Friday on the Farm

My Cowboy was up and out early this morning, which means I’m left at home alone, which means I get to do all the chores all by myself, which means I’m slow, and which also means that the animals are the only creatures around for me to talk to.

Had anyone been here other than the animals, I may have been heard to utter any or all of the following phrases:

“You’re gonna cry.”

“PeeWee, you are such a brat!”

“Chip, that’s a nice hairdo you have goin’ on there.”

“Elena, please don’t head-butt me today. I haven’t recovered from the last time yet.”

“Jack, I hear you.”

“I told you you were gonna cry.”

“You don’t need in there.”

“Get offa that.”

“Get outta there.”

“Get offa me.”

“Get out from underfoot.”

“That’s my coffee. Yours is over there.”

“Bette, just take 4 more steps so I can shut the gate, please.”

“Thank you for helping.”

“Boy, boys, no horsing around. And no butt biting.”

“Quit swattin’ at Fancy!”

“Skeeter, the cats aren’t gonna steal your food.”

(But she’s guarding it just the same. And keeps a spare dish on the hay pile, just in case.)

PeeWee’s performing one last check to make sure the cows didn’t leave a single morsel in their feedbunk.

And now everyone’s settled in for their day, it looks like snow and/or rain is on the way for this afternoon, and I’m back inside to quilt. I’m glad no one’s around to hear me talk to myself . . . other than the cats.

Published in: on January 27, 2012 at 9:00 am  Comments (6)  

Be Mine Pattern Winners

Drawing for the winners of the Be Mine patterns is about all I’ve gotten done today. I need to be doing paperwork, but I seriously doubt my brain can handle it today.

So I’m going to announce the winners, head out and do chores, and go to knitting meeting. Maybe if I’m sitting there with a bunch of others who are being productive, I can make a little headway on the scarf I’m knitting!

So . . . here they are:

Betsy

and

KatieZ.

Congratulations! You can choose to have the printed version mailed to you, or get the PDF version emailed to you, whichever you prefer.

For those of you who didn’t win, but might still want the pattern, it’s available in my shop in either version as well.

And . . . I have one kit available, listed in the shop. The kit contains everything you need to make the quilt exactly as shown, including backing, batting, pre-made binding, and even the embroidery floss. And the pattern is included with the kit, so there’s no need to purchase it separately.

Published in: on January 26, 2012 at 3:43 pm  Comments (2)  

Be Mine, Valentine

It’s my newest pattern.

Out just in time for Valentine’s Day . . .

It’s called Be Mine, and it measures 20″ x 20″ as a wallhanging, or you could turn it into a 14″ pillow by simply using the block and leaving off the borders.

And yes, I’m having a give-away as I usually do when I put out any new pattern. I’m giving away 2 copies of the pattern, and all you have to do to be eligible to win one of them is leave a comment on this post.

I’ll draw for 2 winners on Thursday, January 26. Once again, you’ll be able to choose between the printed version to be mailed to you, or the PDF version that you can receive by email. And, I’ll have both versions listed in my shop by the end of the week.

I will also, at that time, have ONE (and only one) kit available to make the little wallhanging as shown, so if you’d prefer to have the kit, keep your eye on the shop.

Published in: on January 23, 2012 at 8:32 am  Comments (17)  

350 Blocks Project: Blocks 1-7

Here’s my first set of blocks from my 350 Blocks Project.

(For purposes of this project, my week starts on Monday . . .)

Monday’s Block: January’s guild swap block

This block comes from The Empire Quilt Guild of New York City’s Block-of-the-Month blog. They have such inspiring stuff on there. I want to make everything! But this particular block was our own Modern Guild’s swap challenge for January, so I did get this one made. Whoever wins the entire set is to set them together and donate the quilt to our new charity.

Tuesday’s Block: Half-Square Triangles

I’m making an entire quilt out of HSTs, and I haven’t shown it yet, because there’s not enough of it to make any sense, and I haven’t quite decided what I’m doing. But this one block gets me a bit closer to done, and when I get a real plan, I’ll tell you all about it.

Wednesday’s Block: Be Mine

This is the center panel of my newest pattern, just in time for Valentine’s Day. You can read all about it in the post I’ll make tomorrow on just that project. It involves a give-away . . .

Thursday’s Block: 36-Patch

I made one more block for my 36-Patch Quilt that I started in Amanda Jean’s Quilt-Along last summer.

Friday’s Block: Postage Stamp

I got another block finished for my Postage Stamp quilt. I still haven’t decided how big this one’s going to be yet, but I want it BIG!

Saturday’s Block: 15 Minutes Bee

I’m still making a few blocks to add into my 15 Minutes Bee quilt. I didn’t have a black and white one, so now I do! I’ll show you more on that as I get further along.

Sunday’s Block: Grandmother’s Flower Garden

I finished this one tonight at my sister’s house while My Cowboy and my BIL watched the Giants beat the 49ers. I usually knit, but I needed this block to make up my 7, so I did this instead!

I’m posting pictures tomorrow to the 350 Blocks Project Flickr Group, and I urge you to do the same if you’re playing along. I’m debating whether to have some related give-aways throughout the project . . . so depending on what I come up with, there might be prizes, but you’ll have to prove you’re playing along to be eligible . . . so what are you waiting for?

Let me see your blocks!

Published in: on January 22, 2012 at 11:05 pm  Comments (6)  

Made in Cherry Quilt-Along

I’m joining this.

Don’t try to stop me.

It’s already too late.

I’ve already chosen my fabrics.

I’ve already cut some pieces.

I’ve already started sketching out quilting designs for when the top is finished.

It’s too late to stop me.

But . . .

It’s not too late for you to join me!

“Made in Cherry” is a pattern designed by Sarah Fielke, who designs for Lecien Fabrics, and if you want a kit so that you can use her St. Ives fabric that she originally designed it with, you can go visit her blog for information on that.

Chelsea, from Pins & Bobbins, is hosting the quilt-along on her blog, using Sarah’s pattern. You can find all the information HERE.

Go on! Go check it out! It’s awesome . . .

I’m using scraps for mine, and hoping that it uses up lots of them. I’m also making it big, so My Cowboy can have it when I’m done, and he won’t complain that it’s too small for him to cover up with!

And so it will use up even more scraps . . .

Published in: on January 22, 2012 at 2:56 pm  Comments (6)  

Perfectly Round Circles

Back when I wrote this tutorial: How to Applique a Leaf . . . I also said I’d someday post a tutorial on how I applique perfectly round circles.

Well, someday is here!

I’m posting this to help those who are doing the “Bouquets for Hazel” quilt-along, but thought it might benefit others as well, so I’m posting it here. This employs the hand needle-turn method of applique.

My usual disclaimer goes here: This is just my way of doing it, so you can take it with a grain of salt. Always feel free to just do your own thing and use your own favorite method.

And here we go . . .

You’ll need some sort of stiff paper, like card stock. I use plain old index cards, since I usually have plenty of those on hand. You don’t want anything too stiff, but plain paper is not stiff enough.

I also have a circle template that I use to draw my circles, so if you’re lucky enough to have one of those handy little things, now is a good time to put it to use.

If not, you can just trace your circle on to your card stock from your applique pattern, either by cutting it out of the paper pattern and tracing around it, or tracing it from beneath with a light table. You’ll want to trace as smoothly as possible.

So . . . draw your circle on your card stock . . .

. . . and cut it out.

The smoother and rounder you cut your circle out of the card stock, the smoother and rounder your finished circle will be on your block, so cut carefully.

Then trace your template onto the wrong side of the piece of fabric you’ll be cutting your circle from. I “fussy cut” my circle from a floral print.

Cut the fabric piece out 3/16″ outside the drawn line.

Thread your needle with thread that matches your fabric, and tie a knot in one end.

Holding the fabric piece wrong side up, bring the thread up from the bottom (right side) somewhere along the edge of the circle, halfway between the drawn line and the cut edge.

Make a running stitch, not too large and not too small, all the way around the circle, keeping your line of stitching halfway between the drawn line and the cut edge.

When you get back to where you started, put the needle down to the bottom so the knot and the thread tail are next to each other on the right side of the fabric. Don’t cut the thread or tie a knot just yet.

Place the piece of card stock on the wrong side of the circle, matching it up with the drawn line.

Pull the thread tail to gather the fabric around the paper circle.

Tack it in place next to the knot so the gathers can’t come loose.

Cut the thread. Tie a new knot in the end so you can start again.

Turn the circle right side up, and bring the needle and thread through to the top by barely catching the edge of the fabric circle, but don’t catch the paper.

Position the circle on your applique block where you want it.

Holding it in place with your thumb, begin stitching around the edge of the circle.

Go down in the background fabric, travel over about 1/8″ on the back side, and push the needle back up through the background and barely catch the folded edge of the circle, but not the paper.

Continue around the circle . . .

When you get back to where you started, push the needle down through to the back side.

On the back side, just inside the edge of the circle, take several little tacking stitches on top of each other to secure the thread. Cut the thread.

Now you need to remove the paper. Being very careful, snip a slit in the background fabric behind the circle, about 3/16″ inside the line of stitching.

Cut around the circle to cut the background out from behind the circle, leaving about 3/16″ of the background fabric around the edge.

Now you can see the paper circle.

Use a straight pin to “hook” the paper and pop it out.

Turn the block over, and there you have your perfectly round circle!

This works on nearly any size circle you’d like to applique.

I use it on very small circles, but when I do really tiny ones, I press the circles after I’ve gathered them around the paper, and then pop the paper out before I stitch them down, just using the pressed line as my guide.

On really large circles, I applique them without using any paper, just as I would applique any other piece. I just make sure to pin them in position carefully before I start.

I hope this helps you make your own perfectly round circles. Let me know if you try it and how it works for you.

Published in: on January 21, 2012 at 6:08 pm  Comments (2)  

Scrappy Wild Geese Winners

Time to announce the winners of the Scrappy Wild Geese patterns.

Are you ready?

They are . . .

Marie

and

Kim M

Congratulations, and thanks to all of you for playing along.

If you want the pattern, and didn’t win a copy, you can still pick it up in my shop.

Published in: on January 19, 2012 at 1:27 pm  Comments (2)  

The 350 Blocks Project

As I’ve confessed before, I have many many UFOs.

I also keep taking on new BOMs, Quilt-Alongs, guild challenges, and anything else that crops up that I think will be fun.

I usually start out all motivated, and as soon as the next project comes along, enthusiasm for the first one wanes while I concentrate on the new one, then the next one comes along, and so on and so on, until I have the situation I have now . . . too many UFOs.

No, I didn’t count them. And I’m not going to, so don’t ask!

But I have made a new goal for this year . . .

I’m calling it The 350 Blocks Project.

With what’s left of this year, I intend . . .

to make one quilt block a day.

I’m going to choose from all my UFOs, and just pick one block to make each day that will get me further towards done. Any block from any UFO, as long as I make one each day.

It might be one block of my Farmer’s Wife Sampler quilt. It could simply be a 9-Patch for my Wild Nine-Patch quilt. It could be a hand-pieced Grandmother’s Flower Garden block. I love variety, so I’ll be choosing from a variety to keep my interest level up throughout this project.

Surely, after making a total of 350 blocks, at least one UFO will get finished, wouldn’t you think?

AND . . .

I’m inviting you to join me.

Are you up for the challenge?

Would you like to make one quilt block a day toward finishing up your UFOs?

If so, just jump on in.

I’ve created a Flickr Group for The 350 Blocks Project, so you can join the group and post photos of your finished blocks. I’m planning to post mine once a week on Sundays, as well as write occasional blog posts about them.

I’d love to know if you’re playing along. Please leave me a comment and let me know.

And if you want the button for your own blog, just steal it from the sidebar there, and link back to this post.

Good luck to us all!

Published in: on January 17, 2012 at 9:23 pm  Comments (11)  

Scrappy Wild Geese

I’ve finally gotten around to posting my newest pattern in my shop.

I’ve had it ready for over a month, but just never found time to attend to all the little details that getting it posted and listed requires. (I’d rather be quilting!)

It’s called “Scrappy Wild Geese”:

It’s a fabulous pattern to use if you want to use up a lot of scraps. You can choose from any of 5 different sizes to make your quilt, depending on just how many of those scraps you’re wanting to use up!

You can read more about the size options here: Prairie Moon Quilts.

I taught this quilt in a workshop at a retreat back in December, and they all loved it. Or at least they said they did! — would they lie to me? — I mean, they look happy enough, don’t they?

This pattern also makes the first pattern I’ve listed in PDF form, so you can get it either way: as a pre-printed pattern snail-mailed to you, or as a PDF version that gets emailed to you. I’ll be having more PDF-version patterns available as the year goes on . . .

But right now, in my usual style, whenever I debut a new pattern, I’m having a give-away.

If you’d like to win a copy of this pattern, just leave me a comment and say so. If you win, you can specify if you’d like the printed version or the PDF version. I’ll draw for 2 winners on Thursday, January 19th.

Published in: on January 15, 2012 at 3:23 pm  Comments (23)  

I Can’t Read!

I quilt all the time.

When I’m not quilting, I’m knitting, or working around the house, or outside doing chores or some other such thing.

I don’t watch TV, because we don’t have it here on the ranch, but we do have a lot of DVDs, so I listen to a lot of movies while quilting, knitting, cooking, or some other such thing.

My eyes and my hands are always busy with something.

And because of that, I can no longer read.

I want to read.

I love books.

I love stories.

I love learning about new things.

But if my eyes and hands are busy with a book, I can’t quilt . . . or knit . . . or cook . . . or any of those other things I’m always busy with.

And I choose those over reading every time.

I try to force myself to read.

Set aside a time and sit down with a book for that amount of time.

My mind wanders to quilting, and I can’t even tell you what I read, then I have to start over, so I get nowhere.

I got a library card and checked out some books.

With the 2-week deadline, I figured I’d make myself do it so I could turn them back in.

I checked out my first 2 books in October, and have been renewing the first one ever since.

I relented and turned the other one back in — unread.

I’m only halfway through the first one — after three months.

My daughter, the doctor, is a bookworm — always has been.

When she lived at home, she would read to me while I quilted.

It was like automatic “Books on CD”!

Then she went away to college . . .

I think I’ve only read 4 books since she left.

So last time I was at the library, I went straight to their Audio-book collection.

They didn’t have too many that caught my eye.

I checked out some Louis L’Amour short stories.

I have yet to put them in the CD player.

The kind ladies at the library informed me of a place online where I can download free audiobooks using my library card I hold with them.

I lost where I wrote it down for the longest time, and guess where I found it?

On a slip of paper tucked inside the book I had checked out.

You know — the one I’m only halfway through with after 3 months.

So one of these days I’ll be checking out the selections online to see what they have.

But honestly, there’s a certain selection of books I’d really like to read.

I went to a very small high school for the first three years, and the teachers there did not make us read anything we didn’t want to, so I read whatever I wanted.

“Gone With the Wind” three times, Nancy Drew, and a lot of random stuff.

My senior year, they shipped us off to a neighboring school, and I found that I had missed out on reading all the classics that students are normally forced to read during their high school years.

The librarian was appalled, and immediately made me a list, which I began devouring. I loved her suggestions, but naturally, in what little time I had remaining in school, I didn’t get very far down her list.

When my daughter was born, I began reading to her from the very start.

Turns out, she loved it, and could read on her own before she even started kindergarten.

I made her a little notebook, and in it, I kept a list of every book she ever read.

She still has the notebook.

And still adds to it whenever she reads something.

I also ordered, from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a reading list they put out, that listed books everyone should read, separated out by age groups.

She started on this list, and we’ve marked off all the ones she’s read over the years.

So it stands to reason now that she is very well-read.

Some of those, she read to me, which is the only way I would have ever gotten to read them.

(Note: This same plan did not work on my younger daughter; even though she’s turned out OK in her own right — she’s just not a bookworm — she’s a social butterfly!)

And I still keep going back to that certain selection of books I’d really like to read.

They’re classics.

They’re books everyone should read or at least know a little bit about.

They’ve stood the test of time, so I know they’re good.

And I want to find out for myself.

So I went back recently to the National Endowment for the Humanities website.

And I found this:

Summertime Favorites: A List of Recommended Readings

It’s their reading list, separated out by age groups.

I’m going to start with the ones I’ve missed off their

Grades 9 to 12 list.

Thanks to my senior-year librarian, and my daughter, some of them I’ve already read.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to find some of them as audiobooks.

If not, I’m gonna have to give it a better try at sitting down with a book and actually reading!

If you have a young child, you should consider helping them read from that list.

My daughter has thanked me many times over for starting her on it so young, and I only wish I had done the same thing for myself from the beginning.

I never realized at the time what a treasure we were creating, but can you imagine having a list of every book you’ve ever read in your entire life?

My daughter sure treasures hers. She’s 28 years old.

And I’d love to have one of my own.

But since it’s never too late to start, I’m going to keep trying.

My daughter recommends “Wuthering Heights”.

I think that will be my next selection . . .

UPDATED TO ADD: I forgot to say . . .

If you have any suggestions for books I should read, other cool lists, or ways I can actually do better about getting it done, I welcome them all!

Published in: on January 14, 2012 at 3:42 pm  Comments (8)  
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