Sunflowers!

Sunflowers are such a cheerful flower. We have some really tall ones growing in our garden. We didn't plant them. They're volunteers from last year's garden. Hubby posed next to them so you can see how tall they are. (BTW, he's 5' 8".)

After some much needed warmer temperatures, the squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes are finally producing. I have almost enough zucchini in the freezer for the winter. That's good because the squash bugs and vine borers are working on them. Tonight we're having squash fritters for dinner. Yum!! I may bake a couple of batches of zucchini bread to freeze. Tomorrow, we'll harvest the sweet corn. The raccoons have knocked down a couple of ears. We'll eat some of the corn but most of it will go into the freezer for winter meals.

Take a peek at size of this winter squash. That's my camera case sitting next to it for size comparison. Can you believe how large that squash is? It's a cushaw squash which I've heard tastes a lot like pumpkin but sweeter. I've spotted 3 or 4 of these babies in the garden. This may be the first but not last time we grow these!

Here's a tip that some gardeners may not know: When you harvest cabbage to eat, carefully remove the head leaving some large leaves and the roots alone. After a few weeks, it will start to look like this. Let them grow into the fall and you'll have a second harvest of mini cabbages to use.

It's feeling more like fall around here today. I have my fingers crossed that we don't have an early fall. I am so not ready for cold weather to return. Last winter started early and stayed overlong with lots of snow. And this summer has been a cool one.

In honor of the sunflowers blooming, I'm releasing a new free pattern. It's a Sunflower dishcloth (or hotpad) and coasters. You'll need size 7 (4.5 mm) needles and scraps of dishcloth cotton to knit them (about 30 yards for each cloth and 14 yds for each coaster). [Try knitting them with larger needles (maybe 9's) and worsted weight felting wool for felted coasters and hotpads.] Both sunflowers start by knitting a strip of petals. Then you pick up stitches along the straight edge of the petal strip. The cloth is then knit in the round on double points. The coaster's center is knit on straights. Once you're finished you weave the purl bumps together to close the seam. Both are fun and fast projects that will make great gifts.

You can download a free pdf of the patterns on Ravelry. It prints out as a nice little folder printed on the front and back of one sheet of paper. Click HERE to find the link.