Tabletop Quilt. 10.22.2021

This was a quick project. I spent all day for two days working on it, and it's done. It'sfairly small, table top size. It turnd out pretty good. If I would have taken longer, it might have been more even but that's OK. This one will serve a purpose.

Nerine Flowers. 10.21.21

 These Nerine were in a container for years, then two years ago I planted them in my garden in an out of the way location.  Beyond weeding and a mulch, I don't do anything for them.  My great aunt Emma used to grow Lycoris, which is very similar.  She called them "Magic Lilies"  because the leaves would die down, then weeks later a flower stalk would emerge. I've never been able to grow Lycoris here, but this Nerine seems quite happy.

Carnivorous Sarracenia Plants. 10.20.21

 Some of the pitcher plants have a lot of nice color now.  All I did with them this year was repot in larger containers and keep the rain water in their basins fresh to avoid mosquitoes / not dry out.  During the winter they can just sit outside.  It's a lot of color to be so easy.

Cooking a Jumbo Size "Illinois" Squash. 10.20.2021

This week I butchered an Illinois squash and made several things from it. There wasn't much wasted. The back story of this open-pollinated variety is that Abraham Lincoln's family bought the seeds when they lived in Kentucky. When they moved to Illinois, they took seeds along for the move. They grew these in New Salem. Seeds were given or sold to neighbor families, some of whom grew them for generations, passing the seeds down to their descendants. Finally, some seeds wound up with seed merchants, and I bought these from rareseeds.com. This is a moschata species squash, and all of my other squashes were ither species, so they should grow true from saved seeds. This squash was 18 pounds. It was way to big to roast without making some slices.

I set aside one one-pound section to be included as 1-inch cubes in the next 8-day supply of dog food, and a 2-cup portion of cubes for the day's squash soup. The rest were roasted at 375 F for 90 minutes until tender. Then I scooped out or sliced off the toased flesh and pureed for future soups or pies.

This squash came out lemon yellow. I froze 6 2-cup freezer bags of puree for future use. I also rinsed off the seeds and let them dry to save for next year. I did make a pie with one bag of puree. Despite being lemon yellow, the pie came out a rich chestnut brown. The recipe is the same as pumpkin pie, except I substitute coconut milk for evaporated milk. Very tasty pie for sure.

Sewing Upcycled Chinos Grocery Totes. 10.29.2021

Ning had some chinos that he wore at work before retiring, and no longer wears. they are a good quality, rugged fabric. The cuffs were frayed and there was wear on the beltline. The rest of the fabric is tough and undamaged. With new Washington State requirements to stop one-use plastic bags at grocery stores, I decided to make some totes he can keep in his car for shopping trips. I already have some like these in my car. The pattern was an old tote from the era when they were made with thinner plastuc than new ones. The size and shape are almost exactly the same as a large brown paper grocery bag. First, cut off the belt line and zipper, and cut the inseams to open the fabric panels.

Then measure out how the bag panels will fit together. They usually require some piecing for the end / bottom panel.

I finally changed the long panel to three shorter cross-wise rectangles, which I pieced together to make a single long section. That worked better with these fabric sections.

Then I piece together the bagand handles. It's all the same shape as the original, old bags although I give it an extra inch in every direction for size. The handles are also made the same as the original bags.

I think this uses about 90% if the fabric from the original chinos. There might be enough remaining to make a cadet cap, I'm not sure. It would be good fabric for that. These bags are highly durable and strong. By upcycling cotton fabric, there is no environmental issue involving the high impact of virgin cotton. One tote holds as much as four disposable one-use plastic begs would hold, without tearing. They are clothing, so can be washed and dried exactly the same as the original trousers, as needed. Store bought canvas totes shrink like crazy when washed.  These are highly ore-washed already.  They won't shrink at all.  I've used denim but it's rough on my sewing machine.  The chino cotton is still heavy, but not as heavy as denim, so it sews without any problems.  The photo is 2 totes. There are two more to be made, but not for a while.

Edit 11.9.21  Here are the dimensions for the bad, not necessarily to scale.