Monday Message

"Start now to create a plan if you don’t already have one, or update your present plan. Watch for best buys that will fit into your year’s supply. We are not in a situation that requires panic buying, but we do need to be careful in purchasing and rotating the storage that we’re putting away. The instability in the world today makes it imperative that we take heed of the counsel and prepare for the future." (L. Tom Perry)

We finally got a little rain here so I have been enjoying NOT watering the garden.

Asparagus is slowing down and the rhubarb is growing its second harvest. My plan is to make strawberry rhubarb jam - yum! Raspberries are growing and tiny baby peaches are growing on the patch tree.

The young apple and plum trees are doing well and even younger apple trees that I started last year from seed, are putting in lots of growth and are already over a foot tall.

My watermelon seeds grew well, same with muskmelons, and even some honey dew. All were seed that was saved from last year. I had to thin the watermelon and muskmelon plants but I hate tossing out plants, so I have planted them all around the yard and all are doing well.

I found a rabbit eyeing my garden so it was time to put out my hair. I save the hair when I clean out my hairbrush from spring to spring. I start saving for next year's garden now. I put it all around the fencing. It looks like an old lady fell in my garden and got her hair caught in the fencing as she rolled about. But it does the trick.

I picked off the suckers on the tomato plants and I filled a jelly jar with water, covered it with plastic wrap, poked holes in and set the suckers so the stems are in the water. When they root in the ground they go for even more tomatoes - I saw this on a video.

So a fair amount of gardening is happening at my house. How are you coming on building some skills??

https://www.creeksidesimplicity.com/25-homemaking-skills-you-should-know/

https://www.littlehouseliving.com/153-grocery-staples-that-you-can-make-at-home.html - I love this gal.

This week I have been building a skill. I wanted to do this pattern for a year. I researched without much luck but for the last three days - grueling days I might add - after a year and three days, I realized my goal finally....

This is an inkle loom, while I could do weaving just fine on it... this is krokbragd is done on the inkle loom.

Warping this took longer than it does for me to warp the floor loom - it was tough.

Then I had to make extra heddles, those are the cluster of pink string.

Try, fail... try, fail... I did start a lot, did different versions for the heddles, but finally got them made.

Then it was try and fail quite a bit more. With every fail came the search for why. Most was a twisted thread and tracking those down are a nightmare.

But in the end I finally got my little sheep.

A while ago I was trying to warp up to do what you see here...

But before I got this warped, I had tried another fiber, but my sister thought it wouldn't work so I had to cut it off - but you know me, I needed to save it.

This picture gives you a size comparison of the floor loom and the smaller table top loom.

It was much more work than it should have been. I warped up the table top loom we call baby Bertha.

I am making a scarf of practice stitches. So I saved the fiber to reuse it here.  

All week has been rough, but wow did I learn a lot!

Using what we have and not wasting is kind of the theme this week - from saving the thinnings and replanting, to saving the tomato suckers to make more tomatoes, to learning a new skill and I used what I had on hand also, saving the warp and reusing it.

All while learning lots!

What have you been learning? Write in the comments, I love to hear it!

Missy says remember to care for others and to be kind. The world really needs us to be kind to others.

Tippy Longstockings says keep learning new skills or adding to ones you have. She says she is developing her skill of being oh so cute!