Down On The Farm

I started "Down On The Farm" today.  I've had this book for a while.   DH's nephew (who he shares a birthday with) and his wife are expecting a baby boy the end of October.  This is such a cute pattern.  I'm doing fusible.  Some of the pieces are pretty small--it might be interesting to stitch around them. 

I got three of them fused this afternoon.   It takes me a while to pick fabric and build them.  I'm finding out how unorganized my fat quarters are.  I have them all in one cupboard and that doesn't work very well.  As usual I have quite a mess on the bed.  I plan to fuse all the blocks first, then I'll do the stitching all at once. 

 Look at that row of flying geese!  That might take me a while.   I've been known to avoid "geese".   I'm hoping to make this quilt without buying any material.  I'm really tempted to buy John Deere flannel for the back.   Wouldn't that be cute?

I completed block #2 of Raggedy & friends yesterday.  I almost have the stitching done for #3.

The ever favorite chair on the deck was full yesterday afternoon. 

I'm feeling better today at last.   I've never had a stomach upset for that long before. I'm the kind of person who can eat anything most of the time.   On Thursday I totally lost my voice too.  Now I'm dealing with a dry cough.  Enough whining.  lol  

The weather has been beautiful here.  No fall colors yet, because we haven't had the first frost yet.  I need to pick my acorn squash and pumpkins--maybe tomorrow.  Have a good week................ 

Another Chance to Win a GO

Here's another chance for us to win a GO.  Hurry right over to Millies!!

Another Chance to win a GO

We have chance to win a GO from Jane.  I'm still trying to win a GO--how about you?

Hops

I'm not sure how I'll get anything done next week, because I'll be hopping along the blog trail. 

You can check out all the detail for this Blog Hop here.  Gudrun is always up to something fun.

As usual Pat Sloan is up to something new.  Have you seen the new rulers that sharpen your rotary cutter's blade while you use it?   I have been thinking I need a new 6 1/2 x 24 inch ruler.  I've had this one for a very long time and I think it might be starting to be inaccurate in the middle.  If I don't win a GO, I could at least buy a new ruler.

She is hosting a blog hop and some lucky someone could win 10 new rulers.  WOW!  I just want 1 new ruler.  Check out this hop here.

It is a rainy morning here.  Rocco, Peanut and I are snuggled up on the couch with the laptop.  I am on day 5 of the BUG.  I didn't go to quilting group last night, because I was vomiting the applesauce I ate.  (sorry-tmi).

Now today I have no voice and the tummy is gurgling yet.   I thought about going to the doctor, but Michelle called last night and told me this stuff is going around Pierre.  I must have picked up the lovely BUG last week when we took Rocco to the vet. 

I just noticed this is post 88 with 88 followers--that's kind of cool.  Have a good day.  

Bowtie Fun

I like reading the blog Stash Manicure.  There are always some good ideas about things to do with your stash- storing or using up.    Last week Karen from Nana Girl Quilts showed how to make these cute little bowtie blocks. .  I've never made a bowtie block, so this morning  I tried a couple.  Of course, the first block  I had to get one square sewn on backwards.  It's just an unwritten rule for me to sew something backwards or upside down.  I also turn the wrong way alot when driving in unknown areas.    I'm a lefty, who was forced to be a righty for a while.  I do alot of things with both hands, but my brain doesn't process left and right quickly or instinctively.  Not sure why.  My girls learned early in life--there is nothing wrong with turning around and going the other direction.  I think that might be a good life lesson too.  Sorry I got off the subject.  lol 

I really think these bowties are cute, quick and easy.  I'm going to start making some with 3" squares from my scraps.  I cut some squares today and some strips too.  I really need to use up some of the odds and ends.  I think this will be fun.  Try one--I think they might be addictive. 

I survived the week-end.  The engagement party was very nice.  It was a little cool for an outdoor party, but the garage was warm. The couple will be getting married in Jamaica on our wedding anniversary October 16th.  It will be a very small wedding.

 I'm not sure I could handle the 4 children that came to visit for very long. We are a pretty quiet household.   The kittens hid out most of the time.  Even tame kittens don't stand still long with high pitched voices and quick movements.  I don't think our patio door will ever be the same.  Lots of in and out--flies in and kids out.   The guests only stayed Friday night. Puss spent the whole time under our bed.  Rocco wanted up in our lap or under the covers on our bed.  Peanut and all the kittens disappeared until their van pulled out on Saturday afternoon.  

 I either got the stomach flu or food poisoning and was up all night Saturday.  I slept most of Sunday sleeping..  I just can't get my stomach right, so I kept my dentist appointment today in town so I could stock up on Gatorade.  Gatorade seems to help get me back on track after a bout with stomach upset.   I found out the small filling I broke will need to be replaced with a crown.  :(   I'll be going back to the dentist on Thursday morning. 

I felt a little better this afternoon, so I started pulling fabric for the farm baby quilt.  I'm still looking for the border material I planned to use.  Tomorrow I'll look again.  I need to do some more fabric organizing--maybe this winter. 

The last two days have been beautiful out.  I really need to pick and pickle the beets in the garden.  I'm surprised we haven't had a freeze yet.  It's been nice to continue to eat fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.  (although I haven't been eating them the last few days).  DH is still working at the cousins and I'm frustrated with my lack of ambition to sew while he's gone.  If my stomach feels better tomorrow, I'll get to it.

Just a quick cat picture for you--Soot and Smudge relaxing on the deck.    I hope I've gotten all my illnesses out of the way for the rest of the year.   Hugs..................

It's a Finish!

It's finished!  I promise you won't have to see it again.  lol  As Terry would say "it's not perfect, but it's done".  Of course I had to free motion some of the backing to the back of the quilt, so I had to rip--that's pretty normal for me.  :)  Thank you to Red Pepper Quilts for helping me remember how to splice the binding together.  I also used Pat Sloan's method for machine binding.  I usually do mine by hand, but I know this will be used alot and washed many times, so I wanted something sturdy.  I think I will use it again on those quilts that are for everyday use.  I'm terrible about labeling my quilts, but I did do this one with the baby's name, birthdate, and weight.  I had a tussle with my printer.  It didn't want to use the fabric sheet, but I finally convinced it.  Michelle will be home for the engagement party this week-end and she will take the quilt to the new baby.    On to the next project!

It rained 3.55 in the last couple days.  This is the wettest year we have ever had.  DH hasn't been able to cut silage, so he went with me yesterday to take Rocco to the veterinary.  This is the 3rd vet.  He took Rocco's stitches out and said to give it time.  His eye is looking better.  Hopefully with more time and healing there will be a positive outcome.  The doctor thought there was some response to light.  Nerves take the longest time to heal.

Rocco has been a good patient.

I am in "fast" mode today.  The Wilson family will be here tonight for supper and the week-end.  I know the 3 kids will have fun with the kittens.  They also like to ride the 4-wheeler.   We don't have a 4 wheeler anymore, so I'm sure there will be some Rhino rides in the  UTV.  I'm decluttering, cleaning and changing bedding. 

Thank you everyone for the nice comments and encouragement in the making of Safari Star.  It was also good free motion practice.  I better get off the computer and on the vacuum.  Have a great week-end!

Quilting Safari Star

DH is cutting silage at the cousins, so he will be gone during the day this week.  This means a whole day of uninterrupted time and no stopping for cooking lunch.   I have so much to do, but my number one project is to get Safari Star quilted and finished, so Michelle can give it to her friend. 

 The biggest clear space in my house is the kitchen/dining table.  I have an audio book,
 "The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine, safety pins, Kwik Klip and Diet Mountain Dew--I'm ready to start the sandwich process. 

Ok, now what?

It was nice to have the table to hold the quilt.  It worked really well.  This is a nice size to deal with--not much pushing and pulling.  I stitched in the ditch first and then stitched across the squares.

On each fussy cut animal block I did free motion.  You will have to enlarge the photo to see.  It really made the animals pop out and emphasized the leafy jungle background.  I used gray thread and I like how they turned out.

I did a little curvy line in the small border.  I'm really proud of my corners--please enlarge and check that out.  :) 

I had to stop and waterproof the deck about 3:00 pm.  It was time for a quilting break anyway.  I wanted to get the deck done for winter season and it's suppose to rain on Wednesday.  The waterproofer is suppose to dry for 2 days.   I was worried about keeping the kittens off while I was working, but the smell repelled them and they went and took their naps.  Rocco and I took a walk down the road and picked up the mail.  The temperatures have been so nice that he and I have walked the last 2 days.  I also made Beef Stew for supper, so it could be eaten anytime.  It's hard to tell when DH would be home. 

All I have left on the quilt is the bigger outside borders to do today.  I was even dreaming about them last night.  I think I'm just going to stipple around the animals and not do so much close free motion.  I want the quilt to be soft for the baby and not so stiffly quilted.  I have read that the quilting needs to be uniform.  This quilt isn't uniformly quilted.  What do you think?  Is that going to be ok?  Usually I just straight line quilt, so I've never had to worry about uniformity of quilting. 

Peanut spent alot of time in the house yesterday.  She wanted to be close to me, so she slept on the kitchen floor.  The kittens are 10 weeks old and maybe she is starting the weaning process.  She eats constantly poor thing.  The kittens are eating kitten chow, but they still want their mama too.  

I better get to quilting, so I can do the binding next.  I am hand stitching my Raggedy blocks at night.  Jen and I are addicted to Scrabble on Facebook.  We play a game every night.  It helps me feel connected to her too.  We share that time together every day.

We have company coming this week-end, so the rest of the week will be cleaning and putting away the quilting stuff.  Have a good day!!