Minding My Own Beeswax (Hand Sewing, Green Sewing)

You can buy beeswax with other sewing notions
But I like to use up the old ends from beeswax candles I buy at the Farmer's Market

In the final steps of finishing off my bustier project, I'm doing lots of hand sewing. I took this photo will waiting in the car, pick stitching away on the zipper, listening to NPR on the radio, and waiting for a family member who needed to be picked up after a medical procedure. (No, I was not driving!)

There's a traditional German saying "Langes Fädchen, faules Mädchen". That is about the extent of my knowledge in German. Anyway I disagree. A long thread may indeed make for a foolish girl (Girl? Are adult women and men never fools?) if she doesn't know enough to add some texturizer. I like a long thread that doesn't knot up as much as anybody. So I keep the old ends of my beeswax candles for just that purpose, running the thread through the stubs just after I rethread my needle, and also every so often while using the thread. 

Some people say you need to iron the thread once it's beeswaxed. But I never do. Also I imagine you might have some problem with beeswax piling up at the stitch entrance in glam fabric. But it works fine with denim, cotton, and linen for me.

You can, of course, buy hunks of beeswax for this purpose. You can also buy thread texturizer. I don't know what name that's sold under, as my old candle stubs work just fine. 

I love the smell and style of beeswax candles on the supper tableand I love to use the remains up to the last waxy morsel in my sewing.

With the scent of honey of honey in the air, as I pick stitch away on my bustier zipper, I'm  just that much more....

Enchanted by Sewing!

* * *

If English isn't your first language....

"Mind your own beeswax" , also abbreviated as MYOB, is an old idiomatic phrase used by children to indicate that someone should not be listening in on a private conversation, or asking questions that are not their own business. It's a joking reference to the similarly somewhat rude phrase, "Mind your own business".

SLO Travel Tips, San Luis Obispo

If you'll be visiting California this year, I highly recommend stopping off in San Luis Obispo (SLO) for a hike, meal and a nights rest. It's a great halfway spot if you're driving between Los Angeles and San Francisco and want to take some slow time to enjoy coastal and agricultural views. In addition to the lovely beaches just south of SLO, you can hike some of the different volcanic peaks right on the edge of town. The entrance is just off the 101 freeway. Ancient volcanic cones, like Mount Madonna and Bishop's Peak, are highly hikable destinations.

When I visited one spring weekend, the wildflowers were in full bloom and the weather was quite warm but not overly hot. Coastal breezes and fog keep the area pretty darn nice.

After our hike we went to taste wines and picnic at nearby Kelsey See Canyon Winery. It's a gorgeous setting, nestled in a lovely green valley. There are peacocks and tons of friendly dogs (local dogs and dogs who travel with their people)

There are lots of good restaurants in downtown SLO,just walk down Monterey or Higuera and take your pick (Natural Cafe is an easy good salad kind of place, Firestone has good pizza, and Big Sky Cafe is renowned for excellent food - salads, local meats, vegan and vegetarian ) also small local wine tasting shops and artisinal beer.

The local Farmer's Market is much more than a row of casual produce stalls. Folks drive from two or three hours distance to take in this happening weekly event.

Avoid just stopping off in SLO during high college times. Local state university Cal Poly Graduation is late June, and other significant college sporting and college spirit events can affect availability. The rest of the times you'll generally find lots of motels and hotels. Petit Soleil is a nice small B&B, within walking distance of downtown. It's just next door to fun little Splash Cafe, with easy meals and very tasty breads (you can buy those to go too). There are also more budget oriented motels in the same stretch. My husband is partial to "La Cuesta" which includes breakfast. Across the street, a little more expensive but fun, is Apple Farm Inn. It's a kitschy 70's kind of place. I'm partial to the very chintzy furniture, big soft beds and switch on fireplaces there, but if you don't like Disneyland it might not be your thing!

The stretch of Monterey where you find the motels, as you're walking downtown, and before you cross under the railroad trestle also has lots of fun little antique stores.

Many people stay in SLO before or after a trip to Hearst Castle. I've been to the castle, enjoyed it once, but I wouldn't probably go again. I like historic buildings but this one is a little overwhelming. Still, if you have time you might enjoy it a lot.

California on a Plate (What's for Supper?)

We're California Dreaming
When it Comes to Supper

Our favorite no-decision supper is salad with everything handy. Tonight that included typical local produce....
* Strawberries from Hollister
* Lettuce also likely from Gilroy/Hollister
* Avocados - Some of them show up in our local farmer's market, but I'd guess this Hass was from farther away Southern California
*Walnuts grown and harvested, within a hundred miles of here
* Turkey, which thrives in Petaluma as well as our Central Valley. According to California Fast Facts and Trivia, "More turkeys are produced in California than in any of the other states in the U.S."
*Even the Ak-Mak crackers I crumbled on my salad just after I snapped this photo with my cell phone, have been produced in California for four generations

There were a few exotics...It's a bit early for tomatoes around here, and I'm pretty sure that the dried cranberries don't grow in any of our bogs.

Stop by, and bring your fork.

Putting The Culture Back in Agriculture

Click on the illustration above to better enjoy

 the full rainbow chard'y goodness

Inspired by a caller to an NPR spot on William Elliot Whitmore's new album Field Songs