News From the Nest, April 27
Good Morning! ☀️
I hope it’s lovely where you are today! And can we agree that ‘lovely’ is all relative? For instance, it’s a chilly, gray, and drizzly day here in Southeast North Carolina, but after a month of gorgeous sunny days without a drop of rain, I’m finding this rainy Monday just perfect!
We had friends visiting for the weekend and spent a day acting like tourists in our own town, which was great fun. The weather was perfect all weekend, and on Friday, we went to a local State Park with a dedicated trail where you can sometimes find carnivorous plants, such as the Venus Flytrap. They can be elusive; we met a woman in the parking lot who had just seen her first plant after searching for 3 years. Armed with that encouragement 🫤, we trundled off.
I’ve lived in Wilmington for 24 years and haven’t once taken the time to search out our town’s famous carnivorous plants. The Venus Flytrap, that plant everyone learned about in school or from the Rocky Horror Picture Show and assumed came from some distant jungle in the Amazon, is actually native to a region that extends only about 70 to 75 miles from our city. Fifteen counties in North Carolina and just one county in South Carolina hold the only naturally occurring populations of Venus flytraps on the entire planet. That’s it. The whole world, and it’s basically our backyard.
And the flytrap isn’t the only one. Our boggy, low-nutrient coastal soils are also home to sundews, several varieties of pitcher plants, and other carnivorous species — all of them evolved to capture insects because the soil simply doesn’t provide the nitrogen they need to survive otherwise. Of the 66 carnivorous plant species found in the United States, 36 are native to North Carolina. Quite a badge of honor! 😉
Suffice it to say, they are a protected species; it’s illegal to dig them up.
With four pairs of eyes scanning the ground, Terry was the one who spied the wee plant.
Table of Contents
New on the Blog
Just in time for cool Spring or Summer evenings…our brand-new Honeysuckle Lace Knit Scarf Pattern is a great introduction to lace knitting for anyone who’s already comfortable with basic knit and purl stitches. The lace ladder design on the edge creates an elegant drape while staying simple enough for an adventurous beginner. As always, a printable PDF version is available in the subscriber library, or you can have it emailed directly to you.
From the Knit + Crochet Studio
If your mom is a knitter, our Gifts for Knitters guide is chock-full of great gift ideas — from a knitting tote and a needle case that holds every type of needle to decorative scissors, stitch markers, personalized labels, a chart keeper, blocking mats, and more. These are the practical tools that knitters might not splurge on for themselves but will absolutely use every single day. There’s something here at every price point, from stocking-stuffer small to something more special.
Our post on How to Add a Crochet Border to a Knitted Piece walks through exactly how to pick up stitches along all four edges of a knitted piece and work a clean, polished single crochet edging. It’s one of those techniques that cleans up raw edges, tucks in loose tails, and can even help uncurl a stubborn knit edge. Reader Barbara wrote in to say she used it to border a throw she knit for her husband and couldn’t believe how lovely the result was.
The Waffle Stitch Knit Dishcloth Pattern uses simple knit-and-purl combinations to produce a reversible, textured fabric — and the waffle stitch has the added bonus of not curling, which makes it a great choice for a quick, satisfying project. It’s a wonderful gift, paired with a pretty bar of soap or a tin of homemade hand balm, and the post links directly to the crochet border tutorial above.
From the Kitchen
Blueberry season is right around the corner here in the Southeast, and now is the time to bookmark our Honey-Lavender Blueberry Syrup. Fresh blueberries are cooked down, strained, and simmered with honey-lavender tea into a syrup that’s delicious over pancakes, waffles, yogurt, and ice cream — or stirred into seltzer for a refreshing summer spritzer. The post includes water bath canning instructions so you can put up several jars to enjoy well past blueberry season, plus freezer and refrigerator options if canning isn’t your thing.
Our Lemon Pepper Seasoning Recipe is worth making from scratch because commercial versions often contain sugar, yellow food coloring, and other ingredients you just don’t need. Fresh lemon zest gets dehydrated until crisp, then ground with black peppercorns, garlic powder, and a little salt into a versatile blend that works on poultry, fish, vegetables, pasta, salads, and even popcorn. The post also includes a recipe for a lemon pepper compound butter that would be outstanding over grilled fish or chicken. Reader Chellie said the recipe inspired her to come back to lemon pepper after years away from it.
With Cinco de Mayo just over a week away, our Easy Arepa Recipe is a great place to start — these thick, gluten-free corn cakes from Venezuela and Colombia come together with just a handful of ingredients in minutes. They split open like a pita and take any filling you can dream up, sweet or savory, making them one of the most versatile things in your Cinco de Mayo lineup.
Those arepas are a natural vehicle for the tender, deeply flavored beef from our Chile-Braised Short Rib Tacos, where spice-rubbed short ribs braise low and slow until fall-off-the-bone tender. Click over for the full recipe and the pickled red onions that go alongside.
For Cinco de Mayo party food, our Elote Dip Recipe brings all the bold flavors of Mexican street corn into a scoopable appetizer you can set out with chips and watch disappear. It’s easy to make ahead, which means you’re free to focus on those tacos and margaritas.
No Cinco de Mayo celebration is complete without our Best Margarita Recipe — this is my dad’s recipe, and I say without hesitation that it beats anything you’ll get at a restaurant. It’s perfectly tart and not one bit cloying, and it’s been the gold standard in our house for a long time. Shake one up, and the evening can’t help but be magical!
From the Arts + Crafts Studio
Our Turk’s Head Knot Trivets started the way so many great craft projects do — spotted in a charming little upstate New York shop and immediately followed by the thought “I bet I can make that.” And the good news is, you absolutely can, with no prior knotting experience required. The post includes step-by-step instructions, a printable pattern, and a video tutorial to walk you through the flat Turk’s Head Knot that forms the base of each coaster and trivet. They make a wonderful handmade gift.
Our Decorative Tassels post shows how to make wood bead tassels — the large bead variety you’ve seen everywhere — to hang from furniture keys or cabinet hardware. The project grew out of wanting to dress up a formal heirloom china cabinet in a more casual, personal way, and once you figure out the drilling step, the rest moves quickly. Click over to see the full supply list and step-by-step instructions.
In the Garden
With strawberry season on the horizon, our Strawberry Companion Plants post is a great read before you get your patch settled for the season. The right neighbors can attract pollinators, deter aphids and slugs, and even improve the flavor and yield of your berries. The post also covers which plants to keep far away, so you don’t accidentally sabotage all those plump, juicy berries you’re working toward. It’s part of the ongoing Companion Planting series, so if you haven’t checked out the full companion planting chart and guide yet, this is a great entry point!
If you’re still noodling your container gardens for spring and summer, our Container Gardening Ideas and Recipes #3 is a fun collection of specific plant combinations that actually work beautifully together. Spotted on trips and documented for exactly this purpose, the pairings range from a simple but stunning classic to bold window boxes. You’ll want to read through before heading to the nursery so you have a bit of a direction.
In the House + Home
Our Natural Moth Repellent Potpourri harnesses the natural moth-repelling qualities of certain natural ingredients into a blend that actually smells lovely enough to leave out in a bowl. As knitters and crafters with precious woolens to protect, this one hits close to home! Natural repellents are best used as a preventive measure rather than a cure for an established infestation. It also makes a beautiful, practical, fragrant gift.
Our Quick and Inexpensive Sofa Refresh is proof that you don’t need to replace tired furniture — you may just need new foam. For about $75, saggy sofa cushions got fresh foam cut to size (for free!) at an upholstery shop, then wrapped in batting and tucked back into the original covers. The transformation is genuinely remarkable, and if you’ve been staring at cushions that have slowly deflated over the years, this post will have you looking at your sofa with fresh eyes. It’s like a new bra for your couch — everything just looks perkier!
Whatcha Reading?
Well, it’s the end of the month, which means it’s time to update my book reviews. And actually, since the end of January’s newsletter was taken over by events, I’m covering what I’ve read for the last two months.
For the past several years, I’ve joined the Goodreads Reading Challenge. I haven’t hit my goals for the past couple of years, but I’ll keep trying! If you need some book titles to add to your reading queue this year, check out my quick and dirty reviews of what I’ve read and listened to here.
- Books read thus far in 2026
- Books read in 2025
- Books read in 2024
- Books read in 2023
- Books read in 2022
I mentioned that I’ve thoroughly benefited from every penny of my Audible subscription. Last year, I listened to all of Charles Dickens’ books while I went about my daily chores and projects. I also credit it with helping me stay on track with my exercise by giving me opportunities to get out and walk so I can keep up with my stories!
If you like listening while you work, here’s a list of podcasts I’ve enjoyed.
Well, friends, my to-do list keeps growing, but my days aren’t getting longer. I’m aiming for a very productive day and wish that you have the kind of day that suits your needs!
Until next week…
