My "Accidental" Green Thumb.

I've always had a few houseplants...but my spider plants have gotten out of control!

And I honestly can't seem to resist the temptation to propagate them continuously.

HOW to PROPAGATE SPIDER PLANTS 

To Propagate, just trim the babies off once they've started to spout little nubs 

like shown in the picture below. 

I like put my babies into old shot glasses to root in a sunny window. But you can also put them directly into a small pot of soil. I just like to watch the roots grow until they fill up the glass. 

Once the little glasses are filled with roots, I then combine them into a small starter pot. 

However, I don't need another large plant and my mom lives too far away to share,

 so I'm thinking of experimenting with this new set of babies above. One, I'd like to have three  smaller plants to put in a hanging container and I want to teach myself how to make a macrame plant hanger. (Stay tuned!)

 

THEY LIKE to BE a "LITTLE" ROOT-BOUND

Spider plants prefer to be in a tight pot. THIS plant to the left below was obviously in desperate need of a transplanting.  My mom and I have noticed they seem to sprout the most babies (spiderettes) when they are like this. My mom and I enjoy texting each other our plant's progress especially when they sprout their first "baby". 

This plant below my mom and I refer to as the "mother" plant as most of the plants above have been rooted from her. My mom started this plant years ago from my original spider plant whom we at the time called the "grandmother" plant....but after many, many years of propagating, she got old and her root ball unhealthy. 

PLANT CARE TIPS:

They grow best in the natural sunlight of a morning window...

...and only require a weekly deep watering (Depending where you live this could be more or less.) During our cold winter months here in Eastern Oregon, the shower will do as a place for this deep watering, but in the summer months they love to drain in a sunny spot on the patio.  

Spider plants have a dense, fleshy cluster of tubers as their root system.  So I water when the soil is dry to touch. When transplanting, I will give the plant a deep watering as shown below, then increase the pot size so your plant sits in the center of the new pot with about a two inch perimeter of new soil.
Not too big, but enough room to grown and expand. We apply fertilizer spikes every two months.

 I myself, having never been a gardener, am surprised at my own "green thumb" as these little guys have grown into becoming a part of my own household routines over the years.  So if you've never tried a houseplant, yet would like to try, I highly recommend these hardy Spider plants.

With SMILES! Val

 

Simple JOY: "Vintage" Sweaters

Okay....so this has been my very favorite sweater forever!

My mom made it for me when I was in college and when our Winter temperatures begin to greet us with frosty, 18 degree days, it not only gives me comfort and warmth, it fills my heart with JOY knowing it was handmade just for me by my mom. (Thanks mom!)

With that said, I never think twice about wearing it nor the cardigans she makes me until one of the younger teachers at school commented this week: "Val, I love all the vintage sweaters you wear." Bahhhh....my mom and I got such a kick out of that! I'm vintage!

Speaking of "vintage"...these sweaters below are from my youth and in in my efforts to downsize and simplify in my life, I'm "moving many things on" that I now longer use. 

These sixth grade girls were literally filled with JOY to inheritate sweaters that "Mrs. Reynolds" herself wore when she was their age! They called them their new favorite sweaters!

 Curious if you too have a cozy, "vintage" sweater you can't wait to wear once Winter arrives?

Sending warm Winter hugs your way!

A New Charity Mission....

Like many of us, my mom and I sometimes just like to try new patterns, yarns and fabric 

without any reason except to learn something new. 

But soon, we each find ourselves with a closet full of unused blankets and quilts: 

So together we have set out over the next year to provide a blanket or quilt for each of the students in my elementary school that are in Foster Care. Right now we have about fifteen kids.

The three pictured above were gifted to three girls last month. Two of the girls are in the sixth grade with special needs and were immediately drawn to the bright colored ones. They are actually in foster care together so were happy to each get a new blanket together. The pastel blanket went to a girl with a brain impairment and she immediately cuddled up in the blanket. It was sweet and inspiring and is a good "excuse" for mom and I to continue to try new things. (Not that we need an excuse) But sometimes don't you find it's rejuvenating to find a new purpose for a hobby you enjoy so much?

H2H: An Extra Blanket for Little Lambs

My mom is one of my most faithful followers (thanks Mom!) and when she read about our H2H Charity Drive she asked if she could donate this knitted blanket: 

Do you like the Tulip Quilt the blanket is on? Click HERE to check it out! 

Like us quilters, she likes to experiment and "play" with different skeins of yarn. This skein she tried turned right into the above pattern. She had fun trying something new and wanted to see the blanket go to good use, so I immediately emailed her the information for the Little Lambs Foundation for Kids. It operates out of Utah and provides comfort kits for children ages newborn to 17 years old who are transitioning into foster care, emergency shelter or who have been hospitalized. Her blanket measures 36"x 36" so would be the perfect donation for a little one's kit don't ya think!? 

I love and am grateful that my mom and I support each other's love of knitting and quilting.

Thanks for joining me Mom as we both send warm hugs to kiddos in need. 

I specialize in edge to edge pantographs with over 100 designs to choose from.

Check out my Long-Arm Quilting page for details.

I offer FREE Return Shipping on all quilts in the U.S.A.

A Happy Anniversary & More!

Oh My! I've been off having fun on vacation to sunny Arizona where we grew up. 

Hubby and I celebrated our 29th Anniv...

...and my Dad celebrated his 80th.

Both on Super-Bowl Sunday! Can you say P A R T Y!!!!!

Yes! We got married on my Dad's birthday and never has a year gone by without the ongoing "joke" that my husband gets a "check-in-the-mail" every month for taking me off his hands. ARG!

We traveled together as a family and our little guy so enjoyed his first plane ride from Oregon to Arizona. Lucky me! He INSISTED that he had to sit by his Meme on both flights!

I especially love this photo taken of the two of us on "family picture day".

Oh man we just had soooo much fun! We ate cake. (My niece making sure I got a corner piece.)

We enjoyed seeing old friends and our cups were overflowing with fun!

This is me with my son-in-law and maid of honor from 29 years ago!

Our little family of six traveled so well together and we truly had a great time on our adventure.

Our new guy, already eleven weeks old, traveled amazingly. His mother so patient.

Annndddd I absolutely love that my mom got to see and cuddle her new great grandson!

We stayed with one of our family friends, who is also a quilter, and I can't believe I didn't take a picture of the gorgeous king size quilt she just finished! (Darn it!) But is was fun to talk quilting and rummage through her stash and talk about projects as we wished we had more time together.

But as every good vacation entails, we must repack our bags and journey ourselves homeward.

I have two whole days of work this week (Thank goodness as I'm exhausted! LOL!!) and plan to spend a better part of Saturday doing laundry and sewing my February OMG project. Easy sewing which I'm sure will prove to be rejuvenating. Thanks so much for stopping by! I'm looking forward to visiting your blogs and catching up with all of you. Seriously, I even missed my own Tuesday Archives this week! LOL!!! Oh well, life is good!

I specialize in edge to edge pantographs with over 100 designs to choose from.

Check out my Long-Arm Quilting page for details.

I offer FREE Return Shipping on all quilts in the U.S.A.

Happy Mother's Day!

This is how I plan to spend a good part of my day. It will be filled with good food,
slow stitching and a long afternoon walk...

 I will be spoiled by these two...

...and I will enjoy Facetime calls with my own mom and daughter that are long enough to wear down a phone battery, time filled with enough smiles and laughter to last me an entire week.
Hoping your day is filled with the same love and rejuvenation as mine.

This week's coming theme: Tied Quilts

Piggy Bank Challenge Mid-Point Check-in

How are ya doing??

I'm doing pretty good, but was impressed when my mom showed me her "pumpkin" full of change! (Talk about nostalgic...our girls and I made this coffee can pumpkin during our ol' Girl Scout days!)She's doing great and keeps it right on her desk and adds to it weekly.

Hubby found this cute little bank in the clearance isle today and knows our 

grand guy and I will have fun painting it during our Spring Break Grammy Camp.

Might as well get him in the habit of saving while he's young. (smiles!)

About 15 bloggers are participating. (Click here to check out the sign-up post.)

But! It's never to late to start saving and join in! Just comment below if you do.

I'm looking forward to your comments today to see how you're doing with the challenge and what you are dreaming of doing with new found cash this July?? Maybe I'll get some ideas!

This week's theme: Valentines!

A Knitted Surprise!

 I was greeted at my parent's house with this beautiful blanket my mom has been secretly knitting for me since before December! She made it to match a quilt in our guest bedroom, but until I get the quilts finished for our master bedroom, I'm going to enjoy it right here every day!

It's a cozy lap size measuring 45"x 85".

The greens and browns are so rich and I love the texture and edge of this blanket.

My mom knits blankets for me and I sew quilts for her. Each of our homes are filled with both...though I noticed hers more with quilts and mine more with blankets. (smiles) Hubby reminded me of the quilt I have started for our room...hhhmmmm....looks like I found my my March One Monthly Goal! Thanks for my new blanket mom. I love it!!!