Scrap Quilted Pillow Cover

Here is a new pillow cover made from scrap fabrics and quilted with lace. Visit my Etsy shop and mention this blog post for free shipping.

Vintage Hankie Pillow Cover

Here is my latest pillow cover, now up for sale in my Etsy shop. Mention this blog post for free shipping.

Flirty Skirt - pattern from Make It Perfect

Here is a skirt I finished recently for Ada. I bought the pattern from an Etsier - MakeItPerfect. The intructions were simple for me to understand, it was easy and fun to put together and it turned out totally cute! It's a size 2 so she won't be able to wear it until next year but we'll save it until then. Be sure to check out her shop to make your own flirty skirt (pattern includes Mom sizes, too!)

Denim and Scrap Pillow Cover

Here is my Denim and Scrap Pillow Cover. Visit my Etsy shop and when you mention this blog post you'll receive free shipping.

Salad dressing from scratch

Our garden is growing well now (though it could be better if we could get some decent sun). We have been able to harvest lettuce and spinach, if nothing else. I needed to come up with something to go with our excess lettuce and spinach - something other than a plain salad. So, I made chicken salad and it was SO good!

For the chicken I just dusted it with salt and pepper. What a difference the salt makes! Usually I just use lemon pepper seasoning but this was much better.

The highlight of this salad was the dressing. I LOVE honey mustard and, since I no longer buy processed foods (or at least don't buy any I can convince my hubby not to eat) we didn't have any dressing in the house. So, I threw together these ingredients for a very yummy dressing:

A squirt of honey mustard (I suppose you could also use mustard spice and honey, maybe?)
A glob of mayo (not miracle whip)
A dash of apple cider vinegar
Olive Oil

Mix it all together, adding more of whatever to your liking, and pour over your salad. This was such a good dinner! I even finished ALL of my chicken.

Baby Booties for Ada

These are some booties I completed for Ada several weeks ago. I've since made a few more for her but am still refining the pattern. I hope to soon have some booties up for sale in my Etsy shop.

Life on the Farm

Here is one of 5 of our baby chicks emerging from her new home in the coop.

Discovering the Pleasures of Handmade Life

Need a super fun, super easy and especially delightful Homestead read? Then you need Made From Scratch by Jenna Woginrich.

Jenna talks about her experiences of Beekeeping (quite humorous) to Mountain Music (I'm inspired!). It's a great book to keep around the house for an easy reference.

Find her book here at Powells Books.

Make your own super cheap and easy dish scrubbie

Here is a super simple and super cheap way to make a dish scrubbie:

Buy no less than 1/4 yard of nylon tulle/netting from your cheapest fabric store - nothing fancy here.

Cut about 6 inches of embroidery floss and set aside.

From one end cut a square - doesn't have to be pretty, just lop off the end of the yardage where it looks about squarish. Lay this square on a flat surface.

Take the remaining yardage and ball it up in your fist.

Tuck that ball of netting into the center of the square netting. Fold up each corner of the square holding it closed with your fingers but don't let go of the "ball" (it's easier than it sounds). Twist the square like you would a tire swing.

Now, this is the tricky part, tie the floss around the tulle end that is in your fingers, not letting go 'cause then you'll have a mess of tulle to ball up again. Knot the floss 4 or 5 times and trim the ends.

Ta-Da! A dish scrubbie that only cost about a quarter (on sale, I hope!) For a larger scrubbie buy more yardage, etc.

Flipping the Switch on Technology

In my quest for a more efficient life I have been scouring any related books and then I came upon "Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology" by Eric Brende....and what an amazing read! This book was not only entertaining and an easy read it was mind blowing. If you have any interest in becoming self-sufficient and, are maybe even struggling to find your way with God, this is a great book to inspire. This is by no means a religious or christian book but Brende's experience and first-hand accounts of an often misunderstood society is an eye-opener. As readers, we can take ideas from the book and put them into our everyday lives without completely turning our days upside down. We should all open our minds to new (or in this case quite old ideas become new) ideas for the sake of our future.

"Eric Brende conceives a real-life experiment: to see if, in fact, all our cell phones, wide-screen TVs, and SUVs have made life easier and better - or wheather life would be prefereable without them.....What is the least we need to achieve the most?" Now, if only I can convince my husband......

The ISBN number for the book is 0060570040. I found mine at Powell's Books. Click here to go directly to an available book.

The first harvest of the season

At last! A harvest from our homestead. We've been here 2 and a half years but this is the first year we've had a vegetable garden and our cherry tree is doing amazing!

You can also see my latest creation - a cherry picking apron. I made this out of a vintage handtowel that I loved and some left over fabric remnants. It worked wonderfully! With four long deep pockets I was able to fit alot of cherries in my apron before having to climb back down the ladder. There is nothing worse about harvesting when you're up on a teatering ladder trying to hold onto a bowl full of cherries. Cheers!

(Oh, and our eggs for the day from our Rhode Island Reds).