Happenings Around The Homestead...

This is the first year we have ever grown cabbage.  I love fresh from the garden cabbage but do not enjoy it cooked or fermented.  However, my husband loves sauerkraut so we are experimenting with our first ever batch.  It's sitting on the counter as we speak.  We don't have a crock so we are using (re-using) a Costco pickle jar covered with an old t-shirt rag.  It's high tech, let me tell you.  I may (or may not) try some when it's done.  I know, I know, kraut is supposed to be really good for you.

We have also yet to have a frost in my area so the tomatoes are still coming on strong.  The kids are getting good at prepping the tomatoes for canning.  (Apples too.)  When they start to complain, I simply say, "You like to eat, don't you?"

This is a pic of the bag City Girl whipped up in about 15 minutes.  She wanted a certain size and everything we had was either too big or too small so she went down to our "craft" room and created what she needed.  The body of the bag is a bottom leg of a pair of jeans she had made into cut-offs earlier this year.  She merely had to sew one end shut.  For the handle she made a braided rope made from old t-shirts and sewed it on.  We had some iron-on decals laying around and she embellished the bag with those. (The decals were marketed for the back of jean pockets... who wants their daughter wearing kissy lips on her backside? This is a much more tasteful application.)

There are so many possibilities for this bag.  It is really only limited by your imagination.  It is a quick, easy, and cheap project.  Goodwill stores are great sources of jeans and t-shirts!

What have you all been up to?

To The GRAM!

The Grand Rapids Art Museum has just started free Tuesday admission!  So guess where John and I, the kids and Grandma and Grandpa Schuh went yesterday!  I can't pass up free admission to a museum! 

I was quite excited to go because one of the visiting exhibits featured the quilts of Susana Allen Hunter.  I was surprised to find out that Ms. Hunter wasn't an art quilter or hobbyist in pursuit of the perfect look.  She was a poor farm wife who made quilts out of necessity to keep her family warm.  She recycled bed sheets, clothing, and flour, seed and feed sacks.  Some quilts had no batting, some had homespun cotton batting and one even had batting made from lint.  She wasn't concerned with perfect lines and rarely used any common patterns but merely put pieces of cloth together to be functional.  I bet you she never thought that any of her quilts would be museum pieces yet here they are.

My husband was not impressed, but I was.  Here was a woman doing what she needed to do to provide for her family and she worked with what she had.  She didn't have an unlimited budget and a cute little quilt shop to purchase fabric from.  She didn't worry about perfection but time and love went into those quilts.  She probably didn't even have a sewing machine.  I can only hope that I serve my family with such dedication.  There was no photography allowed so I didn't get any pictures but I will remember those quilts for a long time.  Those quilts represent freedom to me.  Freedom from vanity, freedom from expectations and just a true humbleness.  We woman need more of that!

A Rainy Day Is Welcomed!

I awoke this morning to the glorious sound of thunder rumbling and rain falling.  This was wonderful in two ways;first, it drowned out my two roosters crowing- my normal alarm clock at dawn and second it meant an inside day!  No one needed to mow or weed or pick strawberries.  I only needed to take care of chickens and let's face it... they kinda take care of themselves except for daily food, water and egg collection. (And my little peepers occasionally like to fly to the top of their fencing and sit on it and then fly off the fence into the yard, so I do check on them frequently so as to avoid my garden being eaten by teenage chickens.)

Our rainy day was spent quilting downstairs with homeschool friends and planning for next year's schooling.  My older two daughters and some of their friends have been meeting weekly and bi-weekly for some time making their first quilts.  Today was a daylong push to finish up the projects.  One young lady finished quilting hers today and we got the binding ready to sew up.  Now if my two can finish up their quilting we can bind theirs and shout a "Hurray, we're done!"  At this point in time I don't think any of the girls will take up quilting as a permanent hobby. 

I also spent sometime researching science curriculum for Seven.  She has decided to attend Grand Rapids Community College after graduating (in two years) to earn an associates degree in photography.  Since she is going the college route I need to make sure she has what is needed credit wise so she is eligible for entry.  After looking at what we have already accomplished and what we were planning on doing, science came up as the weak link. We are on track for everything else. She will study biology this year and chemistry next year  (Apologia- I think.) and then we are good. (Provided I can get her through algebra two and geometry.  Math is her downfall.) She will also need to be studying for the ACT.

I had to laugh at Seven when I told her we'd need to do biology in a little more structured format.  She was very concerned that she will have to dissect something.  But I told her not to worry they have computer programs for that now days.  Of course she will still be required to help with the chickens when the time comes.  Not exactly dissection but a close second. Oh, how I wish they had computer programs for that when I was her age.  I was totally freaked out by dissection.  I made my lab partner do the entire thing. Still shuddering about that.  There is a good reason I am not in a medical field other than as a herbalist.  Yuck.

The sun did eventually come out a bit this evening but quilting all day can actually tire a person out.  I did point out to the girls that they should be thankful to live in this time period and in this country or they might be (or have been) sitting in front of sewing machines day in and out getting paid very little for their work. They groaned at the thought and suddenly were very thankful for their current lives.  Perspective is always helpful.

New Fabric and Craft Blog!

Check out my new blog.  It's going to focus on fabric and crafts and artisan type things.  STRAWBERRY MOON MARKET!

A post of tidbits

Our friendly little ground squirrel is going to get aquainted with a new spice!

I've just read that squirrels don't like cayenne pepper. Guess who's going to go to Costco and buy a big ol' honkin' container. The heavy rain we've had has surely washed away the castor oil I tried and the neighbor's teen didn't have any luck with his BB gun. So cayenne pepper is next on the list. Apparently you sprinkle your garden plants and soil with it and it keeps the squirrels away. I'm pouring it right down the hole.

Also heard that the USDA is not going to persue the National Animal ID System. Yeah! Don't tread on me!

Remember the cigar box purses that were trendy a few years ago? Well now, you can make cowboy-boot purses. Actually they're quite cute! The how-to is in the June/July issue of Mary Jane's Farm magazine.

If you can sew and are looking for fun vintage style patterns check out FOLKWEAR. They have great vintage patterns from many different periods, countries and cultures. I found several I'd like to try once my sewing abilities improve.

Just today an idea for a children's picture book popped into my head. I've got great words but alas I have no artistic talent in the illustration department. Anyone know Johannah Bluedorn? She is the talented lady who illustrated Raising Maiden's of Virtue. Her drawings for that book are right in line with the pictures in my head. I'm going to write it and send a proposal off to Vision Forum. Actually, I'd like to publish it myself (not vanity publishing but actually start a publishing house) but I fret that the entire process might be a bit large for me. Anyone else ever thought of publishing? Any illustrators out there?

Finally, because of the excitement of building and having a greenhouse this spring we started lots of seeds. They were doing great and then we had two nights of freezing weather. Now we need to start at least half of what we had started over as they went caput. We lost pumpkins, tomatos, basil and corn. Also, my beautiful lemon balm turned brown and the leaves curled up. Thankfully, there is plenty of new green leaves already growing. So what did we learn? We need to keep rabbits in the green house to heat it to keep the plants alive. But how do we keep the rabbits warm in the winter? Anyone have knowledge on this. We'd want meat rabbits, both for their meat and for their skins (for fly tying.) Of course we would also need to learn to tan the hides as well as butcher the bunnies and I'm not sure the landlords would appreciate us processing rabbits in our garage. LOL!

Craft break!

Nothing very exciting happening garden wise today. We spent most of the day raking grass out of our newly tilled garden area. So I thought a craft post was in order. (A wheelbarrow full of sod and sand just doesn't inspire but Martha does.)

Martha Stewart's craft encylopedia has been out for a while but her new book on sewing and fabric arts is new. Costco is selling both for around $20 each. (A better price than other retailers.)

I'm hoping for some rainy spring and summer days to work on some of the great skills listed.

Even my son found some projects and skills he would like to learn. Crafting isn't just for girls. I'm hoping he gets good at tin punching and woodworking. I want a pie safe!

I also picked this little goody up at the store today. It's filled with a lot of fun projects to fill those long summer days with. My favorite type of quilting to do is hand applique. I love to sit outside in the shade of our maple tree and work on it.

Speaking of quilting... Coming in May... The Homestead Blessings ladies will add another DVD to their wonderful collection of Arts... THE ART OF QUILTING! I've already pre-ordered my copy. You can head on over to Franklin Springs Family Media to check out a preview and to pre-order.

Sorry for the late post today. I usually post in the morning before the day gets going but I needed to do other things this morning so I'm posting now that the day is over. My goal is to post everyday so even though it is late I'm still posting.

What the first born has been up to...

Making a cloth ball for her little sister! 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons- each from a different piece of fabric. She persevered and worked hard. Her little sis loves it.

Selling cookies and lemonade!

Helping little sisters climb trees.

AND.... starting to blog! Check out her new project at http://simplysevenlewis.blogspot.com/ !
Leave her a comment... you know we all live for those! Oh... and try and guess what her favorite color is.

Show and Tell Friday

I guess it was pillow case week at the Lewis house. Here is my oldest daughter's first, on-her-own, sewing machine project. She is very proud of her flip-flop pillow case. She was in a class at a local sewing machine store and later in July and August she has more sewing classes at the local fabric store. She is really excited about sewing.

Flip-flops close up with accent strip and cuff

This is a pillowcase my DH made for our youngest daughter. I picked out the fabric and ribbon and was going to sew it but my "crafty/handy" hubby beat me to it. Did I mention he will also quilt, cook and make soap with me. He likes to create as much as I do.

Close up!

For more show and tell Fridays go to http://kellishouse.blogspot.com

I don't have a hobby room...

The new storage system w/ poser popping into the picture.

The old storage system... half emptied

The "Stash" all over the floor.

The "Craft Corner"

...I have a craft corner! After digging all the craft and sewing supplies out of the garage last weekend, I have finally gotten them organized. After storing my fabric stash in a moving box, in the garage for three years, I've finally gotten it organized into a storage bin. I also have everything I need in one place now. The craft corner! My DH has two bins for fly tying and I have two bins for sewing/quilting!

The beauty is, for convienence we can leave them in the corner most of the time, yet if we need to move them (if we have people over) we can easily transport them out of the room. I would love to have a really cute craft room but then the husband would need a Man Den for his fly tying. At least we have a corner!

Seven is spending the summer learning to sew

My oldest is thrilled to be signed up for four sewing classes this summer. She will be learning to make pillowcases, a back pack, a tote bag, and a skirt! Plus she is excited to start learning to quilt. (I will be teaching her that.) We have picked up all her supplies and fabric and she even got her very own sewing tote. (Actually it's a scrapbookers supply case but she liked it and it fits her supplies quite well. Her fabric stash is tiny, currently- give her time!)

I hope she learns her lessons well enough to start a sewing business of some sort. She is already dangerous at the fabric store- oohhing and aahhing at all the fabric choices and planning things she can make for family and friends. She'll need $$ to support her habit. Did I mention she already (at 11 1/2) wants a pink VW bug of her own. You sew girl! (Cause Mom and Dad can't afford 5- currently- used cars for kids let alone be buying new custom vehicles.

Guess what I got!

The old beast!

The new machine!

That's right! A new (to me) sewing machine!! We finally took my circa 1970's machine in for repair (it hadn't been working) and found out for that make and model our problem was common. It siezes up and has to be taken apart to be cleaned and repaired. Unfortunately this was going to cost $200.

I didn't know whether to be sad or happy. For that price we certainly weren't going to get it repaired but I didn't know exactly what the DH had expected to pay for a repair. Could I possibly get a replacement?

The gentleman at the store pointed to one of the store class models that they teach on and offered it to us for $125. I promptly put up the puppy dog eyes at the DH and told him that since the girls would be learning to quilt this summer we should have a machine. (They would get bored with the long process of hand piecing an entire quilt.) He agreed.

So now our family is the proud owner of a very simple but sturdy Singer 5705 C. It doesn't do a lot of "tricks" but at the current sewing level of our family it will do perfectly.

My oldest is signed up for a beginning sewing class this summer and if she likes it and wants to continue, then maybe eventually she may need a fancier model. I think there is no hope for me to progress out of simple projects and quilts. I am hoping for more sewing skill in my daughter.

My next oldest daughter has no interest in sewing. I asked if she wanted to take the class with her sister and she didn't even have to think about it. "No." Hmmm.... okay, I'll have one DD that sews. Andi does enjoy embrodiery though, and she's very excited to quilt.

I didn't ask if my son wanted to sign up and he made no mention of wanting to. Whew! As the only boy in the house I sometimes think he gets a little to much homemaking instruction. It's a good thing he likes to fish and build with Dad. I should search out a woodworking class for him to take.

Anywhoo... if you are in the Grand Rapids area and have someone who knows how to repair sewing machines, you are more then welcome to have my old model for free. You just have to pick it up. We hate to just throw it away. Anyone have any other suggestions as to what to do with it?