Roosters and Butterflies

What a combination!

I got my bench-turned-fence painted.

Here it is modeling Sweet n' Sassy while I decided where to place it.

I decided to put it under this tree. Building blocks with bricks behind the legs hold it in place. It will be easy to move if I decide I don't like it here.

Yesterday I spruced it up a little.

My son and his GF gifted me with the chickens. They were meant for the kitchen. There are three of them in graduating sizes. There were linked together with chains meant to be hung and to hold produce. GF's parents were moving and didn't want them anymore. They thought I would like them. Isn't that nice of them to share?! I lined them so the potting soil wouldn't fall through then added plants. I know they don't hide the building blocks but the area does look a little nicer. I looked for trailing plants that would hand down and cover the blocks, but I couldn't find any. Things seem sparse in the garden centers around here this year. The rocks were picked up through the years by Husband when he found them in the fields. 

The background fabric for the Butterfly Baby Quilt arrived yesterday. 

It is a soft pink with a subtle swirly design. 

I got quite a few butterflies cut out. I hope this in enough, but can always add more if needed.

Guess I better get to work!

Stay safe and well.

Butterflies and Sunflowers

To see what other quilters are up to go to

Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

Son and his GF asked me to make a baby quilt for her sister who is expecting a baby girl in September. Of course I said yes.

This is a quilt they saw on Pinterest that they really like, but want a few changes.

I have ordered the fabric for the background, border and backing. 

The rest I pulled from my stash.

I really am so thankful for my stash!

Not all of these fabrics will get used, but it sure is nice to have choices.

I can't do any sewing until the fabrics arrive, but I can get the applique pieces ready.

I cut three sets of leaves and petals for 

each of the three sizes of sunflowers. 

I'll cut the stems once I know how 

long they will need to be. 

I am working on butterflies now.

I'm cutting 3-4 of each color.

I know I will need more. Once the fabric gets here I can lay things out to get an idea of what it looks like and what is still needed. 

Normally I would try to get this finished quickly so it could be a fair entry before passing it on. I won't be able to do that. There had been talk of our local county fair still going on, but limiting admissions to people under age 60 only. Many of the judges, building supervisors and assistants are elderly so I was confused how this would be possible. A couple of weeks ago I got a message that it is canceled altogether. Many others in the area are as well. Last week we got word that our state fair is also canceled. I have mixed feelings about this. I am an assistant in the Fine Arts building. I was considering not helping this year. I was really feeling reluctant to come into contact with so many people, from all over the area. I felt there could be a huge risk of being around these people and handling their items. That decision was made for me. I am sad for all the 4-H and FFA kids, though. They work hard on their projects. Even though there will be virtual events for them, it just isn't the same. There is also the economic impact on all these communities to think about. 

Stay safe and well.

Beautiful Start To the Day

I am not a morning person, but being married to a farmer has forced me to be. Today I was rewarded with some early morning beauty.

We had a few sprinkles, then this.

If you look closely you can see the faint double to the right. Husband just came in and said that it has sprinkled on him four times in the last hour and each time there was a new rainbow, often a double.

I had noticed a pair of chipping sparrows flying back and forth around the front porch area. I kept thinking there had to be a nest nearby. As I was taking pics of the rainbow I was being scolded!

Then I saw one of the adults leave this bush. 

There is a nest with babies in there.

Also around that part of my yard are the blooming Clustered Bellflower.

 

And, the yellow daylily.

Sorry for the blurry photo. It is windy here again. Not as bad as a few days ago, but enough to keep the flowers swaying. 

I'm still not sure about the new blogger. When I created this post it seems I am back to the original version. Oh well. Guess I will leave it along until forced to change.

Stay safe and well.

A New Project

Son's GF's sister is expecting a little girl in September. They called and asked if I would be interested in making a baby quilt. 

Of course, I would! 

They saw this on Pinterest and asked if I could make something like this. I found the pattern at Shabby Fabrics.

 

But... Sister likes pink, the baby is a girl. Can the background be light pink instead of white? Sure.

Also... Sister likes sunflowers. Can the flowers be sunflowers instead of tulips, in the colors of sunflowers? Sure.

And... they don't really care if it has the 'triangles' (prairie points). Can those be left off? Sure.

So here is what I have come up with so far. 

Light pink fabric with a subtle swirly design for the background. And an ombre that changes from green (grass) to blue (sky). It was approved so fabric has been ordered since I had nothing that would work in my stash. There will probably be an outer border in the pink. I may bind with the green/blue ombre or make a binding using all the butterfly colors.

Then I pulled fabric from my stash for the sunflowers, stems and leaves.

And for the butterflies.

Not all of this fabric will be used, but I wanted to give GF an idea of what I had and what it would look like together. She thought this all looked good and is looking forward to seeing the quilt finished.

On another note, this little beauty is opening up.

A few days ago I had thought I should try out the new blogger. I have seen discussion on other blogs about issues with it. I didn't have any issues really. It seemed to look like the original blogger to me. I just wasn't getting comments. So I switched back. Then I did get a comment. That person mentioned that it took a minute to find the 'create new post' button. I hadn't noticed that was different at all when I switched to new blogger. So today I am again trying new blogger. It is different. Things look different. The steps to add links and photos are different. Not hard, just a little frustrating trying to figure out how to do it. And why?! Why did things have to change? I don't understand if things are working well why they have to be updated and improved. I usually don't find that the updates and improvements are any better. Just different and it takes me a while to figure it all out. Oh, well.

Stay safe and well.