More herb harvesting

I had enough lavender from my garden this year to dry seven bundles, plus oregano and thyme grown from starts my mother gave me last year. I spent this morning stripping leaves and buds off the stems and bottling them up. This is the first year I’ve harvested my cooking herbs and got enough of each for a nice-sized bottle of each. I love having herbs from my garden instead of buying them from the grocery store. Peppermint will be next, but it’s not quite ready to pick yet.

Dragonfly wall hanging

I’ve been working on this stained-glass style, quilted wall hanging (from this pattern) whenever I have a few spare minutes over the past several weeks. I’m really happy with how it turned out and the colors are a perfect match for my craft room walls. I hung it up and realized that, in spite of all the years of crafting, it’s the first thing I’ve displayed in my craft room that I actually made myself. I either give things away as gifts or hang up things I’ve bought from other crafters. It’s so nice to show off my own work for a change!

Sweet grass braids

This is sweet grass. A friend who’s Native American uses it for smudging in traditional ceremonies, but she wasn’t having any luck growing it in her garden. She gave me a little pot a few years ago to see if I could get it to grow. It seems to like my herb garden and spreads a little more every year. I can cut it back several times in early summer before the weather turns hot and dry, and it will come back thicker every time. I braid it when it’s fresh and let it dry for a few days, then send a batch of braids back to my friend. It has a wonderful, distinctive sweet smell when it’s cut. My craft room always smells so good when I’m drying a fresh batch!

Lavender harvesting

I’ve been watching the lavender for the past several days, waiting for just the right time to begin picking. This is the first batch hanging up to dry. I’ll probably have 3-4 more batches by the time I’m done, depending on how quickly it begins to bloom. Once it’s dry, I’ll strip the buds off the stems and use them for bath salts and eye pillows. I never have enough for all the crafting I do but it’s nice to keep my homegrown lavender for gifts for family and friends.

Creativity on Parade

"Parade the Circle" is a free community arts parade held in our city every year. It's sponsored by the art museum and includes guest artists, local artists, area families, schools and community groups. Everyone makes their own costumes and floats based on an annual theme. We hadn't been to the parade in years but decided this summer we really wanted to take the Little Guy. It's a wonderful, kid-friendly event and he just loved the stilt-dancers and music.


This phoenix costume was amazing, and she was surrounded by a group of little kids dressed as flames.


I love watching the giant puppets. Most of them have long robes that completely cover the puppetmasters, and they have to move slowly so the wind doesn't topple them. They look like they're gliding along the street.


These were my favorite puppets. Their expressions were so serene - they reminded me of colorful spirits out for a stroll among the rest of us.