Planet Nice Crafts

Hello Everyone! Well, the theme so far for 2023 is Tying Up Loose Ends. Projects ranging from home repair to tree trimming to sewing are being completed - some have lingered since 2021. How do I feel about this? I'm glad progress has been made and there is so much left to do. First up, sewing. Two promised Christmas presents from 2021 were completed and sent off in January. The first was a coaster set made with fabric already in possession but a fancy variegated polyester thread was purchased new along with a tear away stabilizer. I had never used stabilizer before - it was suggested for the zig-zag stitch edge. There is water soluble stabilizer too - the tear away was the only available at the brick-and-mortar store. If you look real close you may see bits of remaining stabilizer but I let it go. The coasters are reversible so that is pretty neat. And the great thing about the zig-zag stitch, you can go over previous stitching no problem if for example, an edge was missed. The imp...

Hello Everyone! Three months have passed but after reviewing August's post, the conclusion is activity here at Planet Nice Crafts has been incredibly consistent. The precious free time has been dominated by garden activities. The garden will be the focus today along with bird and sewing updates.  Here is the 2021 harvest report: Watermelons: five (3 medium, 2 small) were ready late August through mid-September and they were fantastic. This was the first time growing and the plants were low maintenance because of more resistance to cucumber beetle havoc. Cucumbers: better than 2020, but could have used more! I lost the plants late August due to the beetles. Tomatoes, peppers, ground cherries, and tomatillos: very good. All did well until the bugs and cooler temperatures got them in late October. Beans: disappointing, affected by aphids and both crops (Spring and late Summer planted) died too early. Pumpkins: three (1 medium and 2 small) harvested on Halloween. Kale: too much a...

It being July 27, I think it is officially midsummer not according to daylight but due to the calendar. The community plot garden continues to struggle. It actually looked its best a week ago when we had the warmest temperatures of the summer, but then it went backwards after a monsoon-like rain a few hours after I had left that very day. Even the plants that are known to be easy to grow are struggling, now mainly due to poor drainage. Being the optimistic Planet Nice, there are already some ideas to improve the situation for 2020 including numerous trenches and sculpting of mini-swales. But enough of the garden plot’s woes, there was a bit of sewing happening last week. I purchased this summer dress a year ago as I liked the fabric and colors: It is a size small and I thought too it may be interesting to upcycle it to make something potentially more interesting like a trendy jumpsuit. After a recent re-examination, I made the decision that it would get the most use as a dress (...