2011 Garden Review

Earlier this week, I received this in the mail...

*happy dance* Pinetree is my all-time favorite seed company. I've ordered from them every year for about 15 years...always with great results. Reasonably priced, quick to deliver, great customer service, what's not to like?!? I'll be spending the next couple of weeks planning next year's garden and putting an order together for the seeds. Which reminds me...

I haven't posted my 2011 garden plan.

Some of this worked really well:
     pumpkins produced best crop ever
     tomatoes nearly overwhelmed me
     plenty of beans for pickling

Some things didn't work so well at all:
     most of the peppers' production was lackluster
     second crops of beets and peas were disappointing
     not enough tomatillos, onions or carrots

So, in addition to drooling over my seed catalog, I need to come up with a plan to increase production of all our favorite vegs.  One big change that we've already put in place is to remove the row of butterfly bushes along the fence and put that bed into veg production this year (thanks for providing the hard labor to make that happen, Mike!)  Not only do we love our fresh fruits and veg during the growing season, we've been so pleased with the quality of the home canned produce that we want to add to our stash.  2012, here we come!

Quilt Mania

During the last few weeks of gardening and canning season, I was spending everyday either picking produce, weeding garden beds or bottling the goodies up. While it is really satisfying to see all the finished bottles on the shelf, the process is exhausting and time-consuming. So, to distract myself while I was working, I was planning quilts and promising myself some serious quilt-making time when frost hit.

Frost came. I've been quilting. And quilting. And quilting....

A special, quick quilt for our newest family member, Aynslee. These fabrics were so lovely that I knew they'd be perfect for our little princess. I used a simple pattern, the disappearing nine-patch. Used lime green fleece on the back to make it extra cuddly.

I've done a post about this quilt, but wanted to include it here to show the order of operations. Used my 'Twister' ruler and backed it with off-white fleece.

Made from the fabric line 'Cookie Jar Treats', this quilt is an addition to my Christmas quilt stash that I share every year. This one brings the number up to just enough for everyone to have one...except me. Gonna have to get at least one more made this year!

Although this one is primarily red and green, it's not a Christmas quilt. Those are apples and apple pies! I thought I'd use this one in September to celebrate the harvest and be cozy while watching tv downstairs. I purchased these fabrics and the pattern from Quilts Etc last year planning to make a lap size quilt. It turned out more twin sized so I really had to work to get it quilted. Pretty happy with the finished product, all said and done.

Most recent project, just finished this morning. Again, fabrics and free pattern from Quilts Etc last year. This one is just the right size to keep Peri and I warm on the sofa.

This group of quilts represents nearly the end of my stack of quilt UFOs. With that in mind, I splurged on some cute snowman flannels at last month's quilt class so between that quilt and some Christmas projects, I'll be pretty busy through the end of the year. No time for the winter blues in my sewing room!