Garden Update

I am sad today this is not a happy post.  We have not been as luck as last year with the garden.  It has been a combination of poor soil, insects, heat and now rain (hurricanes)!  We are pretty bummed about the results of the garden- it seems like every time we are getting ready to harvest something it either gets eaten by stink bugs or it rains for weeks and rots or explodes- have you ever seen a tomato explode?!?! EWW!

We went on vacation the end of July and when we came back the Community Center Garden was a sad sight! Our entire garden was infested with stink bugs and most of the squash, zucchini and cucumbers plants had been eaten.  The hubby decided it would be best to pull them all up.

The backyard garden was a little rough as well but without the infestation- a little more on the dry side. THEN hurricane Irene passed over and we find this....

The boys had a great idea...

Yes Zucchini Baseball!!  Never a dull moment!!

Sewing Machine Cover

I had this beautiful fabric and I've been waiting to use it and I REALLY needed to make a cover for my kitchen aid mixer so I decided to try it out.  My measurements were a little big and the fabric was a little TOO much for my tiny kitchen so I tried it on my sewing machine (which was actually in need of a cover as well).  It fits the sewing machine MUCH better!!  I think this fabric is really pretty and I actually wish the cover was big enough to cover my ENTIRE craft area- excuse my mess...

I added a little handle to the top so I can hang it while I'm crafting and the inside is lined with the same fabric.  It was super easy so I don't have a tutorial- plus I made it at 11pm last night.  But if you need help just ask.  

 My measurements were:

 top (2) 11"x15"

side panel (a) (4) 16"x15"

side panel (b) (4) 16"x11"

The handle was about 3"x8" (I forgot to measure-I sew like I cook)

Let me know if you need help putting it all together! I think it would have been much sturdier if there was interfacing but I didn't add it.  I still LOVE it though and it will keep the dust out!

Back to School Time Art Smock!!

So last year I made this Art Smock, I have to admit it was a pretty thrift an awesome idea!  Well...Austen didn't bring it home from school and we've called the school to see if it was there but the teacher is not there this year and he will be going to a new school so NEW school, NEW smock!  So I had an idea in my head to do a black dress shirt with flame-ribbon BUT I couldn't find flame-ribbon or a cheap black dress shirt SO new idea!  I found a red mens dress shirt at Target on sale and then took the big boy to JoAnn's to pick out some ribbon, we decided on soccer balls!  So I thought...flames and soccer balls- I know I can't get away from the flames but it's SO COOL!! :)  

Last Year's smock

So off to the NEW Smock!  

So first thing you want to do is put the large dress shirt (size small mens) on your model and mark where you want to cut the sleeves, remember you want the sleeves long enough to cover their school clothes so they don't get ruined. Using scissors or a rotary cutter cut the sleeves where marked.

as you can see I already sliced the sleeve off :)

At this point you want to turn the shirt inside out, fold the ends of the sleeves 1/4 inch then 1/2 inch iron and hem.  Once you have both sleeves hemmed turn the shirt right-side out and attach ribbon to the end of the sleeves.

Next you'll remove the buttons and add Velcro.  

                                    

I like to add Velcro because it's going to be easier to take off when you're 6 and when you've got dirty fingers!  I cut 5 pieces of Velcro, that should be enough to go the length of the shirt

Mark where you would like to add the Velcro (evenly spaced) and pin.  You want to make sure the Velcro is even with it's matching partner on the other side. Remember the the velcro will be facing out on the former button side and facing in on the button hole side.

Once you've added the Velcro in place of the buttons you will want to cover the button holes with the ribbon you picked for the sleeves.  Fold over the top of the ribbon and put it as close as you can to the collar- pin. Pin the ribbon down every 3-4 inches.

 

Now you want to sew the top, down each sides and across the bottom.

Next you'll do the same to the edge of the collar.  I folded the ends of the ribbon and tucked them around the collar edge before sewing just to make it look cleaner.

Now you can add your design it you like.  I chose to do freezer paper stenciling and this is were the FLAMES come in!  I found an image of a flaming soccer ball that I thought was pretty awesome and 

stenciled in on the pocket and back.

Then I decided I better put his name on it since it's SO awesome someone might snatch it!  I had some flame fabric from a previous project.  The heat-n-bond wasn't working properly so i had to sew the edges but it gave it a rough look. (You could also freezer paper stencil your letters like I did last time)

I think he likes it?  Pretty happy kid! He was showing everyone at back to school night (proud momma) :).

 I hope you enjoyed and feel inspired!

Jessica Percifull

Square Foot Gardening Take 2!

So this year we are starting our second year of Square foot/raised bed gardening. We've decided to expand! One bed at our house and one in the Community Garden.  We started the one in our backyard on time but didn't get to start the Community Garden right away due to rain and the fact that they were still building the plots.

This is the garden in our backyard May 16

We used this plot last year and it's still in great condition!  We're using out knowledge of what did better in the sun or shade and changing the line up! Hopefully we've made the right decision.

Backyard Garden June 4

 Only a few weeks later and the garden is already showing progress!

Backyard Garden 6/16

 We decided that we had some extra room and wanted some herbs right away.  I have never had luck with cilantro so I figured I would get some thats already started.  I've also learned through some research that as soon as your cilantro and basil start to have flowers they wont produce any more leaves and it's best to throw some seeds in the ground every couple of weeks!

Backyard Garden 6/28

 We have Squash, Zucchini, Thai Basil, Rosemary, Sweet Basil, Cilantro, Plum Tomatoes, Carrots, and Cucumbers!

Backyard Garden 7/11

 Only about two months in and it's overgrown!! I hope we didn't crowd it too much!! We were a little worried when all of the flowers kept falling of the squash plants. We actually found that it's very common if there are too many males they just fall off!!  Also once they've pollinated the females they'll fall of as well because you'll only get fruit from the females!  Maybe we'll get brave and try one of the many squash blossom recipes on the internet!

Our first harvest from our backyard garden!!

This is our first pick from our garden and it sure looks yummy!  Just two months in and we've already gotten some yummy veggies!!

Community Center Garden

Our garden did SO well last year we decided to add another! They're kind of expensive to start so when we heard out community was starting a Community Garden where we could pay a refundable deposit for a small, medium or large plot we were super excited!! (Ok maybe just me) :)  The hubby and oldest son started the garden and found the dirt filled with glass and just pretty crappy dirt.  After a week the garden wasn't looking too good and it wasn't allowing the water to drain. 

Community Center Garden June 4

  So we added removed half of the dirt and some organic garden soil and some of our compost. Surprisingly all of the plants transplanted well!

Community Center Garden 6/16

Community Center Garden 6/16

Community Center Garden 7/4

Just a few weeks in and it's looking great!

Austen and Neil (courtesy of the Capital Flyer)

 My husband and oldest son were even pictured in the base paper!

My big helpers!

Of course I have the best helpers ever! I'm surprised they're even dry in this picture because I think they really only come to play in the hose! 

Unfortunately our first harvest from the community garden has already been enjoyed by the rabbits!  So sad! They even ate all the leaves down to the stems! This made us decide to put up a fence whether or not it's "allowed"!

I hope you enjoyed visiting our garden!  If you have a garden going be sure to link your blog below! I can't wait to see what your growing!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jessica Percifull