Don’t let the name throw you. While bitters may taste truly bitter on their own, in a cocktail they don’t take center stage. That doesn’t mean they’re not essential. You wouldn’t serve most food without a little salt, and bitters work a similar magic, pulling … Read More

How can you get your screen-loving kids interested in the outdoors? Try giving them a new hand-held device: an old-fashioned mason jar. Okay, so it’s not exactly an iPad. But a mason jar, combined with a few other materials and some creative hacking, can still … Read More

Every year, Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal School — the school where I teach — holds an auction to raise funds for scholarships and teacher needs. Each class is enlisted to produce a project that is kid-made, but also of auction-worthy quality. Quilt making is the perfect … Read More

Border #23: Wide, Undulating, Layered, Textured   Stitch Diagrams (Repeated sections highlighted in yellow) Stitches & Notes BLsc (back loop single crochet): Single crochet into the back loop only. Fsc Arch (foundation single crochet arch): Insert hook into same st, yarnover and pull up a … Read More

Making mineral makeup means that, most often, your formulations will be stored and applied in loose powdered form, straight from a cosmetic jar. But for cosmetics like eye shadow, working from a compact may be preferable for easy and controlled application. Fortunately, pressing loose powder into a compact … Read More

Bee balm (Mondarda fistulosa) is rarely found on the commercial herb market, but it’s a darling of backyard herbalists because it’s gorgeous, grows abundantly, and often provides more potent and easy-to-harvest medicine than its more famous relatives oregano and thyme. Prized for its antimicrobial properties, … Read More

Working into the back bump (sometimes called the “third loop”) of a single crochet forces the top two loops of the single crochet forward. This creates a series of horizontal Vs along the top surface of the border. It adds a nice dimension to the … Read More

The design of a crochet border is important, but the execution of that border is equally important. Although it’s tempting to start crocheting your fancy border directly onto your main fabric, it’s a good idea to set a foundation by working a base … Read More

Porous capsule irrigation is a modern adaptation of buried clay pot irrigation. Water is distributed automatically and continuously by gravity in direct proportion to water use by the plant, leading to very high efficiency. Typically set up to run off a storage tank, bucket, bottle, … Read More

Stitches & Notes: For best results on this border, use a crochet hook with a long shank and without a thumb rest. Take your time, and use your fingers to pull the wraps over the loop on the hook, rather than trying to pull the … Read More