Gardening 2011 Results

28. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Gardening

2011 Harvest by jenniferworthen
2011 Harvest, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

Overall, our gardening year went pretty well. Not everything went as expected (squash vine borers and a record-breaking hot summer), but we still got a pretty good harvest. It's pretty clear what plants worked best for us:

Peas, 1.37 lb
Green Beans, 10.29 lb
4 Squash, 0.97 lb
43 Cucumbers, 15.2 lb
62 Tomatoes, 13.01 lb
21 Bell Peppers
25 Carrots
3 Jalapenos

I've got a bunch of seeds started for the spring already since our average last frost date is less than 8 weeks away. Hopefully we'll have a cooler summer in 2012!

WIP Wednesday

25. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Cross-stitch, Quilting, Sewing, WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

I started a new project this week - my swoon quilt! I got a fat quarter set of Pat Bravo's Hyperreal Garden a while back for my birthday with this quilt in mind... but now I'm starting to second guess that decision. There are a few directional prints in this line, and that doesn't appear to work to well for this quilt. Here's my first block:

Swoon Block #1 by jenniferworthen
Swoon Block #1, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

I'm leaning towards switching to something different in my stash that doesn't have directional prints, or at least has enough non-directional prints to use in the quilt. What do you guys think?

I also started and completed some January blocks for two quilt-alongs. First up is the January HST quilt-along block:

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

I think this might be my most favorite block ever that I've made. I really love it! I'm using DS Quilts Sugar Creek for this quilt along with some Kona Snow.

I also made the two January blocks for the Craftsy Block of the Month (BOM) quilt-along:

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

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

They were definitely fun and easy to make. The prints are from Amy Butler's Lark line, with more Kona Snow (notice a trend?). I'm looking forward to next month for both of these quilt-alongs.

Projects started: 
  • Swoon Quilt*
  • February Cottage cross-stitch*
Projects completed: 

January Cottage by jenniferworthen
January Cottage, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.
  • January Cottage cross-stitch
Quilts near completion:
  • Snapshots Quilt
Quilts nowhere near completion:
  • String Quilt
  • Farmer's Wife Quilt
  • Starry-eyed Quilt
  • Drunkard's Path Quilt
Miscellaneous projects:
  • Wizard cross-stitch
  • Tote Bag
  • Paper-pieced hexagons
  • Flower embroidery
  • Hoop travel bags (3)
This week's stats:

Completed projects - 1
New projects - 2
Currently in progress - 12
*Progress made

What's on your WIP list this week? Head over to Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday to link up and see what everyone else is working on!

Growing in the garden

25. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Gardening

Lettuce by jenniferworthen
Lettuce, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

Spinach by jenniferworthen
Spinach, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

Cauliflower by jenniferworthen
Cauliflower, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

Broccoli by jenniferworthen
Broccoli, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

Onions by jenniferworthen
Onions, a photo by jenniferworthen on Flickr.

I've already harvested (and eaten) the cauliflower. I learned that once the florets start to separate, it's ready. I roasted the cauliflower in olive oil with salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. It was pretty good! The onions are going to take a while by the looks of them. Everything else is getting pretty close to being ready!

January Cottage Progress

20. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Cross-stitch

January Cottage

Here's my progress on my January cottage for the Cottage Stitch-Along. This pattern is a bit bigger than I expected (ok, a lot bigger than I expected). It's not a problem, but for some reason it was smaller in my head. I really like it though, more with every stitch. It's definitely one of the cutest patterns I've ever stitched.

Cross-stitch clip

And now a question for all of the stitchers out there. What do you do with your extra fabric hanging around your hoop? I've always used a hair clip from middle school (haha!), but it seems like there must be a better way to keep that extra fabric under control. I don't like it flopping around and getting in the way. What do you use to corral your extra fabric?

TAST Week 3

19. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Embroidery

TAST Week 3

The stitch for week 3 of TAST is the feather stitch. This stitch is very similar to the buttonhole stitch, and is a whole lot of fun to do! This section of the color wheel is red and red-orange. Go color wheels!

WIP Wednesday

18. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Cross-stitch, Quilting, Sewing, WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

I made some good progress on my scrap attack quilt this week, and it's starting to look pretty awesome! There's some cross-stitch progress this week as well. Cross-stitch is perfect for when you're tired and don't want to keep getting up between the sewing machine and ironing board. :)


Projects started: 

January Cottage
  • January Cottage cross-stitch
  • January Dessert of the Month cross-stitch
Projects completed: 

January Dessert
  • January Dessert of the Month cross-stitch
Quilts near completion:
  • Snapshots Quilt
Quilts nowhere near completion:

String Quilt Progress
  • String Quilt*
  • Farmer's Wife Quilt
  • Starry-eyed Quilt
  • Drunkard's Path Quilt
Miscellaneous projects:
  • Wizard cross-stitch
  • Tote Bag
  • Paper-pieced hexagons
  • Flower embroidery
  • Hoop travel bags (3)
This week's stats:

Completed projects - 1
New projects - 2
Currently in progress - 11
*Progress made

What's on your WIP list this week? Head over to Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday to link up and see what everyone else is working on!

January Dessert of the Month

17. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Cross-stitch

January Dessert

I'm participating in the Dessert of the Month club at The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. This month's dessert is a champagne truffle. Isn't it adorable? It was very fast to make as well. It only took me about an hour from start to finish. I'm looking forward to seeing what next month's dessert is!

TAST Week 2

16. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Embroidery

TAST Week 2

The stitch for week 2 of TAST was the buttonhole stitch. I used three threads on the smaller stitch and two on the larger one. The three-thread stitch isn't quite straight on the bottom, so I think using only two threads is better for the buttonhole stitch on this fabric.

And as for what these stitches are going to become? Everyone was right - it's a color wheel! I can't wait to see it progress. It's going to be awesome!

do. Good Stitches Bee Blocks

13. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Bee Blocks, Quilting, Sewing

One of my sewing goals for 2012 is to participate in a quilting bee. I signed up for the charity bee do. Good Stitches at the end of last year, and I was accepted into the Imagine circle which happens to be run by the lovely Amanda. Our circle will be donating our quilts to Threading Hope!

Our first month's blocks are sawtooth stars made from red, pink, white, and a little bit of accent gray. I happen to have plenty of scraps in these colors, so I didn't need to dig into my stash for these blocks. Woohoo!

do. Good Stitches, Imagine circle, January

This first block ended up nothing like I originally planned, but in a good way! This was one of those times where I kept messing up the cutting and sewing and had to go to plan b, and then c, and then... well, you get the idea. It was an accident that the inner star is white instead of pink, but I think it looks pretty awesome anyway.

do. Good Stitches, Imagine circle, January

I wanted to do some interlocking stars like in this Sparkle Punch quilt, so my second block has three little scrappy interlocking stars. Check out the other blocks from the bee here!

WIP Wednesday

11. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Cross-stitch, Quilting, Sewing, WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

I started a couple of new projects this week, and made some major progress on my cross-stitch! Hopefully I'll be able to get some work done on some of these unfinished quilts this weekend.

Projects started: 
  • January do. Good. Stitches bee blocks
  • Hoop travel bags (3)*
Projects completed: 
  • January do. Good. Stitches bee blocks (post coming soon)
Quilts near completion:
  • Snapshots Quilt
Quilts nowhere near completion:
  • Farmer's Wife Quilt
  • Strip Quilt
  • Starry-eyed Quilt
  • Drunkard's Path Quilt
Miscellaneous projects:

Wizard Cross-stitch
  • Wizard cross-stitch* - finally finished the main stitching. Now on to the back stitching!
  • Tote Bag
  • Paper-pieced hexagons
  • Flower embroidery
This week's stats:

Completed projects - 1
New projects - 2
Currently in progress - 10
*Progress made

What's on your WIP list this week? Head over to Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday to link up and see what everyone else is working on!
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