More Farm Blocks

I've always wanted to make a whole quilt of broken dishes...but, maybe not this small.



Churn dash is a classic.  I love the colors of this.  It's hard to see but the background is paisley.

If you read me..the first ones I made two of.  There will NOT be two baskets...just saying.  The handle isn't as crooked in real life as this picture shows...or maybe my head was just crooked when I took it.  Have you ever seen a straight perfect basket in real life?

Speaking of read me....two of my last blocks weren't made right.  Guess it's good that nobody DOES read me!  They were corrected.

Farmer's Wife Blocks

One more picture of my poor kitty and I'll leave him alone.  He IS a farm kitty, so he's part of this too.  He is the one to "judge" all quilts made by how soft they feel to take a nap on.

I need another project like I need a hole in my head.  DH has been saying there's nothing but cotton batting between my ears for years.  Soooo...I started another project.  DIL got me the Farmer's Wife book for Christmas this past year and I love the blocks in it...but to make them?  The book didn't have cutting directions and I'm NOT good at setting down (mind the TIME) to figure them all out.  Randy is doing the math and figures for me, but shhhhhhh...we have to call it Barrister's Sow Along or we'll get in trouble.  I added a button on the side and if I don't stay on top of this sew-along, I'll be behind.

IF you read Randy's directions it says to make TWO of each block...well, that is what my mind said...but when I went back the PICTURES said to make two.  Randy said that she was making two to show different colors.  That's what I get for sewing when I'm tired.  The first few blocks have two made.

Here is the first block:

BLOCK 4 (page 131) Basket Weave

Second block: 

BLOCK 21 (page 148) CONTRARY WIFE

Third block:

BLOCK 6 (page 133) BIG DIPPER.



 BLOCK FOUR (AUTUMN TINTS, BLOCK 2) P. 129
This is the block where I woke up...it says   "I made two of them:"...soooo...she made two out of all of them is what my brain was thinking, so I went back and read the directions.  Okay...doofus..you only need one of each.  I could've went to bed early if I only made one of each!

BLOCK FIVE: (BOX, BLOCK 9) p. 80, 136

BLOCK SIX:  (Calico puzzle, block 16) p. 118, 143

First six blocks made.  My Bonnie Mystery Orca is still in two pieces...gotta work on it too.  I'll get there...I always do!

Helpers...

Mama Spark asked me for an "after" picture, so here is my half-eared cat.  It hasn't bothered him a whole lot to have part of his ear missing.  He got 4 stitches in the tip of the ear and even though it's not completely healed, it's getting there.  He likes the attention he's getting.

The other night DC came in just as I did and he disappeared.  I looked for the darn cat for 30 minutes before I finally found him perched here on the back of the old trunk.  Every quilt needs cat hair on it.

"Look Sauce-a...I found the cookie scoop!"  Everybody needs a Tyler to help clean out the dishwasher.

a little look

Remember all of the fabric that I bought a few weeks ago?  Well, it got added to my already stash.....don't pay attention to the top of the shelves...it's really the "stash" of quilts needing quilted and a storage that don't use very often.  The three bins on the floor are scraps from all of that madness that need to be trimmed into usable strips. 

 It all just takes time.       

This is my sewing buddy.  He decided he likes to sleep in here if I'm in the sewing room.  This is actually a BEFORE picture....I took him to the vet the day after this picture was taken and discovered he had skin cancer on one of his ears.  He had to have part of his ear amputated.  It hasn't stopped him and he doesn't seem to mind.  But it makes me want to yell at people GO HAVE THOSE PLACES CHECKED!!  If I didn't have this done, it would've spread.  
You know your pet is human...treat them well!  DC is my constant companion when I'm home.  He knows who feeds him...and he leaves me a trail of white hair everywhere he goes.  AND...he loves everything I sew and never tells me my points don't match!

Got Fabric?

What do you do when you go to a garage sale and they have sacks of fabric...and fabric...and fabric.  AND, if you buy more than one sack (BIG BLACK TRASH SACKS) it's only $3?!

Well..if you're me, you buy it all!  My pooor DIL had to help me haul it all home.

I knew the lady had a cat in the house...icky stink....but, little did I know the cat wasn't doing it's job so she had mice.  THANKFULLY, there wasn't damage to the fabric but it did all need a nice wash job.

And folded, and folded and folded. 

Most of it was yardages...more than one yard, sometimes the whole bolt.  But, there is probably one tub full of smaller pieces that are going to be cut into strips and blocks.

I had NO idea I needed a section on my shelves for "fruit" fabric?!  Who would've thought?  But, this has made me think that my sewing room needs organized and straightened up.  I don't want my kids selling my fabric by the trash sack!

Yes, I have a housecat!

It's SO nice to have friends.  This darling little/big playhouse was given to me.  The girls love it!

Trip to the Barn

I don't always take my camera to the barn when I do chores, but it was so calm and peaceful (and 50 degrees), and the sun was so pretty.

I went out to feed the chickens and of course I always have a few tag alongs.  Orangie is always chasing the chickens--why they don't chase him is beyond me.  He's a good Watch-Cat!

The barn cats and of course Rusty always have to come see what I'm doing.  I think they're looking for a handout.  None of them are deprived of food for sure.

The "Girls" also are nosey as to who is in the barn yard as they come in to get a drink.  Aren't they pretty?  I'm trying to talk the guys into saving a few of these for mama cows.  We've had such a rough summer, we need to add to our herd.

I get an average of 15 eggs a day and with 17 hens that's a pretty good average.  What I want to know is WHO is still laying the miniature egg?!  It eats the same, but it's so tiny.

Will leave you with this last picture of my egg basket.  Somebody tried to tell me it was for golf balls.  Guess this is my kinds of golf balls!

Slow sewing progress...

I've had some wonderful interruptions, so my Bonnie Orca Bay quilt isn't coming together at warp speed.

How can I go to the sewing room when I have little people in my living room!

I have all of the parts made, it's just a matter of putting them altogether.  Here is a portion of what I do have:

The red door really makes the reds stand out.  The first strip I put together made my eyes tired..it's a BUSY quilt, but the more I put together it tones down a little (or at least I'm telling myself that)!.

Guess who's Back?!

  After some prodding from some very sweet friends, I've decided to come back and post.  I have caught the crud from my Granddaughter, and have some busy Christmas days ahead but I promise to come back and post some really boring stories about life out here on the plains!

Thanks to you who asked about me....you know who you are.  I do appreciate it.

Summer Project

I actually started this quilt right after Christmas when the couple first accounced they were getting married.  Spring brings calving season, lots of road-travel for work, then comes harvest and to get a quilt ready is sometimes a big undertaking --okay, enough excuses.  The truth is that sometimes I'm just slow!

This was taken outside on the north side of the house when the wind was gusting over 30mph. 

 Had to move toys out of the way to get this one...imagine that?!

You'll recognize the pattern as Bonnie Hunter's Many-Trips pattern.  How can you go wrong with it?!

Dean and Trent fighting the wind to get a picture of it outside for me.

One of the back.  No, you can't see it too close, but I ordered this fabric from Fabric.com and was real happy with it.  Had to piece it and had maybe an 8x11" scrap left.  WooHoo!

I have to say that the whole quilt top came from my stash!  It's lots of left-overs and pieces that I've been saving.  Farm/cowboy/barbed wire/paisley/plaid/cow/wheat/tractor fabric.  One of the ladies at the wedding shower said it looked like a farm-quilt...duh!  The groom and bride are both involved in farming, and since it came from a farm-wife...she was definitely right!

Rachel showing that the quilt is kid-friendly.  Has her horse ready too!

I think people have learned that if they want a quilt...they better tell me WAY ahead of time, or it's gonna be late getting there.  This quilt was given away Saturday..and I finished it THREE whole days ahead of time.  SO proud of myself! 

OH..did I mention it was quilted by ME on my Nolting! 

Second harvest

We were done with harvest almost as fast as we started.  I would've uploaded these a couple of weeks ago...but Blogger had issues with me and my pictures.  From what I've read on other's blogs..I'm not the only one it doesn't like.

The bin is almost full on the combine here.  Setting inside the combine, the only way you know when it's full is the annoying beeper that goes off. 

Troy and his Dad eating an early supper waiting on Trent to finish filling up.  Lunch/supper outside...with the bugs, the flies and the dirt.  Typical for this time of year.

Emptying into the semi which Troy gets to drive to town.  Harvest was so slow that nobody needed me except to bring food to the field.

A view from the other side of the semi.  This truck holds about 600 bushels of grain.

 I rode for awhile...since they wouldn't let me drive...and you can get a better view of good vs. thin wheat.   Why a combine has a windshield wiper is beyond my comprehension. 

This is the first year we've used this new header.  It has a conveyer belt that takes the cut stalks up into the combine.  I just know anything that falls on it better be ready to get chewed up.

Harvest lasted maybe 8 days this year.  The wheat is sold and the money is already spent at the bank.  We now have another crop, milo, planted.  Some of it is under irrigation so we can control the rain!