What I've been Doing

I have been working hard sewing. As a novice quilter I bravely took this project on for All Stitched Up. A customer had the women at her daughters baby shower design these letters and my job was to put them together into a quilt. I think it's a wonderful gift for Mom and baby. The grandmother picked out the fabric and I did the sewing. It was good fun. I have really been getting back into sewing. Next is figuring out how to put the quilt together and quilt or tie.

I have to tell you this is the coolest house plant I've had in ages. I bought this at my local farm shop. It cost a little more that a head of lettuce and we've had fun putting the leaves in our sandwiches. What could be better than a kitchen plant that you can use.

Block two of the Saturday Sampler. My friend and I did our squares together this time and it was a fun afternoon. I have become friends with a seam ripper thanks to all your encouragement. We saw the small quilt of all these squares and it's beautiful. I'll take a picture to show you.

I'm skipping the bathroom pictures. I don't know what crazy lady thought now would be a good time to do this. Between my jobs and holiday life I've been going slowly on this. So far my husband is finished spackling old cracks and I'm washing the wallpaper paste off the walls. Hopefully when I actually get to paint it will finish up quickly.

Random Things

I finished this baby blanket this weekend. My part was to sew the strips together and put a border on. I like this edge because it ties the squares all together. And because I like to crochet.

This orchid has been so neglected. It's had bugs, been thirsty, been ignored and has not been re potted in ages. And it has done so beautifully. It was my first orchid and in an attempt to be a great orchid grower I maimed it, over watered it etc... and it never produced a bloom. So I ignored it and it has rewarded me handsomely. It has seven blooms and a few more on the way.

Horoscope

My horoscope this morning said: "Do a little reorganizing, and you'll be amazed at how easily you'll be able to put together something that you've always had difficulty doing".

I usually forget my horoscope in 5 minutes and I did this am. I took the girls to the groomer and when I came home I took my hanging baskets to the barn. I got in my little plant area and started looking around. I threw a few things in the trash. Piled up some pots to make room on the floor. Found a hammer and nails and hung up a few things. Before I knew it there was room on the table and I decided to re pot my plants out there. Usually I make a mess in the kitchen. Twenty minutes later my plants were looking great. I walked back into the house with the plants and the kitchen was clean. I realized my horoscope was 100% right today. It was so much fun I have a few more ideas when the weather gets a bit cooler.

A Perfect Home

I finally found a great home for my "Christmas Cactus". It needed to be off the counter so it could drape just right. It's a funny plant it blooms for all kinds of holidays and it needs such little care. I enjoyed scouring some new nurseries while I was in DC. So much to see I could hardly decide what to buy. This turned out just perfect. I think my ambitious cactus will really enjoy it's new home.

Olives

Between housebreaking the puppies and the depressing rainy weather I missed the good things going on right under my nose. Someone suggested that olive trees needed to dry out between waterings so this one has thrived with my neglect. I have four olives. Three in this picture and one on another branch. I never really expected to have an olive I just liked the plant. I'm pretty excited.

Philadelphia Flower Show

I went to The Philadelphia Flower Show with friends yesterday. The smell of spring was in the air. It always amazes me how they put this together. The truck loads of dirt, trees, water and flowers that go into this is a staggering thought. Everything was beautiful and very inspiring. This always gets me thinking about spring cleaning, flowers for outside and new plants for inside. We had lots of great laughs and fun shopping.

Christmas ? Cactus

This is my just after Halloween, almost made it to Thanksgiving, Christmas Cactus. Hillary would correct this statement because it is her Christmas Cactus. She rescued this sad tiny Christmas Cactus at a plant sale back in second grade (more than 15 years ago) and knew that someday it would be a great plant. Indeed she was right ! I need to keep my wits about me and in the fall take it away from the window for a few weeks to stall the blooming. In 2009 maybe it will be a Christmas Cactus again. In the meanwhile it's great to enjoy whatever holiday it blooms for.

More Labels

I'm finding it hard to come up with topics. I've been crocheting the afghan I showed you a few posts ago. It's no where near finished and I know you don't need another picture of it just yet. But....this week I went to a class on standards and now I've got more to talk about. This weekend I can photo the standard I made there and some of the plants I'll be pruning here. This is a picture of a succulent wreath that a good friend of mine made for me at another workshop. Plants can now be another label on my blog. Stay tuned!

Succulents

Another example of ignorance is bliss. All winter I watered, fed, and sprayed these succulents. This summer on their way to the compost pile I decided to give them one more chance. Things got busy and I ignored them. They are now twice as big and haven't bolted. I guess they are keepers. This winter when they are inside I will continue to ignore them !

My First Orchid

I like to have some plants around the house and I like to explore new kinds of plants in my collection. This orchid has had a very tough life and look it survived and flowered. It was my first orchid and I decided to be brave and transplant it and somewhere I read it needed to have the old half cut off. So I cut and threw some orchid away and saved some and planted it. ( I had no idea what I was doing) Then some squirrels nibbled on it one summer and my dog or the squirrels knocked it over a few times. In the meantime I fed and watered it. This summer I left it inside and look at the beautiful present it gave me. I think I'll be leaving it alone except for a little food and water. It seems very happy.