Progress!

We’ve done a lot of work in the yard over the past couple weeks

First, I planted strawberries (divided from a generous coworker’s garden) in the hot, sunny strip on the south side of the house. That spot gets unfiltered sun all day long, and so far the only things that I’ve gotten to grow there have been portulaca and tomatoes. This year I decided to try filling the space with perennials. My initial idea was to let the birds and bunnies feast on the strawberries, but now that I’ve been watering and weeding them, I’m feeling a little less generous.

Then things got a lot more expensive. We have a tiny yard, and most of it is unshaded. A local gardener suggested planting a couple trees, so after some research, I decided on a couple small, ornamental trees. The cherry tree below is hardy enough to last during our harsh winters. It was an easy choice.

It was blossoming when we planted it. I’ve always wanted a flowering tree in my yard. It’s so pretty I can hardly believe it’s real.

My other tree choice was a bit more impetuous. Where the cherry tree comes by her beauty and strength through generations of Minnesotan ancestors, the Tinkerbell Lilac tree has science to thank for her tall stature. The photo on the tree card caught my eye – the blossoms are an incredibly vibrant dark pink. The fact that she’s rather a Frankenstien didn’t bother me at first, I was dumbstruck by the thought of pink lilac blossoms.

The dear tree is actually a tinkerbell lilac bush grafted on to the trunk of a Japanese Lilac tree. I worry about how she’ll fare in high winds; she’s very top-heavy. I tethered her loosely this weekend, in hopes it would allow her to withstand the spring storms we’re bound to get.

Lastly, remember the succulents I bought that snowy day in April? They are planted and thriving. Now I’m waiting for a few more blooms, and a couple more sunny days for planting

Gardening

When I was a kid, my dad was retired and he kept a huge garden. I always helped. I had a few rows of carrots and radishes and lettuce to tend, as well as some flowers. Going into a nursery always reminds me of my dad. I love the smell of dirt and green and fertilizer, and all the plastic pots with tender little buds stretching out. I remember looking over the seed packets with him to pick out the carrots I’d grow, and getting his advice on which flowers would be the best for our garden.

Today is the season opening for Malmborg’s, our local garden center. All week I’ve been planning what I’ll buy. I started clearing out a rock garden in our back yard that’s been neglected for years. I planted two of them last year, and my husband asked me why I didn’t do the third. I looked at the space he was referring to; it was so overgrown I didn’t even realize it had also once been a rock garden.

When I woke up this morning, there was a “crumb crust” of snow on the ground. You know that first layer of frosting you do, where some of the crumbs still show? The green grass was poking through the crust of snow just like that.

It was windy and still snowing when I went to the nursery, but everyone there was in good spirits. The flowers might have been a little cold, though.

Usually the store has lemonade for customers on their opening weekend, but today they had coffee and hot tea. It was very welcome after a chilly scene like this one.

I found a table full of succulents that looked really pretty when I brushed the snow away. I picked up six of them. Let’s hope it warms up quickly so I can plant them. I have big, big plans for our tiny yard this year. I’m hoping for a few weeks of mild weather before it gets too hot and humid to go outside. Stay tuned.

Lightbox Tester

After reading a few tutorials from folks who’ve done this before, I decided to make a lightbox to better photograph some of my stuff. (And I should probably finish some stuff so I have something to photograph, too). I went to Target and bought the clear storage box, tag board, and a couple clip lights. Minnie was more than happy to model for me.

Uh oh. We have a visitor.

Or perhaps Bertie would like to my production assistant.

Or better yet, my model. I’m going to need a bigger plastic tub.

A Pile of Scrapbooks

scrapbooks

Originally uploaded by periwinklejane

One of the biggest mess-causers in my craft stash is scrapbooks and all the stuff for them. The point of a scrapbook is to contain all of this stuff, right? Not for it to sit in magazine files and cute tin buckets and various piles on my shelves. But there it is, mostly unsorted and definitely not in books.

I’ve had a problem figuring out what I want a scrapbook to be. When I was in high school, the only scrapbooks I could find were these oversized, spiral-bound, construction paper numbers I bought at the local drugstore. I used scotch tape and rubber cement to paste in clippings from magazines. I should drag one of them up and photograph it, though I’m sure it would be embarrassing. They’re all pictures of Madonna and Sting and PeeWee Herman, and some mementos from birthday parties and movie tickets and stuff.

After college I found some archival quality scrapbooks in black. I started buying origami paper to use as accents to the reviews of concerts I’d gone to (Juliana Hatfield, Matthew Sweet, the Jayhawks).

Then came Archivers and all the “memory” type stores and wow, things got a little weird, didn’t they? All of a sudden it became about the paper and the ribbon and the doo-dads. And boy, that stuff is cute, no? I have a hard time resisting it. And a harder time figuring out how to fit my pictures and mementos with the spectacular papers I’d bought.

I did a few pages with a little bit of text and a couple pictures and a lot of pretty papers. It took me a while to figure out that the papers needed to be less prominent. I felt like I was featuring them, not my stuff. Silly.

I really like the idea of making a scrapbook part journal. That top book there, the green one, is going to feature our two newest cats, and how they joined the family. It’s a long story (complete with rabies shots!) and has a great ending, as well some some extraordinarily cute kitty pictures.

The striped book is going to be our honeymoon album — lots of pictures, museum tickets, and silly stories.

The pink album is from the months leading up to our wedding and, amazingly, that one’s almost done. I just need to finish up the page about my dress and my hubby’s vest and bow-tie (I made all of them).

I can’t remember why I bought that black album on the bottom, but I have lots of concert tickets and movie stubs and pictures to go in it, so I’m sure I’ll figure it out.

There. Some plans. Some projects to finish. Meanwhile, I have a couple gifty things in the works, so I’ll post pics of them soon. Progress!

Ribbon Spindles

spool spindle

Originally uploaded by periwinklejane

One reason for finishing all these craft projects is to get more organized. Of course, it’s hard for me to work when my supplies are in disarray. I’ve had these ribbon spools stuffed in a drawer that’s so full I have to rearrange everything each time I open it.

I picked up two plain wooden bases and a dowel pin from Michael’s, and took them to my basement workshop. Okay, I put some newspaper down on the basement floor to work on. I don’t have anything in the way of a work table. I figured it would be easy: drill a hole the same size as the dowel through the center of each base, cut two ten-inch lengths from the dowel, add a little wood glue, and hey-presto, done.

Why is nothing ever as easy as you think it will be? Turns out my drill bit set didn’t include a size that matched my dowel. I spent about five minutes debating heading to the hardware store, either for a drill bit that matched my dowel, or a dowel that matched one of my drill bits, but I really didn’t want the project to take all afternoon. So, I improvised with what I had already – using a drill sized a tad bigger than the dowel.

My secret weapon was Gorilla glue. Have you ever tried this stuff? It’s crazy. You get one piece that you are gluing a little wet, then put glue on both sides and connect. For some reason, the stuff gets a little foamy, which is great when you’re trying to fill in a gap. I used a cuff of tinfoil around the base to hold the dowel up straight while the glue dried (being careful not to let the foil touch the glue).

The glue foamed up a LOT, I wound up having to sand it down, but it took paint beautifully.

Now I just need to figure out what project is next.

Prunella, Clive and Zippy

Prunella, Clive and Zippy

Originally uploaded by periwinklejane

These little softies come from Miyako Kanamori’s charming book, Sock and Glove. The kitty and elephant started out as pairs of socks, and the pup was once a set of gloves.

I’m really pleased with the results. The directions were very simple and the medium is very forgiving. I’m terrible about fixing my mistakes when I’m sewing or knitting, and I prefer find a way to make them work into the final product.

For instance, Prunella’s face didn’t turn out quite how I’d hoped, and she looks a little cross. I thought about plucking out the stitches and starting over (and it would have only been about 15 minutes’ work), but I decided I liked her grumpy little face.

I have about a dozen more pairs of socks and gloves I purchased for this project, but I’m not sure if I’ll make more or switch to another project. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all these new friends, anyway.

And the bag of accessories reminds me – even though the subtitle of the book says you can make your new softy friends from “cast off” socks and gloves, most of the patterns require a pair, and areas that wear out quickly (like heels and toes and fingertips) are usually featured prominently in the finished animal. I wouldn’t recommend using the mates of old socks that got lost in the dryer.

Introduction

I love to start projects. One look through the storage areas in my house will tell you that. I have boxes of fabric, stacks of pretty papers, bins of beads, and baskets full of what-not.

My problem is, I’m not so good at finishing the projects. Those baskets and bins add up to dozens of half-filled scrapbooks, knitting projects eternally “on the needles” and lots of potentially cute decorations that never get a chance to collect dust on the shelves like they ought.

The materials take up a lot of space in my house, and even more importantly, they represent a lot of wasted time and money. My New Year’s Resolution for 2008 is to take these projects one by one and finish them.

The only rule I’m setting is that I cannot buy any new projects. I can purchase things I need to finish existing projects, but I’m considering it part of the challenge to figure out ways to do without. So if I don’t have matching buttons for eyes, I’ll learn to satin-stitch them on. I don’t need all the gadgets and findings they sell at the scrapbooking stores, even though they’re pretty darn neat. I can manage without them.

At this point, I’m not going to catalog the projects I have. I know me. I could make several days’ work out of that and tire of the whole operation before I even begin. I’ll post about each project as I go, including what I learned – both craft-wise and self-wise – while finishing it.