How to make a garden gate for free!

I recently decided that my new veggie bed, with its simple low chicken wire fencing, needs a garden gate! I was able to make one for free, out of an upcycled picture frame I found in a free pile! Read on! (click for full detail!)

My new gate is not a fancy gate, my posts might become a bit wobbly, but all in all it makes me very happy and definitely does the job! I love the look of creative, cozy homemade non-standard, colorful stuff in the yard! The gate itself, with the mesh, hinges, and latch, looks AWESOME.

If you want to do this, too, you may of course decide to hang your picture-frame gate on some pleasingly straight 4x4 or other posts, and that would be lovely as well. I think my posts match the rest of the fencing! :)

Some areas of the (mix-and-match) surrounding fencing need some tighter mesh overlaid, since the holes are plenty big enough for chipmunks to get in. But, I'll get there before the spring!

I'm going to add a lot of pinwheels, too, to scare critters away. Thanks for the tip, Sana! ;)

Is anyone else already thinking of what you'll plant next Spring? For me, sugar snap peas and Sungold cherry tomatoes are a MUST, and I haven't decided on anything else. I'm more than happy to let the girls plant whatever they want. Let me know your 2024 ideas in the comments!

Sewing a reversible patchwork girl's wrap dress! Process and finished!

Hello hello! It's been a busy, sidetracking summer as usual, and I'll be back soon with more updates. But look! I made this super-fun reversible patchwork dress for C! Come see how I did it!

The first step was "making fabric" by piecing together charm squares (and other prints I cut to 5"x5" squares -- thank you, 5"x5" sewing ruler!! So handy!). I made the pieces juuust to the size of my pattern, for less waste! (Pattern is Violette Field Threads Olive wrap dress) 

Child's Apron with Charm Squares: process, and finished! Finally made this food fun apron for C!

I've had this idea for a kid's apron made from charm pack squares for a very long time, and I finally made it for C!

I had a charm pack of Robert Kaufman's Farm to Table, from which C had selected her favorite prints for this project. This was maybe . . . a year ago? Fast forward to last-ish week, when I decided it was time to DO IT!

I designed the pattern myself, which I had initially traced off an anonymous handmade toddler apron that both E and she outgrew. I enlarged it to fit her, and to play nicely with charm squares. ;) I like this design a lot, so I plan to (eventually) offer the pattern in three sizes in the Dorybird shop! THAT will take more work, so it's not happening just yet!

Let's look at how this apron came together!

Wow, I hate this quilt! No wait, I love it! OR: Moda Blockheads 4 Quilt Progress and Completion!

Hello again! I have finished the Moda Blockheads 4 quilt!! *applause* In truth, it's extremely wonky on the top, which at first made me super irritated so I plowed through without trying to fix anything. But seeing the finished result on my bed, in all its wonky adorableness, makes me love it. I DID make that intricate quilt! I spent months making each block during the sewalong, and here it is all together! Woot!

Here is my helper, deciding to come over and chill while I was pinning it up.

 

This is the completed, wonky-as-hell, excitingly colorful, fondly memory-filled, creative lesson-giving QUILT! I have a lot more process photos and real-deal creative process musings after the jump!

Quilt Progress 2: Moda Blockheads 4! Marimekko has left the building.

I'm still working on this quilt, and today I finished the quilt back! It's pieced, like the front, just not as complicated. :) As you can see, I did decide to toss that section of Marimekko(-esque? I got it secondhand) knit fabric, in favor of a different print. Two prints, actually!

Amusingly, the floor of my art studio is barely big enough to lay out this quilt!