an update from this week...

I have {another} new houseplant--a spider plant--which loves the light from the front window in my workroom.  Surrounding myself with plants is becoming a new Spring ritual that cheers me up when it's still too cold/wet/snowy to get outside and do any real gardening. In the sunroom I've added a split leaf philodendron, and a Hirt's Fiddleleaf Fig Tree - Ficus - Great Indoor Tree - 4" Pot/Decorative Cover* that I ordered online--it arrived in the frigid month of February, miraculously lived to tell about it, and, so far, appears quite healthy.
A couple projects that I've finished this winter are the drawstring dress 3C, made as a tunic, from Interweave Press Simple Modern Sewing* and the Artfully Simple Infinity Scarf.  The tunic is sewn from a somewhat sheer linen-weave fabric that I had on hand; I think it will be great for summer over a tank top or camisole.  The scarf is crocheted with an indigo heather, baby alpaca yarn from mooglyblog's pattern--it will be the perfect scarf for Spring.  More information is available on my Ravelry page here.  There are also new bags in progress for the shop--a new-style lined leather bag and another Indian stripe blanket tote.
The muffins pictured are from a new-to-me recipe, flourless peanut butter chocolate chip mini blender muffins.  I double the recipe and make a dozen regular size muffins, which I bake for about 13 - 15 minutes.  They are a new favorite around here...delicious!
A visit to the library this week was especially worthwhile--the Birds, Insects, and Outdoor Cookbook were found on the sale shelves. I could not resist the illustrations on that cookbook cover!  The rest are borrowed, and I will be reading up on quilting and house building--a perfect way to spend a cold weekend.  Hope yours is a good one,

Deb 


*contains affiliate links

July days

July has been a string of warm, sunshiny days broken only occasionally by a passing thunderstorm.  Mornings are my favorite, walking the dog and enjoying our surroundings filled with birdsong, the occasional bullfrog croaking, and the cackle of the hens.  So far, walking the hay meadow, we've come upon a little fawn curled up in the tall grass and a fox near her den, as well as the usual frogs and snakes.  There are markings from skunks, but luckily we don't run into them during the day.  At night, as I head out to close up the hen house, the field and trees are glittering with fireflies. If not for the mosquitoes, I would stand there and watch for a long time.

Over the weekend we worked in the garden, weeding, staking tomatoes, and trellising string beans.  We biked the canal towpath, passing by many families of geese along the way.  I fit in some reading {I've discovered a room at the antique store, filled with wonderful old books} and a little bit of crochet--embellishments for the knitted tea cosy I'm working on.  We celebrated the Fourth with a family picnic and grilled {slightly burned} chicken, potato salad, fresh corn on the cob, cheddar biscuits, deviled eggs, blackberry pie, Lorna Doone spoon pudding, and cookies.   We missed the fireworks, but sat around the campfire instead, eating s'mores.  

Life in July...it's some of the best I think.

craving some color

 

Despite the imminent, official start of Spring, it is still winter here in all it's varying shades of browns and grays with a bit of drab green.

Feeling a need for some color, I dug out a crochet project from 2 years ago--some granny squares to be made into a pillow cover.

After spending some time under our bed, the squares had ended up

in the basement, where I rescued them this week.

After some digging in my knitting basket,

I found the blue yarn and spent some enjoyable time,

with tea and some Irish soda bread,

crocheting the last round and connecting them at the same time.

{Tutorial for that can be found here.}

Hopefully I can get the pillow cover finished before

two more years go by!

the deep freeze

 

 

 

We have had a super cold snap - temps in the single digits - and lots of light fluffy snow...a perfect time to defrost the big freezer in the basement before the food actually became lost in the ever enlarging frosty build-up.  Once defrosted, as I neatly put back and organized the food, I found we still have lots of grated zucchini.  I have been pulling out all my recipes which include the favorite::chocolate zucchini muffins.  A double batch was added to the freezer, perfect to pull out each morning and send off with those leaving for work and school. 
A little household knitting got done, and my swiffer now has a new cover.  It's far superior to the generic, disposable covers I had been buying--the acrylic yarn really grabs the dust & dirt instead of just pushing it around.  I made the knitted version found here,
but there is a crochet pattern here as well.  Best of all, I can just throw it in the wash, and reuse--will definitely try to make some more.
With the frigid temps, the juncos and cardinals have been frequenting the bird feeders steadily.  I love to sit in the sunroom and watch them all as I drink my tea; well...until suddenly last week, they have become the target of the hawks, who twice have swept in, carried off a little bird, and in the panic of it all several cardinals hit the sunroom windows and were killed...so much for our peaceful little corner of the world!!

another pre-Christmas project

A mushroom Christmas ornament I crocheted for a friend.

The pattern is Drops 0-723 in case

you want to whip some up for next Christmas,

or maybe change up the colors

and keep some around for fun decorations,

or maybe even a pincushion?

~

Deb

a slipper pattern

When I posted here about these simple slippers

I had crocheted,

a reader asked if I knew of any knitted

pattern for a something similar.

While browsing garnstudio.com for

Drops Design's latest collections,

I came across this pattern::

Very close, I think, so if you don't crochet

you might want to check it out.

While you are there,

you may want to wander through

their wonderful patterns~all absolutely free!

a couple thrifty ideas

Crocheted facial cloths ~ washable & reusable

I used some organic cotton yarn

and found the pattern here

What a great idea!

And, if you would like to make your own

liquid hand soap,

and save a lot of money by doing so,

the recipe can be found here.

I'll be giving it a try this weekend.

Have a great weekend!

a simple cake & a simple slipper

A bit of baking went on this weekend,

a habit I'm getting back into

as the fall weather keeps us inside more:

~zucchini muffins for breakfast this week

~these chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies for snacks 

and

~marie-helene's apple cake

{from Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours}

no mixer involved, just my old egg beater...

No picture of the finished product

as it was eaten very quickly with

a bit of whipped cream on top.

A simple cake that is just delicious!

~

The slippers are my most recent crochet project.

When I saw a picture of them online,

I couldn't resist purchasing the pattern.

They work up quickly using

two strands of worsted weight yarn

and a larger size hook.

I added a couple of vintage buttons

from my button tin.

On Ravelry here.

while I'm away

Granola and yogurt have been made,

there's a pear cake in the fridge,

tomatoes and pears have been dehydrated,

the bathrooms are all cleaned

and bed sheets are changed,

the garden has been picked,

the henhouse cleaned,

and the freezer is full

for my family left behind.

I'm headed to Georgia and Tennessee

to spend time with my sisters, aunts, cousins,

 and mother ~ sure to be much fun!

  Although I'm gone, I'll be guest posting over at

Victoriana Quilt Designs today,

where you'll find the pattern for the dishcloth

pictured above.

Just click on the button below

to pop on over.

Have a great week!!

~ Deb

making the best of rainy days

The sunshine did not last long--only enough for

us to desperately catch up on the lawn mowing and weeding

and to think perhaps summer had arrived.

But just as well, the gloomy days have forced

me to keep at the sewing machine and

work on some more recycled coffee sack

and military duffel totes for the shop.

{Old glass insulators and sad irons work

great for holding fabric in place, by the way :)

~

And, here and there, I've fit in a tiny

bit of crocheting of granny squares...

The best part is seeing it

all come together.

~Deb

a crocheted hexagon cushion

It all started with this book I found

on the library sale shelf and the

Hexagan Granny One pattern...

I gathered up yarn I already had on hand

and crocheted a few hexagons each evening.

I realized I had to make half hexagons for

the ends, but didn't think about the top

and bottom edges til I pieced it together,

so I did some fill-in crochet--2 rows--and

that gave me a straight edge...

Downstairs I found a discarded Gap cotton sweater

to use for the back of the pillow cover a la Lucy.

I followed her directions for the crocheted button

edging,

...and added some vintage red buttons.

Back ~

Front ~

I've just started on a second pillow cover,

with granny squares this time.

~

Have a great weekend!

~Deb