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I stood outside staring at a mess and decided that my "herbs gone wild" garden had to change... My herb garden started the spring my mother became ill. I put in a few herbs... some mint, lavender, sage, rue, chives, basil, lemon balm, and oregano. The following spring I brought bricks from my parents' old walkway and bricked the area into a nice raised bed, installed landscape fabric, and rearranged my herbs. I added some others. The mint eventually went crazy. (It is hard to believe that so much could come from one little pot.) I eventually relocated it to the back of the garage. I continued each year to tweak the herb space and eventually things became crowded. The landscape fabric, I finally realized, was not properly placed and I had a natural disaster. The lemon balm was sprouting everywhere and the weeds were embedded in the landscape fabric. It also seemed that I had neglected cutting things back in the fall. I dove in... I put on my gloves, dug around a bit, grabbed the landscape fabric, and just started pulling, ripping, and rolling. Very quickly, I had the bed cleaned out. Some herbs were sacrificed. I might have heard some cries! I replaced the herbs. I planted the butterfly bush my family gave me for Mother's Day in the center of the bed. I added a variety of other perennials that attract humming birds and butterflies too. We even planted a money tree from my Grandmother's. (Simon & Annestelle are still trying to figure that one out!) I am looking forward to the blooms that will assist Mary in blessing our yard this summer!
Happy Hobbies!
This quilt is called Dazey Daze from Debbie Mumm!
Kate posted about receiving it here.
Sincere thanks to Chookyblue for hosting this swap again this year!
Happy Hobbies!!
Here is a picture (not the best) of one of the sets of applique towels I'm sending off to one of my favorite families this Christmas!
The towels are from Target and the fabric is from my stash!
More Christmas sewing to come...
Happy Hobbies!
Mistletoe has been a required decoration since the little people have been old enough to get the concept of kissing under it! Each year we scramble to the places we know to find it and we are always put off for a week or so because the orders have not yet come in. In reality, the mistletoe we buy isn't very big or even very pretty as it is heavily preserved. So when I saw the pattern for Magical Mistletoe, here, I was thrilled! I worked with Aunt Betty and we made 7 sets. We used wool felt on one side and fabric on the other and used a much lighter fusible stabilizer than recommended. I also opted to use beads rather than the felt balls because of the large number needed for the 7 sets. I have just 2 sets left to bead for each of the kids rooms. I think these are lovely little holiday keepsakes!
Happy Hobbies!
Here they are...
Dracula
Kitty Witch
Bat Girl (the doll)
A fun day. A fun night. Too much chocolate for Mommy!
Happy Hobbies!
This simple recipe can be found here at LIFE IN GRACE.
Aren't these jars sweet?
I plan to make a few more batches to give as Christmas gifts this year too!
Happy Hobbies!
Happy Hobbies!
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Went to the Knoxville Zoo and had such fun! Aren't those little people the cutest animals?
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Went to the Dinosaur Walk in Pigeon Forge. Annestelle was in heaven, naming each and every dinosaur replica!
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This is the view from Clingman's Dome, the Great Smokey Mountains National Park's highest point east of the Mississippi. Would you believe we saw John Glenn and his wife hiking back down from the Dome? Yes, the astronaut. HobbyHubby took Glenn's picture with a woman (using her camera), but hated to bother Glenn any further so didn't ask the woman to return the favor. Very exciting nonetheless!
Happy Hobbies!
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The colors in this fabric line from Denyse Schmidt are a perfect match for the bird cards I plan to frame for display. I have to say, both the bird cards and quilt are prettier in person.
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This is the back. I had the chance to use the professional quilt machine at Aunt Mary's last spring!
I tend to do things out of order... like picking out pictures and making a shower curtain before the 70's gold wallpaper is stripped, the shower surround replaced, new light fixtures installed, and the walls painted... you know, all the important stuff? I did finish the wallpaper stripping on Thursday! I really HATE stripping wallpaper, but it is done! The old fixtures are down... Progress is being made!
You'll be seeing the bathroom finish someday!!
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Impatiens & Begonias on the deck....JPG)
and some lovely Lavender..JPG)
the sad condition of my herb bed;.JPG)
the wild flower mix to bloom.
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