Pumpkin and gourds and Blue

My fav pumpkin thing to make is crustless 'pie.' I know this photo is not very appetizing, but trust me-this is delicious if you are a pumpkin and chocoholic like me!

I use the biggie can ( 29 OZ.) of pumpkin with no added sugar or spice in the can. The recipe on the can says "1&1/2 cup sugar." NONONO. I tried it using 1/2 cup for all that pumpkin and it was PERFECT.

So you aren't having crust, calories cut, and using way less sugar. When the ingredients are added together and the pumpkin stuff is in the baking dish, drop about a cup (I don't use a full cup) of semi-sweet chocolate chips on top. Ohhhhh-GOOD! It takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to bake in a 350 degree oven.  I used a 7x11 inch baking dish, and had enough to fill a small baking dish or ramekin left over. That little dish will finish baking sooner than the big baking dish.

I've been dyeing today. These are my stir sticks.

I bought some table cloths and damaged lace at a thrift store so I could experiment with the dye. I used Rit Dye, their 'Indigo' color. I feel I cheated using Rit, but this is my first time using a dye except for walnuts and tea.

This photo isn't turned right, but you get the idea. I love how this came out.

I bought this very big cotton dress for all the fabric, but it was all hot pink, just like the buttons. I liked it, but I really wanted to see what over-dyeing would do to it. It made a gorgeous purple.

I have two bushel gourds in my garden. I started the seeds inside. A tip-put the seed tray where it will get low bottom heat for the seeds to germinate. I used my gas stove top. It worked very well.

I also started marigolds. They are almost 5 feet tall! Are they supposed to get that tall?

I like how you can see my dyed cloth behind the gourd leaves!

 I'm finding hand sewing is a tad hurtful for my left hand-so I may be doing more machine work than I planned on. I am cooking up some ideas for paintings. My sewing has helped me get back to painting, but in a way that is more authentic to who I am.

And that's always a good thing!

XXOO

Debra

My finished art piece. I liked doing this. It's nice to get back to sewing again!

Crab apple branch from our yard. Some whittling, and a seed branch from velvet leaf.

 Beautiful goldenrod.

the kitty and the brown bird

 I hope the little girl will like the kitty.

Still a work in progress. Lots of stitches done in a bit of a messy way I guess!

stitching project

 I changed my idea from a few posts ago. Now I'm stitching a larger sized bird. I'll add more detail later.

I still want to try paintings inspired by my stitching.

Have a wonderful weekend!

sketchbook

 Simplified people drawings...

would probably be better if I used a photo to draw from, or a live model.

But I'm not very good with people drawings-just having some fun.

This is Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), a bush about 4-5 feet tall.

There are extreme opinions whether it's edible or not. That says to me-do not chance it.

DO NOT EAT THIS BERRY.

I have seen it for sale on Etsy,

proclaiming it is edible.

A very short Google-time will tell you information that will confuse you on this subject, so the very best thing to do is=

DO NOT EAT.

Wikipedia says it contains the isoquinoline alkaloid chelidonine.

While many foods contain alkaloids,

that does not give it the go-ahead.

This plant has had many uses in the past, but the best is to just look at it.

The stems are fragile looking. The berries are cute. The teeny tiny flowers are adorable and pink.

The bush is mildly invasive-slow growing-but very hard to get rid of if you don't want it popping up in the middle of your day lily bed (I know.)

Little bit of everything...

 I did this drawing of my favorite weed. It's called Sheperd's Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris).

I think it's adorable, with heart-shaped pods.

Culpeper's Complete Herbal says, "It is under the dominion of Saturn, and of a cold, dry, binding nature. It helps all fluxes of blood, caused by either inward or outward wounds; as also flux of the belly, and bloody-flux..."

Well, I guess that's enough.

It's a cute plant, and you should see it now in waste places or in your yard. The tiny seeds are inside the hearts.

 I visited Barnes and Noble-in person! So I bought these lovely things. The "Joyful Mending" book is truly a joy to look at, with lots of creative ideas for making-do. The magazines are wonderful as well.

I have 3 sewing or mending projects going on, and I added this one. I am making a kitty for our Mennonite neighbor's little girl. Oh what a sweet family they are. I'll show my progress as I get the kitty done.

Have a safe and blessed weekend.

Thanks so much for your visit-it means a lot to me!

Birds and flowers and stitching

 This is a little Carolina wren that slept under our kitchen porch ceiling for a few weeks. He would come in to roost a bit before it got dark, after announcing his presence with a loud call. He would just tuck in and sleep till around 6am, then be off for his day of being a bird. I loved it so much. He is sleeping elsewhere now. I miss that little fellow.

 Above is my first attempt at paint-dyeing fabric. I wouldn't wash this after dyeing this way. It was an interesting experiment. Might be better to overdye with paint. I'll have to try more experiments to see if I want to keep dyeing that way.

I'm starting with some fabric work but it's been so long I feel completely rusty. I'm not sure where I'm going with this. But I want to make fabric pictures, then paint on canvas what I have stitched. A series of stitch and paint works.

I hope your day is full of creativity and fun. Please tell me what you're up to!