! What a treat!

Independence Days challenge, week 16

snapping beans, baby style

Time again for Sharon's Independence Day's Challenge:

1. Plant something:
2. Harvest something: Eggs.
3. Preserve something: Dried 1 qt. apricots, 2 pt. corn. Froze 2 qt. corn, 4 lbs green beans, 1 1/2 lbs broccoli. Canned 16 qts. dill pickles.

We tried a new pickle recipe this year: inspired by Melissa at All Buttoned Up, we tried this recipe. They look good; will report on the taste later. Here's a scene from my life lately--doing everything, even hot canning work, with a baby on the hip (or in the sling):


(Please ignore the hideous outfit: it was in the 90s, and I was canning. That'll ruin your look any day!)

4. Waste not: Made diaper cover from shrunken sweater. Talked about EC to probably too many people. Lucy went a whole day in one diaper, even as we ran around on errands all day (She peed in three public restrooms. How cool is that?)
5. Preparation and storage: Nope.
6. Build community food systems: Nope.
7. Eat the food: We are horrible! We ate out far too many times this week.