A close up garden tour

Today I will take you on a close up tour of my garden. I will try to get more in a broad lens once it comes together a little bit better. I have been doing a lot of digging between bouts of rain and more rain.

Here are the seedlings that are taking over my sewing table. I am going to try to get the little guys hardened off this weekend and in the ground ASAP. They are getting a little leggy.

The lilac in the backyard is just about to explode into bloom. A few little purple blossoms are peeking out here and there. I can't wait to have cuttings around the house.

We have a LOT of iris growing around the yard. There are several varieties and I hope I can successfully transplant them around as they are taking over most of the perennial border.

These guys are outside - a bin of mescalin greens. They are starting to show their true leaves now.

The rather unsightly cages over our gardening boxes are doing their duty. I think the biggest issue we have had has been neighborhood cats. This weekend we should have the rest covered up and probably 80% planted with more greens. I am trying to decide what to do about pumpkins...I think I am going to dig up an area towards the back of the yard and just let them spread out. I suppose anything to minimize mowing is good!

A break in the gardening has meant finishing up the paper mache on the the boat project. It now has holes for the wheels and mast. It is awaiting its coat of white wash. (header picture) I have been ironing and sorting out scraps from the massive amount of quilt squares I was giving. I haven't figured out what to do with them yet.

This picture goes especially to my friend Heather L. The blackberries are certainly rambling around our yard!

Lastly our tree in the front yard is now fully blooming. After trying to figure out what it is it is most certainly some kind of crab apple. Not terribly exciting but the blooms are beautiful and smell terrific.

So I am off to dig some more and hopefully remember to take some pictures along the way.

Spring Beach

A few weeks ago we took care of our niece and got to visit the awesome beach near their home. It was a fun little trip, albeit windy and cool. Can't beat the view from the swing set. I am looking forward to more beach trips soon!

Buttons and Crocus

The crocus were beautiful this year. I love the purple, green and bright yellow centers together. I now have some purple iris coming up in my garden in full force. Eliot has been harvesting mint about every day. He loves the stuff. I figure a little more green food in his diet can't hurt. We hunted down more tea berry, too. I was hopeful that the new shoots would be better flavored but I didn't find them to be much better. Maybe when the berries appear we can use them for something.

Eliot wanted to sew with me recently so we dug out the trusty buttons, embroidery floss and hoop. He spent a lot of time working on stringing and sewing buttons. He then neatly cuts them all off (the best part) and puts it all away. He doesn't need the sense of a final product the same way I do. I should learn from him and be OK with impermanence.

(My favorite needle case - made by the lovely Jenna.)

Belt and Mouse

The Easter Bunny showed up at our house with this little guy. She came out a lot more grandmotherly and classy than the country mouse I had envisioned. I guess you never know where things will take you. She was a late night (for me anything past 8:30 is late) sew that came together remarkably well - granted it's a cone with ears ;).

I don't generally post post up pictures of myself but one of my other projects over the winter was weight loss. After 4.5 years I am finally back to my pre-pre-baby weight. Lost 20lbs and 3 pant sizes. Time for another hole in the belt. Our yard is sunny and green now - I am due for a new family portrait at the new house.

Bangor

We took a trip up to Bangor to visit some of Kevin's family. Kevin's cousin is a fire fighter! Eliot was so excited to have the whole fire house to himself. He even got to climb in a police car and push buttons. What a memory.

First Harvest

There certainly is a backlog of posting to be done around here. A little spring blog writing along with the flurry of garden and craft activity in our parts. I can't decide if I should start now and work backward so it may be a mixed up catch up week.
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The weather seems like it has turned to spring and we have been spending as much time outside as possible. The light has definitely changed to a warmer hue, especially in the mornings.

I look forward to early weekend mornings getting my hands in the dirt. I will make this 1/4 acre productive! So far we have some perennials coming up from the previous owners including the chives below. Lots of mint is also sprouting up as expected. I planted a largish pot of mescalin greens and tons of seeds have been started. I am anxious to get trees and grape arbors, berries, hazelnuts...

The future garden will be neatly in three 4'x8' boxes. We have most of the gear (chicken wire to keep out pests) etc ready to go. I am ordering compost this week and we will be ready to plant! Most of my energy has been going towards this lately but I have managed to keep a few craft projects at the ready for a moment with clean hands and worn out feet.

Early morning tea outside watching the birds is about the most relaxing thing I can think of to do.

Work, work, work

This is pretty much what I have been doing with my spare time when I am not in my sewing room. Lot's of books about marketing, video production, SEO optimization, social media for my 'day job'...I find it endlessly fascinating and interesting, thank goodness.

I feel like I walk a fine line between wanting to give up all technology, grow my own food and the like to getting immersed in screen time. It pulls me sometimes in ways that are unsettling or uncomfortable. I am trying to make my peace with it all and find ways to use it for constructive purposes rather than manipulation.



I took this photo while in the car waiting for Kevin to get his coffee. I like how all of the buildings intersect - kind of quiltlike don't you think?

And an exhale with a beach photo.

Walking

Kevin and I were lucky enough to attend the New England Craft Trade show this past weekend. It was really interesting to see how differently people display and market their goods to larger scale buyers than the usual craft fair folk.

There were a few new items and people I had never seen before, which was nice. It was pretty overwhelming and very hard to compare to what I am doing at home. I came home with a lot of thoughts about the craft industry.


More beach inspiration.

Into the Blue

I am on the home stretch with the Rock Rug. I have moved into the blue. My mind has been wondering through some possible finishing ideas as far as binding or backing goes. It will be nice to wind this one up and get started on the next one! I have so many ideas, my journal is busting at the seams.

We took a family trip to the blue ocean on Sunday, too. It was so nice to hear the waves. I am itching for spring, like everyone. All along our walk I kept seeing little bits of string and cloth. I am always amazed at what I can find when I am paying attention.

A Little Sewing

I did a little sewing last week. I hadn't unearthed my sewing machine in a while so when Eliot decided he needed a bag for his rock collecting on the town I was glad to oblige. He picked out the colors, I managed design. I knew I wanted it to go over the shoulder, like a courier bag, and he knew he wanted a zipper. Unfortunately, I put on a zipper and it broke within 30 seconds of use. I ended up adding a flap with a button closure. He seems happy with it so far.

We had a brief reprieve with warmish weather, enough to make some beloved mud. It has since gone back to ice, although I think today may turn it back.

On a side note - I am working on a new website/blog specifically for my rug work. I have talked about the ebook a bit in the past and I would like to start teaching some classes. I didn't really want to use this blog as a place to send people because of the personal nature. So - I am trying to come up with a name. I have a couple that ring pretty well for me so I am putting a little poll on the side bar to get some feedback. Or, comments are always welcome. Thank you!

Snowing and Windfalls

It is snowing like crazy and the wind is whipping around outside. I am happily and cozily inside thinking about making things.

I have had two windfalls this week. My friend is helping his parents clean out their old farm house and I gave him a few requests if he happened to come across them. And he did. The first is below. It is a perfectly serviceable typewriter. I have been looking for one for years. Eliot thinks it is fantastic.

The other request I had was for any fabric or craft supplies (obviously). He came up with this right off the bat. It is a box full of cut up quilt squares. I think some must have come from old shirts but there is a huge variety. I will probably sort through them and have a give away if anyone is interested.

Inside play has been peaking lately with the cold weather. Trains have come back to the forefront of creativity. The repetition gets to me sometimes but I am getting better at judging my train saturation point and his willingness to accept my sometimes hasty retreat.

Little bits of rug progress is happening here and there. I have lots of strips cut out to finish the blue ocean part of it. I am not sure if I am crazy about the dark blue. I think I will live with it for a little while and see if it grows on me.

I have been playing around with smaller bits of wool scraps trying to work out some new project ideas. Lot's of ideas kicking around right now.

Goodbye Grammie

My Grandmother passed away last night. A sad day. She lived to a feisty old 91. We were lucky to have her staying close by with my Mother for the last few months and the end was swift if not entirely expected. I am happy that she and Eliot had a chance to spend a lot of quality time together recently.

I made her some Christmas mittens this year. This picture has been sitting in my 'to post' cue for a while. She used to tell me stories about making all of her clothes and she helped me quite a bit whenever I would dig out my sewing machine and schlep it over to my mothers house. She and my Grandfather were quite a dynamic duo - I am glad they are back together.

Getting Inspired

I am fighting cabin fever by trying to get outside here and there. I didn't take back much of the garden this fall in the flurry of moving in (which according to some gardening books I have been reading is actually a good thing) so I have been admiring the leftover skeletons. I think this could make an interesting quilt design, or wood cut. This is my current basket of strips for the rug. I found two more blue sweaters this past weekend which are disassembled and ready to be cut up too. I have a nice sharp blade ready and waiting.

I put up some of my bits of ephemera that have been cluttering up my desk onto a cork board in my sewing room. I want to make a rug that is a large compass rose. I think they have some great design possibilities.

This is Eliot's basket, which looks a lot like mine. This is a small bit of my scraps that he cuts into small squares and strings for his rug project. It is nice to give him something to work on while I am working. I hope that this looks well enough to make a fairly large rug. I have TON's of scraps!

Bird watching is our usual pastime. It's like yard TV.