Schuyler Blanket Project

i haven't been knitting much lately. i don't know if it's just a summertime thing, or maybe grief, but i just haven't felt inspired. i've gone to my knitting group a few times in the past weeks and that has helped. but otherwise, i've just not felt creative, until yesterday. 

a few weeks ago i joined a particular knitting group on ravelry but it's ties are much closer than just an internet forum. the schuyler blanket project was founded by my friend, tammany. her daughter, the namesake of the project was born last summer. when schuyler died the same day, tammany's knitting friends put together a blanket of squares, hand-knit by them, in the hopes she would feel the comfort of their love as she wrapped the blanket around her. tammany started the schuyler blanket project to share that love with other grieving families. 

i pledged two squares on a blanket for a woman i don't even know. but i do know her pain. and i  know the magic these blankets hold. these squares, hand made with love are no great miracle but in some small way they matter.

if you have some spare time (literally, my first square knit up in just a few hours), and a willing heart, please consider knitting (or crocheting) an 8 x 8 square for this wonderfully worthwhile project. send your squares to me directly and i will see they find a home in a blanket for a mother who has experienced life's greatest loss.

as the garden grows, so does the gardener

mr. melly has been working non-stop for weeks, in the yard and in the garden.
last year was our first gardening experience, and as the garden grew, so did this gardener. i learned the difference between pole beans and bush beans. i learned the best way to eat a tomato is like an apple, right off the vine, warmed by the sun. i grew hibiscus from seed. they made it through the winter. the mandevilla did not.

i learned wisteria do not like to be moved around. i grew a plant from seed last year and was thrilled to see it leaf this spring. i wanted to move it to the garden, but killed it trying to replant. one day i will have a blooming wisteria. but not this year.

but i do have strawberries!

they are sweet and delicious. and i learned six plants can easily turn into about ten!

i also learned some work needs to be done in the fall. it has taken ken no less than five days to get the space ready to plant. he got a rototiller and made quick work - removing the grass, turning the fall leaves and working in my compost. compost, what a miracle! i took all my kitchen scraps last year, sawdust from baby mac's crib and weeds basically, and created a beautiful, nutrient rich product to work into the soil. mother nature is one clever lady.

stay tuned for more pictures and to see how my garden grows.