So… now that projects are at least a bit more reasonable… time to plan projects!
I’ve got my usual favorite categories: sewing, knitting, gardening and food preservation. And I guess I can add “house projects” to that.
So first up sewing.
Green 4th of July Dress
This one’s easy since it’s almost done! (Just needs buttons…) It’s a sleeveless Hawthorn with the green cotton+steel fabric I got last year and some neat off white buttons from the thrift store (doing 12 instead of 13 button holes for that reason). I worked really hard to do the facings nicely so hopefully they’ll lay flat for once. I also did a very narrow rolled hem at the arm holes instead of bias tape so we’ll see how that goes. (bias tape is annoying and bulky)
Blue Tropical Dress
This is also fabric from last year, that I think will make a fun summer dress. It’ll be another sleeveless Hawthorn because I like them, they fit and shirt dress are nice at the moment.
Patrick Shirts
These will be shirts for all three Patrick’s. I have some nice summer weight cotton and also some (hopefully) nice knit fabric for t-shirts. For the grown up Patricks this will be the usual Butterick pattern. For the tiny Patrick I think one of the Ottobre patterns.
Ocean Soft Book
I have a fabric panel that can be used to make a soft book that matches the baby Patrick’s curtains. I thought it would be something he could enjoy that would be a nice keepsake from his room. I have the pages and batting cut out so I just need to sew them together. I think this one will be after I finish the dress since it should be a fun quick project.
Advent Calendar
This is another fun project. I’ve always wanted to try some of the fabric panel kits and I’ve always wanted to make an advent calendar so this seemed like a good project. Another major plus is that since it’s a quilted advent calendar I can just roll it up to store it, and it’s not breakable! Which seems like a very useful feature. I also want to make Christmas stockings to match. I think I’ll have enough fabric left over from the backing to do that. I’d also like to make a Christmas tree skirt. I have my Grandma’s which is nice but I’d like to make one of my own.
And in addition to sewing there’s my other craft projects, knitting.
Hat for the Tiny Patrick
This is going to be the “Bumble” pattern by Tin Can Knits. It’s cute and fun to knit. I think it will make a comfortable toddler hat. I’m going to use green yarn (Spanish Moss by Dragonfly Fibers) for this one. It feels nice and I think it’ll make a warm hat.
Sweater for Tiny Patrick
I think this will be the Hearthstone pattern (though I’m still thinking about it) and I haven’t picked the yarn yet. Luckily tiny person things are fun to knit and go quickly.
Blanket
The last blanket I knit was really comfortable and awesome so I’d like to do another one. I’m thinking maybe the “Marley” blanket by Tin Can Knits since that one looks comfortable and will probably knit quickly. Afterwards I’d also like to try “Bounce” pattern, but we’re going to start with the easy one!
In addition to crafts I’ve got my garden and my food preservation plans. They’re pretty closely linked this year since I’m hopefully going to be sticking to what the garden produces (except for jam, that’s a special case and the fruit trees need a few years after all…).
For the mid-summer part of the garden I get to do the following:
Harvest: Beans, Cucumbers, Hot Peppers, Bell Peppers, Eggplants, Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Strawberries, Herbs and maybe some New Zealand Spinach, Lettuce and Zucchini and maybe some Blueberries
Plant: Beans in July, Lettuce and Brassicas in August
And there will be a bunch of different things to preserve:
Can: Strawberry Jam, Raspberry Jam, Peach Jam, Pickles, Crushed Tomatoes, Pickled Hot Peppers, Relish
Freeze: Beans, Hot Peppers, Bell Peppers, Eggplant, Strawberries, Spinach, Zucchini
Dehydrate: Cherry tomatoes, Thyme, Lavender
For the late-summer/early-fall part of the garden I get to do the following:
Harvest: Beans, Cucumbers, Hot Peppers, Bell Peppers, Eggplants, Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Strawberries, and maybe some New Zealand Spinach, Lettuce, Winter Squash and Zucchini, and maybe some Raspberries
Plant: Lettuce and Radishes
And there will be a bunch of different things to preserve:
Can: Plum Jam, Apple Butter, Crushed Tomatoes, Pickles, and I may make a couple jars of apple pie filling for fun (since instant pie appeals)
Freeze: Beans, Hot Peppers, Bell Peppers, Eggplant, Strawberries, Spinach, Zucchini
Dehydrate: Cherry Tomatoes, maybe Catnip?
Then in late fall I get to plant garlic, tulips and daffodils. Next year there will also be a lot more herbs to freeze and dehydrate. I’m also hoping to have more established fruit which will give me more options there. And maybe I can expand my canning plans a bit. I have definitely learned from past years (canning a reasonable number of jars of jam with multiple types is best, pickles need some work, as does salsa, tomatoes are useful, but crushed tomatoes are probably more useful, pickled hot peppers are great but could use pickle crisp…).
Next year I also plan to expand the garden a bit and add asparagus and potatoes and try onions and peas.
Then last there’s the house projects.
I want to organize my room and the kitchen (since those haven’t been reorganized too much since we moved in). I also want to fix the table situation and the seating the den. It would also be nice to get some chairs for the patio, but we’ve got the garden wall, so that helps.
So, plenty to do!
