Lavender - Farmer's Market

Hi! May is fickle here at the beach---and probably by you too, though I remember many long hot sunny Mays in southern Ohio while we waited for school to finally end. Sunday at the flea market the temps were in the 80s! Delightfully soft spring breeze but hot.
Today the sky just heaved a big sigh and whimpered "November, right? It IS November?"  Beyond ''mackeral sky", instead pewter grey doldrum overcast, looked like it was gonna pour all day. And cold. brrrr.

My farmers market however was fun! Spring flowers and produce actually prefer a cool wet day.
The herb vendor was back...

How could I resist! I got one  of each in honor of today's Flower Full Moon.*

Spanish lavender in two shades, like fat purple bumble bees. I'll try them in my deck planters, though I don't think they will re-bloom this year.

 

 

My friend got one of these darling topiaries. Greek basil. It might not survive on my deck, but her house is more sheltered.

This week I focused on the cheese vendors.

I chose multi-seed little breads from Bread Alone. I slice them for my cheese platters; rolls like these are more economical than a big loaf of bread.
The cheeses: an alpine cows' milk cheese, on the left. Aged mozzarella, sciamorza, on the right. I can't wait to try the new cheese seller's other cheeses! He was very friendly and proud of his selection, which included both sheeps' milk cheese and cows' milk cheese. The aged mozzarella is from my Brooklyn guy who brings delicacies from my old neighborhood in Brooklyn.

I love cheese, especially handmade artisan cheeses, though I admit I shopped with this deluded fantasy of sitting out with a glass of wine and today's finds, with friends, watching the spring full moon, the Flower Moon!--- rise over the water. [only if we wore our winter parkas,lol.]

I also love the Brooklyn pasta-n-cheese guy's handmade noodles. I chose perciatelli this week. They are like fat spaghetti with a hole in the middle, or long slender tubes. I plan to use them  for a pasta primavera later in the week: pancetta, spring peas, asparagus, shaved asiago and parm. A little lemon or white wine, a splash of cream... Mmmm!

*Flower Full Moon: May full moon. Also indicates last late frost date in most of the US. I always thought this was the Herring Moon, as it is when the herring return to spawn in the creeks of Cape Cod. Maybe it's a local tradition.....Paine's Creek Brewster MA herring run



love
 
lizzy
 
...............................................gone to the beach

 

 

 

Quilting - Antique Cheddar Baskets

auditions

Hi guys! A cold front and spitting rain blew through this noon, just as I was in the midst of my Monday photo shoot. I couldn't finish and so the exciting tales of weekend flea-ing will have to wait for a day or two.  I'll show the pics I took inside instead.

It's no secret that I love Basket quilts. I was thrilled to find a large group of Basket blocks in my recent purchase of antique blocks from my dealer friend.

An aha moment, I thought Oh these will be perfect for *this*:
below, two Basket quilts with cheddar grounds that I saved on Pinterest.

I particularly love the strippy one for this project. (I want to make tiny baskets for the other, maybe 3 or 4"? squares?)

In the new box of old blocks there were I think 13 simple blocks, plus I had another set of half square triangle Baskets from eBay.

I was surprised they are about the same size. The eBay blocks are prettier /  more colorful, so I'll intersperse them with the faded  plainer Baskets.

Fine. But what about the cheddar? [an orange cheddar, bottom.] Or poison yellow, aka chrome yellow  in the middle. I kinda love the awful chrome yellow!

I don't much like the main cheddar, below, at all. I bought 8 yards, sigh.

This cheddar or mustard, below right, is the best. But it's 25 years old and I only have that 8'' x 20" piece.

If I don't want cheddar I have a couple of very nice grey fabrics, including one that is a nature journal text print. For this sort of look.

****
Other quilting projects to contemplate:
I love this greige , neutral quilt BOM that features Japanese taupe fabrics. link is here

 Serene, calm, reserved----It's different from anything I've ever made, though reminiscent of my Porch quilt, by Linda Hall.
The piecing looks simple and the  applique looks just about my level of easiness. (You should see me laboring over my Noah and Matilda blocks! I think maybe close-work/ reading  glasses are needed. Yikes!).The kit comes with a book and silk sewing thread. [extra charge] ; I'd like to try silk thread.

And I love flowers.

This taupe quilt would be a good beach sewing project, I think. I'll alternate it with Mr Sunshine, who came out of his winter storage basket and was contemplated yesterday on my briefly sunny deck. No good fairy or leprechaun snuck in and sewed all those damn 100 leaves on the Tree of Life block during the winter. Yes, they still await and as my friend Hunter says, I will sew love and blessings into each tiny ugly green leaf. lol.
****

And I really really really want to make this new set of patterns  Common Threads that is being published by my favorite designer Cheri Payne. I had so much fun making my doll quilts during Lori's quilt along at Humble Quilts. This new set of designs by Cheri will be like making many doll quilts that combine into one big quilt! So much for my friend who years ago told me making doll quilts is a waste of time! Hah!---I didn't make another doll quilt then til I began following Lori's blog. But nevermind.
A great way to showcase my antique calicos and blocks.

My kids loathe ''cheddar'' unless it's on an antipasto platter! Is that influencing me to tone down my love of gaudy and garish, or what? I'll set my antique Baskets aside until the right cheddar comes along! Advice? Thoughts? 2 cents are welcomed.
:-)

love

lizzy

gone to the beach

Photos of completed quilts are from Pinterest, except the taupe quilt whose website is shown with a link. All other photos are by me.

First Farmers Market---Asparagus Season

decorative rosemary and French lavender

 Hi everyone! This week our farmers market opened in town! I was excited, because as you know I love fresh foods and outdoor markets.

It was a cold brisk day. Not warm enough for the town's square's fountain to be filled, and you can see there's not a hint of buds on the big old sycamore trees.

But the market was busy and everyone seemed cheerful and happy to welcome this hint of spring.

Of course the market sells only locally grown (NY, NJ, PA) produce and products.



so sweet for Mothers Day! Love the orange!

Pickles:

Cheeses---must try!

A new guy with spices [maybe a local importer of?]....

This time of year our farmers offer mostly herbs and bedding flowers.

 

 

 

 

A few have greenhouses and they have fresh ripe tomatoes. A true luxury in May.

More herbs---beautiful large rosemary and lavender plants. They also had nice perennials, like Russian sage which blooms such a heavenly blue all summer.

more flowers...

 

 

The main food crops in season are---besides herbs---baby lettuces and spinach, plus my favorite asparagus.

Cut fresh that morning! I hope it lives up to its 5.oo a bunch exorbitant price.

I plan to make this recipe tonight.

I enjoy the market, love seeing the vendors, shopping outdoors in the fresh air. The prices though are often beyond my budget, which is too bad. I understand the growers [organic no less] have their overhead and travel expenses, they sit there all day...but at these prices I have to look at shopping there as a fun outing, like a movie or a margarita with friends. A treat not a lifestyle.

I got a kick out of this handwritten sign! Such a bargain: pots of annual flowers 5.oo each OR  5 for 25.oo. LOL.

Cute.

Do you have a farmers market you enjoy? Is it expensive? I hope you go and treat yourself, at least now and then, to  a sweet bunch of asparagus or a head of baby lettuce.

PS Wonderful recycled plastic bottle market bags here on Barbara Brackman's quilting blog.

love
 
lizzy


gone to the beach





Town beach, public this time of year, then a fee during the summer.
Note: no crowds!

 

 

 

 

public town beach, also below