The Garden Knows What to do!

We have been grossly inattentive to our garden this summer. As I wrote in the last post, we have been preoccupied with our camper. Well, it appears that the plants know what to do, even without our help.

All this, and we didn't even make it all the way down the row! Now if we can come up with a dish that will incorporate the beans and some of our six dozen eggs.....

The Salad Days, Strawberry Jam, and Farmhouse Garden for Betsey Johnson

My sweet little baby was sick for about a week and a half, and I have been far too tired a caregiver to post anything here. There is nothing worse than a sick bunny- here she is, sweet as can be, hugging her sick bunny at the dr.'s office.

Thankfully, the bunnies are feeling much better!

Looks like it's good I wasn't paying attention, as a lot of Blogger users had frustration with Blogger being down, and losing and getting back posts and such. I hope any of you who had trouble have gotten this all straightened out.

Around here, we have been enjoying what is starting to feel like summer- the garden is beginning to produce, and we have had amazing fresh salads several nights this past week.

There is nothing better than going outside to pick your fresh food,
and then eating it a few minutes later!

Our favorite farm stand, Osage Farms, has opened for the season, and we bought a gallon of strawberries last weekend for jam.

Prepping strawberries for jam

I love kitchen gadgets! This "Tomato Shark" made hulling the strawberries easy!

Canning helpers

More canning helpers... ;) 

Boiling strawberries and sugar

Exciting canning action shots taken by my husband

Found a great recipe in this book- strawberries and sugar :)

The jam came out really loose, as there was no added pectin. I like it this way; it is more like strawberry topping. I often use jam to flavor my yogurt, so this worked out perfectly for me.

In other farm news, the lightening bugs are back. I can't really begin to describe to you what that looks like here- I know most people have seen lightening bugs before, but I have never, ever seen them like this before. The low lying fields and trees are positively full of them, millions of them, and they sparkle and sparkle and sparkle. It is a sight to behold; the first time my husband and I saw them here, we were in the car and we stopped and just looked out the windows for a long time. Just the other day, Brian caught one in the house and took a photo before setting it free.

The chickens are really laying now that the days are longer...anyone need any eggs?

And finally, I had to get new storage for my fabric and pattern stash, because the old cabinet caved under pressure :) This was my Mother's Day gift, and I am very pleased with it. However, moving the stash made me realize that I have far too much stuff, and I think I am to the point where it is stifling my creativity because I don't know where to begin. So what did I do when my friend offered me some nice fabric on Wednesday? I took it home and crammed it in with the rest, of course. Some habits die hard. I did immediately put some of that fabric to use though, and yesterday I made myself a new sun hat for the summer using Butterick 3850 - a vintage Betsey Johnson accessories pattern circa early 1970s.

I have listed it for sale on eBay as part of my clean out. This is a neat pattern, and I have never seen it anywhere else. I need to get a good photo of the front for the Vintage Pattern Wiki. And here are a few too many pics of my finished hat!

My fabric was a little floppy, but I kinda like it that way, and I plan on starching the hell out of the brim to make it just a little less so. It is called a "fireman style" and is perfect for really keeping the sun off. And I love this fabric with the bees, citrus, and checks- it is all summer!

Well , now that I am back in the swing, I have a lot of blog reading to catch up on too! I hope the weekend is treating you well!

A Romp in the Garden

I am planning on doing some serious gardening this year, and as I wouldn't want to be hot or get an actual farmer's tan, I am making up some clothing appropriate for a romp in the garden.

Here is my version of McCall's 8044:

I chose view C, as I felt it was the most stylized for the era, although I have not yet attached the waist tie. I am also contemplating shoulder straps...we wouldn't want any mishaps.

This romper is rather scandalously short, as you can imagine from the side overlap and the fact that I am photographing it on the dress form. Honestly, that is kind of what I was going for, and the rabbits and chickens on the farm won't mind at all...I doubt it will bother my husband either :)! Still, for running around in I am thinking about doing an 80s meets 50s mash up and using the leftover fabric to make a basic wrap skirt with the bias tie. Hooray play suit! We'll see- I am on to a swimsuit mock up, so I never know what I will get to. Oh, and this romper cost me about 25 cents in materials to make- the fabric was free, the bias tape (I made) from a large roll that cost me 50 cents, and the elastic was free as well. I love sewing on the cheap!