Dear Mother Nature

You're killing me here, Mama N!

First the weather is very, very hot and dry, so I water like crazy.  Then it levels off to normal ranges and I transplant 100 plants I have been nurturing - delicate, innocent little seedlings that just want to grow big and make food for my family.

So what do you do, dearest Momma Nature?  You send a nearly 90' day followed by torrential rains and a cold snap that sends the nights into the 40s.  My poor peppers are barely holding on and all my zucchini and squash gave up their fight.

Oh, and by the way, the sucking red clay mud?  Well it sucks.  And the crackling, hard as stone top surface of said red clay?  That double sucks.  It is amazing we can grow anything at all.

Mommy Dearest, why do you hate us?

Anyway, hope you are well.  Say hello to Father Time for me.

Love, Jen

Peace and Birdsong

Today is obviously a big day for international news, of celebration and reflection.  Though I will leave the in-depth commentary to others, I do not feel more safe or protected today than I did yesterday.  If anything, I feel more anxious at what these necessary evils will bring to our world. 

Because of my uncertainty and anxiety, I find that I am drawn outside today, where I can hear the summer bugs, and the birdsong.  And where I can watch my garden come to life.  My garden gives me hope and peace, and the knowledge that I have planted more than seeds.  I have planted my love and protection for my family.  I nurture my garden as I nurture those I love.

Here are some pictures of my garden growing.  Hopefully they will bring you peace on a day of great upheaval.

Amish Paste Tomatoes and a Marigold

Carrots

A teepee my husband built out of branches trimmed from the pear trees.  Just for fun.

Hardneck Garlic

Baby Lettuce

Sweet Peas

Yukon Gold Potatoes

Pie Pumpkins

Very muddy strawberries

 Peace to you and yours.

Project 16 - Nook Keeper

My husband received a Nook for his recent birthday, but it didn't come with a case.  So I thought I would come to the rescue and sew one fore him.  Clearly, I was overconfident after the quilt.

I found a cute pattern on Moda Bake Shop, and amended it to suit his tastes.

 

It is a really simple design.  Basically, it is a padded pocket with a front flap.  Very simple.  Even I couldn't mess that up.  Right?

Unfortunately, I could.  And did.  Doesn't the Nook look so cute tucked in like that?  Too bad it doesn't fit in the pocket!!  So frustrating!  It is a minuscule amount too wide.  A teensy, tiny bit.  And I can't fix it!

So, lessons learned:

• I don't know how to sew with batting.  Major issues with bunching and thread tension.
• Next time, cut the fabric wider than needed. - clearly I cannot sew a 1/8 seam to save my life.
• Binding is still terribly difficult! 

Guess what I am making tomorrow night!  Round two of the Nook Keeper.  Now, I am going to bed.

Update 5/4/11: I was able to fix it by pulling off the binding and sewing it on again in the right spot.  A good thing, too, since I didn't have enough fabric to do it again!  It'll do.

Quilt - Update

And here is my new quilted table centerpiece, in action:

It took me an hour to unearth my kitchen table, so this is a major accomplishment around here.  Meals in the kitchen, once again.  The kids are going to be so mad! 

(I also added one more picture to the original post.  Somehow that one didn't save the first time around.

Project 15 - Woven Quilt

I am very proud of this week's project (well, really it spanned 2 weeks.)  I finally bit the bullet and made my first attempt at quilting!

I followed a very simple pattern, using 1 jelly roll (apparently fabric can be sold in special cuttings that all sound like food!)  I just wove the strips in and out and then sewed up the seams.  It is all machine-quilted - I didn't want to do the handwork.

Unfortunately, that shows at the binding, where the front and back did not line up.  Embarrassing, but I am not about to pull it all out.  Live and learn

Just the same, I had fun and I love it.  Now, the original pattern was for a rug, but I cannot imaging putting that much effort into something and letting it get muddy.  My quilt is not padded and is heavy.  I think it would work will in the middle of our kitchen table, so that is where it is going to live.  Bunnies and all.

Oh, Of Course!

Yesterday, my first-grade son proudly told me that he ate all of his lunch.  Except his pear.  

"Why," I asked, "did you not eat your pear?"

He giggled.  "Because it looked like a butt!"

He did, however, show it to "everyone he could find."

Atta Boy!

My Mantra for Today

There is NOTHING crawling up your leg!

Because every time I come in from the garden, I get the creepy-crawlies up my legs and across my back. (Cue involuntary shudder.)