A Gift for Hailey Victoria

Here are some photos from an early foray into making stuffed animals.

First I did the small one:

Then I started on the bigger one.  The hardest part was picking out the fabric for the patches on the shell.  I wanted some that had a family connection; for example, the one with the tulips is from a skirt I made, the big polka dots are left over from a costume my sister Rachel wore, but I also wanted them to be fun and suitable for a baby.

The eyes were hand-drawn with non-toxic fabric markers.  I like to think they look soulful.

Below one from assembling the ruffles.  I couldn't resist using the ribbon somewhere because it matched the monkey print I used for the underside of the turtle.  (The monkey print fabric was the very last I had from a tooth pillow that Mom and I made for Hailey's cousins Alex and Conner.)

Here I'm sewing on the neck, which was quite a challenge.  Too much neck sticking out made it floppy.  Not enough was hard to sew.

Here she is with her turtles doing tummy time!

Isn't she just darling?

Awaiting Death

 This article from the Boston Globe columnist was so beautifully written that I just had to put it here where I can find it again....

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/07/21/magazine/i-just-learned-i-only-have-months-live-this-is-what-i-want-say/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Garden Totals for 2020

 We weren't going to do a garden this year.  We were going to rest the beds instead.

Then the pandemic hit, and I decided that I might as well do a garden.  I figured (correctly!) that even if civilization didn't collapse, I'd have lots of time on my hands.

By the time I decided this, it was too late to order seeds.  Ergo, the most productive garden we've ever had was planted entirely with left-over seeds from our stash.  

This is one day's harvest

 Here are the numbers in pounds, all processed weights, i.e. peeled, tops cut off carrots, etc.  (Drum roll, please.....)

strawberries - 2.7
purple beans - 14.6
potatoes - 2.6
cherry tomatoes - 10.8
tomatoes - 240.8  (And that is processed weight, which is probably, conservatively, half of harvested weight.)
okra - 17.5
garlic - 3.7
broccoli - .6
squash - 9.4
carrots - 17.5
zucchini - 41.5
kohlrabi - 2.3
bell peppers - 1.5
blueberries - .000001 (we harvested two berries....)

How does that compare to previous years?  (Keep in mind that there were some years when I opted for a small garden, which basically just means I prefer to avoid eating store-bought tomatoes.)

2014 ~ 138 pounds
2015 ~ 143 pounds
2016 ~ 140 pounds
2017 ~ 260 pounds
2019 ~ 177 pounds
2020 ~ 365 pounds

This year I'm planning to rest the beds and spend a lot of time incorporating compost (including chicken manure) directly into the beds, plus working on our compost pile.

Merry Christmas!

Whatever is --- or isn't --- happening in our lives right now, we can still kneel in awe at the manger in Bethlehem, welcoming the impossibly beautiful truth into our hearts: God really does love us that much!

Upcycled Skirt

I started with a pair of biking shorts, blue with small dots in a swirly pattern, and two men's t-shirts, I think extra large.

 I combined them to make this very comfortable skirt.

 The trick is to make sure that the width of the bottom of the shorts, after the legs are cut off, is as close as humanly possible to the width of the top of the trapezoids which makeup the skirt itself. I think I used 8 panels. The hem is serged but not hemmed since these are mostly for hanging around the house. I could go to the hardware store in them, but not church, I'm thinking.

They were fun to make! I hope you are also having fun with some creativity these days!

Computer monitor stand

Every week I try to do at least one thing that makes my life run more smoothly or I try to make some progress on a long-standing project, like organizing photos.

Here's something I designed to make my life easier. I would have liked to have built it, but my darling husband took my cut list and finished it for me.

 it was made from leftover wood, and was very simple, but it will be an improvement. If I make a little Improvement every week, I can work towards shaping a home that functions better and frees up more time and energy.

I hope you are all working towards your own goals and making good progress! Here's to baby steps-- they really do all add up.

#CoronaCreative

 A sample of some of my creative endeavors....

 

The above headband is designed to match all of my jeans, regardless of the varying degrees to which they have faded. :)

The tops I just added ruffles to, but it's nice because it transforms a tank-top with spaghetti straps into something I can wear in public.  They are SO comfy -- I'm not a huge fan of bras so I love them -- and now they are modest enough to go anywhere.

I hope you've been having some creative fun this summer, too!