Rebekah's Thoughts

Stitchery

So one of my sis-in-law's had a birthday. Sweet Sixteen - talk about a big one!

I made her a nice wallet and then embroidered a button. She's interested in making her own buttons, and since I don't have a button maker I used a covered button kit. It's the largest size they sell.



I tried to get outside my "matchy" box when it came to colors, and I succeeded I think. I do have a problem with the orange flower though - it doesn't blend like I had in mind. If you do this I recommend starting your threads with a tail instead of a knot. I think they made it hard to assemble the button part.



So that's that. I don't have pics of the wallet, but I used this tutorial from  Craftster.
I've been making a lot of these lately. They're fun and easy.
I make them without a fastening for guys, and with a loop and button for girls.

"Precious Moments"

Bounty

A feast for the eyes and mouth. I brought this in and the setting sun
caught the colors through the kitchen window.



I'm so happy to have vine ripe organic tomatoes fresh from the garden.



Pictures like this inspire me to paint. Hah. (I chuckle because life is crazy right now with a one year old and I don't see painting as an option until I retire, if and when. )

Diaper Bag - Purse

So I have some really beautiful fabric that I want to make a bag with. I think larger bags are in, but I don't want it huge. Now that Little Man is older I don't feel like I need as much - so I need room for a couple of diapers and change of clothes. I designed a bag and donated it to an auction for La Leche,
so these are the pictures of the prototype. I think it turned out well, but I will make it a little
smaller next time and maybe interface the inside as well to give it a little more shape.



The inside had 10 pockets and compartments, including a zippered one. Thanks to Craftster for the tut.



I took this pic before I found the perfect button.



Detail of embroidery on front. I used stem stitch and back stitch in two different colors to
complement the orangeish-red lining color. I was sad to part with this, but it has a great new home and
 I know where it loves. I shall have to visit on occasion. =-)

How much would you pay for a bag like this? It's very large - probably 20 inches long at least with a 6 inch gore. Big enough for an overnight bag. I've thought about starting a shop on Etsy or something,
 but there's so much competition. I don't know if local sales would be very profitable here.
*sigh* If wishes were horses...

Felted Sweater Booties

(still back posting) So here are some booties I made for a friend on the birth of their first daughter a few months back. I've had two felted sweaters for over a year and finally ventured to cut into one.
I really love the heather purple color, and I must say the felt was wonderful to
work with - so much nicer than the sheet stuff. I will be on the hunt for more.


They adored them and I hope it will be a fun heirloom thing for baby Laura.
With three older brothers she is going to be so spoiled!

Nothing Like 'Em

I thought I had tasted carrots.

Growing up my grandmother had some connection where she could go and get the culls from a carrot plant nearby. She would show up on the appointed day, her truck filled to the brim with box upon box of carrots. We called it a Carrot Plague. It came more often than we liked.

We ate them, juiced them, and put tons in the freezer. We fed them to the goats, rabbits and chickens until we were all sick of orange. The animals had orange mouths,
I had orange hands and was heartily tired of running the food processor.
 
But none of them ever tasted like fresh homegrown, straight from
the dirt and quickly scrubbed, organic to boot.

They are so....so, carroty!  And so orangey. I love them.






I think these are Danvers Half Longs, supposedly good for soil with more clay.
 I must say they did rather well, thought these were the biggest I pulled.
Nematodes had set in on the last ones I dug, but they still tasted yummy.

Into. Everything.

His morning occupation revolved around removing as many things from the (very disorganized)
 container cupboard as possible.



His afternoon ramblings included a sojourn into the bathroom,
where he had a lot of fun as well, as you can see.



So now we're vigilantly keeping bathroom doors closed. There are too many things to find,
the toilet brush being one of them. (My nightmares of Little Man include grotesque things like that, and chicken poo also factors in largely.)  Aghhh!

Shades of Green

Here are some greens I harvested earlier this year. Broccoli, the best I've ever eaten, beets, kale, swiss chard, turnip and broccoli greens. Yes, you read that last right. They looked so much like collards we decided to try them, with a thumbs up after cooking. I hated to waste all that greenery, and next year I will take even more advantage of them. Swiss chard is still my favorite though, and a fun way to fix them is this recipe from Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.   It's called Eggs In A Nest - first recipe listed.  I usually prepare this without the tomatoes and might throw in some crumbled sausage or something.   http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/Recipes.html




"Grammy" also came to visit and helped out with Little Man and the garden.
 He tried to help thin the carrots.

Garden Day

I haven't been around in a while, but I'm getting the urge to blog again. Therefore I might be doing a lot of back posting, if ya don't mind. Plus I need to check up on old friends and get back in the loop again, if a certain someone pictured below will let me. *grin*

We're finally getting things planted in the garden to get a start on the year. Not knowing what else to do with Little Man, we brought him out with us to enjoy the fresh air. And dirt.

I think he really enjoyed himself.







I think he looks so cute in his baseball cap.  He really likes the chickens, but they quickly lose interest when they realize there's no food and his fingers aren't nice treats to eat.

Tickled

Ok...I don't have pics because of various reasons....the main one being that our computer is bogged down and I can't download any at the moment. Argh.

Anyway, I'm tickled because I was able to adapt a pair of shorts from Salvation Army to fit my expanding preggo-belly! I can't stand anything on my tummy right now, as "small" as I am. So underbelly has been my fit of choice lately. And these shorts were just perfect, with enough stretch to fasten after adjusting.

I started by ripping them almost to the sideseams and then trying them on, pinning the waistband where I wanted it to fit. I just trimmed away the extra fabric, and sewed the waistband back on...made easier with my upholstery sewing machine. I think I could've used my normal machine, but I wanted stronger thread.

Anyway, it didn't take too long and now I have a pair of shorts that fit...for $1.19! After browsing the web and looking at the cost of maternity clothes, that has left me searching for alternatives.

I'll try to take pics to post later...I have another pair I'm going to alter the same way in a different wash, and a pair of pants too. The latter will have to have a hook closure or something to give me a bit more room...heh. So far so good though! I am just tickled pink...lol.

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