Red Star Quilt. Getting Started. 1.8.23

 This will be another quilt that starts using a pattern in Modern Quilter, by designer Lynn Goldsworthy.   I like her designs very much.  I made changes, based on my use of (mostly) upcycled fabrics.  One major change, the original design has a lot of background in cream colors, wide areas of fabrics.  Mine will have patchwork background, mainly greys and minimalist patterns on white.  

The changes have taken quite a bit of trial and error on paper, but I think I have it.

Here are the shirt fabrics, curated, washed, starched, pressed, cut at the seams.

The reds are mostly a deep color, sort of ox-blood, or burgundy.  One is light, sort of mauve.  

This is a preview of the star pattern, minus one point.

I could do a few things to fill in the missing point.  Such as, repeat a fabric, vs. buy something at the fabric store, vs. continue shopping for shirts to upcycle.  One point is the reverse side of another, I could try that. I decided not to be a purist, and ordered a yard of a deep red Indonesian Batik on Amazon.  That will add a little something extra, if I actually use it.

The original pattern was published as a supplement in Today's Quilter, Issue 75.  The complete link seems to be broken.

Accidental Timber Bamboo Harvest. 1.7.23

 These bamboo fell over three weeks ago during an ice storm.  The root mass is unexpectedly minimal.  I've been cleaning them up and cutting them to useful lengths.

I cut most into approx 8 or 9 foot lengths.  Some ars very thick and sturdy.

I used some of the sturdiest lengths to replace an espalier trellis, including adding the third and fourth tiers.

I like how that looks.  I think it will last a number of years,

Pepper Plant Overwintering. Update. 1.7.23

 There is a little growth on the overwintering pepper plants.  Minimal, which is what I want.  Enough to show they are alive.

The bottom left plant is a cayenne pepper.  I think most of the growth is early flower buds.  I removed the obvious flowers.  I don't think the plants can support them yet.

Pruning a Massive HorseChestnut Tree. 1.7.23

 This tree seems to have a semi-weeping configuration.  It's been spreading too wide.  The branches trail to the ground.  It's a major challenge mowing under the tree, or doing cleanup.  So I generally don't.

Today I did a lot of pruning.  Here is the before picture.

That big branch on the left had to go.  I could not mow under it.  Also, it looks like it might be at risk of breaking off.  In fact, when I examined it more closely, this alarming, full thickness, several feet log split was about two feet from the trunk.

Here is the tree after pruning.  I was careful.  My chain saw is just an electric 16 " blade.  

I think that the branch on the right side also needs to be removed.  I want to use the pole saw to remove as much as I can, first, due to the height and size of the limb.  That will have to happen some other time.

Interesting, with the area cleared, I saw this fig tree sticking out of a dwarf evergreen.   Where did that come from?  i can't imagine that I planted it there.  It's probably been there since before we bought the place.

Overwintering Pepper Plants, Update. 12.22.22

 Here are the pepper plants.   Not much change.  One of the Tabasco pepper plants has more growth than the others, but not enough to be concerned about.

This Tabasco has the most growth.  Fortunately, it's not a lot.

This Cayenne Pepper plant has tufts of growth, but again, I don't think it's too much.

This Banana Pepper has very minimal growth.

Overall, I'm happy so far with how these pepper plants are remaining mostly dormant, but still alive and green.  They are half way through the dormant period.

Next month, I also plan to start pepper seeds.  It looks like these plants will be way ahead of the new ones I start in January.

Sewing A Cotton Rope Bowl. 12.16.22

 This was my first attempt, so it counts as practice.  The goal was to make a pie carrier, so a pie wouldn't slide around.  I thought I was making it too big.  But it turned out way too small.  It's also a little wonky.   Still, there were some learnings.  I made this using 3/8" cotton rope.

When practicing, I used some cotton thread I had sitting around.  Poor quality, broke multiple times.  So I changed to a better quality cotton thread meant for machine quilting.  Worked perfectly, did not break even once.

Despite not being the size I wanted, this did make a nice rope bowl.  It seems quite strong.  It takes a little practice to make, but isn't difficult at all.

The braided cotton cord that I ordered came, so I made another.  This time, 1/4" diameter.  The rest was the same method.

I thought the 1/4 inch was more difficult to sew well, because the narrower diameter was not as easy to see  under the presser foot.  Still, it worked fine and the final product was a very nice rope bowl.  I think it worked perfectly.

Dragon Hot Sauce. 12.6.22

 The Thai Dragon + Cayenne + a few Tabasco pepper sauce has been fermenting for more than two weeks.  I made Tabasco - type hot sauce.  There was enough for a bottle plus a little more.

 This is what it looked like fermenting in the jar, after two weeks.

I ran it in the food processor until as finely pureed as it would do.

Then I used a sieve in a bowl, and a spoon to squeeze the juice out of the pulp and seeds.

A turkey baster worked for transferring the juice into the bottles.

I tested the sauce on a fried egg.  Nice flavor and lots of heat.

Rufus At Home Depot. 12.6.22

 I wanted some fence posts to support the mini apple trees in the mini orchard, so took Rufus to Home Depot.

He likes riding in the cart, and it keeps him from being underfoot and getting into trouble with the leash.

Kitchen Curtains For The Holiday. 12.6.22

 We don't do much for the holiday.  This fabric was end-of-bolt so the price was very inexpensive.  It's just the valence, so the view of the duck yard is unobstructed.

The kitchen window gets a different curtain for each holiday or season, so it doesn't become too boring.  I have some fabric on order for Chinese New Year, for the first time, but that's doesn't start until late January.  

This valence only takes about an hour to make.  Very straightforward project.

Schlumbergeras in Bloom. 12.6.22

 These are looking nice.  This is such a rewarding plant.  They require very little care, and make such a show at the right time.

Edit - here's another one.  I started this one from cuttings, about a decade ago.