Francy, Is the "Barley" color an ACE color? It's a popular ACE color here, and yes, it's a light tan-ish/yellow-ish color. Depending on what Zinsser Oil you have, they can take 1 or 2 oz's of colorant/tint per gallon. It says on the can! However, these primers have a LOT of TI02 in them, so any formula put into them (up to the tint-limit) is a lighter shade. What was the fill-level (in Ounces...says on the bottom-front of the can) of that medium-base Fresh-Start primer?? * If it was for example 124 oz., they can add up to 6 oz's. of tint. * This would obviously total 130 oz's., which is considered a "full" gallon. 2 more Ounces would be at 132 oz's. (a NORMAL gallon), BUT there wouldn't be any room for shaking!! * I WOULD actually try that medium-base Primer for the Barley, since you're not "fighting so much White" in that base. * However, Barley is a white-base (paint) color anyway, so tinting a primer isn't necessary under that color. Faron

I struggled with the size of the last border on my 1600 JR quilt. I had seen a picture online of one that had 2 borders that I really liked. I made the first border finish at 2" (like the strips - Fran picked out the batik for me at Mary Jo's) and the bigger border finished at 4" (also a batik from Mary Jo's). The binding is also the batik from the 2" inner border. I think the 2 borders add character and weight framing the strips. I think 3 smaller borders may confuse the eye by competing with the horizontal stripes in the main body of the quilt. This is my "Goodbye Irene" - I read recently the name Irene has been retired due to the extent of the damage the Hurricane caused in the Northeast last year. Someone here suggested I quilt it like Hurricane winds - which is what I did. The border is quilted in chaotic leaves - anyone who's been in a Tropical storm or Hurricane understands.

Similar to mine also -- in my small house I have Behr Navajo White on the walls (in living, dining, upper hall and one bedroom) which is a soft yellow or yellow-beige, depending on the room and time of day; one bedroom is a Glidden soft sage green; another is a deeper, more caramel-y yellow. I have sage green curtains in the living and dining and a terracotta- ish (tends more coral -- has more pink than a terracotta pot), yellow and tan rug; The sofa is a greenish brown or brownish green. The floors are natural red oak. The colors all produce a warm but calm effect and since they aren't really vivid, they read fairly neutral and flow together. I have other small color accents as well -- in artwork, lamp, pillows. For major colors I think the 4 that I have are the max that can work --IMO. I've not read Maria Killam but have seen multiple positive mentions here, so I would check out her blog for sure.

First, I don't see any particular issue with the contents of the soil in that picture you linked - twigs and bits of woody materials are perfectly fine in soil. If you don't like it for aesthetic reasons, that's up to you. Second: since the organic part of the 'frankenmix' you mention doesn't bother me, my simple suggestion would be to buy the frankenmix and whatever closer-to-pure loam or soil without organic content and mix to your target ratio. In more general terms - depends what you're using this for; from what I've seen here comments warning against too-high organic fraction in particular mention using it in yard to 'level' the ground. And that doesn't work well because it will subside considerably over time and not evenly and won't actually level things out (if the ground isn't level to begin with, adding compost will just make it look level to the eye temporarily). But I think you're using this for some raised garden beds/planters? Personally, in that context, I'd be fine with a fairly high organic content; use whatever you want. Sure, the soil would settle and subside as the organic content decomposed more - but if you're going to be adding compost/soil/mulch in future years, does it matter that much? Just keep adding to taste. Note that even for compost/mulch you add later that's 100 percent organic matter, not all will decompose to nothing - and certainly not in any relevant timeframe; some will get bound up - agglomerate - with soil particles, some turns into stable organic compounds that don't decompose much, etc. This is more true of some organic compounds esp lignins than others. And if the extent to which it subsides/decomposes and hence how much you have to add each year annoys you, add more mineral soil. There are a whole lot of caveats for specific uses/plants and I'm not advocating going for 100% OM, and it may depend on what you're planting and a host of other factors. That said - I may be a bit of a heretic on this point here. I find that lots of plants will grow fine in a VERY organic-matter heavy mix, many will grow in 'soil' that's basically just compost. Of course, that doesn't mean it's 'optimal', I'm just saying it's not quite as bad as may sound. Opinion only: yes, 'good agricultural soils' may typically range from 5-15% organic matter, 10% a nice round number. But your planters are not 'agricultural soil' found in a field, it's soil you're making. And I think this "good agricultural soil" mixes up a descriptive and a prescriptive - good agricultural soil is the end result of a natural process that happens to be good to plant in; that's not the same as saying you must be in that range at all times (the prescriptive part). Put differently, my thinking is that in nature, good 'soil conditions' will tend to decompose OM to some equilibrium level (that 5-15%) that's replenished with normal plant growth. Conversely the only time "in nature" you'd find a much higher percentage of OM is in extremely bad conditions for soil life and decomposition - like a bog or muskeg where the prevailing conditions are wet and anaerobic and so the stuff can remain undecomposed for thousands of years. (And note, even there, some stuff grows - I've been in black spruce stands that are growing on pure swamp mush, the 'ground' you walk through is mostly intertwined roots; but it's not good soil for growing vegetables). Or in practical terms: if you load up your planters with a 50-50 soil/compost mix, that compost will decompose before long, and probably to that 5-15% range - and so you probably don't need to worry about targetting that precise range to start with (unless you have other compelling reasons to), it'll end up there on its own. Last plea: please don't use peat for your organic portion. Peat grows very slowly and just removing peat from bogs is pretty destructive of a natural habitat. (I also think peat sucks to grow in but just my opinion)