sun prints

The children love making sun prints. We made them a few years ago and they wanted to do it again. We used a kit but the kids took a class recently and one day they made them by using treated paper and dipping them in vats most likely similar to this.

We used phlox, black eyed susan, grapevines, blackberry, cosmos, nasturtium, pansies, zinnia, dusty miller, bachelor buttons and hydrangea. I love the way ferns print but, we did not have a good specimen.

cosy (you)

Cosy (you), pattern by Nadia Crétin-Léchenne knit with Madelinetosh - Tosh Vintage in Robin's Egg. This pattern is beautiful and I am happy with the result. The shape is very unique and I really like the lines. I find this color suits her well and is her current favorite. I used vintage glass buttons.

It is fairly easy to follow but the diamond pattern can be a little confusing and may require some extra thinking to make sure it lines up.

wee cria in pink

Knit with beautiful Madelinetosh this sweater is made with fingering weight yarn and took about 3 weeks to knit. The result is almost there as I hope to re-do the pockets(lengthen) and switch the buttons as they are pulling on the button band. The pattern is Wee Cria by Ysolda and I knit the size 4 to fit size 6-8 which worked out well. I added extra length for future growing spurts. This should work for several years.

susanne

This dress is designed by Citronille, a French company, that I have sewn from before. The pattern is available in English and is simple for the intermediate sewer. The French patterns are also possible to sew with even though I have little french vocabulary as long as you are good at following diagrams and willing to look up some translations.

The pattern is called Susanne and I cut a size 6 but used the size 2 pattern for sleeves which did not cause any issues. I had only 3/4 yard which would have been fine for a tunic but the dress required 7/8 yard. The smaller sleeves worked fine. The colors in this print were irresistable and it won out over the linen and gingham choices I considered. This Liberty print is called Grey Angelica Garland.

pinafore

New apron/pinafore in the shop size 2-3T. I haven't made these in a while but, I love them. This look is versatile and has so many great uses. As a top in summer with bloomers, a swim cover up, an apron or a pinafore like the girls wore years ago to keep their dresses neat. These retro styles will forever hold a special sweet spot in my heart. Finished with a vintage button.

I also added a skirt in Liberty of London print, Jody a few days ago.

scenes from the front garden

The garden is growing beautiful and lush. The slow Spring and perfect summer days filled with a good amount of sunshine and rain in the evenings has been helping everything along.

The returning crops this year: blackberries (ripening), gooseberries, red and white currants, grapes(ripening), cherries, apples (ripening), peaches (ripening), strawberries (though much less then originally were here due to their lifespan), chives, lemon balm, lavender and mint. We lost our rhubarb and continue to lose strawberries. We have been trying to replace the strawberry plants over the past two years (about 30-40 a year) slowly but there were so many it's hard to get it back to where it once was.

Planted this year: blueberries,lots of basil, mojito mint, chocolate mint, rainbow chard, kale, eggplant, tomatoes: (mexico midget, chocolate cherry , pink berkely tie dye, indigo apple and red zebra,) purple cauliflower, beets, sugar baby watermelon, sleeping beauty melon, tomatillo, a variety of sweet peas, tri color garden beans, zinnia, lettuces: (red romaine, arugula, spinach, radicchio, rocky top mix, mesculun, green oak leaf), bachelor's buttons, cosmos, nasturtium, radish, sugar ann and dwarf gray snap pea, borage, leek, fairy meadow seeds, rosemary, cilantro, parsley, garlic, peppers: (shepherd frying, thai hot, chocolate beauty), marigolds, snapdragon, chamomile, oregano, sweet woodruff, zucchini, cucumber, yellow button flower and rumex. I am sure I forgot a few things but, this gives you a pretty good idea of what's growing. As I harvest I plant new seeds and plants.
My daughter is in love with berries and has fallen hard for the gooseberries and eats them right off the bush before I can do anything with them ;)
I made some currant jam and lavender shortbread recently and am really loving garlic scape pesto.

Happy Bastille Day France!

durand hedden herb garden and a quilt project

On Tuesdays the children and I water and play over at an herb garden behind a historical home in my town. We like to volunteer here in the summer and it is a special place for them to learn, play in the creek, walk over a tiny bridge and make little bouquets. The beds are really beautiful here and I will be sure to take more photos of it over the coming weeks and perhaps introduce you to some new herbs.

Believe me, I know I owe you a post about my garden this year and I promise to get to it soon.

I am close to finishing this quilt top using the snowball block and all solids. This quilt is more modern and graphic then I normally make and I liked pairing up the colors and seeing how bright it pops against the white.

sweet peas

The sweet peas planted from seed 5 months ago on a freezing cold winter day have been blossoming. They are so beautiful. I can't wait to see what other varieties will appear.