Planet Nice Crafts

Hello Everyone! It is the official start of summer. The Chicagoland weather this Spring has been...odd. Windy, hot, and very very dry. But before I get to the various updates, I wanted to share some behind the scenes news. In mid-April, it was announced that Blogger's email subscription service, Feedburner, would end in July, which is right around the corner. So, Planet Nice Crafts has been doing some research on what to do next. I would like to remain on the Blogger platform because though it is not very fancy or powerful - it is really easy to use. For subscribers to continue to receiving posts via email, I am going to try MailerLite. Of course, there may be a hiccup or two so bear with me. Planet Nice Crafts has much work to do and it is not going away, but in case you don't receive any notification of blog activity for a couple months, please check this page, contact planetnicecrafts@gmail.com, or message us on Instagram @planetnicecrafts. Planet Nice Crafts really apprecia...

Hello Everyone! Hope all is moving along and tolerable. Planet Nice Crafts continues to strive to be an antidote to life’s burdens – at the moment, slightly different interests are being pursued to accommodate a new work schedule that only allows an hour or two each week for creative activities requiring full energy. As mentioned at the end of the last post, reading is the interest that has grown in dedicated time. Since last time, the second volume of the fantasy soap opera A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin was completed. Now that I am oriented to Westeros and Essos and the players – it is becoming easier to read and cutting myself off after my daily reading goal of 20 pages helps too. The characters are so richly written that you do become emotionally attached to them, akin to a feeling of familiarity to your favorite dysfunctional family. The unfortunate thing of reading such a lengthy book is that by the time I reach the end, I can’t recall what occurred in the first chapters....

Hello Everyone. This month has been an actual blur. I feel like sewing has not been the focus. Looking at my notes and photos, however, I must have done some sewing because I did make a mask drop-off. I can’t recall it at all. The mask grand total is 361. My last mask sewing machine needle broke this past week so I did switch to a little garment sewing with a specially reserved needle. The machine was actually singing for a recent change. Multiple layers of fabrics, incorrect needles, and edge work have given it an interesting repertoire of sounds. This coming week I am looking forward to shopping for some machine supplies. For today, I was going to focus on a garden update. There have been successes and failures. Luckily, I think the successes edge out the failures. The latest challenge has been pests. I mentioned to you last month that I had to protect the sweet corn very soon. This is what I came up with. It worked fairly well. I did lose about three primary ears to foraging ani...

The weather during July 2020 in Chicago has been a textbook example of summer. Lots of heat, humidity, and sun – short on rain, but not too bad. The garden plot has been basking in this weather and much prefers the dryness to the excessive rainfall of 2019. The day after the last blog post was the first day of the Poppy Show. The first bloom was observed June 29 and for about two weeks, the flowers were magnificent. They only last a day or two before the petals fall. As maybe you could see in the above picture but definitely below – the bees thought they were magnificent too.  After the blooms, I let the stalks turn brown. I brought a few home for photos and to collect the seeds for baking. The seeds could be collected by shaking as they disperse naturally through the vents on the top. I probably waited a little too long as I think the maximum number of seeds can be collected before the vents open up completely. You can also open the pods up – th...