Beginning of a Garden

Good gardeners probably keep a record of what seeds they planted and on what day.
I am not a good gardener.

But, look at what is growing!














Sun Gold tomatoes are in the un-stick'ed pots.
Sweet Cherry 100's are in the pot with the "100" stick.
Basils are in the pot with the "B" stick.

Wool Stitching

It was a Maggie Bonanomi Day!
I have had this book for a couple of years. "Comfort Zone" by Maggie Bonanomi.

I think I bought it here at Ewe and Eye in Osage, IA. If I did not buy it at Ewe and Eye, I learned of Maggie at Ewe and Eye.




There were gonna-be pillows.







Looking at Maggie's letter forms, I then drew my own on to freezer paper, ironing them on to wool. The wool letter, I then "stuck" on the pillow wool with basting spray (for outside spraying only, used in a well-ventilated area).














From Letter Pillows, I moved on to Maggie's decorated (slippers) toe warmers. Maggie writes like a wool guide, so as a complete novice to stitching and applique, I needed some peeps. It was a play day with trusted (unpictured) stitching friends. They made the scariness of the amazing book disappear.

Now, I am ready for a Maggie-Inspired wool blanket!

Indigo

This was a nice way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon in March! I have had these "Indigo Dye Kit" packs since 2010 with a small pile of needful dyeing. Asking my husband for a pickle bucket was a challenge and he finally bent. I think he thought I should be outside instead of sitting in the house on such a beautiful, sunny dyeing day.














I dyed 3 skeins of Finland wool.
And, a cotton sweater.
A cotton dress and a nail pouch.


The dye pot is about 1/2-way gone, maybe less.

Wooly Goodness

My Husband and his mother-in-law went on a driving trip to Osage, IA. They visited Ewe and Eye (here) for some wool goods. He brought a nice bag with this:











On the underside of the roving was bits of surprise wools.











And, on the inside of the pinkeep was a surprise spot for buttons and other goodies, like more pins!

Oleana is Timeless (and Wear-Worthy)

On our trip to Bergen, Norway last Summer, a visit to Oleana left me once again awestruck. I had visited Oleana before (in 2003) and had been a Groupie here in the USA, attending Oleana events as available as well as participating in Oleana retail opportunities. A 2003 Oleana sweater purchase has been my not-cool-enough-for-a-shirt sweater and my too-warm-for-a-coat sweater for YEARS (well, 2003). I also don my Oleana Parent/Teacher Conferences Sweater (aka: The Oleana Christmas Dinner Sweater and The Oleana Thanksgiving Sweater) when seasonally appropriate. This year, one of my Oleana's made it to School Spirit Day! It was Pajama Day and an Oleana looked spirited with my red dogs-in-sweaters flannel pajama pants.

The Oleana not-cool/warm-enough sweater looks like the day it came out of the suitcase returning from Norway. In 2003. It has no pilling. No holes. The buttons are intact. It fits.

When we were working in the Bergen Husfliden course space, I found this hanging on a coatrack:


Just HANGING THERE!

I was thinking of this sweater today as I am wearing my Oleana not-cool/warm-enough sweater and know that the owner of this sweater loves theirs as much as I love mine! I would NEVER leave it on a coatrack in a workspace. Someone like me might love it more than taking pictures! If it comes up missing, NO. I did not.