Raggedy Quilts for Cooler Weather

So last year I made my first raggedy quilt on the sewing machine. It was flannel and I loved it! So when I saw the French Flower quilt made in with the same method, I knew I just had to make one.

This quilt is gorgeous! I didn't make it full size or big enough to cover a bed but as a throw it still works. I like the laptop size when I quilt on the machine. I don't have a longarm machine so it's really tough for a whole quilt to go through my machine, even when it's rolled up. But with this method you can make a quilt as big as you want working row by row as you go.

You just cut out four different sizes of squares and then round them out for flower petals. I cut them 3, 4, 5 and 6 inches for the flowers. Then I cut the edges to look like five big loose petals.

I cut out a rough leaf shape and made two for each flower. I started in the center and just kept turning and sewing round each layer of petals. 

I didn't pick up my thread or backstitch until I was done with the whole block. All layers together.

I used a flat sheet to make 11" x 11" squares, enough for the front and back. You can make it as big as you want just by making more squares. Mine is offset and I used half squares of 5.5" x 11" for those four. I made three rows of five blocks and two rows of four blocks with a half block on each end of the row. I used half inch seams. My finished quilt is about 50" x 50" and I cut all my batting to 10" x 10". I didn't catch the batting in the block seams when I put the blocks together but it's O.K. if it does catch some batting in the seam as it helps to hold it down in the corners.

Than I just sewed the edges into rows back sides together so the raveled edges would be on the front of the quilt. Then I sewed a normal binding on around the quilt and just cut the edge with scissors so it would be raggedy too.

When I was done I washed it on gentle cycle and picked the strings off before throwing it in the dryer on the lightest heat setting.

It came out looking beautiful and yes you will be picking off strings from everything for a while. It took me one day to cut the pieces out including the batting. And two days to run it up on the sewing machine for a total of three days from start to finish! It's quick, it's pretty and it's warm so I'll probably make another one later. Wouldn't these make nice Christmas gifts?

Fairy Doll Frenzy

I haven't been posting but I have been busy... real busy. Too busy to post until now. I got into these dolls because I was fascinated with their eyes and making them.

But it took much longer to make the dolls themselves, their clothing and to put them together. 

I guess it took me three to five days to get one done from start to finish. There are a lot of details on these dolls.

The prairie point skirts were very detailed and time consuming but the look was worth it. They have so much texture and add a layer of depth to the dolls that any other skirt just wouldn't be able to achieve.

I loved making the shoes and each one was a little different than the last so they held my attention from start to finish.

I also got to use my special fibers for their hair. I have a whole container full of zany fibers but projects where I get to use them don't come along very often.

These quirky dolls took up most of a whole month but if that wasn't busy enough, I decided to paint my entry and living/dining room walls. I do love to paint. My house needed a deep cleaning anyways so I cleaned, organized and painted at the same time. It took me over a week to get it all done.

I'm not much for Spring cleaning but I often do my cleaning before the Holidays in the Fall.

So now I'm on to the next project. I suffered through a creative block for several weeks after these dolls were done, but now I'm back into it. I've decided to sew a little more with a new project and then the Anna Griffin Create 10 will be here in the middle of November and that will keep me busy up until the end of the year and beyond.

I wanted to at least get something posted for this month since I've been so busy. I'm pretty much all caught up now!

And Then There Were Geraniums

I've always loved geraniums but I never could grow them as big and beautiful as I wanted. I could keep them alive through the winter but the seed geraniums I bought at the garden center every year just didn't thrive like the pretty ones I've seen in magazines.

It took me all this time to figure out what makes them happy. I always put them in full sun like the tags and all the books say. But every year they would get scorched and just most of them dried up and withered up and died every year.

But I made a real effort to study them this year. I got some seeds and decided to grow my own. Nobody can afford these prices. They are crazy prices for young seedlings and plants at all the stores. I'm not going to pay 3.50 for one seed geranium or $5 for one in a five inch pot. It's time for some DIY!.

my helper Olivia

I got 30 seeds of different colored geraniums online from Etsy and every one of them germinated. I grew 30 geraniums in my sun windows last winter and they all were healthy and outgrew their little seedling pots. So I put them into four inch pots this spring and kept them going until it was time to set them out.

They didn't bloom until I planted them outside. I only put three of them in the side yard, seven of them in the back planters and the rest I planted on my front porch. They get morning sun and a little bit of sun in the day that makes it's way through the trees.

And to my surprise, they all lived and bloomed. A few of them are going crazy with massive blooms. They only get rain water from the rain barrel and I give them plant food every third watering. They love plant food and they love to be watered when the top inch of soil gets dry. 

my other helper Elliott

One mistake I made when I tried to grow them in full sun was to keep them too dry. They can take dry soil better than most plants because they can take the heat but that doesn't mean you don't have to water them. And I never gave them plant food but this year I learned that they actually like the nutrients in plant food - and it shows.

If I'd only known how well they would do on the front porch I would have planted them there years ago. I usually only plant impatiens and coleus there because it doesn't get a lot of sun.

The secret to big blooming geraniums is to take them in for the winter and when you bring them back out the next year, they get huge. You also have to pinch the seedlings to make them bushy. And you have to take cuttings so they will branch and spread. Last years geraniums that lived are just blooming their heads off. I'm glad I only put one plant in each of these containers. Come fall before the first frost I will be pulling all of these up and bringing them in. I'll also be taking cuttings for new plants to keep all winter for next year. This could get massive. I have never had geraniums grow this big and beautiful for me.

I'm calling this the year of the geraniums!

 

Fairy Doll for Summer

I don't know how many people still make art dolls but I have a sizeable collection of the old Art Doll Quarterly magazines. I used to look forward to buying one at ten dollars a pop four times a year. That was quite a few years ago. They are not publishing any more.

I remember doing a Humpty Dumpty doll years ago by a doll artist Suzette Rugolo and she still has patterns on Etsy. So I fell in love with this one. I love making fairies and I've made several dolls from Patti Medaris Culea patterns back in the day too. I have all her books. And I still have the dolls I made.

I never sold them, I never got that good at making them but I really loved learning new skills and watching them come together. No two are ever alike as each one takes on its own personality. 

What I really like about them is that you use every craft and skill you can imagine when making them. So each time you make one, you learn something new. 

The hardest part of making a cloth art doll for me is always... the hands. Most people think it is the face and head but for me, that's easier because I also sculpt. But those tiny hands and finger turning are a trick. Sewing them is intense. And when they come out right, it's quite an accomplishment.

I started with the wings on this one because it takes a while to dry, then you flip it over and do the other side too. 

Then I knew I needed some eyes and these are 8mm. I've made eyes for sculpts before so I got busy. I had to throw the first batch away, they were so awful. Then I made several variations. I finally got something I could use. 

Then I moved on to cutting out all the fabric and organizing all the pieces. Once that was done, it came together really quick. The only problem I had was with the instructions for the skirt. I had to figure out how to make those prairie points because the instructions were not very clear. I just couldn't figure them out from the instructions (and I didn't want to cut out over a hundred squares) so I did some research and figured out how to make endless prairie points the size I need for eight rows of 12. Very easy, very fast. Once I got that, then I just painted the lace with some metallic acrylic paint and was good to go.

It still took me half a day to make them and sew them onto the skirt. Putting the body and head together didn't take that long. The rest went pretty quick but I saved the hat, shoes and arms for last. I had some Tibetan wool for the hair but I didn't have pink so I just used some fluffy pink and white yarn instead.

 

Second, This Orchid Thing

There is a lot of misinformation about how to grow orchids successfully. But the biggest misinformation pool I've found is how to care for orchids, and one of my pet peeves is misinformation about watering with ice. 

It does not make sense to tell people that the ice tag hanging from some orchids is a gimmick to get you to kill your orchid so you have to buy another one. When I killed the first orchid I bought, I didn't buy another one for several years. The ice tag is meant to keep you from overwatering and there have been studies done proving that ice watering orchids is not harmful to them. So it's not a gimmick, it is a selling point because overwatering is the number one reason people kill their orchids. 

my growing method

No orchid grower in their right mind would want you to kill an orchid. Success in growing them practically guarantees you will buy more. Failure with growing your first orchid says you won't. So the argument against ice is not logical and it just doesn't make sense. Don't put ice directly on the roots or let it touch the underside of the leaves or the stalk. When the ice melts it will not damage the roots when placed on top of the moss to melt. Studies show the temperature of the roots after watering with ice stays in the 40f degree range and does not freeze or otherwise damage them. Don't polly parrot what you've heard other people say. Do your research. Type into google "ice cube orchids study results" or "orchid ice cube research" and see what you find. Here's a few links to get you started.

The Plant Propagator interview on ice watering

Ohio State Phalaenopsis Ice Study

Study Results PDF

I don't work for these people but they really know their orchids and you can print off little booklets on orchid care and use them as cheat sheets no matter how you water your orchids. You'll be a step ahead of everyone else when someone asks you a question about orchids.

Orchid Care Booklets

I know of two studies that were done on this subject. One was done at Ohio State University and the other at University of Georgia. Look those up too.

new flower spikes

INEXPENSIVE vs. EXPENSIVE ORCHID GROWING (my experience)

You can easily pay $15 - $20 for one Phalaenopsis orchid in bloom. And a whole lot more for other lesser known varieties. Here is the cheap way in a nutshell. 

Orchids - Wait until June to buy them in the big box stores. By June the orchid blooming season is winding down and they are starting to drop flowers. A lot of the stores will mark them down to $2 - $7 or more while they are still in really good shape. Do not buy an orchid with black rotted stinky roots. It will die. OR you can buy them on the half dead plant racks really cheap. You will get them for as cheap as $1 to maybe half price this way but they won't be in really good shape. You will learn a lot bringing them back from the brink of death. Be aware that they may not flower for up to two years going this route even if you are successful. I can tell you from experience that it is very rewarding when a rescue finally blooms. And a big surprise!

Medium - This is what you plant them in. Water culture is the cheapest way to go but you may or may not want to mess with water. Most people go for bark or moss. I would go for professional bark mix when you repot if you don't have a lot of orchid growing experience or any good sphagnum moss lying around. Don't skimp on quality here.

Pots - You can spend a lot of money on ceramic pots with holes in them or use the pots the orchid came in which has a liner inside the outer pot so you can see the roots before you water. Or you can reuse glass or clear plastic containers which cost nothing. If you live in a tropical climate you can tie them to a tree, then you don't even need a pot. I grow my larger ones in recycled 2 liter pop bottles with gravel in the bottom for drainage. I grow all my minis and petites in moss. They have very different watering requirements.

Care - When to water. Only water when the roots get silvery light green and then watering methods differ. I recommend rain water. It's free, all you have to do is collect it. And you don't have to worry about chlorine or chloramine. There is no reason why you can't water with ice cubes if you have good water to begin with. Get professional orchid food and follow the instructions on the package for feeding. Preventative bug spray. Insecticidal soap will work if you see or suspect a bug issue. Sunny filtered window, no direct sun.

stem experiment

ORCHID MYTHS

Don't listen to people who tell you that you cannot water with ice. It's been proven by studies that you can and many people do successfully grow orchids watered this way. It's a slow drip method and research proves that it does not damage the roots. 

Don't listen to people who tell you to immediately repot every orchid you buy. They do not need repotted if they look good and are not in distress. If you repot an orchid in bloom it might drop its flowers so it's not recommended.

You need holes in the liner or the pot so the roots can breathe. No you actually don't unless you are afraid of overwatering it and want it to dry out faster. Many successful growers grow them in glass or see through containers with no holes in the bottom or sides.

You need to get it out of moss and repot it into bark. No you don't. Nothing wrong with growing them in moss. Moss has different watering requirements than bark, that's all.

GROUP MISINFORMATION

You should join online orchid groups so you can learn how other people do it and maybe pick up some tips and tricks you haven't tried yet. Just be aware that everyone has an opinion and there are no hard and fast rules for everyone where growing is concerned.

Environment is different in different parts of the country and growing conditions are very different in other countries too so take that into consideration before you decide to follow one person's advice. Tying orchids to trees may work in Florida just fine but if I tie an orchid to a tree here in Indiana the squirrels would have a nice meal if it didn't freeze first. I'm just sayin'.

Please, please, please, don't be a polly parrot just repeating what someone else has said and you've taken it as gospel. If you've never watered an orchid with ice or done any research on the subject please don't come into a group and start telling people not to water with ice. Your experience and your opinion is welcome but keep in mind there is more than one way to grow an orchid and your way is not the only way and it's not a rule that everyone else has to follow. That's all.

 

First, The Roses!

This might be the year of the roses for me who knows! I don't think my roses have ever bloomed as good as this or maybe I'm just noticing them more because I missed them so much over the winter. I call these my magic roses because they change color. They bud and open yellow and get pinker as they age. They never disappoint me with their bloom each year.

Music Box

I used to dream about having a rose garden in my side yard. When we moved in 38 years ago the only thing in that space was a bunch of weeds and a trash barrel, I kid you not. It wasn't long after that I started to plan my rose garden and high hopes began to spring up. 

Music Box

But every tea rose I planted over the first five years or so did not make it past the following winter. I just didn't know what kind of roses to plant. So I planted other things. Rose of Sharon grew great, lilies, various flowers, annuals and perennials came and went and then one day I discovered a barely blooming rose on the fence under one tree in the front yard. It wasn't getting enough light so I dug it up, divided it into 4 smaller plants and planted them in the side yard.

Music Box

I later found out because it wasn't getting enough sun, it didn't want to bloom. But in the side yard, it took off. And I mean it climbed over the garage next door. It took it 2 or 3 years to get established and then it went crazy - all four bushes grew crazy. So I looked it up and it turned out to be an old fashioned English cottage rose named "Constance Spry". It said it was a huge invasive rose to be grown not for the faint of heart. The flowers are cup shaped and very fragrant. It said it will cover your cottage if you don't keep it cut back every year. And they were right. These monster roses I planted turned out to be ten to twelve foot tall and the did go over the gutters of my neighbors garage and onto their roof so I had to cut them back after a few years. This is the kind of rose you see in fairy tales where you can't get through the thickets of thorns to get into the castle to save the princess. They were too hard to manage back then so they had to go, and they only bloomed for about two weeks out of the year and you had to wait another whole year to see the show again. Digging them up was a war with the thorns!

Constance Spry

I eventually cut them down, dug them up and got rid of them, all except for one I moved to a different sunny spot in the front yard and I keep it cut back to a shrub. I have two deep roots of it that still spring up in the side yard and they just will not die! A cottage rose never again! Be careful what you wish for.

Snowdrift

Then I eventually a few years ago discovered shrub roses named Easy Elegance and boy are they. They said they were so easy to grow that anyone could do it. Guaranteed to grow! Hard to kill! That's for me. I remember they were expensive but I managed to get two of them. One is called "Music Box" and the other one "Snowdrift". They are the most gorgeous things I've ever seen in my life and they smell good. 

I have a knockout rose that grows like a shrub too but doesn't get very tall and it is covered with pink roses like a rose fountain every year at the first bloom. It blooms all summer but not like the first flush. This picture was taken right after a rain. It looked better the day before.

Pink Knockout Rose

And I have one yellow rose that got planted over - I forgot it was there when I planted a Chinese Lilac almost on top of it. It blooms one yellow rose on a four foot stem every year and that's it. I think I'll have to move it because of the lilac taking all the nutrients out of the soil and it can't get what it needs.

Music Box is my favorite and the roses are the first to bloom this year because the Iris didn't. I'll have to dig them up and divide them if I want Iris blooms next year on those. A few of last year's geraniums are starting to bloom and then I think the hydrangeas will be next since they have buds coming on right now. 

I'm busy planting my fancy geraniums in boxes and hanging baskets. My orchids and African violets are busy blooming indoors and I can't wait for the new geraniums to bloom since I started them last fall from seeds. They are not just regular geraniums, they are fancy bi-colors. I think they will be gorgeous.

And of course you know I tucked a few tomato plants, bell pepper and my favorite herbs in there too.

Making Black Gold!

So I have a non-traditional compost bin. I made it myself out of a large plastic storage tub and I keep it out in the garden year round. It's taken me a few years to really get it going and figure it all out so that I will have enough compost for all my flowers and few veggies that I grow.

A couple of years ago I took a plastic bin with a lid and burned holes in the sides with an old soldering iron. It's gotta have air and it lets the bugs in. If you sink it into the ground and put holes in the bottom, it can benefit from worms too but I wasn't sure where I wanted to put mine so I left it mobile.

I start it up in the spring when I plant stuff after the last frost warning. This year it's early because we usually get the OK in mid May. We now have an all clear in April. I'm just late in getting it done until now. So last year and the year before, I loaded it up with a bucket of garden soil dirt. You can put dirt in to get it started. Then I layered it with vegetable scraps and alternate brown material like leaves, paper, cardboard box strips, hay, grass clippings, etc. until it was over half full. I wetted everything down and then just added kitchen scraps as they accumulated. Every week I would take the lid off and churn it up with my shovel and then just keep it in the sun for at least six hours a day and let mother nature do her stuff.

I didn't have a lot last year but I learned the more you add, the more black gold you get back. So this year I got two five gallon buckets full of black gold for my little garden. I moved the big pieces over and dug out all the rich earthy smelling goodness and kept the big stuff that hadn't broken down yet in the bin. I then started over for next year with the layering. I add water almost every time I churn the mix but I do let it break down for a few weeks before I start churning in the spring.

I don't feel like a waster any more since I started my composting bin. I don't throw rotten veg and scraps in the trash. Nothing goes to waste. Every scrap of veggie, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, potato peelings, any rotten or mushy veg goes into the box I have in the kitchen for the compost bin. You can add dirt, hay, mulch, weeds, plant trimmings, etc. to the bin. The finer you cut up paper and cardboard, the quicker it will compost. Just don't ever add any meat, oil, fats or dairy to your compost.

Next spring you can have some black gold for your garden too! It's super easy!