My new buddy...

Ok, most of you who know me, know that I have been spending an inordinate amout of time lately in the business of picking and preserving strawberries. We have hundreds and hundreds of plants and thousands and thousands of berries. Though most of my picking is done alone, it is wonderful to have help. I was treated to help this weekend when my son came home from North Carolina for a long weekend visit. Friday afternoon he and his girlfriend helped me pick enough berries to make 2 dozen pints of jam. What a wonderful weekend we had!

Most of the time, however, my garden companions look a little more like:

Or:

Or:

Final Product...

....ready for gift or sale! With a little Photoshop tutorial from my son, Andy (visiting this weekend from North Carolina) I finally made labels for my strawberry jam. Here is the finished product.

Quick Projects

Ok, I will let you in on a little secret. I LOVE CLOTHES! That being said though, I must clarify. I am an extremely frugal shopper and shop outlets or Marshalls or TJ Maxx, However, if I can make something rather than buy it, even better. I have always loved accessories....shoes, belts, jewelry, bags, etc. What is more fun than dressing in a funky outfit and having just the right accessory to accompany it! That is perhaps what drove me to learn to make jewelry and bags. I found a cute madras belt(top belt in picture) in the J. Crew outlet the other day. Then I remembered that I had seen madras fabric at our local JoAnns. I picked up a quarter yard of each fabric that they had and quickly whipped up two more belts (bottom two in picture)....pastel madras and pink patchwork...for pennies on the dollar.

The Strawberry Report....

Farm life teaches you to be creative. When you have an enormous harvest of one crop, you either gift it, sell it, or find alternate uses for it! Strawberries have been that crop for us this year. We have already gifted, frozen, preserved in Jam, and eaten our fill of shortcake. What to do with the rest? There is nothing sadder than seeing food go to waste...especiallly when knowing that 6 months from now we would give anything to enjoy the taste. We may have found a way to have the taste of fresh strawberries all year long! This past winter, in preparation for summer's harvest, my dear hubby ordered every possible kitchen appliance that could make food preservation easier. For several weeks the mailman dropped off packages that contained things like pressure cookers and, to my surprise, a food dehydrator. "Aha!" Now I knew how to deal with a glut of berries. I would try drying them.

Tuesday I picked about 15 more quarts of berries. What I did not turn into jam, I decided I would dehydrate. I washed them, sliced them 1/4 inch thick and layed them on the racks. The racks were stacked on top of each other in the dehydrator, and the controls set for 135 degrees and 9 hours of drying time.

When the dehydrator turned off, I opened the front, pulled out the racks and to my delight found beautiful, dark red strawberry chips. I popped one in my mouth and found it to be slightly chewy but with flavor so intense. I was stunned! This just might work. The flavor of fresh, homegrown, organic berries in the middle of winter was now a reality....complete with all the little seeds that like to lodge themselves in your molars.

I Bet You Can't Guess.....

....what I am doing right now!
Today my friend Ann and I spent two hours and picked about 15 quarts of strawberries on our farm. I gave several quarts away and with the rest of them made 18 more pints of jam. I can hear the lids popping as I write this! Yummy....homemade strawberry jam to last throughout the coming year.

Gardening Before Sewing (for now)

I cannot complain that I am not sewing. For now I am spending quite a bit of time out of doors. The wet Spring that we had has been great for jumpstarting the gardens. Unfortunately, though, the weeds have had that same jump start! And so, with gloved hands, I continuously battle the onslaught of weeds in hopes of bringing a tiny bit of control over my gardens.

It has been a tough year for the vegetables....I have had to re-plant quite a few of the initial plants that I had grown. Cool nights a few weeks ago wiped out my cucumbers. I subsequently re-planted them and they were attacked by some sort of insect. Now I have noticed new leafy growth; so hopefully they will gain a foothold and begin to produce.

The berries are a different subject. We have experienced an explosion of ripe strawberries. Our blueberry bushes are so loaded with unripened fruit that the branches are hanging very low from the weight. We have gooseberries and tons of blossoms on our raspberries and blackberries. The apple trees have bounced back from their heavy winter pruning and will have a moderate yield, also. I have also noticed quite a few clusters of teeny tiny grapes hanging from the vines that we planted last year.

For now, though, the strawberries are enough to keep this farmgirl busy....

Life is Unpredictable

It always seems that just when life becomes calm and comfortable, something always has a way of shaking things up a bit. I think it is life's natural prevention against complacency. Recently, my 26 year old daughter has had the need to move back in with us for a while (til she gets her feet on the ground). this has been a bit of a blessing for me, since it gives me another bit of time to be close to her. She is delightful to be around and takes care of her own business, so there is no downside to this situation aside from just a little less privacy. The complicating factor (and a mixed blessing) has been her new puppy, Primo.

Primo is six weeks old, full of piss and vinegar, cute as a button....and deaf. Needless to say, this puppy training process is going to be challenging! There is a lot of information on the internet about training deaf dogs, so we will all be quite educated, eventually!

Maddie has turned out to be quite a wonderful babysitter....ever patient, tolerant Maddie.

Fun With Half-Aprons

In between gardening and other home projects, I have tried to sit and sew for about an hour each day. In the past few days I have tried several different half-apron ideas that have been percolating in my thoughts. I am attempting to wade through all of the fabric that I have stashed away in the past year. It is always good to downsize. At the present, I am only accomplishing a transformation....
Now, if I could only sell the aprons and bags that I have made, then I would truly be downsizing. Here are a few pictures of this week's aprons. The first is a reversible laundry apron with large, roomy pockets for clothespins.

The second is just a half apron....one-sided, ruffled...sort of that French Country look.

I had a blast using fancy stitches on my embroidery machine to finish this apron.

And Yes, MJ....these are all on my Etsy, now!

This is my favorite. The bottom edge is scalloped and it is reversible. I love its flirty lines and the bright floral print.So, if I never sell any of these aprons, at least I will have the biggest apron wardrobe I know. Perhaps I will have to have an apron closet added to my home!! Otherwise...look out, you just might be receiving an apron for your next important holiday.

Etsy Re-opened

I have finally had enough time to re-open Honeybeez. This is my online store out of which I sell most of what I make (most of what you see on this blog is for sale). Here are the latest purses just finished... They are both quilted and the plum one is also beaded.













If you are a friend and wish to have one of the things that I post, just leave me a comment or e-mail me. If you are not familiar with etsy.com, check it out....there are tons of artists and crafts people with so much to show...it is like a virtual 24 hour craft fair.

Life Goes On....

I am always in awe of the cycle of life. Yesterday while walking my girls, I stopped by the pond down the street to check out the babies. It seems there are three pairs of Canada Geese that have had families. This is the largest family. They seem quite comfortable with the presence of canine visitors near their pond. At least once a day, though, they stop traffic as they parade across the nearby road to search for food in the neighboring lawn.

Guess what the weather is here, today! I will give you a few clues....

As seen on Martha Stewart. I thought I would give this bag a try. It is quilted and quite sturdy. Total construction time was about an hour. It is lined with a striped companion fabric. One pocket graces the outside and one completes the lining. EASY!!

Weather....

You can tell what type of weather we are having by the amount of sewing I get done. Yesterday was dry, so the day was spent doing farm chores like weeding the strawberry patch and mowing the orchard. Between work tasks, I took a little time to play with our sweet goat babies. They are getting so rambunctious and spend every second trying to climb Mount Bev. This picture shows Spider perched on my shoulder. I took this picture myself with my arm extended in front of me and the camera pointed in my general direction. What you cannot see, however, are the two goats in my lap and two more trying to eat my shoelaces. Lovin like this can only be taken in small doses!!

Today, however, is another story. I am stuck in the house once again. But as is my nature, I will try to put the time to good use. I have finished another apron and have a second one almost done. A small goof with the neck strap gave me a challenge. I ended up using a white buckle to attach the short strap to the long strap, making the neckline completely adjustable. It almost looks as if I planned it that way! That will be our little secret.

Another quiet, rainy morning. Should I go antiquing or should I sew??? Hmmmm....well, here is the answer to that.....

I sewed...another Amy Butler Purse. Don't you just love this pea fabric?

No sewing today....I spent the day in my gardens. I planted more corn, more radishes (and harvested a handfull of radishes that I had planted earlier), scarlett runner beans, yellow lemon cucumbers, eggplant, and 12 gourd vines of various type. While I was down on my hands and knees planting a gourd vine, I happened upon this little fellow. He was quite bold and allowed me to get very close to him. It probably helped that Maddie, my Newfie was on his other side. I am sure he figured that of the two, I was the least threatening! See how he puffs his chest and holds up his beak as if to say "Go ahead, Lady, take my picture!".


I believe he is a baby tree sparrow. His family have taken residence in one of the bluebird boxes we hung on the garden fencepost.

Rainy Day Fun

Today's weather feels like a regression back into March or April. It is cold and rainy. And since I am not a duck, I am content to stay inside and busy myself with projects. I had picked up an Amy Butler Frenchy Purse pattern a few months back and found some Amy Butler fabric online. I just love her fabrics. Here are two versions of the same purse...different sizes.

Tweaking the Old Favorite

I though it time to update my favorite apron pattern (it is always a work in progress...and now looks nothing like it did when I first started sewing aprons). I am in love with this cheerful fabric. It is by a company called Free Spirit. Their fabric has such a good hand to it and is basically garment quality. So, this is what I ended up with when I made a few modifications...it is still a reversible apron...with the striped fabric on the reverse side. Just looks like Summer to me!











And a second one...I might even love this fabric more. I added matching buttons to the pockets. Sometimes you get lucky and find the perfect button!

Memories of My Grandmother's Garden

For me, I suppose the love of gardening was a part of me from conception. Gardening has always been a big part of my Mother's side of our family. I remember so many trips to my Nana's house as a little girl, and each visit would always include a tour of the gardens. Most of her backyard was dedicated to a vegetable garden and her entire yard was bordered with flower gardens. Huge trellises graced each side of the garage displaying beautiful roses or prolific vines of gourds. My Papap spent countless hours keeping the insect population at bay. It seems like most times that I saw him, he had a can of kerosene in his hand into which he would drop each Japanese beetle that he plucked from my Nana's rose bushes. At the conclusion of those treasured visits, my Nana would take me into the garden with a little shovel and I would pick out a flower or plant seedling to dig up and take home to my own flower gardens. Over the years, so many "Johnny Jump-Ups", as we called them, found their way home with me. No wonder they are one of my favorite flowers to this day. Not only did I treasure these colorful violas, but also the hostas, lambs ear, lilacs, forget-me-nots and snow mound that also that became the beginnings of my adult gardens. Today, I am happiest when my hands are in the dirt...a common theme thoughout my entire life!

Finally a Little Time to Sew!

It seems lately like there just has not been enough time to sew. Most of my time has been devoted to Spring clean up. Getting flower gardens and containers re-planted and starting the vegetable garden has been quite an undertaking. Every available sunny day is needed to accomplish all of these outdoor tasks. Luckily we have had a few rainy days in the past week and I have had a chance to finish a few projects. I have several aprons cut out and ready to assemble. This "5 O'Clock Somewhere" apron is finally finished as well as a few shopping totes and a purse for a friend.

It is going to take a year of rainy days for me to finish all of the projects that are waiting for me in my sewing room and a lifetime to finish all of the ideas that are filed away in my imagination!

So Calloused!

These are certainly not the hands of a lady...one who sits in her best frock with her needlework on her lap, whiling away the day sipping tea and stitching intricate designs on fine linen. No, these are the hands of a tee-shirt, blue-jean clad farmgirl who has spent her day with shovel, rake and hoe...tilling the soil and planting a myriad of yummy vegetable seeds in her garden. Her knees are soiled, her shirt grimey, her hair on top of her head in a knot. Her shoes are caked with manure and her fingernails are no longer recognizable.

The satisfaction of a long day's work in the soil is her only harvest today...for the rest she will have to be patient. In the meantime, she will shower, put on a clean frock and return to her needlework while the warmth of the sun and the richness of the soil finish the job she began.

A couple of months ago the view from my kitchen window was this.
Today the view is this. That very same tree that was shrouded in ice is now covered with blossoms and newly unfurled leaves.



Every year around this time I am utterly amazed at the transformation of our world from Winter to Spring. In early March, when I am growing tired of the monochromatic greyish landscape, I briefly feel a twinge of fear that perhaps this will be the year that Spring never comes. This may seem like an unimaginable circumstance, but Jack and I have discussed writing a book about just that subject....a scientific mystery/thriller based on the idea that for some reason, one year, Spring just does not arrive. The world stays brown and grey...no new life emerges. Scarey stuff, isn't it?

For the Birds

Here is my favorite picture from my recent trip to St. Augustine. While there, I begged Jack to take me to an Alligator Farm. The alligators werenot half as fascinating as an area at the rear of the park where hundreds of egrets and herons were roosting. This gave me the chance to get a "birds-eye" view of several adorable fledglings. I only wish I had had a telephoto lens on my camera.