Warm ups

 

My oldest daughter teaches 3rd grade, and in the morning she hands out "warm-ups", half sheets of paper with a few math problems or vocabulary words.  Something quick to occupy the class while they settle in.  My crafting lately has consisted of warm -ups.  It's been a while since I've flung myself headlong into a pile of fabric to make a large quilt, and that's okay.  When I'm ready I'll know it.

Lately it's been all about smallish makes, portable knitting or crochet.  Easy projects to keep my crafty muscles flexed, requiring minimal mess or time on my part.  Like the long pincushion above.  I always wanted one to lay at the base of my sewing machine, so I whipped this one up with scraps of bark cloth, linen and Liberty fabric.  When the middle daughter came back from a visit to the State Fair this summer, she proudly presented me with a small bag of wool from the sheep shearing.  It still had dirt and sticks in it.  I swear my kids get me. Anyway I stuffed it into the pincushion, so now it has extra magical powers.   

There is an abundance of rosemary, thyme and sage in my garden right now, so I cut the plants back real hard and have them drying upstairs in the loft on pieces of paper towel.  I always save small glass spice jars and those have been cleaned and ready to fill with this years herbs.  Then I ordered lavender, wormwood (repels moths), dried orange peel and mint from Mountain Rose herbs to blend with my rosemary.  To this I added sweet orange essential oil, and I stuffed the concoction into sachets made with vintage cotton and some recycled linen from an old skirt of mine.  There's a tutorial on Purl Bee if you want to make some for yourself.  I cut into some Liberty fat quarters, and those will be sewn next.

Ginny made some here, and sold them in her shop.  They lasted all of about 5 seconds and sold out.  I wasn't quick enough to buy any, so figured I might as well make my own.  Done.