And Now for Something Completely Different: EarthTainer

I spent a good part of this past weekend, and all of date night, working on a DIY project with my husband.  Now, that might not sound like fun to many of you but let me reassure you that both of us had a great time.  We have now invested quite a bit of time and money in the hopes of having home grown tomatoes in suburbia this summer. 

A few weeks ago my spouse came across an article describing a self-watering tomato-growing container called an EarthTainer using items commonly acquired at the home improvement store.  A few of the necessary items proved a little tricky to find but we persevered and soon had everything we needed.  The base of the unit is made from two large storage bins; there is a water reservoir in the bottom that makes it difficult to either under- or over-water the tomatoes.  This planter is the creation of Ray Newstead who has written a 20-page PDF meticulously detailing every step needed to build your own.  This man has thought of everything and offers lots of practical advice on the process of building the containers and planting your tomato plants as well as constructing a support cage for the growing tomatoes (which we have not added yet done, see below).  The steps were not difficult and we easily completed two containers in a couple of hours.  Our plants are in place and we now anxiously await the arrival of our first tomato (which, by my calculations should be worth approximately $73.48/pound).  Here are a few photos of our progress along with the finished product.

Under construction

Inner support shelves complete

Drilling the drainage holes

The completed unit ready for planting; the white pipe is for adding water

Plants in and moisture barrier in place

Update on Friday, May 27, 2011 at 12:22PM by Julie Bowersett

Several people have emailed me to ask about a cage system for the tomtoes we recently planted so I'm posting an update.  Last weekend my husband completed the cages that snap onto the EarthTainers.  The original plans call for using pea fencing which is available through a mail order garden company.  While I was at my local nursery I saw these tomato trellises and thought they might work for this as well.

Using the instructions in the PDF plans, hubby bent the trellises into the necessary configuration that allows them to snap onto the container.  He had to modify the instructions a little to suit the dimensions of the trellises but these seem to work just as the author intended.  Here are some more pictures of the cages in place.

A close-up of the attachment points

One other modification my spouse made, which is worth mentioning, especially if you have small children at home, was to attach the white watering pipe with a piece of wire to the inside container.  We hope this prevents the tube from being pulled out by curious toddlers.  He drilled a hole through the pipe and the inner side of the container and ran a piece of coat hanger wire through both holes.

Boudoir Top

This little top with an heirloom vibe comes from Hot Pattern’s Artful Dodger Boudoir Tops pattern.  The pattern is out of print but you can see a picture at this link from their Etsy store. 

I used the pattern to create my own custom fitting version using Pattern Master Boutique software from Wild Ginger.  The top consists of a front pintucked panel, a front and back yoke, front and back side panels and a circular ruffle along the bottom.  Narrow lace tops several of the seams, and the neck and armholes are bound with bias strips.  In my version I eliminated the center back button closure.  The fabric is a heavy silk crepe with a buttery feel.  This is a perfect little camisole for wearing on its own or under a jacket.

It’s a cloudy, rainy day where I am but perfect weather for working on some sewing projects.  I hope you find some time for creativity this weekend.

Turtles, turtles

There is not much going on in my sewing studio at the moment.  And, if you saw the condition of the room, you would understand why.  Or part of the reason why, anyway.  It's time, AGAIN, for an intervention.  But this time I've really got to start from the bottom and rethink my whole space.  The pattern I've fallen into is cleaning up the space enough to start my next project while the condition of the room continues on a downward trajectory.  I bet some of you out there understand.

The other reason I haven't been creating much recently is that I have been too busy with other things.  Sometimes life does that while I'm not looking.  In addition to several things on the home front, I have signed up for three different events sponsored by my sewing guild within five weeks.  Coupled with the fact that school for my kids ends in a little over two weeks means that things are not going to get better anytime soon.

Last Saturday I joined some of my favorite sewing friends to create Painted Turtle Pillows for Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall camp which serves children with serious medical conditions and their families.  I had a great day visiting with friends I hadn't seen in a while, all the while helping to complete over 100 of the turtle pillows.  Here are a few pictures from the day captured on my camera by a young helper named Taylor.

Luckily, the other two guild events will provide plenty of opportunity for blog posts (the first, a shopping trip to NYC, the second, a t-shirt fitting workshop) so I'm hoping to have lots to share in the upcoming weeks.  And once I get my sewing space whipped into shape I'll share the results.  Happy sewing to everyone out there.

Thanks, Mom

Thanks, mom, for instilling in me a love of the domestic arts.  Love you.

Windowpane Linen Shell

Following up on last week’s sleeveless top, here’s another from my closet.  When I started sewing again, a number of years ago, I attempted a commercial pattern for a sleeveless shell with a rounded square neck and side button closure.  It was a disaster from a fit perspective, and at that time I didn’t have enough knowledge to know what to do to fix it.  A few years later I drafted a similarly styled top using Pattern Master Boutique software and this time it fit like a dream.

The fabric is a pink windowpane linen.  I underlined this semi-sheer fabric to prevent the seam allowances from shadowing through and also to minimize wrinkles.  I’m not certain but I think I used a cotton voile fabric that I am fond of using as underlining.  The top is lined with bemberg rayon.  My plan to pipe the neckline and armholes ran into a snag because of the side seam closure.  I wasn’t able to use the traditional “turn through the shoulder” method which requires an open center front or back seam.  Instead I had to pipe the front and back separately; it took some fiddling (and prayer) to get the two joins to match perfectly at the shoulder.  In this picture you can also see the embroidered ribbon label I like to use in my garments.

Happy weekend, everyone!