Bring the Outdoors in with a Fabric Easter Basket Wall Planter - It Holds it's Shape with HeatNBond Craft Interfacing

I am so tired of cold weather and can't wait to get outside and plant flowers.  Here is an easy way to bring the garden inside and it's a great way to decorate for Easter too.  In fact, one of these little wall planters would make the perfect Easter gift or even for May Day baskets.  Making these in seasonal colors like the ones found in Camelot Fabric's Kaleidoscope collection brings spring indoors.

The full tutorial for these planter baskets is on the ThermOWeb blog today.

Fabric Basket Wall Planter

Size is for a standard 4" pot with no holes on the bottom.

Supplies:
Heat-n-Bond® – Craft Extra Firm Fusible Interfacing
Heat-n-Bond®  - Fusible Medium Weight Interfacing
Fabric - 3 fat quarters
Thread - Aurfil 50 wt (#5006)
Iron (I love my Oliso Pro)
Sewing Machine
Erasable marking pen
Other general sewing supplies

Fabric cutting:
Outside patchwork:  16 - 2 1/4" squares
Outside bottom(lavender):  1 - 5 1/2" x 7 1/2"
Hanging loop (lavender):  1 - 1 1/2" x 3"
Basket handle (lavender): 1 - 3" x 8"
Lining (teal):  1 - 7 1/2" x 12 1/2"  

Interfacing cutting:
From Heat-n-Bond® – Craft Extra Firm Fusible Interfacing
For basket handle:  1 - 2" x 8"
For outside basket:  1- 7 1/2" x 12 1/2"

From Heat-n-Bond®  - Fusible Medium Weight Interfacing
For basket lining:  1 - 7 1/2" x 12 1/2"

This would be a sweet little Easter basket if the hanging loop is left off. 

 Just fill it with your favorite goodies.

Be sure and check out the full tutorial by clicking HERE.

Recycled Denim Pillow

And we thought it was spring.  Three nights of freezing temperatures this week found us trying to keep the garden under cover (including the bunnies).  Everything seems to be doing alright with the exception of a wall hydrant that had a hose still hooked up to it.  Don't worry, I know a good plumber...lol

After cutting up milk jugs to go over the plants in the garden, I was in a recycling mood.  I dug in my stash of garage sale clothes and cut up an old pair of jeans to make a pillow for a Friday finish.

There were eight 5" charm squares in red left from a charm exchange last year to make sixteen 4 1/2" half square triangles.  I arranged the squares until I found a pleasing pattern and pieced them together.  I'm still practicing different free motion quilting designs and used a few on the quilting.  I used red piping for the edge and a envelope back for easy washing.  The pillow is 16 inches.

From old jeans to a pretty pillow

In other news, look what came in the mail this week.  Bracelets!!  My sister-in-law has an Etsy shop called RosieBlueBell where these are available.  I have very small wrists and she made these to order.  I just love the beads and buttons.

Handmade bracelets from RosieBlueBell

And finally, the bunnies survived the cold.  We thought there was 3.  Hubby told me there is 5.  Today I counted 6.  They are multiplying and growing, but they still live in my garden.  Only now they are protected with straw thanks to hubby.

Our pet bunnies..ugh

Have a great weekend,

Gardening Season 2013 - I need lessons from Mr. McGregor

Wonderful weather and a weekend at home was just the ticket for clearing out the garden and starting the early spring vegetables. Someone had already started growing in our garden.  This would happen to be a very lucky baby bunny.

Last year I turned over the garden with a shovel and a friend showed up with a tiller and turned the earth over for me again.  Hubby and I decided to enrich our soil a little more this year and went to town and purchased our own tiller and compost. 

In town we hubby spotted this: 

 Notice the sign is painted and this vehicle is for selling stickers?  I've never seen a traveling sticker salesman.  We didn't stop, but did get a picture for kicks...

The tiller made it home with us and we went straight to work. Because I had read the owner's manual on the trip home, I saved a rabbit nest.  The manual suggested leaving a row untilled between passes and then going back between the tilled rows.  Hubby needed a rest after the first tilling of every other row when I spotted an old cabbage plant and worked to pull it up.  Out popped a little head...Scared the heck out of me.  We had just missed the plant with the baby rabbits by inches.

It would have broke our hearts if the tiller had ran over them.  We could see 2 babies, but there could be 3 in there.  So it was decided to till the other end of the garden and let the momma relocate the babies Saturday night.  We thought she would want to relocate the babies after we had disturbed the nest. 

Sunday we went back to work.  The rabbit nest was still there.  Now with a nice, fresh door of rabbit fur over it.  Uugghh.  Now what?  I don't want to provide food for them by planting my garden.  My garden is in a fence to keep animals out, not to trap them in.  We found the hole in the fence where Mommy Bunny is getting in, but she needs to get out first before we patch it.

Planting went on as scheduled and I'm counting on the rabbits vacating before my seeds start germinating.  I rearranged my plan for seeds and plants.  The plants went on the far end of the garden with a nice little chicken wire fence (thanks honey) across that end to protect them from the hungry rabbits.  This is my own "Tale of Peter Rabbit" only the bunny family is living in my garden.

Every year I say to myself I'm going to keep track of what I plant, but this year I am actually doing it.



Garden Chart 2013

It's a little primitive, but perfect for keeping track of what I've planted.  I can add to it as the weather warms and new plants are introduced.  Next year I will know what worked well and what flopped.  I'm trying to turn my thumb from black to green.



Anyone know anything about getting rid of rabbits?

St. Patrick's Day Mug Rug

Who says mug rugs are just for coffee and tea?   Can't a mug rug be a green beer coaster too?  Not that I am much of a beer drinker, but in observance of the upcoming holiday I may be known to enjoy a cold beverage.

Shamrock Mug Rug

I found this little foundation pieced shamrock pattern on Craftsy.  It is a free pattern by Jennifer over at http://sewhooked.com/.

My little four leaf clover and tulips on their way

I wanted to show the the progress of the bulbs we planted last fall around the flag pole. Here is the post about planting.  They are coming up!!!

Of course Molly wanted to be in the picture....  She is an Irish Setter after all.

 

 

Here's to a Happy St. Patrick's Day,

 





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Planting Tulips with a Drill

I'm on a mission to add a little color to this place with plants.  So far I've fought the deer and the deer have won.  But today, hubby and I planted 100 tulip bulbs and we did it with a drill and paddle bit. He ran the drill, I dropped the bulbs in the hole, and we were done in no time.   Hopefully we will get to see a little color next spring before the wildlife around here makes lunch out of my flowers.

The bulbs needed to be 6" in the ground, the length of the drill bit.   That makes it so easy to just drill the hole with a 1 1/2" paddle bit.  (or if you don't have that size, hubby can weld one up..lol)

I used the shovel to help guide the bulb into the hole and to cover the bulb back up.  You could hardly tell we had done anything to the lawn.

Drilling the holes

Dropping the bulbs in the holes

Where the tulips will be growing next spring. 

Hopefully there will be an after picture of beautiful tulips growing here next spring.

Add some color to your world,

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Debbie-doos

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

If anything, I can grow zucchini.  We've hardly bought any vegetables this summer because the squash garden runneth over has been a blessing.

This is another one of a series of zucchini recipes that I classify as a winner.  By making a butter to go with the pineapple zucchini bread it's over the top good.



Pineapple Zucchini Bread with pineapple butter

Pineapple Zucchini Bread with Pineapple Butter

3 eggs
2 cups shredded zucchini (I didn't peel it this time)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 20 oz crushed pineapple, divided (1/2 is for the butter) and really, really drained.
2 t. vanilla
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup butter, softened (This is for the pineapple butter)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line bottom of 2 loaf pans with waxed paper and spray pans with cooking spray.

Mix eggs, zucchini, oil, 1/2 of the can of pineapple, and vanilla.  Set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients and add to the egg mixture.  Mix well.

Poor into prepared pans and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the bread is baking, mix the other 1/2 of the pineapple with butter.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve the butter on the side with the bread.  It's yummy.




More zucchini recipes to come,  lol

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debbie-debbiedoos

Cole Slaw Anyone?

The cabbage is finally ready in the garden and I'm busy using it up.  In a search for a good Cole slaw recipe, I ran across Todd Wilbur's recipe to "clone the world's best slaw" (KFC Cole Slaw) at Todd Wilbur's Top Secret Recipes.

Here is my modified version.  I took it to my in law's house last night and it was a huge success. 

Cole Slaw like KFC

Cole Slaw

1/2 cup light Miracle Whip
1/3 cup sugar*
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter milk**
2 1/2 T.  lemon juice
1 1/2 T.  white vinegar
1/2 t.  salt
1/8 t.  pepper
1/2 t.  onion powder
1/2 t.  celery seed
1 head of cabbage (about 8 cups)
2 medium carrots

Shred the cabbage and carrots and place in a large mixing bowl.  (I use my Food Processor to shred.) Set aside. 

In a small bowl mix all other ingredients until smooth.

Poor the mix over the cabbage mixture and mix well. 

Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours till chilled.


* I have made this with Splenda (1/3 cup) and it tastes good.  I like sugar better, but hubby isn't supposed to have sugar.

**A substitute for buttermilk.  1/2 cup milk mixed with 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice.  Let sit 5 minutes, then measure a 1/4 cup.

Cabbage
 

This is the cabbage in my garden today.  I love going out to the garden and cutting a head of cabbage and making a bowl of slaw right away.  Such fresh taste.

This is my gardening buddy, Molly.  She loves to eat what I would normally take to compost.  She is such good company.

Molly eating a squash

Happy Labor Day,

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Zucchini anyone?

Shredding, freezing, shredding, freezing, shredding, and freezing. That's my plan for today.

Zucchini Harvest

Then maybe I'll bake some  Chocolate Zucchini Bread.

People run when they see me coming with my garden basket,

Our First Vegetable Garden

First off, I've always thought my thumbs are black.  I seem to lack the skills of a gardener.  This year I've been determined to change that.  I'm learning gardening 101 by trial, error, error again, look it up on the Internet, ask questions of green thumbers (why isn't that a word?), try it their way, error again, pull it up, plant something else, watch bugs enjoy, spray the crap out of things, plant again, error again, man it's working, and look on the Internet again.  Experience seems to be the best learning tool of all.  If failure breeds success, next year I should be off the charts.

We have fence around the garden to keep dogs and deer out.  The birds seem to love it.  They use the sprinkler as a bird bath and the worms are keeping them fed.  We have strawberries in an old horse tank next to the garden.  The birds ate my first strawberry, so we now have netting over the strawberries and we have harvested 2.  YES 2 whole strawberries.  lol

Garden June 3, 2012

I started with spinach, but the bugs really chowed down on it, so I pulled it up.  I like spinach but not leaves with bug holes in them...  I planted cabbage and broccoli which seem to be doing fine. I've planted tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow and green squash, peppers, dill, watermelon, and pumpkins.  I have marigolds on one side, because someone told me rabbits hate marigolds.  I thought it was worth trying to keep out the rabbits.  OR I could just put the chicken wire I purchased around the bottom of the fence.  I don't think there are any rabbits around here that could jump the 6 feet it would take to get over the fence.....

Our first harvest

The first thing we consumed from the garden this year was this itty bitty strawberry.  Hubby and I split it.  Tasty.  That was June 3rd.  Success.  Oh yeah.  This is what $15.00 worth of strawberry plants gets ya..........

Harvesting broccoli June 10, 2012

This morning I was out watering the garden and started wondering about the broccoli.  It was starting to look ready.  I checked this web site, "Gardening Know How" and learned we definitely needed to harvest it.  The hot wind was taking it's toll and turning the broccoli yellow.  I hate this wind!

Our second harvest

The second harvest looks a little better.  ha  YES, That is another strawberry and yes, we will split it.

This gardening thing is starting to be fun.  Stay tuned.

Learning and loving it,



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