We're heading out of town for an overnight trip to see grandma and grandpa but I didn't want to leave you in suspense on the asparagus. Weird, eh?
Honestly, if they weren't labeled, I would have had no idea which was asparagus and which rhubarb. This is the rhubarb crown (still in it's package--it looks like a turd or a worm)
Happy Mother's Day!
This is my new fig tree. What? You couldn't tell? For some reason I thought for $14.95 my fig tree would arrive larger than a broken in half pencil. I thought it would also be alive (or closer to alive). Before I diss my source on the internets I'm going to try to revive my tree and, if he doesn't revive, I'll test their customer service. Then I'll report back.
Remind me tomorrow to show you what asparagus crowns via mail look like. You'll be shocked and amazed!
Despite these mailorder setbacks, Garden 2008 is off to a promising start.
Before:
After:
The talented and generous Missy Ballance of Mohair Circus gave me a basket full of "cutter quilt" scraps (several months ago). Even though they were already cut, I had the HARDEST time cutting them again and spent ages trying to decide on the "perfect" project. (these quilt scraps are HAND pieces and HAND quilted with the most meticulous little stitches you can imagine) 
Last weekend I took the plunge and cut into several of the smallest and most worn out pieces to make over a cheap-o lamp that has been sitting, unplugged in our bedroom for MONTHS while I used an ugly, plastic clip lamp for bedtime reading.
I must say, I am pleased with the results, rustic, unfinished edges and all. Biscuit immediately declared it "pretty" so we'll call it a success.
On the off chance you have an ugly lampshade and a cutter quilt (or other fabric) here's a quick'n'dirty tutorial (if you can even call it that). Let's call it "a few tips to make your own."
Make a pattern piece out of fabric by using a pen to trace the ridges of one section of the lampshade. You can pin through the lampshade to hold things in place.
Cut out your pattern and use it to cut out the relevant number of pieces of quilt--add about a quarter inch when you cut out the pieces, it's easier to trim than to make your fabric larger later! I also found that the sections of el cheapo lampshade were not entirely even.
Also note, my lamp is six-sided (I think this technique might be hard with a square shade but very easy with a circle if you have enough fabric).
Almost time to start sewing! Pin your quilt piece in place lining up one side along the center ridge of the boning that attaches the adjoining lamp panels. Like this: (see how the edge of the quilt falls in the center of the boning?)
Ok, now that one edge is trimmed and the piece is pinned in place, start sewing. I used hand quilting thread (a little thicker than all purpose but, whatever). Tie a knot in your thread and start inside the shade. Stitch as close to the edge of the boning as possible. You want to take long (almost 1 inch) stitches on the inside and very, very short stitches on the outside. Here's a view of the inside of the stitched shade. See the long stitches?:
Once I had one side of the first piece in place I stitched the two adjoining pieces at the same time making sure they were butting right up against one another and trimming as needed for fit.
Be sure the stitch the top and bottom edges as well and, that's it! If you were feeling all fancy like, you could stitch on some bias tape or hem tape to cover the raw edges but I thought the raw edges were part of the charm (and I'm lazy).
Here's to warm lampshades! Oh, one last note, the thick, quilt fabric does block most of the light from going through the shade so this is not a great option if you want the lamp to illuminate a whole room. In my case I wanted the light mostly going downward (so Mr. H can sleep while I read) so this was a perfect solution.
Hooray for cutter quilts and instant gratification projects!
Mr. H and Biscuit whipped up these two birdhouses in about an hour after I lamented that that Mrs. Robin had abandoned her task after her nest materials blew out of the crook of the tree one too many times. The "nest platform" on the left is for the robin. See? Hopefully she's a literate robin.
Biscuit decorated the roof with chalk after we decided the paint job she did on the nuthatch home didn't exactly enhance the rustic beauty of the birdhouse.
With help from daddy, Biscuit glued and nailed the birdhouse pieces together
It took her a minute to warm up but she got really into the hammering. (BTW, do you like how this post is going in reverse chronological order?)
A few days ago, having had the idea of building a birdhouse in my head for a while but not yet having seen the plight of the robin, I was flipping through a book I bought to cut up for a project (appears I should be trying to sell it online--I have volume N through O--home of "nature projects") where I happened upon a page of detailed info on bird house construction and the appropriate house size, hole size, hole height and house height for various species. Then, today, I found this site (via google) that lists common backyard birds in my county so we settled on nuthatch and robin. The two species that are common in my county year around that were also listed in the book.
Having a woodworker for a husband is very handy at times like these. He cut the pieces (beveled and everything) out of redwood scrap from our garden planter boxes. I was thinking this would be a fun thing to sell online as a kit--you could order for whatever bird (that is in the Audobon book). I'll have to think on that one...
Anyway, hope your weekend was spectacular! I had such a busy time I'll have posts all week.
Biscuit has been absolutely hilarious lately. Really, really charming. And SO opinionated. I pretty much go with the flow when it comes to wardrobe and other non-essential, non-health and safety issues. And at bedtime I throw up my hands.
You need MORE animals? Sure. AND a ballet skirt? Okay. You want to WEAR your monkey backpack to bed? Whatever.
Which is exactly why I found her sound asleep like this last night. I covered her up and went to bed. In the morning she woke me up with an armload of animals and brought the menagerie to my bed.
So, separate topic. Remind me to blog about how CUTE she is about the garden we planted. The row of beans she planted is a row of 'babies' and she is very, adorably concerned about their growth and well being.
And this little guy is growing well (the zucchini, not the spider). He gets daily visits.
The tea set is coming along. Somehow I ended up with nine mugs and, then, randomly ended up with nine plate circles. But then I turned one plate into a bowl so I guess it's service for eight with one extra mug for breakage. These plates look like nothing more than first grade, clay project ashtrays (remember when it was okay for a kid to make a clay ashtray at school?) but I still like them.
I stamped a few of the plates with cool wood stamps I bought in India. I'm curious how the stamped images will look glazed.
And here's a question for you. I think tea sets need saucers but this set has mugs rather than tea cups. Should I make saucers? What about bowls? I do still plan to make a tea pot and maybe some sort of small platter...
And here's an answer for you. Someone asked how big the mugs are--they're approximately the size of a shot glass. The plates are about 5 inches in diameter.
And for those of you who might of noticed, I TOTALLY fell off the wagon on my kitchen gadget posting theme in April but check out these cookie racks. They are excellent--I hope the clay washes off okay.
My gosh this week seems to be lasting forever....here's to Friday coming soon!
I just finished watching the movie Gone Baby Gone. Don't watch it. Too depressing. It's put a damper on the last few hours of an otherwise fantastic weekend.
So, how about some happy thoughts? I took lots of food photos over the last few days and when I looked back, I noticed we ate a lot of colors.
Sushi (well, Melissa's version of sushi, very bland, very veggie, very colorful)
Black beans (not all that colorful except that they turned the wooden spoon purple). Inspired, of course, by Angry Chicken, I made my own black beans: most of a bag of dried beans, one chopped onion, a few smashed garlic cloves and about 8 cups of water. On high in the crockpot for 5 hours and the burritos were delish.
Picnic with cherries and Rhubarb Applesauce. I think this may be my best applesauce adventure yet. One bag of apple "seconds," one small bunch of rhubarb, a few tablespooons sugar, many hours over low heat.
White (orange?) carrot cake cupcakes--Biscuit liked frosting (and eating frosting)
And, finally, very green soup. Recipe from Orangette. Mr. H liked it (surprisingly--he's not a garlic fan)
Thanks for all the nice comments on the correspondence birthday gift yesterday :) Really, comments totally make my day, even when I get behind and don't respond personally to each one. Sorry, I am dumb.
Happy Monday!
Today was my niece's 6th birthday party. 
I had wanted to give her a mailbox, mail carrier's bag and the relevant equipment but the proper mailbox eluded me. This tackle box was perfect (and less than $5 at Walmart). I filled it with label stickers, pretty stickers and princess pens from the dollar store along with envelopes and her very own stationery.
Making the stationery was super fun and only took a few minutes. I also enclosed a stash of 1 and 2 cent stamps, some pre-postaged postcards and a princess address book. You know, for until she starts keeping up with her friends via Facebook.
At the last minute I threw in some rubber stamps and an ink pad (second hand) and a roll of tape. Tape is a critically important office supply. I also put her name on the mailbox (crookedly).
I'll admit, this gift didn't seem to compete with Barbie Mariposa nor the High School Musical Barbie Golf Cart but I'm hoping she'll have fun practicing her writing and "doing mail."
Next up: stationery for ME.
Ok, I admit it, the "natural light elitist" bloggers sometimes drive me crazy. You know the ones. With their perfectly staged images who never use the flash and wait weeks to show off a project because "it's just been so gray and the light is so terrible" etc. etc. Sorry, if you're reading this and you're one of those folks. Trust me, I still love your blog, I'm probably just jealous that you apparently have daylight hours available for photography.
ANYWAY this was not really meant to be a rant on photography, more of a comment that maybe those folks are on to something.
Exhibit 1:
Granted, neither is a masterpiece of photography but the non-flash image (left) is a lot more true-to-life colorwise and has more depth.
Exhibit 2:
I actually kind of like how the flash (right) blacks out the distracting background but the left image is much more realistic as to the state of my coffee table.
Yeah, yeah so maybe they are on to something. If my overhead lights count as natural light :) Maybe next I'll figure out how to stage photos so you can't see the mess in my kitchen or toys in my living room.
My nine mini coffee mugs are almost dry enough for bisque firing. The tea (coffee) set is coming along.
Last Friday Biscuit was in a fashion show. It was sponsored by the food science department and the fashion had to be made out of "food or food packaging." I had big plans involving corn husks but it was a giant relief when I found two vintage flour sacks at an antique store the weekend before the show. I immediately knew exactly how I wanted the dress to look. And, amazingly, it worked out.
Even though Biscuit couldn't stop talking about the upcoming fashion show being the center of attention is not something she enjoys (see: hysterical crying over happy birthday singing at her party). I knew I would have to walk the runway with her so I threw together a coordinating skirt.
I was very proud that she
walked the runway by herself all the way to the twirl. At which point she realized, hey, there's an audience, and demanded to be carried the rest of the runway.
You can see we were surrounded by greatness.The "orange bag" dress to our right won first and "miss sushi" to our left won second. That sushi dress was AMAZING in it's detail. That parasol is made on a frame chopsticks with rice bags as paper. The green fringe on her dress is folded twist ties. Even the shoes are handmade. Biscuit received an honorable mention, mostly for being cute.
Bad photo of Biscuit but let's examine the details (this project took up all my crafting time last week so we need to focus!). The bag, from a vintage sugar bag (same antique store), cotton batting and red lining fabric from Ikea. Filled with two mini baguettes we made for the occasion. The necklace(s) are strung bread pieces, Biscuit 'designed' the pendant and cut out the little leaf shapes. She also rolled the "snakes" we baked into bracelets. She ate a bracelet before the show and snacked on the necklace post-show.
See? Necklace, partially eaten. You can also sort of see the cool logo from the flour sack.
Here's the back of the dress.
It was so fun to have a project that I was 'pushed' to do (because I signed up for the show ages ago and couldn't let my friends down) that then came out exactly as I wanted. And now Biscuit has another summer dress to wear--just as soon as the weather warms up again.
