Something to Crow About

When Rudy the rooster first arrived at our home I wasn't sure if he would stay........well last week he showed me that he had an important job to do and that he takes it seriously (no it's not fertilizing the eggs, lol).  I heard loud "different" squawking coming from where the chickens are located, when I opened the back sliding glass door what do I see about 10 feet from the chickens.........a fox!  Thankfully, with all the loud squawking that Rudy was making I was able to shoo the fox away this time, sorry I don't have any pictures but I didn't have the camera nearby and I really didn't want to give Mr. Fox a chance to have a snack.  The weather has been cooperating and we have worked on the new coop (ya I know you're probably thinking that I should have it done by now) and hope to have it in place later in the week or early next week.  The new coop will be up closer to the side/front of the house, for some reason the dog just didn't smell the fox the other day, but with the new location they should be better able to see/smell a fox.

Here's my something to crow about.........

In the past few years I have been on the lookout for a "mid-arm" quilting machine set up......I found this one on Craigslist.  Last week I went and checked it out and liked what I saw, the woman that owned this had barely used the Janome 1600P and had only set up the smaller size of the frame, it was essentially brand new and she was willing to negotiate so here it is.  I did lots of research before I went and looked at it, I was able to find several places online that will help me to troubleshoot, etc.  I am working on getting the tension, etc. right on the sewing machine BEFORE I set it on the frame and start playing with it that way.  I am also trying to remember that I need to go outside and work in the yard on the nice days so it will probably take me a few weeks to get this figured out.

Off to work outside!

Congratulations and An Opportunity to Educate

I'd like to start off by saying congratulations to my youngest son Nate, he received his Associate Degree in Applied Science today.

We had an almost three hour drive to get there so we had to leave bright and early, 6am!  Of course we also realize that with my hubby in a wheelchair it requires that we make sure that we check into proper seating accommodations so we do like to get where we are going a little early.  We usually try to park our van at the end of the row, it has a lift for hubby to get in and out.  The lift requires about an 8 foot clearance for the lift to come down and allow him to get off and on the ramp, there is a large sticker on the window that states to leave the 8 foot space and since we parked at the end we felt that would not be a problem..........

Jump to us sitting in our assigned seats waiting for graduation to begin, a woman arrives and sits behind me and states how terrible the parking was, etc. and how she parked next to a van......she proceeded to say that she noticed a sticker about the 8 foot clearance and says "like we are supposed to leave that space", well that is when I perked up and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to "educate" yet another person on the reason for this.  I told her that it was probably my van that she was parked near and went on to explain why you need to leave the space, I mentioned that in my husband's case he had someone that COULD get in and move the van for him to load up if SOMEONE parked where they were NOT supposed to park (remember we parked at the end)...........I went on to explain that in some cases the person driving the van is also the person in the wheelchair and if someone parks in that space they would be unable to get in their van!  I explained that yes in my husband's case we could move the van but if we had to leave in the middle of the ceremony, and it was raining, he has to sit outside and get soaked while I get in and pull the van forward, (I wanted to say and resist the urge to DROP THE LIFT ON HER CAR), how fun would that be??    Of course when I turned back around I heard one of the people she was with say "gee it's not raining right now is it?" I just shook my head, although I wanted to bang my head  against the wall, LOL. 

A few weeks ago while on our Quilt Shop Hop we saw a lady with a large van like ours and she had spray painted on her van door in large letters the message to allow 8 feet for the lift,  if others would realize that this simple little thing allows her to be independent........how would you like it if someone parked so you COULD NOT IN ANY WAY get into your car?  Thank you for listening to my rant, but I thought it was a perfect opportunity to educate, the next time you see a van with the above sticker what will you do?

Making progress

Here is what I did yesterday,  I just need to stitch the two gold berries and the green piece on the blue flower.  I will get those done later today and then make the "quilt sandwich", baste, I will be hand quilting this one. 

This is my new work table that I can take into the living room and work on some of my projects.   I can also take it along with me to classes, the height is adjustable and it is quite portable.  It makes a great ironing station or just a place to put extra stuff (not the sewing machine).

Have a great day!

I will not start a new quilt, I will not start a new quilt.............

Okay, I need to tell myself that I will not start a new quilt or project until at least 2 projects are completed or "caught up" to the correct month!!  The hard part is seeing new fabrics or projects ideas and getting excited and not wanting to wait to start a new one.  As I have mentioned before I sometimes like to start and finish a little project in between larger project, I just need to get back on track before I do anything else.  Stay tuned  to see if I am able to stay on track, LOL! 

Here are a few of the things I need to get "caught up" on.......

Garden Baskets - I should be working on blocks 9 & 10, I only have 6 done. 

Simply Charming Fat Quarter Quilt - remember this one.............no one "picked" the other flowers they just haven't made it into the picture, LOL.

Tonga Rhapsody - just need to get month 2 done, this one is NOT behind.

Civil War Tribute - I still have lots left on that one.

Civil War Chronicles - I should be working on month 5 but I still have to get months 3 & 4 finished.

Vintage Scrappy Quilt - this is one of those that I started recently, I just need to make the rest of the leaves (about 90) and stitch them on, this one can be worked on in the evening as well.

Scrap Basket Blossoms - This is the square quilt that was started at the Kim Diehl workshop and will be worked on at the next "fourth Saturday" sewing group, since most of us went to the workshop.  I have already prepped all the applique pieces so this one should go quickly, especially since it's machine appliqued.

These are the ones at the TOP of the pile, I still have some projects that I haven't started but have all the supplies...........

Yesterday I enjoyed the Wednesday sewing group that I attended, I can see myself attending fairly regularly, it was enjoyable to spend time with a group of ladies that enjoy quilting.  I spent the entire time prepping the wool for the above mentioned Garden Baskets.  I may try to use these days to work on the Civil War Tribute, another lady was also working on hers so I'm not the only one still trying to get mine done!

Oh and did I mention that sometime I need to get outside and work in the garden, LOL.  I did finally get my egg count updated as well as the daily reflection, I will work harder to keep the reflection updated. 

Hope you have a great day wherever you are planted!

Better..........

Dad's still in the hospital, hopefully he will be home later next week.  Thank you for your kind words and prayers, they mean so much.

While things were a little crazy with dad in the hospital I did manage to get a little sewing done and attend a workshop  & trunk show with KIM DIEHL!  I have four of her books and have been wanting to try her technique for applique with my sewing machine, WOW, I can't believe how simple it is.........The most important part is the correct thread and setting your machine on the correct settings.  I know that I will need to practice, and the workshop did include a project, we also learned the way she preps her pieces for applique, it can be used for someone that is planning on hand stitching as well.  I am working on a quilt that has over 100 leaves so I will get PLENTY of practice on prepping, LOL.  Here is a photo of the pattern that we began working on in the workshop....... 

These are the books that I have.........

Sorry that I didn't take any photos at the trunk show or at the workshop, I had enough just making sure that I was learning what I needed to know in order to be sure I could do it later!  But believe me when I say that I really did attend her class, LOL.  I will take more  photos as I work on the above project.

This is another quilt I am currently working on along with a photo of the book by Lisa of Primitive Gatherings.......If you love little things you should consider getting this one.  I will take more photos of this quilt as I go along.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

I'll be back..............

I haven't dropped off the edge of the earth.........my dad is in the hospital.  I'll be back when things quiet down.

Who Knows Where This Will Lead.........

Hi all, today was the last day of the weekly quilting class that I was attending with my niece.  She finished two baby size quilts and I can honestly say she did 99.9% of these two quilts.  Next week they will be on display and I will try to remember to take photos of them.  She is keeping the very first one for herself and she is giving the second one as a birthday gift to a young girl has been battling cancer.

Lately I have been doing a lot of reading, which can sometimes lead to trouble, on ways to eat healthier, etc.  Specifically, about raw milk both goat and cow (I have tasted raw cow's milk) so now I wondered what goat's milk tasted like........well today I got to taste some, it was raw which is even better, I was surprised that it really didn't taste different from cow's milk.  So who knows where this will lead, I know that I still need to get Rudy and the girls moved to their new home, add a few more hens to the mix....I am thinking next summer I might set myself up for raising some meat birds (no I won't kill them myself, I'm too wimpy).  By fall I want to have a garden area ready for the spring of 2012, and fence in the whole area.   I will do some serious research and visit a few places that have goats and weigh out the options, meanwhile I will probably find a regular source of raw milk be it cow or goat........I'm trying to remember that I need to take baby steps and work at being successful ONE THING AT A TIME! 

On a completely different note, I won the drawing at the local quilt shop on Saturday afternoon.  Here are the goodies that I got.