Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Pullet Eggs

YEAH!!!  My two spring chickens (hatched this year) are now laying eggs.  The pullet egg is the small one.  The other egg is an average egg.  WHOHOO!!!  Add two more layers to the group.  Okay... I also admit that it's a great place to get in another pic of my nested churn dash quilt (yes, pun intended.)


This week the eggs are due to hatch.  Hopefully next week I will have some chick pics for you.  Fingers crossed... fingers crossed!

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Scrap Saturday & Block Lotto

I decided to play with my red scraps today in the RSC14 and make two blocks for the July Block Lotto.  Here are my two red spokes blocks:

 
You can find the instructions to make this block here.  Have you ever tried the Block Lotto?  It's an awesome way to not only improve your skills and learn new things, it's a great place to play with SCRAPS!!!
Join me on the Block Lotto BlogSoscrppy
 
 I'm linking up with Angela at SoScrapy blog.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Just one little block today

Here's a little 6" block I did for a swap.  Not much sewing happening this week...

Monday, July 21, 2014

The Postcard QA

I found a nice little quilt along on Flickr.  It's called the Postcard QA.  I think I finally found a use for this Monterey Bay Collection of fabrics.  I got it free at a local quilt shop that wanted to get rid of a large amount of swatch books.  Luckily this swatch book contained all 100% cottons -- perfect for quilting!

After you make your postcard blocks, I even found a cute little tutorial at Poppyprint to make sweetheart fabric stamps.

I REALLY need to make a quick quilt for my son's bed.  He needs another quilt!

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Scrap Saturday -- Red

I'm loving my Kite Girl blocks each month.  Here's the red kite girl.

 
The block is made from 2" squares.  The block pattern can be found at Q is for Quilter blog.
 
Here are my other kite girls from this year:
 
 
This is all thanks to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, 2014. I'm linking up with Angela at SoScrapy: ScrapHappy blog.
 
Soscrppy
 
 
I'm happy to say that I completed my FNSI project!  Check out the others at Sugarlane Quilts.

Grab the Friday Night Sew In (FNSI) button

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Talk to Me!

I love my little quilt from the Market Day Sew Along.  I have it sitting on my longarm.  I am waiting for it to speak to me.  ~~insert cricket sounds.  Nothing.  It will come to me.  If you have ideas, shout it out!  I am thinking crosshatching or some lines, but I don't know where yet.  It's about 29" square or close to it.

 
This cute little quilt is called Market Day Sew-Along (Heartspun Quilts).   It's part of the Pocket Patchwork Sew Along.   There's a lot of cute things posted at Heartspun Quilts blog.  I think it may be a source for a future sew along for me.  You can find the directions for this sew along at the Flikr page for the group.


And don't forget about...

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

WIP Wednesday 7.16.14

Another productive week for a summer month!  Here's what happened.

Just so you know, it pays to link up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.  Here's a big shout out to the sponsors -- especially Canton Village Quilt Works!  The Black and White and Bright fat quarter bundle! is due to land in my mailbox today!!!

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced     

I finished this crib quilt for my niece.  She's a big Ohio State fan.  They do not know the gender of the baby.  I think this is perfect.  Thanks to my Accuquilt GO! Baby and the 3" Finished Square and HST, this quilt was done in no time.



I finished the quilting on my Born on the 4th quilt.  It just needs trimmed and bound.  Swirls to the rescue again.  (Circle Lord Swirls is my go-to quilting pattern.)


I completed my modern version of the starflower block in the Classis Meets Modern QA.



I've also been busy working in my little garden.



Tiana my first brood hen has been sitting on 8 eggs since 7/7.  I'm going to try to candle the eggs tonight to see if there is any activity.



There's a QA that has caught my attention (of course).  You can get the PATTERN HERE.  There is  a Facebook group HERE.  And the full schedule for the QAL is HERE.  Gotta LOVE that Facebook now plays into quilt alongs.



I finished the quilt top for the Market Day Sew Along at Heartspun Quilts .



New Projects This Week
1.  None

Pieces Still Need to be Cut & Sewn
1.  Underpants Project 
2.  Digging up Bones (Owen's dinosaur quilt)
3.  Rock Island Campfire Quilt
4.  Picadilly Circle
5. ...And Sew On BOM at Quiet Play (one block to go)
6.  MSBHQAL (Molli Sparkles Broken Herringbone Quilt Along)
7.  Bonnie Hunter's 2013 Celtic Solstice Mystery
8.  Gypsy Wife QA (recycling  Red/White Flower Basket Quilt into this project & duds.)
9.  Quilt Doodle Doodles Designs 2014 BOM
10.  Love Laugh Quilt Christmas Improv QA
11.  Classic Meets Modern BOM
12.  Mod Mod QA
13.  Pat Sloan Globetrotting BOM 
14.  Super Mario QA
15.  Spring Sampler Series at Cora's Quilts
 
Blocks Still Need to be Made
1.  NY Beauty
2.  Orca Bay
3.  We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler
4.  Red Frosty & Friends quilt #3
5.  Maroon Star Sampler Quilt
6.  Color coordinated hexagon quilt
7.  Gourmet Quilter Sampler
8.  Bluepatch Mystery Quilt
9.  Amanda Murphy Designs (ugly fabric quilt) (Set as a Q2 Goal)
10.  Drunkard's Path Variation baby quilt
11.  Finding Nemo Scrappy Trip quilt
12.  Blue Frosty & Friends quilt #1
13.  Blue Frosty & Friends quilt #2

Blocks are made but need to be sewn together (and/or some sashing)
1.  Block Swap Adventure Sampler (2011-2012)
2.  Butterfly Blocks (that I won) (Set as a Q2 goal)
3.  Orange/Blue Fish Blocks (that I won)
4.  Split Stars (blocks won from Block Lotto; October, 2012)
5.  African Violet baby quilt (Block Lotto inspired) (worked on these blocks this week.)
6.  Tall Fly
7.  Block Lotto Dud (Orphan Block Quilt)

Quilts back needs to be made (tops are done)

Ready to longarm
 1.  Market Day Sew Along (Heartspun Quilts)

Quilted, needs binding
1.  Dutchman's Puzzle
1.  Born on the 4th

Completed this week:
1.  OSU Baby Quilt

My WIP count this week went from 39 to 38.  My WIP goal for New Years Day 2015 is 19.  I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday!
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Classic Meets Modern -- July Starflower

Here's my wonky modern starflower block.  I wasn't looking forward to making it because it really put me out of my comfort zone.  Now that I've done it I really like it.  It might be one of my favorites so far in the QA!



Sew at Home Mummy
 
Check out the other modern versions at Sew at Home Mummy blog.

July FNSI


Grab the Friday Night Sew In (FNSI) button
 
The Friday Night Sew In is on Friday, July 18.
Link up now at Sugarlane Quilts

For the Friday Night Sew In project this month I plan on working on my RSC14 (Rainbow Scrap Challenge, 2014) kite girl block.  The color for July is red.  I have LOTS of reds!!!  This is going to be one cute kite girl!

Here are my kite girl blocks from the other months this year:

Sunday, July 13, 2014

My Little Garden

I am finally back to part-time gardening.  When I worked full time (and a lot of overtime) I could barely keep up with my weeds.  I also had a lot of trouble with groundhogs eating all my beans.  I haven't had much of a garden for the past few years because being a mom is top priority.  Our son is much more independent now (and doesn't pull out all my newly planted plants.)  Here's a few pictures of my garden.  My "new" garden is inside my "old" garden.  Chickens rein the remainder of the "old" garden.  I LOVE this current set-up!

 
It started out with some tomatoes and peppers and zucchini.  I added an extension to the garden to plant spaghetti squash and green beans.  The short fence didn't work.  I had to add the orange snow fence to assure the chickens did not enter the garden.

 
Check out my gat in the back.  Yep, I made it myself.  LOL.  It's so tall because I didn't want to cut the boards shorter.  I would have had to get out the long extension cord for that...  I am quite proud of all the posts I put in and how straight my fence is standing!

 
Here's the sundial with what is left of my catnip growing all around it.  We don't have cats right now.  Apparently chickens don't like catnip.  I can't wait to see what the fall clematis looks like when it blooms (all along the fence in the back).  I love that smell.  The tiny white flowers are gorgeous.  The chickens like to hide from the hawks in the vines below.

 
Here's a chicken getting a little drink from the drinker that my husband help me make.

 
 
 
Good morning, girls.  They LOVE their greens.

 
The birdbath is a new addition to the pen.  I try to give them new things now and then so that they don't get bored.

 
 
And don't forget Tiana!  She's been sitting on those eggs for SEVEN days now.  She's not budging.  Yesterday I put an additional screen patrician between her and the others.  The eggs will most likely hatch while we are on vacation.  Hopefully my friend will take a few pictures of the baby chicks. 
 
 
This is my flowerbox garden right out the door from my kitchen.  It has tomatoes, peppers, spearmint, lemon balm, zucchini, lettuce, kale, swiss chard, acorn squash, and cucumber!

 
It looks like a jungle walking up the steps to the house.

 
Looks like we'll have cucumber in the salad tonight!
 

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Scrap Saturday 7.12.14

Of course since I finished a quilt this week, I allowed myself to start another.  This time I am starting a mini.  For the RSC14 blocks, I played with some red scraps.

 
I couldn't stop there.  I had to make the cute little 9-patches!  The bottom two are extras made from the scraps.  I just didn't want to let the little squares go to waste.
 

 
 
This cute little quilt is called Market Day Sew-Along (Heartspun Quilts).   It's part of the Pocket Patchwork Sew Along.   There's a lot of cute things posted at Heartspun Quilts blog.  I think it may be a source for a future sew along for me.  You can find the directions for this sew along at the Flikr page for the group.
 
Then I couldn't stop.  I was addicted to the little blocks.  Here's what happened at the end of the day.
 
 
...and then I just kept going...
 
 
 
Now I'm excited for August 1st, when the next mystery sew along starts:
 
 
Speaking of red and white...  Here a quilt I finished for my niece this week.  She's a big Ohio State (OSU) fan.  You can read the blog post here.
 
 
 
I'm linking up with Angela at SoScrapy: ScrapHappy blog.
 
Soscrppy

Friday, July 11, 2014

Friday Finish -- OSU Baby Quilt

This week I finished the Ohio State (OSU) baby quilt.  I made this quilt for my niece.  She is due in August.  I hope she likes it.  It measures 41" x 53".  Perfect for taking baby to the tailgate party.



 
I'm happy to link up today's finish with Richard and Tanya Quilts for the Link-A-Finish FRIDAY.