Orphan Milton Finish

It's a finish!

Orphan Milton

48 x 60

Last November (2025) the theme in my sewing space was "orphans".  Back then I made quite a few orphan block tops from orphans accumulated over the years - most made by other folks. 

I guess my theme for this one was blocks with brown in them somewhere. I added frames to some blocks so they all finished at 12 inches. 

I quilted it on my sewing machine with horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. 

The back has some orphan blocks too. 

Quite some time ago someone had sent me the dark triangles I used to make HSTs and then some Churn Dash blocks and then put them in the orphanage. 

If you are interested, I have a page of orphan block quilts I've finished in the last couple of years. 

And sew on...

***

It's been raining for days so I haven't been able to get out into the gardens to collect flower seeds or herbs for drying. I do have some pics taken about a week ago of some herbs in the herb garden. 

Horseradish

The old gardening saying is that you should only harvest horseradish in months that have an “R” in them — typically from September through April — because cooler weather after the first hard frost develops the root’s full flavor and size. 

I've had horseradish in the herb garden for years. I like a little of it with roast beef but who can afford roast beef these days? And John doesn't eat food anymore so I'm thinking that next spring I will dig out all the horseradish (if that's possible) and replace that section of the herb garden with something like chamomile which is an annual. I like chamomile tea. Might as well grow my own.

Basil

I like it fresh sprinkled on tomatoes.  I didn't make any pesto this year.  I dry it and usually put some in chicken veg soup. And some I mix with other herbs for an Italian seasoning mix.

Parsley

I'm not a big fan of parsley but I do dry it and it also gets used to make Italian seasoning. 

Oregano.

It also goes into my Italian seasoning. 

Sage

A little goes a long way. I like to put it and other herbs in cavity of whole chicken and then roast it. I like sage dressing too. My plant is getting old and woody so maybe it will be time to take cuttings in spring if I want to keep any sage plants. 

Rosemary

It is not hardy here so I dig up and bring inside in the Fall. I used to make topiary wreaths of rosemary back in the days we sold things at Farmer's Market. Garlic and rosemary chicken is wonderful. 

And finally there's thyme. I use it in soups. 

I have grown other herbs - peppermint (for tea and for oil to keep away mice) took over so I pulled it all out. Same with lemon balm. I used to grow cilantro because John loved salsa but I don't like the taste so since it's an annual I didn't sow it this year. I sow dill every year but this year it didn't do well. I grow chives but not in the herb garden - I grow them near some of my roses along with other alliums. And I grow borage and more basil in my veg garden as companion plants. I used to have a long row of lavender but it all died one winter. I used to make lavender wands and sachets with it. 

And sow on...