Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Okinawan Sweet Potato and A Rummage Sale Find

An Okinawan sweet potato I bought from the market sprouted, so I decided to let it grow. As you can see I stuck toothpicks in it and stuck it in a jar of water. It grew like crazy. Within a week I had to look for a pot to put it in.

I went to Koolau Farmers to get a pot and some soil. I ran into an old friend who used to grow sweet potoatoes and they told me how to do it, which was good because I had no idea how to do it. They told me what size pot to get and when to transplant.

As you can see, they told me to put the potato in a small gallon sized pot. Here is what they told me. When the vines grow about a foot in length, cut the slips (vines) and transplant them into another larger po
t. So, I said okay.

About a week later, there were two slips (vines) that were about a foot in length. I went back to Koolau Farmers to buy another larger pot and more potting soil. This time when I went there one of the clerks told me what to do. He said I needed to mix some chips with the soil so that I wouldn't lose any of my potatoes. It just so happened that the mix and chips were on sale. :) The sales person loaded it into my car for me and off I went.

I told my DH about what the sales person said and he helped me the next day to pot the slips. There was no way I could have done it myself because those bags of soil and chips were super heavy.

I just checked my potato today and it looks like I need to get another large pot to pot more slips. The Ag teacher at school said sweet potatoes grow like weeds! What have I gotten myself into?!



I went to a rummage and craft sale in Manoa a few weeks ago. To my surprise they had fabric remants on sale at the rummage sale. I picked up these three pieces of fabric for a total of three dollars. Since then, I've been trying to look for some garage sales that might have fabric on sale. I think the purple and silver one might make a nice bag, but I don't know, I may change my mind on that one.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

A Fundraiser and a Rag Rug

We were invited to a fund raiser at Key Project in Kahaluu. Apparently they have it every year. Many of the businesses donate things for their silent auction. They had lots of art, wine, overnight stays at hotels and even ukuleles!

They opened the evening with the lions and fireworks. The green and red lions looked like Christmas. They had local entertainment which consisted of Jerry San
tos and Olomana and a halau.

Our dinner was served in the lauhala basket and the center pieces consisted of a taro plant and some local fruit. I don't remember which fruits were in the husk.

Since our closet is overflowing with rags, I decided to make some t-shirt yarn. I followed the instructions in the tutorial on Polka Dot Pineapple's blog. I think I overdid it though because my hand got sore. I even tried using my rotary cutter. That's when I found
out how dull it was! I have since bought a replacement blade. I haven't replaced it yet, but I will.

I am using the yarn to make a braided rag rug. It's giving me a bit of trouble because I can't g
et it to lie flat. I was hand-stitching the braids together, but I gave up and started to zigzag it together using my sewing machine. Now I have gaps between the braids where the machine didn't catch. I am deciding if I need to go back over it by hand or try again with the machine and a wider zigzag stitch.

I was trying to make it an oval rug, but it looks round. I also mistakenly used three different colors so that it looks like Christmas. Oh well, it will be Christmas all year round once I get it finished.