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  1. Art Dive

    June 2, 2011 by Lauren

    I have taken the terrifying plunge and submitted my application to participate in the West Seattle Summer Fest in July, specifically as part of the Art Dive sponsored by Twilight Artists Collective.

    *Deep Breath*

    I will be there selling my new baby and art quilts, my baby and toddler clothes and hats, and assorted hand sewn gifts.

    I am working on getting some better photos to share. I was hoping to get some really nice shots of the kids playing outside in the clothes and such, but the sun wont cooperate. If you are living in the Pacific Northwest this spring you know what I am talking about. The weather is dismal. I can only hope this means we are in for a stunning summer. I said stunning! (shakes fist at sky). Anyway, all weather related neurosis aside, I should soon post some photos of all the stuff I’ve been whipping up these last few months.

    In the meantime, please be content in sharing my ridiculous joy over my new craft geek purchase. Behold:

    Ooooh I can feel the tidieness start to set in!

    I know its just a thread holder/bobbin rack thing, but I have ridiculous expectations for this thing. As I typed this I also realized I just outed myself as a huge imposter. I am not a seamstress, I don’t even know the name of the thread rack thingy!). And yet, I am hopeful. This rack may be the start of great things for me. I might even know where to find things in all my mess. I may not have to discard half my thread after all the ends get tangled together in the drawer and I give up disentangling them and just cut them all off in one big thwack.  I’ll let you know if it works.

     

    Category Events, Quilts | Tags: | Comments Off

  2. Quilting

    May 28, 2011 by Lauren

    I have been keeping something from you. I admit it. Its my new obsession and I haven’t been ready to make it public yet. Wait, what I am talking about. This is a baby blog. There’s like two posts. Nothing is public. Well, suffice it to say this is a new obsession for me. I made my first quilt, randomley, for Clementine’s fourth birthday. It was a messy, hodgepodge, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants affair, but suddenly I was hooked. So now I foist my obsession on you, the unsuspecting public. Please to enjoy. Or criticize mercilessly. Either way.

    The Sunny Day Quilt

    Back of the Sunny Day quilt

    City Night Quilt

    Back of the City Night Quilt

    Jalisco Quilt

    BAck of the Jalisco Quilt

    Autumn Window Quilt

    Back of the Autumn Window Quilt

    Sidewalk Quilt

    Sidewalk Quilt Back, close up.

    Summer Windows Quilt, my first sold!

    These quilts, except for the Summer Windows quilt (which is sold, yay!) are part of my growing stockpile as I prepare for the summer markets.

    Category Quilts, Uncategorized | Tags: | Comments Off

  3. Garden Round-up, 2011

    May 15, 2011 by Lauren

    I have kept a list of the edibles I grow for years. It begins as hope. I start the seeds, never sure what will germinate. Then I plant the starts, never sure what will survive the rats, birds and slugs of the city. And then I tend the plants, never sure what will survive my under-informed fumbling. The alternating neglect and over watering. The perennials that may or may not return. The trees I fail to prune, or prune incorrectly. The list is like a prayer. Acknowledging each little seed, each plant; you are important, please grow.

    So here is the beginning list for 2011. I will update each season, as crops rotate through their cycles. Keep your fingers crossed.

    Fruits

    • Honeycrisp Apple
    • Lapin Cherry
    • Rainier Cherry
    • 2 Blueberry Bushes
    • 4 Evergreen Huckleberries
    • Wild Plum
    • Raspberry patch (maybe 8 canes?)
    • Wild Blackberries
    • Strawberries (assorted, maybe 10 plants)
    • Rhubarb
    • Red Currant

     

    Veggies

    • Broccoli
    • Cauliflower
    • Magenta Cauliflower
    • Fava beans
    • Indian Runner Beans
    • Bush Beans
    • Snow Peas
    • Sugar Snap Peas
    • English Shelling Peas
    • Nantes Carrots
    • Beets
    • Early Italian Garlic
    • Late Italian Garlic
    • Overwintering Onions
    • Scallions
    • Bushy Cucumbers
    • Mexican Miniature Gherkins
    • Buttercup Squash
    • Kabocha Squash
    • Brussel Sprouts
    • Kale
    • Tatsoi
    • Lambsquarters
    • Radishes
    • Arugula
    • Wild Lettuce
    • Dandelions
    • Red Peppers
    • Jalapeno Peppers
    • Tomatos (4 Varieties)
    • Artichokes
    • Potatoes
    • Romain Lettuce
    • Bingo Dry Shelling Beans

     

    Herbs and Medicinals

    • Basil
    • Catnip
    • Sage
    • Rosemary
    • Thyme
    • Parsley
    • Garden Sorrel
    • French Sorrel
    • Mexican Tarragon
    • Anise Hyssop
    • Chamomile
    • Mullein
    • Comfrey
    • Lavender
    • Lovage
    • Valerian
    • Kentucky Mint
    • Spearmint
    • Lemon Balm
    • Apple Mint
    • Chervil
    • Lemon Verbena
    • Sweet Bay
    • Calendula
    • Borage
    • Golden Comfrey
    • Bee Balm
    • Curry
    • Epazote
    • Pineapple Sage
    • Ginger Mint
    • Feverfew
    • Fennel
    • Dill
    • Chives
    • Oregano
    • Plantain
    • Chickweed
    • Stevia
    • “Sweet Annie” Artemesia

     

    Edible Flowers

    • Nasturtiums
    • Viola
    • Geraniums
    • Dandelion
    • Marigold

     

     

     

     

     

    Not to be outdone or forgotten, our three hens, Frances, Edith and Tilly are providing us about 14 eggs a week. Lovely Ladies that they are.

    Category Garden | Tags: | Comments Off

  4. Springing

    by Lauren

    Spring is slow this year in the Pacific Northwest. Yet the garden and I, we trudge on. The tomatoes are shivering in their pots. The basil and peppers must be kept inside, peering out the window like cabin fevered children. Seedlings that should have burst triumphantly from the soil weeks ago are still abed, made sluggish and lazy by the cold damp.

    But there is some hope.

    Bush Beans

    Raspberries, pending

    The Pea Tipi

    Fava Blossom

    Apple Blossom

    The Cold Beds

    The Hopeful Chicken

    Potted

    Category Garden | Tags: | Comments Off

  5. How not to stink, and still stick it to the man.

    May 24, 2010 by Lauren

    So I have been using this Homemade Deodorant for nine months now. Yes, I said homemade. Yes for nine months. No! I really don’t smell! I promise. And not in the way that the hippie in the check out line of PCC, three people in front of me doesn’t smell. He doesn’t need deodorant, that’s smell is nature, man. Meanwhile my eyes are watering.

    No, my not stinking is a much more grounded in reality, verified by those around me kind of not stinking. Even after trenching 50 feet of chicken run fencing I didn’t smell. Not even a little, not even with my nose right in there. And as an extra super bonus, I have applied nothing to my body that is toxic, or couldn’t be pronounced. I am a fan of my breasts, and I’d like to keep them. I’d also like you to keep yours, so I am posting this deodorant recipe. Like all great things, I can take zero credit for it. The recipe I found at angrychicken.typepad.com (thank you Amy,so very much for figuring this out)  After 12 years of trying various Evil Amplifiers (that would be those all natural deoderants that you put on in the morning smelling fresh as roses and by midday you smell like a New Mexican truck driver coming of a six day Amphetamine bender. And all you did was sit as your computer.) I can’t believe how simple the solution truly is.

    So enough already, here is the recipe. I have adjusted it slightly from the original to keep a little softer in my cold, cold bathroom.

    Home Made Deodorant

    3 Tablespoons shea butter
    3 Tablespoons baking soda
    2 Tablespoons corn starch
    2 Tablespoons cocoa butter
    1/2 tsp Vitamin E oil (or use two gelcaps, puncture and squeeze out the oil)

    Essential Oil (I find 20-30 drops, but go slowly and add scent to your preference)

    2 tbl Aloe Vera gel

    I don’t own a microwave, so I melt the butter down chocolate style in a hot water bath, then stir in the baking soda, cornstarch and aloe. When it is smooth and mixed I stir in my essential oils, five drops or so at a time. Then I pour it into whatever container I am using and let it come to room temperature. You can store it in the refrigerator if you want to keep it longer, but I haven’t had any trouble with this spoiling after its mixed.

    Some ideas for application are:

    Keep it in a jar and scoop out a pea size amount to rub into each armpit.

    Pour into an empty, cleaned deoderant container. Then you can simply apply it like you are used to doing with those chemical sticks.

    Pour into ice cube or popsicle molds. You can keep one in your bathroom and the others in a baggie in the fridge for when they’re needed.

    I like the jar method, because I don’t have any old deoderant containers lying around, and I didn’t want to invest in buying new plastic dispensers.And I just don’t mind scooping it out and rubbing it on with my fingers.

    The only drawback to this recipe is that these ingredients can get really pricey. I suggest going in with friends and buying bulk from somewhere like mountainroseherbs.com or going to my etsy site duckyluck.etsy.com. If there’s no deoderant listed the day you visit, just send me a convo and I’ll get you hooked up quick smart!

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: | Comments Off

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