Nature Studies, Backyard, Gardening, Vacations

Beginning tomorrow I will be "off" for the next 2 weeks. Tim is on vacation and we are excited about spending the next couple of weeks AT HOME. Now, this may not be exotic, but we are so looking forward to it. We are locking up the cell phones (mostly) and using the net for pleasure, not work (mostly). We plan to do some relaxing in the gardens, see a couple of movies, and track down a couple of new organic farms in the area. We will both be in the gardens, but Tim plans to devote most of his time to working on our kitchen renovating. We are about a year and a half into the project, and oh, I'd say about 1/3 of the way done. He assures me, given this time at home, he plans to get another 1/3 done. Very exciting stuff!

As for me... I have been gnawing at the bit to get my sewing room and adjacent attic closet under control. If all goes well I plan to share my work space with our readers after the break. Although I will not be blogging at Wee Folk Art, I will be active on Wee Folk Garden. Since that blog is primarily meant to be a record keeping device for our garden, I'm hoping I'll have lots to blog about. So, if you're into that kind of thing, and find yourself missing me, hehe, stop on by!

Michelle will be at the helm here. We have the Sew, Mama, Sew May Giveaway coming up on the 27th that she'll be running, and she tells me she is using this time to give Wee Folk Art a bit of a face lift. I also think she has a couple other things to share. And although I won't be blogging, we will both be checking emails and comments for questions. So, I hope everyone has a lovely holiday weekend (for our State friends) and I look forward to returning refreshed and rejuvenated in a couple of weeks. Stay safe all, and I'll see everyone back here soon!

Thanks to Christy's suggestion over at Sweet Tidings, I turned my outdoor Wall Flower into a cute Posy Applique Block. I know I'm always saying that "this was designed for a 6" x 6" block but the pattern can be reduced or enlarged to meet your needs". This is living proof, that even the smallest design can be scaled up, or visa versa. The Posy on the front of our house is over 6' tall and the same design has been scaled down to a measly 6"! Also, for those of you concerned about your stitching... the blanket stitch and straight stitches on this flower are meant to be irregular... just like a real flower... so throw caution to the wind and enjoy some totally carefree stitching! You can find the pattern here or over in our FREE Applique Patterns. Enjoy!

1] 6 inches
2] 6 feet

Using the same directions as the Patchwork Pot, Bug, Fairy and Pixie were busy making flower pots for their mommy for Mother's Day. They needed assistance putting the trim on, and I did put the 2nd and 3rd coat of Mod Podge on for them, but they picked out the fabrics, painted the rims and glued on their pieces. I think they turned out lovely! Tomorrow we are going to the nursery and buying flowers for the pots. Won't Mommy be surprised Sunday morning?!!

There's this "thing" out there. Before you have a child, you should have a dog for a couple of years. If you can take care of it and manage not to do anything irreversibly stupid, chances are you're ready for a kid. Some logic here, I suppose! Well, I didn't do dogs, I did plants, but same premise... sort of. But when I was in college, my plants were my babies. It started innocently enough. I moved into my first dorm room with a James Taylor album in one hand and a little pilea cadierei, better known as an aluminum plant, in the other. As the year went on, I kept picking up new plants. Back then I could literally spend hours picking out a single plant. God love him for putting up with me, but that's how my boyfriend and I often spent Saturday evenings! And I bought tiny plants, that was all the I could afford. But with excessive care and nurturing, they grew and flourished, and by the time I graduated I had over 40 plants that I schlepped around with me. Kids would be a breeze!

Not only did I meet my plants' nutritional needs, making home brewed concoctions for them, I also believed in nurturing their souls. I stroked them and played music for them. I monitored their sun intake, rotating them throughout the day. I made sure I didn't show favoritism. I also dressed them. I made macrame hangers and an assortment of pots. One of my favorite pots was a patchwork pot similar to the one above. Although not fashionable amongst my friends, I was already a crafter. I was making afghans and quilts in college. I always had a scrap box and one day I got this scathingly brilliant idea to make a patchwork pot out of the fabric orts I had been squirreling away.

I did a few things wrong with the first few patchwork pots I made. First, I didn't seal the terracotta pots, and after watering the plants a few times, the water began to seep through the pot discoloring the fabric and finally causing it to separate from the pot. Then, I wrapped the cloth over the top rim and a couple of inches into the pot. Another mistake since the fabric was touching the dirt and always damp, and the moisture leeched up the fabric, discoloring it. Finally, I had allowed the pot to sit on a dish, thus keeping the fabric on the bottom of the plant always damp. I started growing mold... not the look I was going after!

But after some tweaks and modifications, I got to a design that was beautiful and mostly functional! They are easy and lots of fun the make, and with a little help, even young children can make them. Bug, Fairy and Pixie will be making them for a Mother's Day gift. Watch for their pots sometime in the next few days. In the mean time, if you'd like to make your own Patchwork Pot, check out the directions in the Free Open Pattern section or here. Enjoy!