Hot July Garden

I got a good bit of work done in the garden yesterday morning. I quit when my string trimmer ran out of string. I have a replacement spool, but it was getting too hot to work out there. I’ve stopped looking at the forecast for the rest of the month because it’s exactly the same every day. Hot and dry. One of the currant bushes—a variety called Belaruska—yielded up about five cups of ripe currants. I’ll probably get that much again in a day or two. The other currant bushes should be ready by then, too.

The melons, cukes, and zucchini have taken off in this heat. The peas are about done, though, and the lettuce looks ready to bolt. The potatoes are starting to die back and fall over. The lavender hedge is stellar:

I have two other lavender hedges started in other parts of the garden. Those plants are big enough this year to be blooming, too.

It has occurred to me on more than one occasion that I could have a really nice commercial lavender patch out here if we didn’t need to grow vegetables. The conditions are perfect.

Moving on before I end up with something else to do . . .

I came in from the garden and got cleaned up and finished tweaking the T-shirt pattern. Generally, when I trace an existing garment, I add a fair bit of slop. Excess fabric can always be removed, but it can’t easily be replaced. I got the upper bodice fitted the way I wanted and then removed about an inch at either side of the body before deciding where I wanted the hem. As I altered the garment, I made the corresponding changes on the pattern pieces. The last step was to coverstitch the sleeve and bottom hems. The neckband still needs a line of coverstitching, but by then, it was time to leave for Ruler Club at the quilt store. I wore the T-shirt into town for some field testing. The only further change I plan to make is in the sleeves. While they are not uncomfortable, the current sleeves are a bit snugger than I would like, so I’ll redraft that sleeve pattern piece today. Otherwise, the fit is just about perfect. The T-shirt looks good, feels good, and—most importantly—I am not constantly tugging it down because it’s too short. The hem on my shirts looks best at a point considerably longer than what’s available in stores, which is why I am making my own tops.

I am not crazy about the fabric. It’s a lovely flower print, but it reads as a peachy-orange which is NOT a good color on me. I am sure it was a clearance fabric from Joanns that I bought specifically to use for making a muslin and thus served its intended purpose. We’ll see how this pattern looks made up in the hot pink Laguna Cotton. Hot pink is definitely my color.

We all had a good laugh when I got to the quilt store for Ruler Club. The owner does a Facebook Live video every Tuesday morning. She made a point of mentioning the upcoming serger class in yesterday’s video, but she stated that it was scheduled for the third Thursday of July—which is tomorrow—instead of August. I got a panicked call later in the morning from one of the employees who asked me to verify the date. I am glad there is interest in the class, but I am not ready to teach it this week!

Next month is the last month of Ruler Club. We talked about what to do next. We could do the next Handi-Quilter club, but Amanda Murphy and Angela Walters also have ruler club-type programs. We decided to do the Amanda Murphy one next because she not only teaches each ruler, she has a printed top for practicing with it.

And I suspect that at some point this fall or winter, I’ll be teaching a draft-your-own T-shirt and/or leggings class. Once people get comfortable with their sergers, they’ll want to move on from making napkins, receiving blankets and baby beanies.