Today's business.

Crazy Old Ladies "Fine Print" in orange.

Plus 12 kids.

Candy striped

Dipped in Chocolate by Crazy Old Ladies with Winter from Moda 2009 and some Fruitcake stripping for the back. I'd rather call it candy striped.

I made this quilt top in an effort to get through the end of a challenging fifth pregnancy. I hated working with the colors from Winter. I did not love it. I pieced the center and put it away. My baby was born and a few months later, I pulled it out to finish it for Christmas. I gave it to my brother and his new wife who live so far away. He lightly gushed to my mom about it months later, and I recently saw a photo from their home and there folded on a rocker was my quilt. I love how it turned out. It is filled with flaws, but I nearly cry every time I see it. It's stitches are filled with difficulty and love. Pregnancy, a baby, and a brother. Life is difficult. I hated the fabric, but love the result. It is an allegory of sorts, I suppose.

What I created in 2010 (and a little of 2011)

A Christmas setting. The fireplace is card board painted with tempura paint and a sponge. The fire is scraps of paper.

Two nightgowns, to the floor, make my girls look like angels. Flannel backed Satin.

One birthday dress, dancewear lined with a thick polyester purple.

Jello birthday cake with marshmallows, requested by 7 year old.

Play dough people with my boys.

Dipped in Chocolate pattern by Crazy Old Ladies. The piecing is Winter from 2008, backed by Moda's Fruitcake Striping. Made 2010

All JoAnn's fabric, All from my brain. Made for my 91 year old Grandma's birthday. Piecing the tree took the longest. A two day process in all. I love this one. The quilting is my first real attempt at free motion. It mimics the swirl of wind. October 2010

I make great cakes when I try. These were just pretty. The white was layered with caramel and had pistachio pudding and white chocolate chips mixed into the batter. The chocolate had MORE caramel in the center and I think I added chocolate chips too. The white was more popular.

A homegrown band in my livingroom. My house is rarely quiet, but it is a fun-loving atmosphere.

Birthday dress 2

Lego cake.

Two fairy costumes, sans wings, made during the summer before the baby was born. Both are book characters, Holly the Christmas Fairy and Willow the Tree Fairy. My girls hand me books and from the drawings, we make costumes.

Lilacs

Here, gardnersnet, is a useful source about Lilac bush care and planting. Tips for pruning are abundant and clear.

Fertilize in spring, prune after flowering. Lilacs are hearty, pretty resistant bushes. Prune to your taste, but do not top the bush.

Lovely plants to hate having in the yard

First,

I don't have this, Mom does and I am sorry for her. She has been fighting it for years, and the fight will go on...

Introducing : Bittersweet Nightshade

Invasive runners, water happy, super toxic plant. (All parts are toxic.)

For more delightful info and history see:

http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification/bittersweet-nightshade.aspx

Second,

Vinca

Third,

Aspen tree shoots

Fourth,

Barbary bushes

Gerber Daisy

Two gerber daisies seeded. At least I think so. This is what they looked like.

This is what georgez says about planting. "No pretreatment required. lightly cover the seed soil temp 68-72F & takes 10-14 days to germinate & transplant after 6 weeks... & produces a plant in a 4" pot in 24 weeks (flowering)."

I half buried the seeds in the soil around the daisies. The flood of watering has moved ALL four types of seeds all around. That's great, if they all germinate. The Gerbers are looking great. The white even has 2 new blooms today and they look lovely.

Epiphany: Gospel learning in the garden

I don't care as much about the green grass as I do the dead grass. I spend much more time caring and worrying for the yellow. As I watered by "hand" tonight, I understood a bit more about the prodigal son's brother. He was always under the sprinkler, so stayed green and had all he needed and was capable of obtaining for his good. The dead lawn crawled to the well and received a ready welcome. A good lesson then...don't carry your water into the desert, follow the steady source of water--living water.


Under stress, the pumpkin plant shrivels its leaves to preserve water, a valuable resource. In gardening and tending plants, I understand more about the nature of life and the cycle we live in. My cycle is longer than a plants, so it is interesting and telling to watch the life process happen so quickly. Here is the first trimester of a pumpkin flower. Conditions had to be perfect for this young plant to begin production so early. I love this plant for doing what it was designed to do.