I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Friday, June 6, 2025

Spring Harvest, Tie Dye, and Is It Cold enough for Flannel Sheets

 


Hello, hello. The fog just rolled in at sunset. Don't you just LOVE the long, long days? But June is such a seesaw month, one day cold, the next day hot. Shorts or parka, flannel sheets or summery percale. It was in the 60s here today, but in the city I think as hot as 86*! I still have my ACs covered, the storm windows are still in place--whatever shall I do if the heat wave comes my way. Rely on the sea breeze and put up the deck umbrella I suppose.

The deck garden is doing well! But first, so excited, one of my bonsai tree seeds has sprouted. This weekend I will pot it up. There are four varieties of seeds. Two are colding off in the freezer til August, Norway spruce and black pine. The warmer climate two are Flame tree and Blue Jacaranda.


And more excitement [in my little mundane world], my foray into veggie growing has been been a success. This is usually the wildflowers pot.

Lettuce is lovely, so sweet and tender.


And I have radishes. Love radishes. The cool aluminum strainer like my gramma had is sidewalk scavenged, scrubbed clean and reused.


These are multicolored, called Easter Egg. Pretty impressive. I pulled out and rinsed maybe half the rads, the rest are tiny still.

Isn't it oh so cute?

Other pots have seedlings doing well. Marigolds. Thin? Transplant?


Mixed zinnies and cosmos.

The sweet peas are still growing. I gave them sticks to climb on. Prob bloom in October,


The green zinnies are the slow pokes but strong and sturdy. 
I must add the Lilliput zinnias' in that bare spot.

I'm so hopeful for a beautiful bright Lizzy's Garden this year.

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Commission projects are keeping me so busy---this is the most gorgeous princess dress, a ballerina costume for a recital. Just needs tiny alterations. It's beautifully made, like a wedding gown, I'm relieved not to have to do much to fix it.


And then the usual June project oof bedazzling the camp tee shirts and sweatshirt. I probably overthink this, it's my third or fourth year doing these. First, alter the tees to fit the child---took me two days and many thread color changes.


Repair the handed down recycled sweatshirt. I'm so impressed that the moms and kids do this, reuse/ make do/ make it work. I did a patch and a smiley face applique.

Alter and fringe a black sports jersey; alter  a basic tee for camp fieldtrips. Then: one day to tie dye, another for drying and curing the dyes.


Tomorrow I'll iron-set the the dyes, then begin the bedazzling. This involves fringing, scrunching, and sewing down an assortment of cute decorative patches and colorful athletic style letters for the child's name. 

These patches should be secure with heat setting, but the mom wants them all stitched too, lots of washing happens. I'm just glad the little girl's name is short, not Hermione or Samantha, or Clementine.

The applique sewing is tedious but the child's face when she saw the patches I'd ordered for her makes it all worthwhile. Just have to pace myself, my back is hurting already from the sink work while dyeing.

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Sunday is Mo's adoption Day! He arrived on a special flight, 11 years ago.


A tiny mite, yet already a big boy, weighed over 7 pounds at age 8 weeks.


If Mo is well enough we will have a little steak to share and Mo's very favorite treat, rice pudding. I got him a new luau shirt, and a Lambie toy.  A snuggle rug for the deck and fancy tiny treats too. He will be baffled but happy. Eleven years. WoW.


Have a great weekend. Probably safe to say, No Snow? Back to my scroll project soon I hope.

from Larisa blog: Stitching Notes HERE



[you may recall I said the scrolls sound fun but useless--Larisa explains!]


Welcome June....


love

lizzy

gone to the beach....