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.

Better than a Cat?

Well the laptop is back from the shop so I can finally post with pictures.

All day the hawks that guard our house have been flying around and talking to each other, just a bit ago I was able to get this photo of one of them........

They are not usually this close to the house, but I wondered if they finally realized that there are chickens in the yard (safely enclosed) or if they are taking care of the mice that are probably loving the chicken feed that I drop!  I'm thinking how great it is if they take care of the mice population in the yard, I have still yet to figure out the benefit of mice???

I have finally planted the potted rhubarb plants that I bought more than two years ago, here they are in their new home.

Soon they will be joined by the newest plants that I bought last week, they just need a few more weeks inside as they were potted less than a month ago.

They are currently residing on my dining table, don't you have fresh rhubarb growing on your table, LOL?

In case you thought I had given up quilting, not a chance!  Yesterday hubby and I went to NINE of the 34 quilt shops participating in Maine Shop Hop 2011, we planned out a nice route, we drove up to Belfast and drove down the coast to Freeport with a few stops inland.  Today I went to one shop that was only about 30 minutes from my house and we are hoping to visit a few more in the next few days, the hop will end on the last day of April.  My goal this year is to visit 15 shops and next year I will try to start earlier in the month and maybe get to all of them! 

Here are the squares that were given at each stop, there is a pattern given on the website that we can use them in.........

Here are a few goodies that the individual shops decided to give (most of the places gave candy, but it didn't make the picture)........

I decided that I would work on collecting '30s reproduction fabrics while I was Shop Hopping, how did I do???

Of course I found a few other goodies, but for the most part we had a beautiful day, it was a little too foggy to take photos if I had they would have been beautiful.  It was nice to take a drive in the beautiful state that I call home, I often forget how nice it really is here especially in the historic coastal towns like Rockland, Bath, and Wiscasett. 

Last but certainly not least, I keep those who have lost so much in the terrible weather that has happened in the past week, especially yesterday's tornadoes.  May God bless you and keep you safe.

Puttering and a Giveaway

I know I mentioned that I would have a post with photos soon, well our laptop is in for repairs and that is the computer that I use to "do the photo stuff".  I might get hubby to play with this computer and maybe I can get photos onto this one, that would be awesome.  So for the moment you have to put up with just my words.

Not a whole lot going on in the quilting department, I have puttered outside a little, we just got two loads of "gold compost" delivered......I spent a little time stacking some of the wood that we got after all the other wood was stacked and/or brought inside.  In the coming months we will continue to get the side yard ready for the garden area (that we will have next year) as well as preparing for placing the new coop and yard area.  We have 3-4 trees that we need to cut, limb, split and stack so we will have more sunlight for the garden.  I wonder if it will look anything like the picture I have in my mind, LOL!

Enough gabbing about my yard and onto the wonderful giveaway from Amy at Homestead Revival, I just recently found her blog and was so excited when I saw that she was having this giveaway!  It consists of four books and is called the Homemade Living Series.....Keeping Bees, Home Dairy, Canning & Preserving and last but certainly not least Keeping Chickens.   So hop on over and tell her I sent you (no it doesn't get me extra chances)!



Hope you have a great week!

Puttering Around

I'm still here, been working on the coop, being lazy, and working on the spring bunny punch needle.  I have also been doing some reading, thinking about what changes I will make to the yard, and hoping to gradually make a few other changes or should I say organizing/purging ..........time will tell.  Hubby has been telling me what needs to be done in the yard before I can do what I want so that of course takes some wind out of my sail.  I'm not always patient, but I know he is right (just don't tell him, lol) and it will work better if I take it one step at a time.

I'll try to get a post with photos soon, just reading my ramblings is probably not very exciting.  Hope you are enjoying a beautiful day. 

Procrastination Doesn't Pay

See the cute dog on the base of the lovely birdbath..........

It is a dog just like this one.........

(Peggy the above photo is just for you, since I can't send you snow I dug out a "snowy photo" from earlier this year.)

My sons thought it would make a great birthday gift, son #2 dropped it off and set it up on the porch.  Well here's where the procrastination comes into play, it rained earlier today and filled the basin with water, then this  "cute" dog.............

..............decided that he wanted to drink from it, that is when I said "gee I really need to move that", but I didn't do it immediately!   Later in the afternoon while having a "fun" time doing paperwork with the windows open enjoying the beautiful spring afternoon I heard the sound of breaking pottery.  Low and behold I am now regretting not taking a moment to move the bath out of reach! 

I didn't take any photos before I glued the many broken pieces but here is what it looks like now.........

  Thank heavens for this wonderful product, the photo is a little blurry, it's Gorilla Super Glue ..........

 it doesn't look quite as nice as it did before the break, but it's all in one piece and should hold up.  Tomorrow I will set the top back on the base and see how it holds up. 

How Much Would You Bid?

I've been busy quilting and binding the Java quilt for a silent auction fundraiser.  The proceeds will help defray the cost of sending the students, that won gold at the state SkillsUSA, to the national competition in Kansas City.  My youngest son will be attending again this year. 

I already had the Java Quilt top finished I quilted it this week and just finished binding it this morning.  I put it in a basket with a coffee mug, flavored coffee and a great book.

The nursery where my son works donated the pottery flower pot, I just added some seed packets, gloves, two gardening magazines and some tools to make this a fun choice. 

So would you bid on either of these, which one............I love them both so it would be a hard choice, LOL. 

It was a BEAUTIFUL spring day today so I spent some time outside with hubby insulating the new coop, we are planning on working on it some more tomorrow afternoon.  I will post photos when there is noticeable progress to share. 

Rudy and his girls enjoying the warm spring afternoon.......

Tour of the Interior

 The weather is warming up and we are planning on making a few improvements to the new coop before Rudy and the girls take up residence in their new home (and hopefully a few new friends).  Tomorrow we will make a materials list and then once we gather the materials we will begin.  Here are the pictures that I took of the inside of the new chicken coop.........

The nesting box, yippee I won't have to lift the whole roof to get the eggs!

The back wall with a roost, we will be insulating the interior and covering it with thin plywood so it will be nice and cozy for our cold Maine winters.

A real working window for ventilation during the summertime, hmmmmm wonder if I could make some cute curtains, LOL.. 

Here is a close up of the nesting area, right now it is one big area but we will partition it to make 3 separate areas, hopefully this will keep the chickens from sleeping in this area and help to keep the eggs clean.

This is the side wall, the "square" is the door for the chickens to get outside to their yard.

Other changes we are planning on making, adding another window for ventilation in the summer, putting wire in front of the window(s) to better secure the interior, we are also going to wire it for electricity in case I want a light or fan.  Hubby has a few things he would like to do to "dress up" the outside and I would like to paint the trim to match the house.  Of course we are also going to build a completely enclosed outside yard that will attach to the side of the coop, it will have a door for me to go into the yard to keep it clean.  The top of the enclosed yard will have some type of roof (probably some metal roofing) to provide shade in the summer and keep snow out of the yard in the winter.  Hopefully we will have this completed  in the next two weeks. 

Stay tuned for updated photos as we go along.

Are You Game...........

Yesterday I received a package in the mail from Terry, it was the PIF that she made for me, I signed up to participate and this is what she made for me, this lovely runner........

She also included two fat quarters that are happily sitting with my other fat quarters waiting for their turn!  Thank you very much Terry, the colors are just perfect!  I love having homemade things around my house especially if they were made by others, just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, LOL.

Now I need three of my blog friends to sign up, here is how it works.........I will make a homemade gift for the three of you and then in turn you will have to make something for three others (and so on and so on), you will have a year to make your gifts, the only other requirement is that you have an active blog.  Please respond on my blog and be sure that I can reach you to get your contact information. 

Have a wonderful day!

UPDATE:  I have three friends that have signed up for PIF, thank you. 

New BOM & a New Skill

Friday's snow meant that I had to wait an extra day to pick up my new Block of the Month.......Tonga Rhapsoday designed by Wing and a Prayer. 

This will be the first quilt I have ever done with batiks, I really love the colors!

When I read  the directions I realized that I had to paper piece four of the sections, I was concerned because I have never done it before.....well thanks to the Internet and the two quilting "bibles" that I have I was able to figure it out!  As a matter of fact I'm excited because I will be able to try some of the blocks in The Civil War Love Letter Quilt book that I bought last summer! 

This afternoon I finished up block 1 of Tonga Rhapsody........

I am going to behave and NOT sign up for any new BOM for a while, I have lots of projects that are WIPs and many more that I would like to make.  Especially since I now have a new skill that I will have to practice sometime soon!

Green and White

FOR THE GREEN:

I finally finished Green Piece......well I thought I had until I took the folded quilt back into my sewing room and saw the "flange" fabric hanging on the ladder.  Well I wasn't happy but I have decided that I will NOT be putting it on.......if I were to add this flange I would have to take off the outer border so I could attach it.  What would you do if it were your quilt?? 

I hung it on my clothes line to get photos, the photos are not the best because of the angle of the line.  I will take better photos when I get it quilted, I will be taking it to the quilt shop to get that done, it really needs "special" quilting around the applique blocks. 

The colors are really much nicer than these photos are showing.

Now to the WHITE...........

This is what it looks like outside my windows this morning, it is very wet heavy snow that may change to rain later..........the words "power outages" are being mentioned on the news also!  I have made sure that things are in order in case we do have an outage, we are fortunate enough to have a generator but I still don't run everything with the generator......but I know it could run my sewing machine, LOL!  Before today things were looking up in the snow melting department, this is certainly going to slow that down.  I do realize that I am blessed to be warm and safe during storms like this but I still have to grumble a little.

Have a wonderful day, wherever you are, whatever your weather!

Giveaway Win and Some Quilting

Last week I found out that I won the Lapel Stick giveaway that Sandi at A Legacy of Stitches put together!  Yesterday I received the booty in the mail, I always feel like a little kid again when I get a package in the mail, come on girls I know you do to, LOL!  Of course she didn't only send the Lapel Stick she sent along a bunch of goodies...................

Underneath all the "booty" are two dish towels along with a pattern and all the stuff to applique her tulip pattern onto them!  She also sent a pattern to make a Pincushion, needle case & Scissors case, the patterns are ones that she designed!  Thank you Sandi for your fun little giveaway.

Gotta get to the sewing room......I have a "top finish" planned for today, finally!  My niece is also coming over to quilt her second quilt today, I will share photos of them when she has completed both of them.  The first one just needs a binding and the second one will be quilted today and she will start the binding soon as this is a gift that needs to be completed by early May.  I need to talk to her and see how comfortable she feels about hand stitching the binding.  I always hand stitch the binding, it would take me a few hours to finish a quilt of this size, but hand stitching is brand new to her and it could be overwhelming, she may decide to machine stitch the gift and practice hand stitching on the one she keeps??

Hope you have a blessed day, I know I will :0)