busy bee

I have recently gotten back into knitting.  Not because I had wanted to stop- but it's more of a fall/winter thing for me.  It just gets so hot knitting in the summer!

And now that I have more time to do things I want to do (and need to do), I started making a baby sweater.

My first baby sweater.
For my first baby  :)

While I have been making this sweater, I have also been working in my studio making shawl pins. 

I am trying for light and delicate- not big or clunky or heavy.

Hopefully I succeed!  

This one was my first, photographed before I have completely finished it.

I have about four in progress right now, and today's goal is to get into the studio and get going on those.  Maybe even make one or two more if I'm lucky!

**Happy making**

Took ya long enough.

At long last.
I have joined the world of Etsy!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/cmjeweler

This, among many other things, makes me smile.

Other things:

Heading to a good friend's wedding today.

**Fun**

More peppers and tomatoes than we can handle up at the garden right now.

Baby kicks ♥

Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot.

The Hot Pepper Army

Back to making things... 

The Garden is fantastic. This is one round of harvesting our Hungarian Wax Peppers. 

An entire basket full of these things!  Not to mention there were some Anaheim, Jalapeno, and Sweet Banana peppers in the mix, too. 

**Yum** 

So we sliced and jarred pretty much all of the peppers.  (The slices that were laying on the counter, and whole peppers that had even a small bad spot were tossed into the compost.  We could only take so much!)

20 jars and 1.5 gallons of vinegar later, all we need to do now is wait for them to steep in the vinegar and become even more delicious.  

Still at work on getting an Etsy site up and running.  

These things take time, I guess.

I just wish I could get it to take a little less time.

Meanwhile, I am watching raindrops outside my window.

Weather maps for today look a bit like the pepper photo- if you blur your eyes...

Delayed

The way that I have neglected to update this blog,
can't the days just neglect to disappear so quickly?

My husband and I went on a long European vacation at the beginning of June.
So much to see- so little time- and my feet could only bear to carry me so far.
Everything was amazing- of course, I do wish we had more time to sit and just be a part of the place.
More time (and less rain and cigarette smoke in some places!) to sit under an awning, eating a meal or drinking a coffee.
More time to people watch.
And a better grip on the French and Italian languages, too.

Just a few highlights:

London, England

After a ride on a red, double decker bus, the loss of a child's wooden bicycle (it was returned), and walking around nearly all of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, we found the original gates of the Crystal Palace from the Great Exhibition of 1851. 

Amazing.

 Paris, France

<--Petit Palais

Awesome architectural work and mosaic floors.  Great artwork too.

Eiffel Tower-->

Climbed the stairs to the second level.  Rainy day, but still totally worth the walk!

Rome, Italy

Some pretty great stone carvings.  The detail was crazy- like this one- the woman has her foot on top of one of the bands on her sandal.  REALLY?!

Praiano, Italy

Our favorite boat near the beach.  We got to see it close up.  We were boat stalkers.  

And the clear blue water!!!

Baby's favorite: Lemon trees above us at the villa.

It was a great trip, even still, it is good to be back home.  

That set of shelves is finally done, I am just waiting to make sure the paint has cured.  And the engagements ring was done before our trip.  

Next up:  Etsy site?

Indirect making of things

I make things.  True statement.

It's a work in progress.

Gardens are kind of different, though.  I grow things, but really, the rain and the sun grow things.  I just tend to them, pluck out their adversaries, and their fruits.
More time in the garden, and it is really getting somewhere!  The tomato plants are growing like crazy, so is everything else, for that matter.  
And, the garden is still tame.  Which is saying something.  We put grass down on the walkways, and we have all soaker hoses this year in hopes that we won't waste water or over water the plants-- or just water their leaves.

The sky is bright blue today, a few clouds floating about.  Hopefully I will have time to venture to the garden to work.




Most importantly, though, more studio time today.
I cleaned and organized my studio the other day, which of course was like a trip down memory lane.
"Ooooh. I made that?"
and
"Oh, I should finish that.  That was a good start.."
and
"Why isn't that in the scrap bin?!  Yuck."

But, the small changes I made to the set up made the room a lot easier to work in.  So I definitely look forward to that!
Just a little more to finish on this ring, and it should be done.  *fingers crossed*
Photos to follow of the ring (but not until she gets it!)

How I started my summer vacation.

Now that I am really, truly done with school (again) my days are somewhat open.
That doesn't mean I don't have a lot that I want to do.  I have PLENTY to keep me busy.
But this "Free Time" should be good for the garden.  And my jewelry making.

Periwinkle Before.
Choking out my cute
little pansies!

I weeded in front of our house today.  Periwinkle- it looks nice, but it takes over, and that doesn't make me too happy.  So I pulled that out until I couldn't stand it anymore.  Good enough for now!

I also planted some cute yellow flowers that I picked up at the Mother's Day Plant sale at Landis Valley Museum.
I'd post a photo of them, but it's RAINING!!!! And I think I would even classify this as a downpour, so I'm not going out there!

After a few beautiful, sunny days, this weather is just what the big garden needs.  (Good thing I got some cucumber seeds in when I did.)

The thing about this rain, and the free time, is that it just makes me want to take a nap.  It just seems like the right thing to do on such a grey afternoon.  I'm holding out though.  I can make it through!

I do have a few projects going on right now:

The original ring. 

°Remake an engagement ring. (I must admit, I am glad to be redoing it.  I think it will look SO much better this way than how I originally made it.)  It is a rough diamond (great for those of us with self-diagnosed OCD who thrive on symmetry) and I tried to put it in prongs first. It looked so out of place.  So now, bezel it is.  And my, how I do love bezels. I was lost for a bit trying to design this ring, but then I realized, HEXAGON!  I love working with hexagons, and this stone lent itself to using a hexagon.  The puzzle started to make sense.  After photos coming.


°Make a pearl bracelet.
°Design some earrings for some friends.
°And, I am trying to decide if I should invest in a torch for lampworking (making glass beads.)  It would be an awful lot of fun...

I miss my co-op, and my classes.  It hasn't even been a week yet since I finished student teaching.  Luckily, I have lots to keep me busy (see above), but I realized that I certainly do like to teach- I think going back to school was definitely worth it.


The sun is breaking through the clouds now.  Maybe I'll find a rainbow.

Gardens love the rain, too.

The garden this year.
Hopefully it will be epic.
Or something awesome, at least.
Two Saturdays ago, we prepared the garden.  It was all chopped up and turned over- the dirt was like sugar.
So stakes and markers went it, hopes are always that there is enough room to get to things once all the plants suddenly become ENORMOUS.

The guys moving some dirt around.

So this most recent Saturday, we went up and started to plant- Hoping to make it just before the rain.  

It worked.  We watered all of the plants, because, just like if you wash your car it Does rain, if we didn't water the plants, it wouldn't rain...  Funny how that works.  (Even though it is a huge storm system, I swear the rain would have at least been delayed over us!)

Tomatoes, sweet peppers, lettuce, onions, carrots, radishes and squash went in.  

Some of their soon to be neighbors are still growing in little cups in my studio, and others haven't been purchased yet.  

We finished up at the garden and had plenty of time to spare before the rain came, but it did, and it was accompanied by some great flashes of lightening followed by claps of thunder.  

The rain continues here while other areas are promised snow.  There is a tinge of jealousy from me about that.  I know it's getting late, but I have seen snow in May (8 hours north of here, but hey) and there is something magical about snow.  

Maybe next winter.  

I am excited.  

But for now, I will tend to my garden with the help of some wonderful friends, and enjoy the fruits of our labors.