From the garden and beyond...

~Well we have been fighting a summer cold 'round here for a few weeks . First burger than daddy then burger again! ...and all this sickness right in the middle of the swine flu scare. So needless to say blogging time has been a little scarce. But today we have not had a fever and are in much better spirits. ~I have been meaning to post a little about our summer garden's progress, so we a re a little beyond these photos now but what the HEY,. These photos are from the past few weeks.

~ Here we have little decorating in the garden, makes it fun for all.
... the first tomatoes guarded closely by the brain.... Bush beans are such spunky little seedlings!... We also have sweet corn, cukes, okra, and an assortment of late summer lovin' flowers, all seen in this blurry rainy photo~ It has been raining steadily for a few days(good for the garden...not the sick burger), so we have been staying inside, painting,
....photographing and trying not to go to crazy.
~ more sick days photos
...Daddy took this beautiful photo of the leek flower we had from our market leeks.
...This cut from a Lantana, came from a plant that popped up in the back yard all by itself.
... My good ol' boys.

....rarely seen, but heard quite often.

...This is one of my early sewing pieces, they are at least 12 years old . My Dad's old lures encased in lace and tulle....random I know but I love them, and often forget them

~here lately

~I have been quite swamped making stuff lately and I wanted to share some of my favorites,
I am tired so I am saying wordless Wednesday (except I just used a bunch of words)

An apron for my chef

~I made and apron for KG for our recent anniversary. I was pretty excited when he said he would like one. (I had offered my services before but he had declined).
... However lately he has been very into Jacques Pepin (which I am thrilled with), and as you can see, getting pretty creative in the kitchen(again loving this). He loves the simple elegance of Jacquie's cooking style
..... and I love that he always makes a dessert.
~So I asked again and he was totally on board. I had thought many times about making him an apron and what it might look like. KG wears pretty much a black T shirt , Levi's and boots or sneakers, (he does wear a western snap when the occasion suits him, but only in muted colors). If you have seen my aprons (or anything I make) you can see how this might be an exercise in restraint for me.
I had made some skull and bones type stuff last spring and summer , but they were still seeming a little too girly for him. We have this cool old sign in our bedroom and I have always wanted to use it's imagery in something special for him. ~I am not quite sure where he got it(I think it was a old warning sign for an electric fence, this is what I have always thought anyway) but it echos his daytime work. I had always thought I would use the skull form it. The skull is so harsh and German looking, very different than your run of the mill skull and bones. But then it dawned on me that the fist was really my favorite part. It seemed relevant to have the lightening as well but at the last moment I thought it was unfair for his daytime drudgery to be invading his nighttime passion so I defiantly put a spoon in the fist instead( I know, I am just such a crazy rebel lady)~ I was torn as to whether or not make it an applique or the much less practiced(by me) art of embroidery , but I felt like embroidery was more his speed, my man is quite subtle.
I am pleased with the patch worked bib piece using the embroidery as the central focus, ....but the bottom pocket I am on the fence about. He wanted a pocket and I could not help myself so there is a little skull on it ..but we will see if I let it live there. Maybe it should just be plain, yes I did say plain. This skull just seems a little silly for KG (NO, a power fist with a spoon is not too silly. It is a fine line I am walking here)


~This is a new apron pattern I have been working on to have fuller coverage across the bib and a little simpler design overall; um, yeah maybe?(I have quite a few in my custom stack). KG's is fully lined with a very cool striped shirting.

~I think it is very handsome indeed....
and Anyway he likes it and looks good in it too.

The Rock

....UM NoNoNo notDwayne Johnson( sorry I am a big ol'dork , just could not resisit)

~My sweet man remembered this rock...


Herkimer Diamond Solitaire

This ring was inspired by a one-pound bag of mixed "Herkimer Diamonds" we scored at the NYC Gem and Mineral Show last year. Despite their diamond misnomer, Herkimers are are actually six-sided, double-terminated quartz crystals and are relatively valueless. Nevertheless, unscrupulous jewelers during the Civil War often tried to pass off these stones as the more precious variety. We love the visual joke created when these severely flawed, yet impressively sized stones masquerade as diamonds in our version of the classic "solitaire" engagement-ring setting. A hand-cast sterling silver raised bezel grips the Herkimer with four square-wire prongs. Every unique stone is set by hand; expect yours to have irregularities like cracks, dark spots, and milky-colored mineral impurities
shop Erica Weiner

4 years ago today

I love you daddy

Vintage button and fabric scraps brooch Tutorial

~I just had a big sale on my new online store and I needed something to send as a "thank you" to all my sweet customers. I usually send a blank handmade card, but several of these ladies were repeat customers so I wanted to do something different. Plus the sale items had all been shirts so I thought brooches would be fun as well as relevant....This is a fun and super easy project. It is a really nice project to use vintage scraps or quilt pieces with. It is also a great way to showcase some of those pretty vintage buttons you have been hanging on to. (if you are using quilt scraps make sure to use the interface)~I was inspired by my very talented friend in Houston At Tanto Craft. Back around the Maker Faire I had gotten a Frida Pin from her . Inspired by this beautiful pin I made a few at Christmas but each one was completely different, and I worked them one at a time, so I had not really gotten the process down. I was still trying to figure out the best order to do it all in. Anytime I decide to do a batch of something I usually figure out a good recipe for the project. I am not sure if this is how Tanto makes hers but here is what I came up with.

Vintage button and fabric scraps brooch Tutorial

materials
fabric scraps
fusible interface(optional)
round template(i used a jar bottom)
felt
1" bar pin(jewelry notion)
glue gun
thread
needle
button(s)
sewing machine(optional)
Iron

1.Trace and cut out your pattern from the felt (backing ) and one piece of fabric with interface attached to it. ...you can use any pattern you would like for your brooch. I decided to use a circle. I wanted it to be easy to repeat and versatile, since I was making 5. I used the bottom of a pickle jar for my template and just traced it directly onto my fabric ( the back of course) with chalk
2. Sew the bar pin to the back of your felt piece. Think about where you want the location of the pin to be when you wear it. Make sure the opening of the pin is facing up so when you put it on it is easy to use.

3. Design your brooch with fabrics and buttons. Figure out where you want everything. ...Then start attaching each item from the bottom layer up.~ It helps to use your iron here. Iron all the scraps first. Then and if you want add interface to the back of them. Iron the entire brooch after you attach each layer; this keeps everything nice and flat. I like to add decorative stitching to the final layers. Then I arrange a few buttons, or just one special button.
4.Decide which way you want the brooch to be worn and where the pin should be located in relation to that.
5.Apply Glue to the back piece . I like to go around about a 1/4 " away from the edge of the brooch with a thin line of glue. Then sort of zig-zag in the middle. ...Then gently and evenly apply the top piece to the backing. Take care not to squirt excess glue out the sides.

6. Trim any excess fabric

......Tada!