Sweater Blanket in Honor of Grandma Rose

You know when you have an idea for a project, and you look online and see that pretty much no one else has done it, and then you think: Maybe there's a reason no one else is doing it this way?

Well, I'm happy to say that I did my project anyway and got away with it!

This is kind of a quilt in that it has three layers: old sweaters, an old wool blanket, and old sweaters.  The reason that you're probably not supposed to do this is because the sweaters were made out of different kinds of weaving -- close weave, loose weave, everything in between -- and they are likely to pull, warp, and generally not hold their shape.  I decided to reduce the risk by doing WAY more ties than normal.  The usual rule of thumb, according to the collective wisdom of the internet anyway, is to space them so that whenever you put your hand down, you cover at least one tie.  I did a lot more than that, and I increased the frequency of ties around the edges.

 The resulting quilt/blanket is HEAVY.  It was a gift for my husband and he really loves it!

 

Above is the worn-out wool blanket with holes that I used for the batting.

I ended up just cutting off a section because it had too many holes.

 

Unwanted sweaters and a scarf from my husband.

I did lots of pinning.  I was worried about the stretchiness of the knits leading to lots of warping.

I just serged the edges.  Not at all the correct way to bind a quilt!

 

 

Garden 2025 has begun!

Leek seeds were planted yesterday!  Don't worry, we didn't got out in freezing temps and five inches of snow.  They are on heating mats, soon to be under grow lights when they sprout.  :)

Bean Sticks

 This is the sort of thing you make when it's freezing cold outside, and you are longing for both the beach and the garden. 

I'm planning to stake my bush beans this year and see if I get more productivity.  The paint is to help preserve the wood. (Still need to seal them.)  And I figured if I'm going to paint them, I might as well have some fun with it.

It's the Little Things

 BEFORE:

 

AFTER

 

 

This little box was fun to make, and it's making me inordinately happy!

2024 Strawberry Total

 The results are in!  This year we harvested 17.4 pounds of strawberries from our backyard!  At a conservative $1.99/lb for fresh organic strawberries, that is $34.62 worth of strawberries.  I have been freezing whatever doesn't get eaten right away, and hope to be adding garden-grown strawberries to my oatmeal for weeks.  :)

Last years harvest was 13 pounds.  This is all from 12 strawberry seedlings we bought in 2022 for $9.96.

Next up - planting runners in little yogurt dishes so that we can transplant them wherever we want.  I'm hoping to keep refreshing the beds this way and never have to buy new strawberry seedlings again.

I will say that strawberries are fairly labor-intensive.  During the peak of the season I've been known to spend two hours harvesting, coring, washing, weighing, blending, and freezing them.  But so worth it!

Did you know...

 

In a recent study comparing every Nobel Prize-winning scientist from 1901 to 2005 with typical scientists of the same era, both groups attained deep expertise in their respective fields of study.  But the Nobel Prize winners were dramatically more likely to be involved in the arts than the less accomplished scientists.  Here’s what a team of fifteen researchers at Michigan State University found about engagement in the arts among Noble Prize winners relative to ordinary scientists:

 If the scientist practiced music, he or she was twice as likely to win as compared to contemporaries

 Arts such as drawing, painting, printmaking or sculpting - 7x as likely.

Crafts: Woodworking, mechanics, electronics, glassblowing - 7.5x as likely

Writing: poetry, plays, novels, short stories, essays, popular books - 12x as likely

Performing: acting, dancing, magician - 22x as likely