Red Cap

I finally finished an embroidered cap for myself. I’ve been working on this one for over a year. I used red thread instead of the most common color of black. I thought red would look better with more of my dresses. I must say I am pretty please with how it turned out.

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Summer Garden

Sorry I’ve been away so long. I’ve been very busy with all the usually summer activities. One of them being my garden. It has exploded now that it is finally warm. I have been getting zucchini almost every day and the tomatoes are starting to ripen.

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Garden in Late April

Well it is May here in the Pacific Northwest. We keep swinging between wet and cold days to really hot and sunny. The garden is plodding along. At first my vegetables were ravaged by flea beetles and now we are dealing with cut worms. They ate my entire crop of mini turnips. We are using some bug warfare to combat those. But everything is still going strong that is above ground. 

Lettuce and Arugula

Carrot Seedlings

Peas

Bok Choy

We have three types of chard growing. This is a variety known as Vulcan chard.

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Early Garden

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to get a community garden plot. I was overjoyed I was able to get it my first year after getting on a waiting list. In this area it is not uncommon to have to wait 2 or 3 years to get a plot. I have a 10 x 20. Though I already know I want to expand as soon as I can. 😉 There was a lot of work to do at first. It was covered in weeds and the soil needed a lot of work. Luckily my man has been a major help with doing the hard work and building me a fence.

One of the very first pea shoots.

This is the garden right after we started work on it. You can see the arugula at the bottom and the onion starts I got from Territorial Seed.

This is the garden at the beginning of April. I have cool weather vegetables, like lettuce, Asian greens, and chard. I also have a spot in the garden for onions and carrots. I have a dedicated spot for carrots that I keep all year round. I hope to get a spring, summer and over winter crop of carrots. Right now I have the types Parisienne, Babette and Purple Dragon.

These are some chard coming up. They are much bigger now. I have three types in the garden but only two are doing really well.

These are cabbages. I started them inside and transplanted them when they were about 4″ high. I’m not sure they will mature in time before I have to make room for summer crops.

Here are my peas once they have grown some. I’m also worried they won’t produce a harvest before summer. I have three varieties of peas; Alaska, Prince Albert and Lincoln. The Prince Albert’s and Alaska are doing the best. I did have some trouble with birds eating the tops of the seedlings. I just used a crop cover to keep them safe for a few weeks.

This last view is a view from the garden plot. In clear weather you can see Mt.Rainier in the distance. It is very peaceful out in the garden. I’ve seen rabbits and coyotes and lots of birds. Hopefully everything grows and I have a bountiful harvest.

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Inkle Weaving

This past weekend I tried my hand at some inkle weaving. I have done card weaving before so I thought I would just give inkle weaving a try. I used DMC Perle 8. It was thread that I just had in my stash. The first band is a pink band with a white chain design.

The second is an experiment with gilt thread. I have a costume project in mind and I wanted to see if I could weave my own gilt trim. I used some embroidery floss and the gilt strands are actually 2 strung together. I like how it turned out and definitely plan on making some gilt trim for myself.

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Spring

Spring is here. So far the year has been a  bit crazy. However I have been working on projects and enjoying the few sunny days we have. So I thought I would share some pictures. First is the cherry tree that bloom right next to our patio.

One of the crazy things this year is finding out my wonderful cat has cancer and not much we can do about it. Luckily he is showing no signs of being sick or unhappy so I am just spoiling him as much as possible.

I put together this lavender sachet using English paper piecing.

Then just some lovely spring foliage. 

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1850s Black Sheer Gown

For the Fort Nisqually Christmas event I decided I wanted to have a new outfit. (No surprise) I had been working on a knit lace collar and decided a wool dress would look great with the white collar. When I saw this fabric online I knew I had to have it. The dress is made with a black sheer wool voile. It has a windowpane weave and  bishop sleeves. The front closes with hook and eyes.

The collar is knit from white cotton thread. It felt like a never ending  process when knitting but was well worth it in the end. It is nice to have a “good” dress for when I volunteer at Fort Nisqually. I have plans to dress it up with a colored silk belt.

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Sweaters

I have really started to enjoy knitting sweaters. It takes a long time but the sense of accomplishment is awesome. Here are two sweaters I’ve made over the last year. The first is almost a year old but I never got around to sharing photos. It is a cardigan with a lace yoke. Very comfortable, I wear it a lot during the colder months.

The second is a sweater I just finished this week. It is made from an alpaca blend, the yarn was wonderful to work with. It is a loose sweatshirt style with a bow at the neck. I haven’t worn it yet as it is still pretty warm here, but it makes me wish for a cold day.

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The Start of Fall

Here in Washington we are still having sunny days but the nights are getting chilly. It is starting to feel like Fall. Even at the produce stand I’m starting to see Fall fruits and squashes. That being said I have feeling I get ever Fall with wanting to make sure everything is in order before Winter. This means cleaning everything and now it also means canning. I’ve been canning all Summer but it feels like now is the rush. Last night I did red and tomatillo salsa, pears and will beans. Tonight I’m doing even more canning.

The produce stand also had big bunches of peppers. I’m hoping to make a ristras or pepper string. It will make the kitchen bright and cheerful in the dreary Winter.

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1890s Shirtwaist

Hey look I finally have photos of a finished project. I have been horrible lately about taking photos of projects once I finish them. Luckily with this project I had people with me to take a photo for me. I participated at Railroad Days in Snoqualmie this weekend. I wanted to have an 1890s dress to match the age of the train depot. Luckily I already had a skirt so I simply needed a top. I decided a simple shirtwaist would do the trick. I used Truly Victorian’s 1894 Blouse. It was great. The blouse came together in about 5 hours, and I had no fitting trouble at all. It will be a definite repeat pattern. I have to admit I have fallen in love with giant puffy sleeves.

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