Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts

Monday, July 10, 2023

Stars Upon Stars July


Plugging Away

If I was going to make progress on this block, I had to give something up. So the minute I finished breakfast, I was at the sewing machine in my pajamas. Yesterday I squeezed in 2 half blocks, and today the same plus a corner. The final 3 are underway, and I should be able to finish it by tonight. We've had house and garden projects without end to work through this spring, and sometimes I'm just too tired to work on something hard. 

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Summer Quilt Catch Up


Simple Summer Quilt

Life has been anything but simple for nearly 2 years now. I know I'm in good company across the planet when I crawl out of bed after midnight because I can't sleep--again. My neck and shoulders are sore from canning apples and making applesauce all day. My head is full of swirling thoughts like, How the heck are we going to get through this mess? (Certainly not by depending on the government!) 

My last post was early August when I was still working on the quilting of this summer quilt. I needed an uncomplicated project to stitch on, and I loved having something in the frame to pick up for even a few minutes at a time. But August turned into a difficult month healthwise here, and funneled us right into September and a local outbreak of Covid. We were included as well as many friends and family, but thankfully all came through without serious complications. I was out of the studio more than a month, though, and feel like I'm still catching up on sleep.

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

7 Year Blogiversary & 700th Post


A Quiet Celebration

If this past year has taught me something, it's that we should celebrate milestones, and keep with traditions in our lives. So you and I will celebrate this together. (Cue the horns!) Seven years is nothing to sneeze at. It's ancient in the world of blogging! I know I'm here, though, because of you all, and because I'm still fully in love with life! And the things that make me most happy are quilting, surely you knew that, my garden, and sharing my enthusiasm for both. Helping people learn is important, too, but encouraging people to just try something is the big one. 

I hope we all continue to be friends. You are important to me, and the many back channeled conversations that go on among us makes my--and I hope your life rich. Thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful journey!

Thursday, July 22, 2021

The Kitchen Garden in July: Preparing


The Kitchen Garden: July 2021

Pictures of my kitchen garden are helpful to me in spiritual ways. I see such a difference week to week in change, in growth, and it feeds my soul knowing I had a part in this. Yes, there's a lot of work and planning, but the payoff is sweet.

One of my major goals this year was to grow food my family could and would eat, and to put some of it up through canning, dehydrating, or freezing. I believe food security is a real issue facing us. Last year's struggle to source food and basic supplies was a lesson to many of us, and should not be wasted on those who think it's past. The supply chains everywhere are fragile, and each of us should think in terms of what we need or want to be comfortable in our homes. How do we maintain our lives in case of future shortages and scarcity? It wouldn't be the first time in history people have had to ask this question, but perhaps in many of our own short lives. This is what I'm doing.

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Dresdens & Fish: Spindrift II


Spindrift II

Slowly, but surely--no, that's a lie. I am hammering away at this quilt every chance I get. The 4th is upon us, and we celebrate here with a big party. A rock band at night, this year we have Road Dog, followed by this small town's stunning fireworks. Everyone is welcome here, and we love meeting people who've driven in from several counties away. So there is a lot to do to get ready yet, and I want this done before. 

Sunday, May 23, 2021

Meadow by Jen Kingwell: The Quilting


The Close Ups

I want to get this post out this morning as there's so much happening. May is a crazy month between garden and studio. Some days I think I've got things hammered down, and a day or so later I'm backed up both places. 

Beneath the busyness, I'll think, "This is something I think people would enjoy seeing," and then I'll forget. That's irritating. Also, subjects and threads are easiest for me to write about while they're still relevant. When I'm deeply involved with a subject, I have a swirl of emotions along with the process. It's that I hope to convey.

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Blue Skies Inside and Out


Commuting

Surely you expected I'd wear pink Crocs to work. I have a raspberry pink shirt on right now, too. Color is a powerful thing.



Tuesday, May 11, 2021

The Garden: My Other World


Grounded to the Earth

Like so many quilters, I have another life. Quilting elevates me, and sustains a need I have to create with cloth. But the Garden is my alter world. Most days this time of year you'll find me barefoot, grounding myself with the earth. I dabble in everything, but especially heirloom varieties of flowers, vegetables, herbs and edible weeds, and the quest for a righteous compost bin. This spring has been a windfall of salad crops, and diabolical episode of gray mold. It's nothing short of Lord of the Rings out my back door.

Monday, May 6, 2019

Cultivating Quilts


Postcard from Sweden for Baby

Early February this past winter, I promised a quilt. A cascade of family events moved life far away from our ordinary pace, and seemed to have taken ages to return. Have you ever uttered to yourself, "I just want to catch up." And so, in spite of spring rains, and all kinds of new things I'm cramming to learn until my brain hurts, I feel closer to caught up than in months. True, we still need groceries, and are hunting for clean laundry throughout baskets parked down a hall, but sorting life on the outside is not the same as our inner life. We first seek peace in our hearts, and watch it follow in our world.