Don’t worry, I’m not planting any veggies yet! But this week is going to be bright and cool (rather than cloudy and cold), and I just couldn’t stay out of the dirt.
I unfolded my red wagon, loaded up three tubs of ground up egg shells, put on my grubbiest clothes, and headed off. First, I pulled the protective burlap off and laid it down in the path between my plot and Melanie’s.
The pitchfork from the shed came in handy for opening up the clumps so they can dry out a bit, because it has less of a chance of chopping the sleepy worms in two. I tossed some leftover manure from last fall and the eggshell powder and shifted it around.
It will need more turning as the soil dries, but this first step is important.
I am so pleased to be getting out in the garden, and can’t wait until the spring really arrives so I can put some lettuces, tomatoes and zucchini in the ground.
The Crazy Quilt’s top is almost done! It has been pieced and embroidered and just about ready for the back and batting…..
Or is it? Is there anything else I could add? I don’t much care for lace or ribbon…. But beads could work! I found some on sale a few weeks ago at I’ve Been Framed, watched a few YouTube videos, and decided to give it a try.
Mostly ignoring the advice of the videos, I used three strands of embroidery floss to attach the beads rather than a special thread. The rest of the embroidery is done with it, so it all goes together.
Beading is very fiddly and fussy. The needle is thin, extremely flexible, and sharp AT BOTH ENDS. The beads themselves are always trying to skitter away and escape. But once my fingers got used to it, it got easier.
I made a straight row of beads, which felt very heavy. A row of blanket stitches with a bead on each stitch looked better.
I finally decided to just put a bead in the middle of all the little flowers, a sprinkle, rather than a flood. I like how it looks!
So now I am ready (after five months of work) to put the quilt sandwich together. I’ll tell you about that when it happens.
Spring hasn’t really come to Portland yet, but last week we had a perfect day. Sunny enough to make sharp shadows, warm enough to be out in but cool enough appreciate going inside, and full of things to do.
First, Auntie Bridgett and I headed north to Bolt Fabrics to get some backing fabric for the Crazy Quilt. We were early, we stopped in at New Seasons for some bee pollen and horseradish. We walked around Alberta Street, looking in windows and seeing what was going on.
We saw some happy folks painting new trim on a store that will open soon called “Golden Pliers Bicycle Repair.” I love to see new businesses opening up!
The murals of Alberta are always beautiful, but the sunshine really makes them smile.
When Bolt opened, we hunted around for the right color to back the super-busy super-colorful crazy quilt. Our friend Cynthia joined us and added her ideas. Black? Too strong. Bronze? Not enough. How about this purple?
Perfect! It will get washed and ready for the quilt very soon.
We headed to The Great North for a snack, but they had nary a chair available. Cynthia suggested “Just Bob”, down the street. It was stunningly friendly, funky, and comfortable.
A delightfully retro mix of chairs and sofas had room for us, with chai and coffee and even a light lunch for me. We chatted and ogled all the decor.
“Bob” seems to be a unicorn, and his likeness was everywhere. Small statues and figurines filled every shelf, and Bob the unicorn had been added to several old landscape paintings.
After our snack and seeing Cynthia home, the day just kept being busy.
I met MJ at the Blair Community Garden to do some early spring weeding. The Lesser Celestines are invading the parkway outside the garden gate, and need to come out with all their roots, so they will stay gone.
An hour and a half later, I was done, done, done. Home for a rest and a chat with Grandpa Nelson, who had been out walking in all the pretty weather and was home to crash, as well.
And after a nice dinner at Ankeny Tap and Table, we watched a very silly Alfred Hitchcock movie and fell happily asleep.
I’m glad I had this perfect sunny day…. Next week we get more winter!
Once all the heart ‘insides’ had dried and gotten solid, it was time to cover them. Ruthie suggested card stock, but I was worried that it would be too stiff to go around the curves.
I tried regular paper. I cut a strip an inch wider than the heart, and drew a line a half inch in from each edge, so I could clip the paper, like you do fabric, to make flanges on the curves. I spread some Mod Podge around the edges of the heart and went to work.
It was a bit fiddly to hold the paper to the glue for just long enough to adhere but not so long as to stick to ME, but it all worked out.
And where the strip of paper came up a bit short, it was easy to patch.
I got so carried away that I did three of them in a row!
I will show you the last steps once I have done them. I’m figuring this out as I go along.
My artist friend Ruthie Inman had a fun idea at our last Zoom class. She showed us some three dimensional artworks she found in the Internet, and told US to show HER how to make something like it.
I loved this structure that looks to be about 6 feet tall and made from metal, shown in a museum. I have searched the internet and cannot figure out who created it or where it is on display.
Bridgett and I talked about it, and came up with one way to reproduce it in miniature, out of common materials.
Tea boxes and scissors, paper strips, three different sizes of heart shaped cookie cutters, Elmer’s glue, and a pencil were my supplies.
Step one: Each heart in your structure will need two hearts of the same size. Trace the cookie cutters onto the tea box cardboard and cut out.
Step two: Cut strips in half inch, three quarter inch, and one inch widths. They should be about 4 inches long. Roll the strips around a pencil and glue the outside end down so it stays rolled up. You will use the longest pillars for the largest hearts.
Step 3: Lay a heart down and make small puddles of glue at close intervals. Stand each paper pillar in the puddle.
Step 4: Put glue around the edges of the top heart, rest carefully on the pillars to line up with the bottom heart, and let dry. A small weight might help them stick.
Leave the insides to dry until you figure out what comes next. Stay tuned.
Once all the blocks were sewn, the Crazy Quilt came together pretty quickly.
I moved some furniture so I had room to spread all 140 blocks out and make sure they looked good…. A nice balance of darks and lights over the whole area of the quilt. I look like Gulliver standing over the landscape!
I labeled each block as part of a grid (A1, A2, etc.) so my careful arrangement would not get mixed up.
Then, there was the very careful sewing of the rows together…about 150 seams, 6 inches long. It took about 4 hours, including some time for peeling the vegetables for dinner. Then ten long seams, and all was well.
I used random leftover fabrics for the backing of each square, which will never be seen when the quilt is finished.
I’ve told you about all the big trees that have come down in Laurelhurst Park. The ice storm we had last month really took its toll.
But help is on the way! The urban arborists of the city of Portland have been busy this last week, planting more than a dozen new trees all over the park.
These three Katsuras are in a line just inside the Pine Street entrance, and will hold the hill in place and make a wonderful corridor as they mature.
They make a line right up to Ken, our favorite young oak tree.
This new Douglas Fir is planted on the Caesar Chavez side of the park, by what we call the “Wallosaurus”. This is a fine replacement for one of the giants we lost.
This little leaf linden has been planted in line with some older lindens on the Ankeny side. We haven’t named the new trees yet, because they need to develop their own personalities first. It will be fun to see them grow over the coming years!
I can’t believe that I have actually gotten 140 crazy quilt blocks pieced and embroidered! I finished the last one today while waiting for Cynthia to come visit.
The next step is trimming all 140 blocks so they are EXACTLY the same size so they piece together nicely. In this case, a 6 and a half inch square. Bridgett’s hand-cut template makes this easy to get right.
The procedure is simple enough. Place the template, hold it down, and firmly roll the rotary disc along the edges. That rascal is wicked sharp, so I am being very careful.
And I am making good progress. This afternoon I got 40 blocks cut before my wrist let me know it was time to take a break. I made myself stop. But tomorrow is another day!
This last Thursday was February 29, also known as Leap Day. And of course, McMenamin’s was celebrating.
It was cold and almost rainy, practically trying to snow, and we had grocery shopping to do. But we stopped at The Barley Mill for lunch first. This is the location of the original McMenamin’s, and isn’t far from us. It is also one of my favorites.
The food is standard McMenamin’s; burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads, always tasty and well-made. We decided to pass on the special beers and cocktails they were offering, and just had some tea.
The decor of the Barley Mill is amazing.
Dedicated to Jerry Garcia and all things Grateful Dead, this cafe is delightfully chaotic. I see something new every time I come in.
Our waiter, a fellow named Nick, was friendly and fun. He gave Auntie Bridgett the Leap Day stamp in her McMenamin’s Passport.
We ate and chatted and then played PINBALL! This winter has been so awful we haven’t been out to play, and I’ve really missed it. The SHREK game has three flippers and even a tiny inset game in the top corner, as well as lines and music from the movie. The adrenaline rush was fabulous!
When we had done all the fun, we met Grandpa Nelson at Fred Meyer and did the shopping, picking up a nice fat chicken to make into soup to get through the rest of this nasty winter.
I don’t know if you remember Manuel. He is an avocado plant we started from a seed in a jar way back in 2021. I didn’t take pictures of him when he was little. To be sadly honest, several previous avocado starts had died, and I didn’t want to get attached.
Here he is in November of 2022, not more than a healthy, skinny stick.
And with careful tending, he has continued to grow. Here he is now, 30 inches tall and loaded with leaves. As you can see, he’s inside. Still too chilly!
We put him on the balcony every late spring through early fall, and bring him into the sunny bathroom for winter. The irony is, since our balcony faces north, he only gets direct sun on bright days of the winter.
I imagine he must be a little confused.
Still, I am happy we have him with us. I doubt we will ever see an avocado on him, but then, he has surprised me before.
Dear Liza 