Peek-A-Boo

I see you!

Another critter seen around my 

yard is this silly cat.

Yesterday evening I looked out the window and there he was, just chilling in the yard. Some days he hangs out on the ramp by the front of the house. Other days he is in the hay field behind the house. He is never in a hurry. He acts like he owns the place. He lives in the barn - when he is here. The neighbors report that a gray and white tom cat frequents their places a few days at a time, then is gone for a few days. I think this guy is roaming the neighborhood. We are all probably feeding him. Husband says he was good manners and worries about him when he isn't around for a few days. If he keeps the rodents population down it's all good.

Meanwhile, I got two more colors finished for Border 4 of Designer Star.

The Windmills quilt is finished.

I was making good progress on 

Sweet n' Sassy. 

Then this happened.

This knob is used to adjust the height of the take-up bar. Over the years the threads of the bolts that the knobs screw onto have gotten stripped making it impossible to tighten them. These are important because they keep the bars in place. The take-up bar, which for me is the most important and the one I use the most, is lower at the beginning of quilting a quilt and is raised as the quilt is rolled up on the bar. It keeps the quilt off the bed of the machine allowing the machine to move freely. Depending on the size of the quilt this adjustment happens 6-10 times for each quilt. There are two of these knobs on each end of the take-up bar. 

I was in the process of 'stealing' one from one of the other bars when Husband came in. He took it off and went out to his shop to see if he had anything that would work. He says that the bolt and nut inside the knob are fine thread and he didn't have anything. But he found an bolt and nut that would work without the plastic knob.

This is what we ended up doing for now. He is at the local hardware store now to see if they have anything.

PAUSE: We decided to make a run for groceries since it had been a while.

UNPAUSE: Our trip to Aldi was pretty uneventful. There was an employee outside retrieving carts as shoppers were finished with them. He wiped them down and put them back in the rack. All carts already had quarters in them. Everyone was wearing masks. Most items had signs that said 'Limit 2' or 'Limit 4'. That didn't really affect us. I understand why there are limits, but wish there didn't have to be. I would have liked to stock up a little more on certain items because we haven't been shopping in a few weeks and don't plan to go again for a while. There was a lady in front of us who had a case for tomato sauce. The cashier told her there was a limit of 4 and the register would not allow her to ring up more than that. My thought was what if she had a large family
 or is feeding several families/neighbors? I hope they are able to get what they need. There were bare spots on shelves throughout the store, but for the most part I think things were pretty well stocked. 

Back to the quilt frame bolts. The very knowledgeable and experienced hardware store owner was very helpful to Husband. The bolts are not fine thread, they are metric. He came home with 6 of them. So my quilt frame will be back in business soon. Thankful for a supportive Husband who know what to do to keep things working. 

Stay safe and well.

Spring

truly is my favorite time of year.

Standing at my front door I can look out and see lots of beauty.

Green growing things. 

 

Colorful flowering things.

 

It makes my heart happy. 

 

It lets me forget, just for a moment, all the crazy going on in the world right now. 

 

I have Spiderwort in purple and white. They like to open in the morning, but close up around noon. The honeysuckle I didn't plant. It just showed up one day and decided it wanted to live at my  house.

I finally figured out how to make adjustments to my photos! 

The photo on the left is straight from my phone. It's nice, but sometimes the color isn't quite right in some photos. I think I have figured out how to clarify, adjust light/dark, adjust color and add a vignette which is what I did with the photo on the right. I lightened the edges. The honeysuckle bloom above that has a vignette with darkened edges.

I also (mostly) enjoy the critters that show up at my house. 

 

I do not enjoy them eating/destroying my plants. Eating them I don't mind quite so much, but to just snip off the leaves and not eat them leaves me really frustrated. I planted six cantaloupe plants. In the raised beds I sowed seeds for green beans, radishes, mini cucumbers, sugar snap peas. I have three cantaloupes left (rabbits, most likely since they are on the ground) and most of the leaves of the green beans have been snipped off (birds, most likely starlings). The wind from yesterday damaged the cucumbers. So today Husband and I rigged up some barriers.

We used what we had plus a few new things. I just hope it helps. I know some people say plant extra so you can share with nature. We used to do that, but now it's just the two of us. I will eat all of what is growing but Husband won't eat the cucumbers, tomatoes or sugar snap peas unless they are disguised in a salad. I don't care to have a large garden. I don't care to can or freeze a lot of produce. I just want a few fresh things to eat during the growing season.

Stay safe and well.

The Wind!

I really don't mind the heat, or even the cold so much, but the wind! I just do not like the wind. A gently breeze, sure. But strong, gusty wind, no thank you. 

Every year I say I don't know why my flowers and plants even bother to come up. They do well for a bit, then the wind just beats them. Some do not survive.

When I am outside working in it I feel like I am fighting against it. It just makes me tired! So today I am staying inside. 

I've been busy. I have another project cut. The fabric is a 5 yard bundle. The pattern is Windmills. This time the background will be dark. The pinwheels will be pink and cream.

I have the binding attached to the gray and red Windmills. I will work on this during TV time this evening.

I have the parts and pieces gathered to load Sweet n' Sassy on the quilt frame. I think hearts will look nice on this quilt. I may get this loaded on the frame today.

Stay safe and well.

Windmills

is a Fab Five Pattern from The Quilt Factory

I have gotten several five yard bundles of fabric from a quilt store I frequent. 

The owner has designed several patterns to go with the bundles. They are nice but I wanted to try a new one. 

I found Windmills. It went together quickly. It finishes at 56 x 72. Because I was thinking of making this for son's GF's brother I switched out the piece with the roses for a red print.

I like the pattern, but it really isn't long enough for brother - he's well over 6 ft tall. My mom calls him Big J because he is so tall.

Anyway, I got Windmills loaded on the quilt frame. I used a red backing fabric. I am using a variegated thread that goes from dark red to gray on the back and a light gray thread on the top.

I chose a swirly design called Page Boy.

To see what other quilters are up to go to Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

Around my yard today the Peonies opening up. They are so pretty

The Hibiscus has had seven new stems. I don't have an eye witness or a confession, but the evidence shows a nice clean cut - Rabbit, I'm looking at you!

I seems the common lilac wasn't done blooming. There are a few way up high.

Miss Kim is a late blooming lilac, but it looks like the frost may have gotten it. There are a few blooms, but they are very sparse. 

Malva Zebrina is a new perennial for me. I got it planted day before yesterday. It looks like a miniature Hollyhock. Love the colors.

The milkweeds are doing well. I am looking forward to seeing Monarch butterflies.

We had purchased a cute little garden bench from a local woodworker several years ago. I have moved it around the flower beds and used it to put potted flowers on. It is the bench Rabbit likes to sit under.  

It has been left outside all these years and finally fell apart. The back is still intact and looks like a fence to me so I decided to give it a coat of paint.

I want a rustic look, but I think it will need at least one more coat. Then I have to decide where to put it. Right now I am using building blocks to help it stay upright. If I do that it can be moved anywhere I want to put it. Pots with bushy, trailing plants can be set in the holes of the blocks. Some pots or long planter boxes can be set in front. 

My latest recipe is 

Homemade Cinnamon Roll Cake. 

We like it. I wouldn't say it tastes like cinnamon rolls, but it is good. I was thinking I might make half the recipe next time. That will depend on how quickly this gets eaten. Husband is in the field for the next few days. He isn't around the house to nibble like he usually does. He also doesn't eat lunch when he is farming so this won't disappear as quickly, as long as I can stay out of it.

Stay safe and well.