School Kit Bags

 

We've talked about comforters distributed by Mennonite Central Committee, but there are also school kits.  Last year almost 90,000 were sent to disaster areas overseas.

My church usually picks up already-sewn bags from a distribution center and fills them from a list of supplies.  This year people were especially generous and we had more supplies than bags.

It was my first time sewing a few bags.  I followed the directions for some, then used the serger to speed things up.  It was sort of like serging pillowcases.

It brought back memories of making Girl Scout kit bags and threading the drawstrings.  Back then, I just couldn't figure out how to make my drawstrings draw - I think my mother ended up doing it for me.  All those years later, I can do it.

Dill Bread

 A claasic cookbook for many Mennonite families is More With Less, first printed fifty years ago.

One of the events marking the 50 year celebration is Cook Through More-With-Less.  Participants signed up to receive a recipe assignment, make the recipe, and send back a photo.

My assignment was Dill Bread, which I'd never made, despite making the oatmeal bread recipe over and over again.

The deadline for sending photos is today, so of course I was making mine last night.  It's a savory bread, really good.  It took a long time to rise, probably because I added the cottage cheese cold out of the refrigerator.  Next time I'll warm it up.

Table Topper This Week

Last week's sewing project was an alteration, a pair of my grandson's wool suit pnts becuse he's taller than when he bought the suit, and he also needed a couple of inches at the waist.

We thought he could just buy a new pair of suit pants, but the color had been discontinued.  it's a very, very dark navy.  I'm grateful that th jacket still fit and now the pants do too.

I wanted to start out this week with a mindless project before going back to comforter binding - four mor to go, my goal for this week is two.

I had four blocks left over from the Moda Blockheads project, so it was easy enough to sew them together for a table topper, then quilt and bind.

I'd never tried out the laser feature of my sewing machine - it projects a thin red line to guide the sewing.  This quilting probablly wasn't the best project for using it, but it was fun to try it out.  I'll come back to it  again.

Enough?

It's almost August - and maybe this is enough flower shopping..

Maybe.

When I lived in Michigan, a frost could come any time after Labor Day.

But this is Kentucky, and I'm looking forward to a nice long fall.

Once, many years ago, my husband was mowing the yard in Kentucky when his sister called from Michigan.  They were shoveling snow there.  And my husband, in typical youngest child fashion, took great delight in this.

Future Monarch

 

This year there are three milkweed plants in my garden, but so far just one monarch caterpillar.  I keep looking hopefully for more, but so far there is only one.

Lots of seed pods, one faithful bee, but just one caterpillar.  Maybe there's still time. Maybe I'll have to be happy with just one.

Every morning, I look.

Marigolds

 

It's been a long time since I've had pretty marigolds, but this seems to be their year.

Of course they came marked down at the big box store, looking just a little unhappy, but they've thrived in a tub of Miracle Grow potting soil.

I added a couple of day lilies which languished on my back porch all winter.  They don't seem to be doing as well as when they sat in their containers on the porch.  Maybe they like just plain dirt rather than the good stuff.

There is a new butterfly bush growing happily in the "just plain dirt."  I know it might b a little invasive, we'll see.  But it's all by itself in a spot where nothing else seems to grow.  It's in the back yard, away from the pollinator plants.

If you have concerns about it, Master Gardener Joanne, let me know.

Rain

 

It's raining on and off, and when it rains, it rains hard.  It seems like we've had a flood watch for days.

I met my cardio goal for the week sweeping water in the basement toward the drain, so there's that.  Not a flood, don't worry.

My only trip out today was to the quilt shop, I'd been thinking about that all week.  I picked up the fifth block of the month (and still haven't started the first one.)

Then there was a pattern for a zipper bag, a very simple one that I'll use again and again.  And a kit for a table runner that I've been admiring in the shop.

I rarely buy kits, but the sample looks so pretty and I can use the basic design for other projects.

But first, an embroidery job needs to be started.