What I Am Working On

I've made the trees and the pigs.
Here are the hens and one chick.

Since I am not sure of a layout yet I am not adding more side pieces.
Next up is the barn.

I have also been working on the 365 Challenge.

These are the blocks for March 7-17.

I really had planned to do 2 blocks a day thinking that would help me get caught up. That isn't happening. What I end up doing is working on several in a day and then skip a few days. I guess it really doesn't matter much at this point. I am keeping up with printing each day's pattern so at least I have them when I get around to them.

I have found it is helpful for me to spend a few hours cutting several blocks so they are ready to piece when I have time. For most of the blocks the actual piecing doesn't take that long.

I will go back to work on Thursday for Teacher's Institute day and students return on Friday. I am hoping to have a few minutes every morning to get some piecing done before heading out the door for work. I know, for a while at least, that I will probably not feel like doing much when I get home.
And, my husband has already informed me that there will probably be some hay baling after work in my future. It has rained so much the last week and a half that it has been too wet to get it done this week, which was his plan. Hay season will be over soon and then he will start harvesting corn and soybeans.

I cannot believe the summer is over already. I had a list of things I wanted to get done, but didn't. This happens to me every year so I shouldn't be surprised.

I did get one more quilt shop trip in with my quilt friends. They are all retired and wanted me to have one more day of fun before work started up again. And, we did have fun. We visited 4 quilt shops, 3 I had not been to before, and had a nice lunch. We are such a great group of people. We all get along well and help each other find just the right fabric for our projects. I will miss getting to make a quilt shop trip on the spur of the moment, but I am sure we will make plans for some on some of the long weekends.

Check out what other quilters are doing at Judy's page.

What I'm Working On...

I went on a little trip with my quilt friends this weekend.

We visited a quilt shop that will be closing this fall. Everything was at least 30% off. Besides some fabric to finish up my Civil War Sampler I got a kit for an appliqued tea towel.

Fastest finish I have ever had. It was hanging on my oven door the next day.

I have taken a little break from the farm quilt to work on some mending over the weekend, but plan to start working on the eleven hens and 1 chick today. A good day to stay inside and sew since it is a rainy day here. There will be no hay to bale since it isn't even cut yet.

To see what other quilters are doing go to Judy's page.

Finished!

I took this off the frame today. I forgot my friend is visiting her daughter out-of-state so I will have it for a little bit longer.

 Front

 Back

Now on to some mending.

My Afternoons Lately ...

... are spent doing this.

This is not my husband and me, and we are baling hay, not straw as shown in this picture, but this is what we look like out in the hay fields.

Wheat harvest and straw bales. Photo courtesy of https://www.pinterest.com/pin/111393790758645313/

Old tractor with no cab, old baler that we hope keeps working for a long time, multiple hay racks.
And, we are out there by ourselves; no help.

Yesterday wasn't too bad. It was not as hot as it had been, was cloudy most of the time and a slight breeze came up part way through the afternoon. Today the heat index was 105 degrees. Thankfully it was a small field, requiring only one rack. I am not complaining. I have the pretty easy job of driving, well, steering, the tractor. My poor husband is doing the hard work of stacking the bales of hay on the rack.

http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/viewtopic.php?t=667747

This photo shows how high the hay gets stacked.

The top layer is over his head (he is 6' 3") and he throws those bales up there with what looks like no problem at all. He grew up doing this. I did not. I do not know how to really run the tractor. I do not know how to start it or put it in gear or what levers to push to make the baler run. I do know which lever to push to make it stop and where the brake is. I sit in the seat, he stands by me and gets it all going, then hops off. I pull the lever that makes it start moving forward and he hops on the rack. Not ideal, but it works. My father-in-law used to be the tractor driver, but it has become very apparent the last few years that he should not being doing it any more. He IS 94 and arthritic. It has become physically unsafe for him to get on and off the tractor.

So some of my sewing time has gone to hay baling. I am meeting my Vitamin D requirements and getting to spend some time with my husband.

I have put a quilt on the frame for a friend. I got about half of it quilted yesterday morning before going to the field.

And, finally, I am excited to see this...

...Monarch caterpillar! My husband lets me grow milkweed plants for the Monarch butterflies as long as I break off the pods before they release their seeds. The butterflies lay their eggs on the milkweed plants and the caterpillars eat the leaves. I have noticed the butterflies around the milkweeds for a few weeks now, but this is the caterpillar I have seen. Last year I got to watch this...

Chrysalis

Emerging

Almost ready to take flight!

 I hope to see it again this year.

On My Wall

To see what other quilters have been up to go to Judy's page...

I have been working on the farm quilt.

The four fruit trees are piece. I modified a Tree of Life pattern to make the fruit trees.

The four pigs representing four sons are ready for applique. One has been appliqued except for the eyes. I altered the pattern slightly. Since these piggies are so dark I am adding the lighter fabric where the eyes go and sewing on slightly smaller black buttons for the eyes. The top left pig has the buttons pinned on. The pattern used for the pigs is animal whimsy by amy bradley designs.

A nice surprise in my yard this morning... seven blooms!

I love the color of this Hibiscus.

And, the blooms are as big as my hand!

I've also been busy in the kitchen. You know how one thing tends to lead to another?
I was looking for something in one of my cabinets one day. I had taken a lot of things out while looking and at that point decided that maybe, just maybe, my cabinets needed cleaned and organized. I decided to inventory what I had at this point. Seems I have lots of certain things and little or none of other things. I guess I am bad about getting groceries put away and then not using them. Or I need something and find out I am out. But now I have a list taped to the inside door of the cabinet that I can edit as needed. Anyway, cookies happened!

These are pumpkin spice cookies from a mix from Aldi. This is the second batch. The first was oatmeal, also a mix from Aldi. They are easy to mix up. I only had to add a little water, an egg and 1 stick of butter. They are not bad- the first batch disappeared quickly! I used my small scoop for the first batch and baked about 3 dozen. I used a larger scoop for these and got about 20. Just enough that they are gone before the start to get stale.

Progress Continues...

I am progressing nicely with the farm quilt...
Apricot tree laid out and ready to stitch.

 And, now there are three - Apple, Pear, Apricot.

I am working on the Plum tree now.

I am using Scrappity Do Dah as my leader-ender.

This one is really scrappy. I pulled out stacks of each color in my stash and cut a few squares from each. I am finding I have cut a lot of orange/rust , red and blue. I am not being too particular about this quilt since it will be used as a chair cover to keep the dirt and grime off my husband's chair. It will need to be replaced in a few years.

Design Wall

Go to Judy's page to what other quilters are up to.

I have been asked to make a quilt for a Christmas gift. The guy wants to surprise his wife. He wants their children depicted by pigs and chickens - they raise them. They grow apples, plums, apricots and pears in their orchard. The wife loves their barn.

So, I have been working on fruit trees.

 Cutting station. I had just cleaned it up some so I could start on the next tree.

Pieces ready to sew. The HST measure 1 1/2 inches.

 

 Two finished trees -apple and pear. Still to come are apricot and plum.

The tree block measures 7 1/2 inches. The setting triangles make it 13 inches. 

I am not quite sure how these will get placed in the quilt so I am leaving them like this for now.

I am designing this quilt as I go.

He sent me a photo of their barn, pigs and chickens.

I traced the barn and enlarged it. I plan to put it in the center. I am thinking the fruit trees will go in the upper right corner. I would like to make a flag for the upper left, but am waiting on approval. I am also thinking about fences, fields, and other farm appropriate blocks to fill it out.

I am trying not to think of all the other things I need to do 

and focus instead on the fun I am having designing this quilt.

Work starts for me the end of August when school is in session again and I find that 

I don't get much sewing done during the week. And, my son is home now 

and I just don't get as much done - I haven't figured out why.