Monday, March 28, 2016

Spring is Coming to Minnesota

It took me a few missteps, but I am finally able to consistently sprout all my own seedlings.

I have peppers, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and herbs so far. I am trialing several new-to-me varieties of tomato and pepper. This year I'll also be canning up a lot of tomatoes and peppers to last a few years. I like to concentrate on bulk production of a few items for massive canning marathons which makes it easier for me.
Our area has the average last frost at the end of May, so we have a while to go yet. I'll be getting radishes and peas in the main garden soon though. We're hoping for another great garden like last year's. Here are some images from that 2015 garden.








Monday, March 7, 2016

Fiber Arts

Feeding my need to dabble in artsy stuff, I have been exploring the world of fiber arts for the last several years. Here are some of my more recent creations, rag rugs. I am a new weaver and learning fast.
My first little rug attempt. It's a denim rug from old jeans. I learned a lot doing this one.

I like this rug much better. My warp spacing was much improved and I like the warp striping. I made this one from old sheets.

Made on my newly acquired Cranbrook countermarche loom. Much easier to make a rug on this loom. This one was for the family room. We had to rip up the carpet and have cement floors right now. This rug was made from old T-shirts (cotton knit)


And a matching pillow. I like this.


A boot rug for my daughter. There were a couple of mis-threadings in the warp, visible here.

I like this rug. Especially the color. Made from old sheets.

This rug is also from old sheets. Tom picks them up at garage sales for me. I did this one with doubled strips so it is thicker.