Flowers and Blocks Baby Afghan

My soon-to-be granddaughter's nursery is beginning to take shape. The walls are a lovely shade of pale robin's egg blue, the furniture white, and the main decorative color is lavender with accents of green. To keep baby cuddly and warm I made a soft afghan picking up the nursery colors. The construction was simple: Using four colors of soft, acrylic, worsted weight yarn I knit alternating blocks of seed stitch and stockinette bordered by seed stitch. Each strip is five squares long, with five strips sewn together. Then I made an assortment of crocheted flowers to accent the stockinette blocks.

Flower and Blocks Afghan Pattern

With No 5 straight needles cast on 27 stitches (or any size to achieve gauge of 27 stitches = 6 inches.)

Strip #1 - * knit in seed stitch until the block measures six inches long. Change color and continue knitting in seed stitch for one inch. Next row k1, p1, k1, p1, k across to last four stitches, p1, k1, p1, k1. Next row k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, purl across to last five stitches, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1. Continue knitting in seed stitch and stockinette pattern until block measures 5 inches from the beginning. Next row knit in seed stitch across. Knit in seed stitch for an inch. Change color and repeat pattern from *. Finish this strip with a seed stitch block. Create 2 more strips like this mixing the colors as you choose.

Strip #2 - Create another five block strip starting and ending with a seed stitch/stockinette block alternating with a seed stitch block. Create another strip like this mixing colors as you choose.

Sew strips together with an invisible seam. Sew flowers to centers of stockinette blocks.

Flowers: With No 6 hook, chain 6 and slst to form a ring. Chain 3, then in first stitch make two triple crochet, chain 3 slst to ring. Continue working around ring to form 5 petals. Secure yarn leaving a long tail.

Five weeks to due date!

Easy One-hour Bread Loaf

Times have changed since I had my babies. There are new rules and restrictions for mothers-to-be...along with no otc meds and no alcohol...Moms are told to avoid luncheon meat and unpasteurized cheese. Of course as long as baby is healthy parents will happily oblige. One thing that hasn't changed is the desire to shower the new family with gifts for baby.

Baby Ashley is no exception! This past Sunday more than a dozen friends and family feted new parents Amanda and Dan with a gift extravaganza. Everything from practical diapers, wipes and a stroller to the very precious and adorable onesies, dresses and bibs. Grandma Deb even brought tiny booties knit by her own grandmother and passed down in the family to each new generation. It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon and the generosity of friends was amazing.

I kept the food hearty but simple. Platters of cheeses, fruit, and veggies along with two ham and cheese loaves. (Yes, all cheeses were pasteurized and the ham was fully cooked!)

This simple home-made bread never fails to impress party guests. It is the perfect yeast bread recipe to learn bread baking. Doesn't it look absolutely yummy? The original recipe is from Fleischmann's Yeast for a Reuben Loaf but I've filled it many other ways. To the basic bread dough you can use roast beef and provolone, turkey and havarti, ham and swiss, or the original corned beef, swiss and sauerkraut. It's terrific any way you decide to go. And best yet it only takes one hour from start to finish. It doesn't get easier than this.

Photos from Fleismann's Yeast

Fleischmann's One Hour Sandwich Loaf

Makes one loaf

2-1/2  to 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope Fleischmann's® RapidRise Yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup very warm water (120° to 130°F)*

8-12 ounces luncheon meat shaved
4-6 ounces cheese, sliced

1 egg white, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon seeds (optional)

*When using Rapid Rise yeast the water temperature is very important. Too cool and the yeast won't rise, too hot and the yeast is killed.  I recommend you use a thermometer to measure water temperature.

First prepare your oven: Place boiling water in a pan or bowl in your cold oven and close the oven door. This will make the oven space warm and steamy...perfect for making bread dough rise.

Next heat the water and butter in a glass measuring cup until temperature reaches 120-130 degrees. In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Stir in water; mix until a soft dough forms. I use a stand mixer with a dough hook to knead the dough until it is rubbery not sticky. You may add some of the remaining flour as needed. 

Gather up the dough and roll to a 14 x 10-inch rectangle on a sheet of parchment paper. Arrange layers of meat and cheese lengthwise down the middle third of the dough. You may add condiments to the filling if you choose.

Make cuts from filling to edges of dough 1-inch apart on both sides of filling, using a sharp knife or scissors.  Alternating slices, fold the strips at an angle across filling. Transfer the parchment paper with loaf to a baking sheet.

Cover dough with greased plastic wrap and let rise in your steamy oven for 15 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and pre-heat oven to 400°F.   Brush the loaf with beaten egg white and sprinkle with seeds (if desired).

Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Enjoy this loaf hot or cold. 

WIng Chair Slipcover for under $40!

I've been wanting to get new living room furniture for years...mine is so 1980's looking. But there's always a more pressing repair or replacement that takes priority. New roof, new furnace, new kitchen...the budget can only stretch so far. My sofa isn't in bad shape and the light blue color is actually back in style. So I've resigned myself to living with it for the next few years.

However, the print fabric on the wing chair is just too outdated. I priced slipcovers and definitely didn't want to spend that much! So it's time to jump in to a frugal DIY project. This like many of my projects was done while my husband was away on a one-week business trip.
Because -

1. He'd try to talk me out of it. ("Why do we have to change? It's fine the way it is.")
2. He'd hover watching me work and offer "advice".
3. He'd complain about the monumental mess I was making.
4. It's easier that way!

I had a general idea that I'd need about six yards of fabric to cover the chair, but nothing in the fabric store was cheap enough to use. I wanted a neutral linen-colored fabric that could be laundered easily. Ikea had the perfect solution. I bought two Fabrina bedspreads each 98" x 98" at only $17.99 each. The fabric is an all cotton ribcord. Perfect.

I spent a lot of time searching online and in library books for patterns/instructions to make a wing back slipcover. This is probably one of the toughest slipcover projects there is. I was going to photograph and describe the entire project for you, but when I finally found a resource that worked for me, I thought why reinvent the wheel. So let me introduce you to Miss Mustard Seed and her fabulous video series. Miss Mustard Seed's How to Make Slipcovers- video series.  I'm a planner and measurer by nature, so following her fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach was scary for me. Believe me I'm glad I stayed with it!

Marian - you are a genius! She demonstrates the easiest way to make a fitted slipcover step-by-step. I followed her method but decided not to add a ruffle or cording to my slipcovers...therefore my project was easier and less expensive. No, my slipcover isn't perfect. If folks want to examine every seam they will find some faults. But as Miss Mustard Seed says "If you want perfection hire a professional". The slipcover is nice looking, fits the chair well, and is durable.

If you're going to try this project let me remind you to pre-wash your fabric first. Cotton fabrics usually shrink around five percent which could make a big difference in your yardage needs. Because the fabric was ribbed I had to take extra care in laying out the fabric direction and match the stripes. I also changed the method of closing the back. I wanted something tailored and finished looking. First I tried iron-on Velcro squares following the instructions very carefully. No matter what I did, the Velcro would NOT stay on the fabric. So I went to plan B and sewed on snap tape. This cost less than four dollars a yard (I only needed one yard) and was easy to sew on.

 I could have gotten away with using smaller bedspreads - the 59" x 98" size for $12.99 each - but I wasn't sure how much I would need. I've got tons of fabric left over. So total cost of the slipcover was - drumroll please -  less than $40!!!

Even my husband was impressed!

D-day minus 7 weeks

With baby Ashley due in seven weeks I've been hard at work crafting up a storm. My big project won't be revealed until the baby shower, which is just days away. Momma-to-be, Amanda, and Daddy-to be, Dan, will be here Sunday to be feted by their friends and family. A visit to my favorite craft store, Ben Franklin, gave me lots of fun ideas for decorating for the event. Using their paper cut dies, I cut 3-D flowers and butterflies to match the nursery colors. I'll post photos of all next week.

In the mean time I've been busy with other important matters. It is Spring after all and my garden has been calling loudly to get my attention. Over the past few weeks I've trimmed back overgrown shrubs and trees and cleaned up the dead foliage of my perennials. Early Spring is an excellent time to prune your deciduous trees and shrubs. First of all you can see the structure of the plants which makes guiding the growth pattern much easier. Secondly, it's best to prune before the sap starts rising in Spring. There's less sappy mess, and the cuts will heal quickly. And lastly, pruning before growth starts can thicken the growth of your shrub as the new growth comes in. (This is because once you remove each apical or top bud, the plant wants to send out two shoots from below the cut.) 

If you're uncomfortable pruning, or need a good refresher resource, I highly recommend Cass Turnbull's "Guide to Pruning - What, When, Where and How to Prune for a Beautiful Garden".  Cass is a Washington State Certified Landscaper and Arborist who has gardened professionally for decades. Besides teaching at local vocational colleges in the Puget Sound area, she is the founder of Plant Amnesty whose mission is to end the senseless torture and mutilation of trees and shrubs. Check out their website at  http://www.plantamnesty.org. They list lots of useful information, a list of upcoming events, and a "wall of shame" of photos of maligned trees.

An aside for my fellow Pine Lake Garden Club members -  I divided perennials and potted up:

18 - gallon pots of Siberian Iris

9 - gallon pots of Autumn Joy Sedum

3 - gallon pots of Heuchera and

3 - two gallon pots of Hosta

These, along with plants from the gardens of every club member, will be for sale at our annual Spring Plant Sale Saturday, May 10, 2014 at the Sammamish Presbyterian Church. All proceeds fund a scholarship for a student in the Horticulture program at Lake Washington Institute of Technology.

Adorable Baby Jumper

I love dressing babies, don't you? Tiny little garments, buttery soft against baby's skin, that's what I like baby to wear. But my practical side wants easy to care for fabrics and yarns. With that in mind I searched for a cute, but practical jumper dress pattern. I found quite a few I liked but in the end decided to blend a few ideas together to create my own.

I used DK weight acrylic yarn - only 1 skein of each color - worked on Size 5 straight and circular needles.

If you'd like a copy of the pattern I can email one to you. I've also typed up the pattern for the little hat.

Keep crafting!

Spring Color and Fragrance

I don't know which excites and pleases me more in Spring...the beautiful colors or the heavenly fragrance.

Luckily it's easy to enjoy them both by bringing forced bulbs and snipped branches inside your home. Although I've got lots of bulbs blooming in my garden I can't resist buying a few forced hyacinths to bring inside. Here I've got them displayed three different ways. On the right I "planted" a hyacinth along with a few small iris nestled in gravel in an antique sugar bowl. The middle bulb is resting in a bulb vase. And the little flower pot on the right has a bulb planted in potting soil. Along with a few branches of forsythia they make a sunny and sweetly scented addition to my kitchen shelf where I can enjoy them all day long.

Other wonderful branches for snipping include Sweet Box (sarcococca), Daphne and sweet Clematis armandii. Just a few tiny sprigs will scent your entire house. Mmmm....heavenly!

Sarcococca

Daphne

Clematis armandii

Succulents with WOW factor!

Orchids are beautiful but aren't every one's cup of tea. Want something less pricey but just as varied? Try planting succulents.

These are one of the easiest plant groups to grow and often overlooked for their design potential.
With the exception of the top photo all the sedum plantings are in my yard. Although I've made hypertufa containers for sedums, I found that old metal colanders are a wonderful way to provide fast drainage for these drought tolerant plants. I found both the copper colander and the beat up grey graniteware colander at my local thrift store for less than ten dollars each.

The cedar sedum wall planter was a project I planned for my garden club members to do. If you've got some basic power tools and just a little bit of skill you can make these.  I show the sizes I used in the illustrations but you can make this any size you want.

Here's how -

You need -
A length of 2 x 2 lumber
A sheet of 3/8" thick plywood
Plastic garden mesh (1" holes) cut to fit plywood base
One 1 x 4" cedar fence board
A picture hanger
Nails, wood glue and staple gun

To assemble: 1. Use wood glue and nails to construct 2 x 2’s into a frame as shown in Fig. A 2. Attach plywood bottom to frame with glue and nails Fig. B 3. Attach plastic garden mesh to top of frame with a staple gun 4. Arrange 4 pieces of cedar on top of mesh with inside edges matching the inside edges of the frame and corners butting against one another. Carefully nail the cedar in place to create a picture frame effect.

I tried to show the plastic mesh in the finished illustration but - sorry - my computer doesn't like me today.

5.  Now that your frame is assembled, turn it over and attach a picture hanger of your choice to the back. I used a serrated hanger on mine. Turn the frame mesh side up and fill with cactus potting soil. Insert pieces of sedum and/or hens and chicks through the mesh. If you have a particularly large root ball on some pieces you may snip the plastic mesh slightly to ease it in. Water the whole thing lightly and let it remain flat for a few days to a week. Your sedum box is now ready to hang on your fence or outside wall. It won't need much watering but don't let it dry out too long or the soil will shrink.

Happy gardening!