The Garden Wars: Tomatoes

I have a crazy husband who loves nothing more than to prank his children. April is his favorite month because, he believes, April Fool's Day lasts for the entire month.

All photos from Google Images

Richard and Adam have been planting vegetables for six weeks now. Some plants and seed have been replanted two, three times. The reason for such wasteful abandon is that there's an ongoing competition to have the first, biggest, most, best of any thing that grows in the garden.

It makes no difference how much work, money, or cheating goes in. It's being the first and best that count. Finding another way to win is perfectly acceptable--so one could win by having the last strawberry of the summer, if he only thinks to make the claim.

Photos from Google Images

 Hence,every free inch of dirt is a garden. Richard has three--gardens not inches. Adam has four boxes and a small plot. The only limit right now is the amount of ground under our feet. 




Every grain of soil has been amended. Every seed kissed. Every plant watered, sprayed, fertilized and wanded with stardust--Marly does help. Every weed hand-plucked. Every gnat, fly and beetle smote. Every. Well, every thing has been done that can be done. 


At first it's important to have the first seeds sprouting. Then the plants need to be the biggest. Wait, is that a bloom? Heck, yes, the first bloom on the plant. The first fruit. The biggest fruit. The only red tomato! 

Wait, what?  Oh, no! We can't have only one red tomato! Marley came running up to the house shouting at the top of her lungs that SHE had the first red tomato. We had to drop everything and go look. Well, look there! A red tomato (said like I'd never seen a red tomato in my life). They had already eaten the first strawberry. Her poppa was not to be outdone. 

All photos from Google Images

They left and so did he. Straight to the closest grocery store where he bought a bag of medium sized RED tomatoes still on the vine. I did not ask the price...it was too late.  He found the thin green wire that I use in flower arranging and wired  the bought tomatoes to the plant. Yes, he did!

Right under the leaves they went. Wire well hidden. And to add to the insult, he wired another tomato to a different plant. Beautiful work...I had difficulty seeing the wire, knowing it was there. After that, the only thing he needed was patience. The snare was in place and the victims stepped right in!

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: CHECKERBOARD

Remember playing games as a child? One of my favorites was checkers. It seems that we always had a game and with seven sisters, there was always an opponent. My grandfather was the adult who taught me to play and to love the game. I remember setting the game up on the arm of the sofa--he always sat in the same place--for a rousing game.  

He taught me to play by first winning and then showing me either my bad moves or his smart ones. It was difficult to grasp the concept of planning my moves and anticipating his, but eventually I came to understand. He died when I was twelve but by that time he had taught me quite well. I don't think I ever won a game with Papa, but that didn't seem to matter.

Checker board quilts, you ask? Well, you know it!

Here's hoping that your childhood memories of playing games includes a loving grandfather who was willing to teach you to be a better player. (And maybe a win or two.)

Updated NICU Gown Pattern

One of my most popular posts since I started this blog in 2010 has been the NICU pattern that I wrote about after our grandbaby was born weighing only 2 lbs. 4 ozs. This week I am washing and delivering 24 gowns to Cabrini's Women's and Children's NICU ward. 

the old version

While I am happy that so many people have been interested in making NICU gowns, I haven't necessarily been happy about the look of the pattern itself. So I finally got around to cleaning it up.

newer, updated version

To print the pattern simply click on the picture and copy it. Then go to MS Word (or whatever program you normally use) and paste it there. Enlarge the pattern so that it just fits inside of a regular 8½ X 11 sheet of copy paper. Nothing is exact--if you get close it will be fine, but remember that the pattern is half of the gown. (I print one but cut out two and tape them together at the center back.) You have a pattern that easily. One of the reasons that size is not terribly important is that the gowns aren't necessarily clothing the way we think of it. 

In the NICU, still not wearing clothes

Preemies are all sizes (generally 1-6 lbs) but most weight 4-5 pounds before the nurses put clothing on them. This is because when tiny babies are irritated, they fidget and cry, and any irritation slows down their weight gain and development. 

Christmas (almost two months in NICU)
wearing a gown I made

We couldn't touch or hold Catherine for the first few weeks. It's devastating to think that just your touch can delay her progress. Because the gowns are designed to cover the baby rather than fit tiny bodies, there's a little wiggle room . 

Catherine at 5 years old

NICU babies are kept at an exact temperature, so the gowns aren't even meant to keep them warm. Their job is to help the parents cope with having a preemie in such delicate condition. 

Catherine now at six years old.

Young moms and dads come into the NICU and, seeing the baby with clothing, begin to see her differently. There's a renewed hope that the baby will survive. They've been touching and holding her for a few days, and this is one more advancement. They eventually practice putting clothing on her, changing her diaper, nursing or giving her a bottle--all while a nurse is close by to help them. Even parents who have older children are afraid to handle their frail, tiny infant. A two pound baby can be frightening! 

If you are interested in making NICU gowns for your local hospital, first call and ask if they prefer a particular pattern be used. If this pattern is acceptable, you can find the tutorial here. 

Stash Report: March 2016

What can I say? Oops?  Actually, I needed enough of one color of Kona solid to begin putting together my circles quilt. So I bought six yards while we were in Alexandria. And remember that I had two commissioned quilts that needed backing. (I'll report one this week!)

And remember that I've been wanting to collect text fabric for a word quilt. Plus, I found two great sources of text fabric. 

Stash Report for March 2016
Additions and Subtractions	Yards	Projects from stash	Projects from purchases
Used this month:	9½	Scrap Quilt (8 yds)	Memory Quilt (WIP)
Added this month:	14	NICU gowns (1/2 yd)	Circle Quilt (WIP)
Used in 2016:	29	Small Projects (1yd)
Added in 2016:	16

Now most important is to remember that I don't have to count the additions when I do use them.  How did you do in March--are you in the red, like me, or in the black?