Garden Happenings

Lettuce, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

There's a bit of action happening in the garden right now. The lettuce is growing like crazy, so much that I can't keep up.

Spinach, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

The spinach is also huge and plentiful. Both of these were planted with my new method borrowed from my mom - sprinkle the whole packet on the ground and see what happens. Lettuce and spinach are surface-sown, so it worked out pretty great with zero effort. I can't recommend it enough! You can see some of the lettuce seeds ended up in places I didn't put them! I also have a surprise cilantro plant growing in the grass. Love it!

Strawberries, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

The strawberries that I bought last fall are still growing strong. I haven't done any coverings during the few hard freezes that we had this winter, so I'm glad they were hardy enough to take it. Lots of little berries are popping up. I'm not trimming any runners in the hope that they'll take over the entire garden bed. Who wouldn't want all those strawberries?

Seedlings, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

The plants that I started from seed mid-January are also doing well. I love how they always seem extra green when they're young. I'm hoping to get these in the ground this weekend!

March Dessert

March Dessert, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

March's dessert for the Dessert of the Month Club is a shamrock cake pop! I can't remember stitching with such bright greens before, so it was fun to get to do that. Plus, it's just so happy and cute!

March Dessert Progress, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

Here are all three months together. I love their little smiles!

TAST, Weeks 7-8

TAST Weeks 7-8, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

Weeks 7 and 8 of TAST were a little difficult for me. Week 7 was the lazy daisy stitch, and apparently my lazy daisies look like deformed starfish.  Haha! The conclusion of that experiment was to not make the center of the daisy one single point, but to separate is out a bit. Also, I had to use more than two threads to give it enough weight to lay down correctly. Any fewer led to even more deformity, if that's even possible. Week 8, the chain stitch, was easier. I tried doing a triangle, but due to the method of construction, this stitch lends itself towards slight changes in direction more than severe changes.

TAST Weeks 1-8, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

Here are weeks 1-8 all together. The first ring of the color wheel is done! I'm liking it a lot. (P.S. This sampler is going to be huge!)

Also, a few weeks ago Diane asked about the marker I used and if it would come out of Aida fabric. Of course, I hadn't tested it, so I was a little scared to, but good news - it came right out with water like it was supposed to! I removed the ink around the inside diameter of weeks 1-3, which you can see in the picture. The pen used is a Dritz double-sided water soluble pen that I got at either Joann's or Wal-Mart for much cheaper than I see online.

Rainbow Buttons

Rainbow Buttons, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

I've been doing some reorganizing of my sewing space, which included switching from one mason jar per color of button to one big jar now that I'm not using buttons as often. I guess I unconsciously went in order as I was dumping them in, because I ended up with a rainbow. Now the only problem is that I don't want to dig in and mess it up!

February-a-long

I finally got my quilt-along blocks done last weekend. It felt like I was behind, when in reality it was only the middle of the month, so I don't know where I got that from. Either way, I'm glad to have them done because they are some pretty cool blocks.

HST Block, February, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

First up is the February block for the HST quilt-along. Let me just say that HSTs have grown on me over the last few months, and I'm really enjoying this quilt-along.

Craftsy BOM, February, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

Much to my delight, the theme for February for the Craftsy BOM is HSTs! Woohoo! The first block is called the Balkan Puzzle block. Pretty cool, no?

Craftsy BOM, February, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

The second block is a chunky chevron block. I'm really loving the bright orange in this block!