A Good Year for Cucumbers

I’ve been working on some fitting experiments lately, but it’s been hit or miss. Mostly miss. I have to remind myself that the failures are educational, too. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at my fitting books, and went down a rabbit hole on the internet that led me to this:

This book is from the 1970s and is out of print—an original edition is available on eBay for $250—but the rights are held by the Sewing and Design School in Tacoma, Washington, and they have digital download versions for sale on their website. I ordered one. It is full of all sorts of useful information and illustrations. The Sewing and Design School offers classes and Kenneth King teaches there. I am going to figure out how to take a class this fall or winter.

Despite a few wrong turns, I think I’ve finally come up with a customized-for-me pattern and will make a ponte sheath dress soon. I’m using the Pamela’s Patterns Classic T-Shirt Dress with a few tweaks. I did say to the husband, though, that I need to make something quick and easy, like a Laundry Day Tee, to remind myself that I am a competent seamstress. I haven’t felt like much of one lately.

Let’s look at pictures from the garden, shall we?

Sarah gave me several tomatillo plants. They are all doing well, but this one is especially pretty:

I thought that it must have some unique name, but when I looked at the tag, all it said was “Purple Tomatillo” LOL.

DD#2 will be happy to know that we have spaghetti squash. It’s one of her favorites.

She and her sister and the boys (SIL and significant other) are coming to visit over Labor Day weekend. I am sure these will factor into the menu.

The squash section of the garden is a veritable jungle. The husband spread a load of pig manure in that area before I planted, and everything there looks like it’s growing on nuclear waste. I am hoping for a butternut squash harvest this year. I didn’t get any last year because we got a frost before they ripened, but the long-range forecast is for a warm fall.

The pole beans seem to have figured out (finally) that they are, indeed, pole beans:

Someone here cannot do garden math. We don’t need five zucchini plants or seven cucumber vines for two people. This was yesterday morning’s haul from the cucumber patch:

Judging by the number of blossoms still on the plants, we are going to be drowning in cukes. I’ve been making pickles out of the little ones. The husband discovered the pickle crock yesterday. He loves pickles. I took the first batch out of the crock and put them in fresh brine in the fridge so he could snack on them, then filled both one-gallon crocks again with two new batches. I also have a couple of two-gallon crocks, and I may have to fill those with some of the bigger cucumbers.

He sat down for a snack mid-afternoon with a plate of salami and some pickles and I asked him if that was his charcuterie board. He said, “What the heck is a charcuterie board?” I told him it was Lunchables for adults.

We have two more days of 90+ degree weather before a cold front blows through here Monday afternoon. Unfortunately, that cold front may come with gusty winds and dry thunderstorms—lightning, but no rain—so we’re under a Red Flag Watch starting Monday afternoon. We’ll cool off to a high of 80 on Tuesday before warming up again. Ugh.