The Stitch Up

End of Summer Round Up

I know that Labor Day is not the official end of Summer and realistically it stays warm enough around here to feel like Summer for another month or more.  But Labor Day always feels like the end of Summer.  Probably because growing up we usually started school the next day which really put the nail in the coffin of Summer as a kid.  So while not officially the end of Summer, Labor Day feels like a good time for a little look back on our goings on this Summer.

I kicked off Summer with a Summer Solstice celebration at my yoga studio.  We did 108 sun salutations outdoors.  There was a DJ and the whole thing was so much fun!

Also, our garden went nuts this Summer!  We have had tons of yummy tomatoes, fresh herbs and tasty peppers.  

We also saw Dolly Parton at an outdoor concert.  She was so amazing!  I would insert a picture from the concert but my pics all came out terrible so here is an adorable pic of Dolly with a kitten instead:

The biggest event of our Summer was my brothers wedding.  It was at a beautiful lodge in Washington and we  had a great time.  

It was like a vacation and a wonderful family event all tied up together.

I am currently making a little gift for the happy couple which I hope to ship out this week.  I'll post some pics once I have it all done along with an update on my other current projects.  While the end of Summer is always sad, I love Fall here and can't wait to work up some knitting and crochet patterns with my yarn stash.

Happy Labor Day all!

 

 

Back Yard Revamp

We have a really lovely back yard but it's got a big slope.  We've been playing with ideas of what to do with it.  We'd made our own raised garden bead and had some pretty good luck with raising veggies, but we were ready for more.

(Our previous set up)

We decided to get some expert help so we called the local nursery for a landscaping estimate.  Our landscape designer came up with a great design and about a month later we had four raised stone garden beds.

We planted a garden right away.  Since we got started a little late in the summer we bought some veggies and herbs that had already sprouted a bit.  We are keeping the vegetable garden to just two beds this year.  I planted a bee garden and some strawberries in the other two beds.  I think next year we will probably go with vegetables in all four beds.

The blackberry and blueberry bushes I planted last year are doing great.  The blackberry bush already has a lot of fruit that just needs to ripen.  I am ready to make some pies and jam!  I'm not sure if the blueberry bush will have fruit this year or not.  I read that blueberry bushes only get fruit every other year, so we'll see.

It's always exciting to see a big project completed.  We spend a lot of time outside in the spring and summer and are already enjoying our new backyard additions.

 

Mayo Magnifico

We've had a rough April but May has started off a little more relaxed, with some happy moments and some good food.

We started getting our yard and gardens into shape.  We're a little late on getting some of our herbs and vegetables planted, but we're hoping that they'll still have time to grow and give up some fruit before the end of summer.

We built a raised garden box that we'll fill with vegetables.  I can already taste the heirloom tomatoes.

As a reward for all our hard work in the garden we made a delicioso Cinco de Mayo meal.  The husband made an AWESOME carne asada:

I whipped up some guacamole that was pretty much gone as soon as it was finished.

I made a pan of enchiladas but we attcked them so fast I didn't think to take a picture until we were going back for left overs the next day.  Behold the aftermath:

It was a food massacre.

I've got my first craft tutorial planned for my next post and I'm excited aobut it.  I've had a great time planning it out and I hope everyone will enjoy it.

Summer Daze

We have been having a pretty fun summer so far.  Even the "Heat Dome" is not keeping us down.  

We've done some grilling.

Lots of relaxing in the back yard and enjoying the warm evenings.

Some free concerts at the park - the best so far was Sierra Hull.  In the trees, under the stars - it was a great way to see a show.

Long drives out in Virginia horse country.  This old barn looked so pretty during a summer storm.

A little shopping in some of the cute little antique stores.

There has been time for some sewing despite all the outdoor activity.  I finished this pair of pillowcases.  We have this duvet cover in red from Pottery barn and I thought they'd go nicely together:

It's a stamped pattern and intended to be done in beige but I like how the red came out.

I also finished my "travel project":

The long flight to Germany this summer gave me plenty of time to work on it. 

I used a split stitch to fill in the pheasant and I like the texture.  

I'm doing a bit more crafting although we are trying to enjoy as much of the summer weather as possible before Fall comes.  Even with the Heat Dome, Summer goes by too fast!

Spring Inside and Out

Our first Spring in the new house has been full of beautiful surprises.  We had no idea of all the bulb flowers that had been planted until they started blooming.

These gorgeous lavender and deep purple tulips were so pretty I had to bring them in the house to enjoy them.  We also had yellow irises pop up - I'd never seen this color in an iris before.

I knew we had azaleas at the front of our house but didn't realize how vibrant the bright pink flowers would be when they bloomed:

In addition to just wandering around the yard with our mouths open, enjoying what pops up, we've been starting on some upkeep and additions to our garden.  First up, we had an arborist come out and take care of our trees and he was able to identify our little "mystery" tree:

It's a peach tree!  Apparently it needs a few years until it will be old enough to bear fruit, but with a little patience I have peach pie, peach jam and peach cobbler in my future!

We've also got some seedlings started for what will hopefully be a nice veggie garden:

We've got basil, oregano, rosemary, chives and dill as well as cucumbers, peas, tomatoes and peppers.  I also threw in some lavender and peonies.  Fingers crossed we'll have some fresh, delicious salads during the summer!

I'm looking forward to planting a few of my own bulbs this year and making a few more additions to the garden. (A blackberry bush maybe???) It's exciting to think about the changes we're making to our house that we'll be able to watch grow and bloom over the years.  

Despite the nice Spring weather and all the greenery to see outside, I've still been embroidering up a storm.  I have an almost finished tea towel to show off next.  Happy Spring!

Survivalist Training

We had a big storm Wednesday night and between the snow, freeze and falling tree branches a big part of the northern Virginia area lost power.  We're part of a handful of lucky peeps that have continued to be without power while they clean this mess up.  It's been challenging and COLD!  

Luckily, the husband makes a mean fire.  Of course one member of the household did not have to be asked twice to take the warmest spot in the room:

We've been going out to eat as the stove is electric and so we can't cook.  One plus is that even thought the fridge is out we haven't had to worry about food spoiling as it is so cold every thing is staying fresh.  How cold is it you ask?  Well, none of the ice in the freezer has melted even a bit and we are wandering around the house in layers of sweaters, jackets and gloves.  We did try to do a little cooking over the fire:

This was an effort to make a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich over the fire.  Let's just say that one side of the sandwich was edible and we learned that maybe we're not meant to try a campfire cook out in our fireplace.  

Dominion claims we will be back to normal by tonight.  Of course, as I'm typing this at the Starbucks, snow is starting to fall again which always seems to complicate things around here.  Keep your fingers crossed.  I don't think we can survive on burnt campfire sandwiches for much longer!

Emo Cat

The Hubby piled a stack of my quilt books on a desk by the window so that the gato could peer outside in comfort.  Before this she was standing up on her paws to look outside and it was a little pathetic.  She sits and stares out the window during the 5 or 10 minutes out of the day that she's not sleeping.  The Hubby and I get a kick out of watching the cat at the window - she always seems so moody.  We enjoy imagining the emo haikus that are going through her mind while she stares outside:

lonely cat trapped in the house

I just want freedom

and maybe to kill a bird

She's probably can't create poetry in her tiny little head, but it cracks me up to imagine it anyway.  In fact, the picture of her should probably be in black and white - to reflect her mood.

 

It's possible that I find this entertaining because I've been working too hard and spending most of my time trapped in an office.  Sadly, I have not been out to the Cherry Blossom festival this year which is terrible since I hear it's great this year.  I did go last year though, so feel free to travel back in time if you'd like to see some photos!

I'm off to try and get some embroidery in before I hit the hay!  Hope everyone is having a lovely Spring!

 

Sorry To Be A Pesto

I started some herbs from seeds last Spring and have had mixed results.  I planted Basil, Cilantro, Rosemary, Thyme, and Oregano.

 

I babied those seeds in the house until I got what I thought would be hearty shoots to plant outside.  Sadly, It was a somewhat chilly Spring here and it rained non stop through most of April and May.  So the Cilantro, Dill and Thyme did not make it.  (I was REALLY bummed about the Cilantro).  But I did have some success.  My Basil:

 

My Oregano:

 

I even have a little rosemary peeking through the basil:

 

As you can see I have a TON of basil and I've been itching to make some fresh pesto sauce with it.  I have a recipe from the cooking class I took in Tuscany and I didn't want to try it without really yummy, fresh basil.  I now I have it!  The recipe is pretty basic: 4 bunches of basil, 2 T pine nuts, 1 clove garlic, 4 T parmesan, 2 T pecorino and 1 cup olive oil.

 

 

Despite the recipe, I seem to recall our teacher just throwing everything into the blender without a lot of measuring.  And I fooled  with the recipe a bit to get it just the way I like.  But man, this was good.  So yummy and fresh and flavorful!  I had more than enough for dinner, lunch for tomorrow and some sauce left over that I froze for another day.

 

You may be thinking that this is a pretty big serving of pasta.  You might be right, but keep in mind that I did have to harvest all that basil and slave over a blender to make the pesto.  Fine - I really didn't do much to work up my appetite, but it's so good!

I am loving the fresh herbs - to cook with, but also to use instead of flowers while I'm getting ready to use them.  The oregano didn't make an appearance in dinner tonight, but it's pretty by the sink and makes the kitchen smell so nice! 

 

Well, that just about made for a perfect Sunday.  Next stop - my finished pot holder.  Try to control yourselves.  I'll post a photo soon!

Christmas is Officially OVER!

I bought a really cute table cover stamped embroidery pattern when we were in Berlin after New Year's last year.  KaDaWe was having a sale on their Christmas themed embroidery and I picked up these cute little Santas for a steal:

I then proceeded to work on this project off and on for most of 2008 planning to beautify my Christmas table with German Santas.  Sadly between other craft projects, the move back to DC and work, I did not finish my Christmas project in time for the holidays. 

But I AM all set for Christmas 2009!  Now I'm on to my next project - crocheting a hat with some pretty yarn that I also bought in Berlin.  The timing is of course perfect - not only is Christmas over, Winter is pretty much over as well - so why not make a snow hat?  I can't explain my terrible timing.  I'm definitely off cycle on the crafting.

Despite the fact that we got 7 inches of snow last week and it's been pretty chilly this week - these little flowers popped up outside the door proving that it is in fact Spring:

However, if it doesn't warm up I may still be able to use the hat I'm crocheting for another week or two.  Who am I kidding?  Knowing how long it usually takes me to finish these things I'll probably be posting about my new winter hat sometime in August!

P.S.  The neighbors with the Christmas tree still have not taken it down.  So while Christmas is over for us - it will apparently NEVER be over for them.  I'm not sure if that's awesome or crazy.  Or both.

Who's the Idiot Now, Smart Guy?

I decided to do a little retail therapy at the mall on Sunday to squeeze some enjoyment into my one day off as most of the rest of the day was taken up with chores and errands.  As I was browsing through the magazines at Barnes & Noble I heard this married couple chatting.  Him:  "They said on the news that we're going to get 7 - 10 inches of snow tonight".  I thought to myself 'we got an inch of snow last night, it's already melted, we haven't gotten 7 inches of snow all YEAR - this guy is an idiot'.  About that same time the guy's wife says to him:  "You're an idiot".  Ha!  Him: Sigh "I'm just telling you what they said on the news".  (I got the impression that they have this type of conversation a lot.)  But sure enough as I went into other stores in the mall the salespeople were making plans to close early because of "the storm".  At Trader Joe's it was packed with shoppers and the guy at the checkout said it was because of "the storm".  And the news report said we would get 7 to 10 inches of snow.  At this point though, the sun was still out and it was hard to believe we were going to get any snow.  But Monday morning:

 

Ruh Row:

 

  

So - it turns out the guy at the mall knew what he was talking about.  We got 6 inches overnight and it kept snowing through about noon.  It stuck around a few days as it was pretty cold Tuesday and Wednesday - but its mostly gone now and it's scheduled to warm up to 60 tomorrow so I think it will all melt by Saturday.  A nice little winter blast there but I figure that's got to be our last winter blast this season.  Right?  Maybe I should go skulk at the mall and see if I can get anymore good weather tips!    

I know I've said this before - but my current project is wrapping up and I think I will have time for crafting and maybe some blogging over the next few weeks!  This time I mean it!  Stay tuned!