While the Cat's Away...

Jason has been in Arizona for the last 10 days overseeing rehabilitation on a fire. He really enjoys the work and the overtime will be nice for our finances, but, to tell the truth, I have been feeling a little lonely. I have been spending lots of time working on both our house garden and the community garden. The green beans, cucumbers, and spaghetti squash are done and pulled out of the garden. In their place I planted watermelon, zucchini, and more pickling cucumbers. I am starting to get tomatoes-about 10 a week, enough to make salsa and spaghetti sauce for my meals, but not enough to can yet.

I also have done a little bit of canning. I took the last of the pickling cucumbers (they got huge while I was in DC) and made hamburger slice dills. I also decided to harvest some of the rhubarb that Jason planted this spring at the home garden and made rosemary rhubarb jam. It turned out a little runny, but I think that I will enjoy it with meats this winter.

Finally, I have been doing some sewing as well. We have lots of little babies coming into our lives and so I made a few swaddling blankets from Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones.

Swaddling blanket open

Swaddling Blanket Closed-it has a tie to keep it closed

I also decided to make the Teardrop Bag from her Style Stitches book. With both books, I wish that she had a few more diagrams to help make the directions more clear, but I think that the projects turned out cute. I had bought the bird fabric around Christmas time because it was so cute, but I didn't think it would be good as a shirt or skirt or something. It think that it works out well as a purse.

Dora (my dress form) looks good with a purse.

Close up of the bird fabric on the purse

Jason told me yesterday that he won't be home for at least a week. What other projects do you think I should try?