i got one match too annoying with the delay on the clicks

Wow, this thread has really grown with some fantastic goodies since I was last here! Prill, Allison, Pinch and Firsthouse, you can start packing up your Flow Blue, wooden boxes and tablecloths, and Jessica Martin painting because UPS will be arriving shortly to pick them up for me. Thanks! Speaking of thanks, here's a big one to all of you who had some kind words for my coffee lady! Like most other choices in my kitchen, this one was a matter of love at first sight and so your "I like her too!" affirmations are making me feel like Sally Fields. lol. That said, I'm hoping this thread continues with others of you posting more of your own loves as well.

What a delightful block, Grace. I will try it for a baby quilt. If you want to do larger sizes, these measurements will work: 11" x 3" 13" x 3.5" 15" x 4" 17" x 4.5" 19" x 5" Use the formula L = 4W-1, where L is the length and W is the width of the strips. Hope this helps. Vasu

Kim, I'm sorry the rain missed you. I hope you enjoyed that 12-15 drops! My garden looks soggy but the plants themselves are so happy. After so many hot, windy days, the cool-season plants were looking tired before the rain arrived, and they sure have perked up. Because of the mud, I haven't stepped foot in the garden, choosing to stand and admire it from the driveway. Stomping around in the big puddles/small lakes of water in my pathways is not my favorite thing to do. I'm hoping the puddles soak in quickly. Hazel, Rainfall seems to only come in two amounts in Oklahoma: either too much or not enough. In your case, not enough rain this time works out since you'll be able to work in your garden and plant without having to struggle through the mud. I'd mix in the compost with the purchased soil if I had an easy way to do it (like a rototiller or a cultivator like a Mantis). However, there's a couple of exceptions: if the soil mix already has a high component of organic matter, I might just fill the raised beds with the purchased soil, and put the compost on top. That way, every time it rains or every time you water, the compost feeds the soil beneath it. Also, if I was digging gently through the compost pile and finding lots of earthworms, I would't use a rototiller or cultivator. I'd just add the compost to the top of each raised bed as mulch. Or, I'd layer some of the compost at the bottom of the bed (picture building layers of lasagna in a dish), add some of the purchased soil, and alternate layers of soil and layers of compost a couple of times. That way both some compost and its earthworms would be in the soil, without the risk that any form of mechanical cultivation would harm the earthworms. Many folks think you have to rototill that compost into the existing soil, but you don't. Just by layering it on top of your beds, you have it right where it needs to be. Every time rain hits that area, it will wash some of the compost more deeply into the soil. Every time you disturb the soil to dig, you'll be working some of the compost into the soil. Every time earthworms and other ground-swelling creatures tunnel through the soil, they'll be carrying some of the compost more deeply into the bed with them. No one goes into a woodland and rototills the compost/humus on the soil surface down into the ground, and yet, woodland soil is spectacular. You are on the right track in your garden. So many people focus on what fertilizer to feed their plants and make little to no effort to improve the soil. (And, if their soil lacks nutrition, I understand that heavier use of fertilizer might be needed temporarily until they develop better soil. Been there, done that.) I do things differently in my garden. I focus on feeding the soil naturally via the addition of tons of organic matter, and then I let the soil feed the plants. With your compost, you are taking the same approach. Your compost will help improve your soil's structure and it also will help feed your plants. I've only had one soil test done here---in either our first or second year, and I think it was the second year, because the first year I was diagnosed with cancer and that disrupted some of my plans. After the initial soil test showed me what I needed to focus on, I've never needed another one because I can tell when the plants are happy and that tells me the soil has within it just what the plants need. Please note, I'm not saying your garden never will need fertilizer, just that improving the soil and seeing it get better every year is what will make your garden successful over the long haul. I still add Espoma organic fertilizer to my beds before I plant, usually at the same time I am scooping compost out of the paths and dumping it on top of the beds. What I don't do is use lots of fertilizer during the growing season. I just layer grass clippings on top of the raised beds every time we mow and the grass clippings decompose in place, feeding the soil. My soil is incredibly full of earthworms this year. They're everywhere, and in large numbers, so I've been doing my best to disturb the soil as little as possible.