As July comes to a close...

Today's harvest

Some green beans, possibly my last zucchini, a yellow squash, tomatoes and one mini bell pepper.

I've been picking and canning green beans for a week now.  Daily, new beans mature to the point of needing to be picked.  And inevitably, because green beans like to play hide and seek, I always find a few beans swollen way past their prime and I wonder, "How many days did I completely miss these?!? "

So every morning, the question I now ask myself when I see a still slightly young bean is, "Do I leave it and take a chance on not seeing it again before it's become too tough to eat, or do I pick it now and enjoy it, even though I know with just one more day on the vine, it will likely be perfect?"

I haven't figured out the best answer to that question, so I just keep picking some and leaving others...  knowing at some point this will all come to a happy end.

Giant Marconi sweet peppers (above) are producing like crazy.  These are at least 7-8 inches long.  I've tried in the past to grow these peppers in planters, but had little success, so it's been exciting to see these produce so prolifically this summer.  If you're not familiar with these, Giant Marconi are a delicious, sweet pepper when they are fully red.  Much sweeter than bell peppers.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

A week or so ago, I picked a few ripe tomatoes that had developed blossom end rot.  I felt heartsick as I looked over my little kingdom of 25 tomato plants, and wondered if all would be lost.

Research told me the problem is a calcium absorption issue, and can be caused by either over or under watering.  I thought I'd been watering adequately, but I decided to take a chance and water a bit more, and to water on more of a schedule than I had been.

Fortunately, either the problem resolved, or perhaps it was only those earliest ripening tomatoes that were affected.  I keep watering, and check regularly to assure myself they're doing well.

It looks like I might be processing tomatoes within a week or two.  At a minimum, the early ripening ones will go into the freezer until there are enough to can.

Meanwhile, some of the sunflowers are fading.

But they and the zinnia's are still at work attracting moths and bees.

And, finally, this little melon-looking thing has me stumped.  I've misplaced my garden diagram, but I'm pretty sure I planted some sort of winter squash in this spot.   It doesn't seem the right shape for butternut, but that's the only winter squash seed packet that appears to have been opened.  It will be fun to see what it grows up to be!  😄

That's a wrap for July.  

Happy August, everyone!

Color play...

There wasn't much time last week devoted to crocheting, but I did manage to finish one more of 99 Little Doilies (from the book of the same name).

This is Doily #93:

Or, as I fancy it...  "Not My First Rodeo"

Get it?  it reminded me of a spur wheel... spurs made me think of horses, and horses made me think of rodeos...  and then I just brought it on home...  I know...  I know...  Just like a joke - it's never as good when someone explains it.

I'll try not to do that so much with future doilies that I name (unless someone asks me how I came up with a particular name). Somehow, I don't see anyone else as invested in naming these as I am, though...

Anyway, I discovered something when I was crocheting this little doily - done with Curio #10 thread in the colorway, Conch.  Placed against the doily I had earlier made with the color, Ivory Peach, I suddenly realized I liked the Ivory Peach color much better.  

And I really like both of these colors together on this medium gray table cloth.

And that got my wheels to turning...   If I mount anything made in the Ivory Peach, a cool gray background will help it to pop.  

And...  I began to imagine a number of different doilies made with these two colors, laid together, serving as something of a centerpiece on the dining room table when this gray table cloth is in use.

I don't know if I'll see that last idea through, but I do think I'll at least make another, maybe larger, doily in Ivory Peach before giving up on the color in a crocheted project.  It definitely needs something darker and, I think, cooler to cancel out what I was seeing as a slight yellow tone that had me not liking it so much originally.

I don't know why, after all this time, I am often amazed when I accidentally notice colors playing together in my crochet work.  Alone, some colors don't seem like much, but combined with just the right shade or tone of another color, and suddenly lights are blinking and bells are ringing.

That's how my crafting seems to roll. I can try hard to put colors together in a pleasing combination, but most of my successes seem to be happy accidents.  

Which is fine by me, I guess.

I'll take successes however they come.

"There's more than corn in Indiana"...

The title of this post used to be an Indiana Beach tourism slogan (and jingle) years ago.  I remember thinking then, "Yeah, but what's better than corn?"  Fresh sweet corn on the cob, to be precise.

Every summer we wait for roadside stands to pop up selling freshly picked sweet corn.  These are not the stands that seasonally pop up along busy roads selling a variety of produce.  What I'm talking about are stands that farmers and local small growers place on their own property to sell corn that is usually picked fresh each morning.  Often they are unmanned, and corn is sold on a honor system, with the buyer expected to place cash in a lock box.

Around here, unless you happen to have (or overhear) a conversation with someone about these stands, your only hope of finding them is keeping your eyes open as you drive through the countryside. Since moving to our new home which is a few miles out of town, I have three summers under my belt of traversing somewhat new-to-me country roads on my way from here to there and back again.

Last summer, not even looking for such a stand, I spotted this one, but didn't stop:

It might have been late in the day and I figured there was no fresh corn left.  Or maybe I had no cash on me at the time.  Whatever the reason, I drove on by and figured I'd come back in the next day or two and see if I could still buy some fresh picked sweet corn.  But when I did drive by next, it was gone.  

The window for finding freshly picked sweet corn in central Indiana (and I imagine everywhere in the northern half of the US) is very short and somewhat unpredictable.  All I know is to look for locally grown sweet corn come mid July, but with our unseasonably early and warm spring I had no idea when it would be ready this year.  

For all I knew, we had already missed local corn-on-the-cob season when one day last week, in the late morning, I suggested to Greg that we get in the car and go for a drive, looking for the sweet corn stand I had seen on a county road nearby the year before. With Greg driving, I navigated right to this corner, and to our delight it still held a hundred or more ears of corn.   We boxed up two dozen, dropped a $10 bill in the lock box, and drove home with our treasure.  

In the shade, we shucked the 2 dozen ears, with me planning on freezing what we didn't eat that day.  Youngest son joined us for supper, and everyone agreed it was delicious.  This corn was so worthy of preserving, I sent Greg back the next day to buy a couple more dozen. 

Only being familiar with the tediously hot and messy method of blanching a whole cob, then plunging it in ice water before cutting the kernels off, I googled to check on the time one needed to boil the corn.  But in my searching, I came upon another method:  cutting the corn off the unblanched cob and cooking it for just a few minutes afterwards.  I also came across a nifty way to hold the corn while cutting which creates less mess.   If I had ever seen this before, I had completely forgotten about it.

This method is so simple, it actually is the impetus for me writing this post. 

Here, let me explain and show you (excuse my less than perfectly lit pictures):

After cleaning as much of the silk off the corn as you can, place the fattest end on top of the tube of a bundt or angel food cake pan.  Or simply use a cutting board.  With a sharp knife slice off the kernels - not getting too close to the cob, but not leaving too much behind, either.   I go back and slice down the corners that are created when doing this slicing.

In as large a pot as you need, add some water, just enough to keep the corn from burning (maybe a half - one cup). Bring to a boil, stirring off and on.  Boil for 2-3 minutes.  

If the corn isn't sweet enough, a small amount of sugar and salt can be added during this time.  Full disclosure:  the corn we got the next day wasn't quite as sweet and tender as the corn purchased the day before, and it was starchier.   I suspect it had been picked the day before and refrigerated.  I was disappointed, but it was still tasty, and I was determined to make the best of it.

The first batch that was perfectly sweet and not starchy, didn't need anything added to it to taste delicious.  The second batch, though, about a tablespoon of sugar, and a bit of salt helped greatly (this was added to a pot of corn cut from almost two dozen ears).  Perhaps cooking slightly helped also.  

I mention this because some directions say to add sugar and salt, but if starting with perfectly sweet corn, I'd skip it.  You can taste it raw while slicing it off the cob.  If you're working with less-than-perfectly-sweet or slightly starchy corn, these additions may improve the situation.  Go light, and taste test before adding additional sugar and salt.

After a couple of minutes of boiling, immediately remove from heat and with a slotted spoon, transfer corn onto a shallow baking sheet, or in my case, into a glass baking dish.  

Spread corn into a thin layer.   Discard any water left in pot (should be most of it).  Cover and refrigerate immediately.

After corn is completely cool (I waited a couple of hours), spoon into freezer containers, leaving some head space for expansion.  You don't need a scale, I just happen to have one, and I decided to put just enough for two people in each bag.  

It doesn't look like much in the picture above, but around 8 ounces appeared to be a hearty amount for two people.  I found that 1 cup of corn was right about 6 ounces.  

Freeze and enjoy at your pleasure!

I like the convenience and ease of freezer bags.  Laying them on their sides as they're freezing makes for thin packages that can be stacked or stored in baskets or freezer door shelves when frozen.

Now, if you are frugally minded, you may have already figured that this isn't the cheapest way to get your sweet corn.  Counting what was left after we ate some corn fresh, and having to discard two bad ears, I got 16 freezer bags (with two 4-oz servings each) from 40 ears of corn.  If I've done my math correctly, rounding up a nickel for each ear of corn - which almost compensates for the cost of the quart-sized baggies, each of those frozen bags of corn cost a little over $1.00 each.  For comparison, I can still buy a 15.25 oz can of corn for 69 cents at Aldi, and a 12 oz frozen bag for around a dollar.  

Unless you grow your own sweet corn, this isn't a cost saving activity, but I can't tell you how eagerly I now await eating sweet corn this winter that is fresher than anything I can buy from a store shelf or freezer. Sometimes, when you can make it happen, little pleasures are worth the extra cost in money and time.

But more importantly than that, I am so glad to have found an easy way to preserve sweet corn when I inevitable buy more than we can eat when it's in season.  This level of processing is so very little work, it's barely work at all.  Though, I will say here...  Using a bundt or angel food baking pan (as I showed above) makes this far less messy than simply using a cutting board.  Do I suggest buying one for this purpose?  No.  Am I glad I never rehomed my rarely used bundt pan?  Yes, I am!

I plan to come back to this post this winter (or next spring) and give an update on how good the corn is to eat.  I will edit this post if I am in any way disappointed. Until then, I'm looking forward to eating sweet corn this winter.

Here's a video that shows this process done on a much larger scale:

  

Summer crocheting...

For the last week or so I've been crocheting with tiny hook and size 10 crochet thread.  It always takes me a minute to get reaccustomed to working with these small materials, but once I get the hang of it again I really enjoy making doilies (and other items with crochet thread) that look so much more complicated than they often actually are to make.

Perusing the book 99 Little Doilies, I picked out doily #52 to make. This little doily measures in at 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches:

Crocheted with Artiste #10 thread in Ivory Peach

For those uninitiated to this long-term project of mine... Patricia Kristoffersen, the designer of these 99 doilies, didn't give them names; she only gave them numbers.  Numbering the doilies makes for much quicker searching in the book for what pattern goes with each pictured doily.  

That's all fine and good for the purposes of publishing a book like this, but on the other end of things, once I've finished a doily, I want it to have a name.  I suppose because everything else I crochet or knit has a name - at least a pattern name.  So I've taken it upon myself to come up with a name for each one I make.  And just to show you how clever I am, the way I come up with a name is like this...   I look at the finished doily, I might even squint and close one eye, and whatever comes to mind and clicks for me is what it gets called. I can't tell you why, but this doily gives me soda fountain vibes, and I love me a hot fudge sundae.  So this little pretty gets the name "Old Fashioned Sundae".

See how that works?  Genius, I know.

The next doily I worked on is dubiously called #2:

Crocheted with Artiste #10 thread in Papaya

While someone might argue that Doily #2 is less dubious than the name I came up with, I'm dubbing this sweet little circle "Herb Garden".  Herb Garden is a whopping 5 inches in diameter.

Just so you know... these things were even smaller before they were dampened, starched and pinned out for a hearty blocking. Without blocking, thread crochet tends to curl up on itself and look wrinkly.  I'll try to remember to take a before-blocking picture of a particularly wrinkled doily in the future, just to show the benefit blocking brings to thread crochet.

And lastly, since I wasn't exactly in love with the ivory peach color I made #52 above in, I decided to make it again in a more vibrant color:

Crocheted in Curio #10 thread in the colorway Heliotrope

I can't help but wonder what I might have named this doily if I'd made the first one using this color.  I guess we'll never know...

I hope no one visiting here gets tired of seeing little doilies any time soon, because I have a feeling I'm going to be making at least a few more before I lay this project aside again.  Maybe I'll even throw in a larger doily at some point.

Meanwhile, #93 is eagerly awaiting its completion and name...

In the garden...

Time for a garden update (for my relaxed recording keeping)...

Checking on the Roma and Rutgers tomatoes every other day or so I often find new branches overladen with fruit and needing to be tied up.

A benefit of using wooden stakes is I can attach twine with a staple gun anywhere that I need it to be to get tomatoes off the ground:

 ~~~~~

Cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen.

Zinnias and sunflowers keep the bees buzzing and the moths stopping for a drink, and hopefully pollinating squash and tomato plants.  Making a mental note to plant some flowers among the tomatoes next year.  

I am surprised at how small are the sunflower heads on the massive stalks that have grown at least 8 feet tall and are about 2 inches in diameter at their base.  Maybe their smaller size is a good thing, though.  I didn't stake these plants, and larger heads might have made them too top heavy.  

~~~~~

And today, we picked all the peaches left on the peach tree.  Peaches were falling off and some were molding on the branches, so I decided rather than take a chance on losing more peaches, it would be better to pick all that were good and let them ripen in the sunroom over a few days - processing them for the freezer a few at a time.  

Enough were ripe for eating today, and at least one baggie's worth is in the freezer right now - sliced and spread out so they freeze individually before bagging up.  Visions of smoothies, mixed-fruit popsicles, and peach cobbler are dancing in my head.

I think it worked well to remove some limbs from the peach tree a year and a half ago, even though it's possibly why we didn't get fruit last summer.  This spring, I also thinned the peaches when they were about walnut-sized.  Three to six inches apart on the same branch is a good rule of thumb I've learned.  When I removed at least half of the peaches off the tree in the spring, I wondered if we'd have many peaches to pick come summer.  Today, seeing the bounty laid out, clearly there are more than enough.  And better yet, many were larger and less marked with a green peach scab than the peaches harvested two summers ago. 

Green beans (pole beans) have been producing for about a week now, and I'm picking some every two or three days.  Not enough yet to process (I hope to get enough at one time to can some this year), but they've made for tasty eating this past week.

We had some good rain earlier in the week, and oh my goodness, did I get attacked by mosquitos one morning after it rained the night before!  I was only out in the garden a few minutes before I noticed I was being swarmed and bitten. I got back to the house as quickly as I could and sprayed myself down with bug spray, but later it became obvious I was too late. My arms had provided a feast for the blood thirsty insects.  For some reason, they left my ankles alone this time.  I'm thankful for that little mercy, and I'm immensely thankful for Benadryl cream.  It's not exactly a miracle potion, but it does help tame the itch for a while. 

Looking forward to a weekend of beautiful weather, and possible rain to start next week.  It's a nice reprieve from the too-hot-too-early days of recent weeks.

I hope you're enjoying your summer!

Kawandi...

Congrats to Boud and Magpie for knowing what my colorful stitching project was a week or so ago.  I thought you two might come through with the correct name!

A few weeks ago the video below popped up in my YouTube feed.  I watched it, mesmerized by the character of Margaret Fabrizio, and her story of learning how to create a type of quilt that is made in India.  This particular quilt is called a kawandi.  Kawandi means "quilt" in the language spoken by the Siddi's.  The Siddi people are of African descent; their ancestors being taken to India as slaves - first by Arabs in the 600's, then by Portuguese, and finally by the British.

In case you're interested, here is the interview of Margaret Fabrizio conducted by Joe (The Quilter) Cunningham:

The video doesn't explain how the quilts are made, but the last 10 minutes or so show Margaret working on a small kawandi.   After the above video, I watched other tutorials on making kawandis, and I finally decided I needed to make one.  A very small one.

I looked through my stash of older, somewhat sedate cotton quilt fabrics that I inherited from my mother-in-law, but at the time I was in serious need of some cheery colors.  So I headed to JoAnn's to see if I could find some happy budget-priced fabric.  I was thrilled to find a great sale on fat quarters, and I came home with these:

First, a bit of an explanation as to how kawandis are made...   First of all, the Siddis make their colorful blankets using scraps of fabric and fabric taken from clothing that is no longer being worn.  Old saris are also used in different ways in these kiwandis.  There is a backing fabric, a lining fabric, and torn pieces of many colors of fabric to make up the front of the kiwandi.

In videos I've seen (I think that Margaret filmed when she was in India), the Siddi  women sit on the ground as they tear squares and rectangle of various fabrics, finger press the edges, and sew the pieces to the backing using a simple running stitch through all the layers of fabrics.  

Aside from using new fabrics, and an iron to press my edges, pins to hold my fabrics together, and wanting a border on my project, I tried to assemble my small kawandi in the same way the Siddi women make their larger ones.  

The pieces are stitched on, starting on whatever edge feels comfortable for the hand you are stitching with.  I worked from the left and went around clockwise.  Whichever direction one stitches, working around the perimeter of the blanket, pieces of fabric are stitched down all along the edge of the backing material. After the first round of pieces are attached, a lining fabric is inserted under the flaps of the pieces stitched on up to that point.  You can see the white lining I used in the following picture:

The stitching goes around and around moving inward until finally when the last stitch is made in the center,  the quilt is completely finished.  I believe the Siddi end each round of stitching with a knot, and then begin a new round about a finger's width from the round before it.  I did that a few times before finally deciding to just make a square spiral because I was using the same color of thread for all the stitches.  There was no reason I couldn't just keep going 'round and 'round until I ran out of thread and needed to add a new one.

The edges of the fabric pieces are either finger-pressed or iron-pressed in such a way as to make finished edges as one stitches round and round.   The edges that lay under fabric, unseen, are left unfolded and unfinished

My running stitches are smaller and rounds closer together than I've seen others make them, but on this small project, I think it works well.  My stitches are far from perfect - they are not the same size, or even straight sometimes, and the distances between my rounds are varied.

But, I don't care! While I'm not ready to make another very soon, I love how my little kawandi turned out:

The little triangles at the corners are called phulas in the language of the Siddis, and also in Hindi.  Phula means flowers or blossoms.  While I took some liberties, I wanted to make this traditionally where I felt it was important to do so.  And kawandis traditionally have a phula at each corner.  That said, I'm not exactly in love with my phulas.  Fortunately, I can undo that first round of stitching and remove them if I decide to.  Or maybe I should make phulas from some of the prints.  Maybe I'd like that better.

For now, it stands finished looking like this, and I couldn't be happier.  My little kawandi is right at 14 inches square.  Would I love this to be larger, like blanket-sized.  Oh yes!  It would make a perfect-weight summer blanket.  Do I envision ever making a blanket-sized kawandi?  I don't know...  It was kind of mesmerizing to make, but it was also tedious, and my fingers got sore after stitching for very long.  

In truth, I've been eyeing Sashiko stiching and I am intrigued at the intricate designs that are made with simple running stitches, many in simple straight lines - I had no real understanding of how Sashiko stitching is done until just recently. I'm not sure when or if I'll try that, but for now, I'm giving the pads of my fingers a break from needle and thread, and I've picked up my crochet hook to make some doilies.

I'm also eyeing my collection of crochet threads, thinking they would make decent sashiko or kawandi stitching thread.  The possibilities for using my stash are opening up as I type...

Year of Projects...

I've recently decided to join again with a group on Ravelry called Year Of Projects (aka YOP).  I had completed seven YOP years before dropping out a couple of years ago.  Hand issues were hampering my ability to do my favorite hobbies, but I'm back at it, and I think the creative camaraderie of the YOP group might be good for me to join in again.

Since I suspect most of my readers are not Ravelry members, I thought while I'm explaining Year of Projects, I'd also explain a little about how I use Ravelry.

First, Year of Projects (YOP):

The active portion of the Year of Project group on Ravelry consists of a small number of fiber crafters who like to share their love of craft on their blogs.  Each YOP year run from July through June, though some YOPers choose to follow a January-December year.  Personally, I love having something brand new starting in July.  The first Sunday in July, each YOP participant creates a blog post stating his/her goals for the YOP year, then each subsequent post is simply a follow-up on those goals and whatever else the blogger wants to share.  

I missed posting last Sunday, so this is my official first YOP post for the year 2024-2025.  Since I tend to lose interest in my goals once I've declared them, I keep any specific goals fairly loose and to myself.  That said, I have managed to come up with a list of two goals I am happy to share:

1)  Make things.

2)  Use materials in my stash.

Now, I don't forbid myself from purchasing new materials, as you will see, but I do "shop my stash" first.

All that means for you, as a reader here (especially, if you're not a YOPer), is that I will likely post more regularly (on Sundays, specifically) about my crafty hobbies.  And, if you are a fiber-crafter and you ever want to join in on the Year of Projects, hopefully I will have shared enough information here that you can jump onto Ravelry and join up if you're interested!   And to be clear, while being both a member of Ravelry and being a fiber craftsperson is the gateway into the Year of Projects group, many YOPers are multi-craftual, and we often share other, non-fiber crafts, as well as things made with yarn and string.

Now, for Ravelry:

Ravelry is an online world-wide social network of fiber crafters.  There are various groups within Ravelry to suit a variety of interests - whether a member is a seasoned pro at their fiber craft(s) or a beginner.  I used to be more active in a few groups, in fact, I helped moderate two groups at one time, but now my main use of Ravelry is as a database of helpful-to-me things.  

At this point in time, I use Ravelry mostly as a resource for knit and crochet patterns (both paid-for and free), and a place where I store a pictorial record of my completed projects, as well as a pictorial record of all the yarn I own. It is a simple thing to search through my yarn on Ravelry to remind myself of what I have, instead of digging through boxes to see if I still have, say... that one weird purply-blue color of bamboo yarn from a particular manufacturer. 

Inside my personal database, I can use filters to sort through my yarn hoard collection efficiently.  I can filter my stash by fiber, color, and other attributes that help me envision what yarns to use for a project I have in mind.  It was a lot of work several years ago to create my own record using Ravelry's database system, but at the time I decided to consider that activity to be a hobby unto itself.  Slowly I built my personal database, and I continue to update it as I accumulate or use up yarn.  

I also sometimes download from Ravelry a spreadsheet telling me all sorts of things about my yarn stash - when I do this, I'm mainly curious how many skeins I own, our how many yards or meters of yarn I have taking up space here.  I use this spreadsheet to determine how well I'm meeting Goal #2 above.

If you're a fiber crafter and a blogger, feel free to check out the YOP group on Ravelry.  While July is the start of each new YOP year, people can (and do) join in anytime. 

Okay... enough of about that.  I'll be back with a YOP post on Sunday, but for now, here's a sneak peak of a new project I'm currently working on:

I've had a real hankering for working with tiny hook and thread again.

Miscellany...

 First, something new to us that we've found in our wood mulch.  Slime mold:  

Just doing a quick search, I'm thinking this is likely in the Dog Vomit family.  If so, I can attest to the appropriate name.  When I saw the first one, I actually thought it was something a wild critter had thrown up.  When I found several little mounds of this throughout a bed where new wood chips were recently spread, I realized that wasn't likely and I needed to look this thing up.

While I was, at first, wary of even poking it with a stick (scenes from "The Blob"  vivid in my memory), I was relieved to read that it is harmless.  One can even safely pick it up with bare hands.  Not that I wanted to do that, but it was a simple thing to discard it.   In case you're interested in seeing how much more beautiful than dog vomit some species of slime mold can be, there are some pictures here, and an interesting little video explaining how slime mold grows.  

Moving on...

Checking that the front door was locked one evening recently, this little fella caught my eye:

With the porch light on, he (or she) was probably enjoying a feast of insects tinier than itself.

~~~~~

And, finally...

...a sneak peek at a stitching project I started recently:

Fat quarters and floss

There is a clue in the picture above as to what this project is called.  

If you know, you know.

Almost finished.  

An explanation of this project will soon be forthcoming.

What interesting, perhaps random, things have come across your path recently?