The first day of a new year!

2015 was definetley a roller coaster year. There were many highs & just as many lows. I'm looking forward to 2016 & all of the adventures it will bring.

I've been doing my best to sew as much as possible during the holidays but it's been pretty much hit or miss. Some days I don't get any sewing in & there are others that I can get quite a few hours in. Since I've last posted I've finished: My Kansas Row by Row

It turned out somewhat like the picture that I had in my head. I haven't quite gotten the hang of figuring out how to measure the hexagons. The hexagon panel turned out being a bit wider than anticipated but I just went with it. It's at my LAQ!

Next up was my version of Bonnie Hunters "Mad City Momma". This is the quilt that I just could not make up my mind. Well I finally did & I like the out come:

It turned out smaller than I usually make but that's ok, they all can't be Vicky size:) This is at my LAQ as well.

Now my attention is onto my Blue/White rbr. I was stumped. I had 12 rows to use & inspirations wasn't hitting. First thought was to stagger each row, use a midnight blue for the fill in section & then appliqué 

Silver snowflakes in those sections. I decided not to use that idea because #1 I am not a huge fan of machine appliqué & 2 I didn't want to spend the money on a Accuquilt die that I wasn't going to use a lot. So back to the drawing board. I took out all of my rows & matched them up by how tall they were.

I had 4 rows that were 12". Great! I sewed them together for the center of my quilt.

I put the blue border on then the 2 side panels/rows & then the top & bottom rows with the checker boards. I really like how this is coming along. 

I was working on the bottom 2 rows when I ran out of my blue fabric that I had been using. Off to dig in the stash & see what I had. Low & behold I found something that matched! 

The center blue square is what I ran out of. I think it's a pretty good match. This fabric has been sitting in my stash for a long time just waiting to be used

The night that I was working on this I was trying to cut just a few more strips before starting dinner. I wasn't using any of my safety rulers or attachments & I sliced a hunk off of my left index finger

Oy Vey. I bled like a stuck hog. I was concerned that I was going to need stitches because I've done this once before & needed stitches. Not this time, this time I just sliced it clean off. I was very lucky & greatful that my husband was home to help me with it. He was a great nurse. Mental note: SLOW DOWN VICKY! 

I do hope y'all are having a great New Years Day. I'm heading to meet some dear friends for lunch, might do some shopping & then I'm not sure what. More later on, 

Vicky

 

 

Mrs. Indecisive has turned into Mrs. I've made up my mind

Last week for the life of me I could not make up my mind. I was a rudderless boat being taken wherever the wind would take me. I've been working on 2 quilts at the same time. Quilt #1 is the Kansas rbr quilt which is due at next month's guild meeting. I'd wanted to use hexagons & the first method flopped & so I went to the next method & I think we have a winner! I've put a row of hexies between each row & I've got all of the rows sewn together. The quilt is pretty long & narrow so I'm going to put a panel of hexies on the right side of the rows to make it a bit wider. It's looking like another big quilt. I just have problems going small I guess.

I'm using the "Mad City Moma" quilt as my L/E quilt. This is the quilt that I was so incredibly indecisive about. Here's the block 

I was loving how this was looking & was making it just like the pattern. Here's all 16 blocks laid out on the floor.

The original design has yellow sashings & purple corner stones so I went into my stash & found those colors in batiks

I liked it but the more I looked at it the more those star points on the sides of the blocks bothered me. So I cut out some more black squares & now we have this option.

The issue that I had with this option was that you only saw the stars, because they really pop out at you & you miss the background beauty. The hum hauling & going back & forth was making me crazy & I just needed to make a choice & go with it. So I'm making the second option with all of the black stars. There will be a inner black border followed by a wide pieced (using all of the leftover 1.5" squares) outer border. 

Farm news: I think that I'm starting to understand the word bog. Since Thanksgiving we've had close to 7" of rain. The ponds are the fullest that I've ever seen them. We've also decided that this would be the best time to dig a trench to put a waterer back in the pasture. Complete insanity but we've gotta have that waterer. Yesterday while feeding hay I had to drive over the filled in part of the trench & the back tire of the tractor sank & I was stuck. I'm very greatful for 4 wheel drive! I really shouldn't be complaining though, we could be trying to do this in the freezing cold. Last week before the latest storm we had 3 days that was over 60. Incredible. If you don't like the weather just wait a bit & you'll get another season. 

I hope that y'all are having a great day. More later on,

Vicky

 

Side tracked & changing taste buds

Well I got side tracked big time last week. I was supposed to be working on my VIP projects & I did try. I am pursuing using hexagons on my Kansas rbr quilt. When I laid it out I was frustrated because it was not working like I had it pictured in my head. I just wanted something to put under the needle. So I gathered up all of the Kansas rbr pieces & went in search of something that I could sew. I found a 2 gallon zip lock bag full of 1.5" strips. A while back I had gone through a bunch of my batik scraps & I cut the scraps up to their fullest potential & got a 2 gallon bag of 1.5" strips, 1 gallon 2" strips  & 1 gallon of 2.5" strips.

My original plan was to make Bonnie Hunters "Crabapple" quilt using the 1.5" strips. I had already started making little 9 patches using the 1.5" strips. I just wasn't feeling it anymore & decided (because we can) to change course & make "Mad City Mama" instead. 

The strips were dumped on the kitchen table & now I needed to make 25 patches. While sewing the 25 patches I thought well what if I made the center square another 25 patch that way I would be able to use up more of the scraps. So that's what I did & got all of them finsished up last night. I made the mistake of looking on Pinterest last night & found some wonderful eye candy when I looked up Mad City Mama. Someone used the same colored center square as the star points & it just made the quilt glo. So now I've changed tactics again, maybe. I'll lay it out both ways & decided which I like better.

All of this got started last Friday into Saturday. While I was sewing on MCM, a new way for me to use the hexagons popped into my head but I was already working on MCM. So now I'm sewing like a mad woman trying to get one done so that I can work on another & enjoy myself along the way. I'll keep y'all updated on my progress.

I am a firm believer that your taste buds change over time. Just because you like something now doesn't always mean you'll like it in 5-10 years. Well my taste buds have been changing  & it's throwing my husband for a loop. First I used to be a HUGE Dr.Pepper fan & now I can't stand it & I only want Pepsi. Second, I have been a fan of coffe forever & I really like it when it's cold outside. My taste buds have changed & I'm experimenting with tea. I should state that I'm a southern girl when it used to come to tea, I liked it cold & with sugar! Well in town there is a wonderful British tea (Queens Pantry qptea.com) shop that has everything you could want in regards to tea. I stopped by the other day & came home with 2 different teas & directions on how to make it using my french press. So far I'm a big fan of the Creme Brûlée tea.

I'd better get my rear in gear. I need to make some bread before going to my church tonight. The church puts on a large production depicting life in Bethlehem at the time when Jesus was born. Everyone chips in & helps & I love that. I get to work in the costume department! It'll be a fun & fast evening. I also need to get the Christmas tree up. Tried to yesterday but the lights on the tree would not come on. Husband had to "MacGyver" it last year for the lights to work & this year they just weren't going to come on so he got us a new one. I would have gone & picked it out but I have a depth perception problem & the one time I did pick out a tree it filled up our tiny house. I guess I just like to go big!  

I hope that y'all are doing well. I'll write more later on, 

Vicky

When life gives you ice you stay inside & quilt!

I woke up to this this morning,

When I can't see out of my front room window because of a glaze of ice, it's just better if I stay inside & sew! That is my goal, that & turn off the furnace but the men of my family are inside currently & they like it hot to almost stifeling & I'm about to die. Husband is currently under 2 quilts, crazy head.

I'm working on finishing up the stocking project. This has definetley been a pain, oops I mean a challenge for me. A friend asked if I would make a stocking to match one that she already has & well it's been a little bit more of a challenge than anticipated. 

The original is on the right & my version is on the left. Not too bad for no pattern. The challenge lies in the cuff (Here's the orginal)

& here's what I've got so far

Now since this picture was taken the machine embroidery has been added & I'm trying to figure out how to get it attached. It's not as simple as you would think becuase of the binding on the out side of the stocking makes the outside a lot bigger than the inside. I've got a plan & I'm hoping that it works. When it does there will be a serious happy dance going on here!

I'm also working on the Kansas row by row quilt for my quilt guild. It is due at the January meeting & I'm really getting down to the wire. I've decided on using hexagons & have figured out how to make that work, I think. When I have it laid out on the floor I'll post a pic.

 When I was making my rows (Kansas Dugout was the block I used) I had just enough of the main fabric to finish everyone elses rows but not my own. So when Mom & I were out in Effingham Ks, home to Kansas Troubles I found the same fabric!!!

So I need to finish up making my row & then I can get started on the quilt. More pics to come!

Not to much new farm news. The cows are doing their best to hunker down & wait out the nasty weather. If you can give them a dry place, & all of the hay they can eat, water with no ice & grain they are pretty hardy creatures.

I hope that y'all had a great Thanksgiving. More later on,

Vicky

 

The craziness of life

My world has been turned on its head. My husband is & will be working the night shift for the forseeable future. I'm not use to having him home during the day & it's been an adjustment. My normal schedule does not work anymore. I never realized I was that loud until I had to be quiet. My family would probably laugh at that because I have been compared to a "bull in a china shop" before. I'm trying my best to find the silver lining in this experience & what I've come up with is that DH is getting much more sleep than he usually does. I'm also learning that I need to be more flexible & adaptable to all of the different things that come my way. With this new schedule I've been having a much harder time working in my sewing time. I NEED MY SEWING TIME!  So today I just did it. There were some things that just didn't get done but I was ok with that because I needed/wanted to sew. 

I'm continuing to work on my Smith Mountain Morning quilt. I just have 15 more blocks to make & all 121 will be done!! I can not express how excited I am about that! I'm really putting the pressure on myself to get these blocks made in the next day or so. I had completely forgotten that I had committed to work on a project for a friend that needed it before December. Nothing like forgetting about it & racing to get it done at the last minute. I've got it laid out & I'm pretty sure on how I'm going to work on it. I'll share some pics when I start working on it. Before I can work on it though I want to get all of the SMM quilt blocks done because I do not want to loose any of the pieces. 

It has been just beautiful here in Kansas the last couple of weeks. To the point that it is hard to believe that it is the begining of November & I'm still wearing my flip flops. I'm finding it hard to get into the holiday spirit. I think that I'm really wanting the cold weather. I was a little over anxious the other day & wore a sweater & turtle neck in the morning, ran into town for a few errands, came home & changed into a short sleeved t-shirt. I just need to be patient it'll get here soon enough. 

I do hope that y'all are having a great day! 

More later on,

Vicky

It's been busy & finding my new normal.

Life has been busy & I have fallen behind on my blogging. Here's a quick recap since the last post.

Mom & I went to the Lake of the Ozarks for two days of workshops & trunkshows with the Lake Are Quilt Network. The Lake Are Quilt Network is made up of 5 smaller guilds in the area that get together & have speakers or workshops twice a year.  We had a fabulous time & met some wonderful quilters.

For the workshops I asked the quilters to bring their scraps in bags, buckets or baskets whatever they had available. They spread out & dumped out their scraps & had a great time!

We were working on my pattern "Prairie Stones". It's a fun block with 1 set in/partil seam. 

    

      My Tuesday group

     My Wednesday group

Thank you for having me, Mom & I had a fantastic time!

A quick update on lil squirt the tiny calf. He's doing very well. He is still very small but he is growing & is starting to find his moo (it's not that impressive yet but it'll get there). Here's a pic of him yesterday playing in the hay feeder.

On the quilty front I have been working on Smith Mountain Mornings (Bonnie Hunters workshop). I'm half way done making the blocks 60 done 61 more to go!

My impatient nature is getting the better of me & it's making me very anxious to get it done. I'm looking forward to seeing it done. For some odd reason when I started putting the blocks together I was using pins, crazy head because the seams were not matching up. I stopped using the pins & bingo my blocks looked much better. I'd like to have it done before my next guild meeting but we'll see. I like to have deadlines. It helps keep me focused with a goal. 

I hope that y'all are having a fantastic day. The weather here is getting colder, which I'm loving! Turn that furnace off & open the windows! Love that fresh air with no pollen! Kiddo is marching in a Halloween parade in a few hours. He's going to be a construction worker (easy costume & easy to play his saxaphone). More later on,

Vicky

The delinquent blogger

I am a delinquent blogger. I've been so busy & I've just not sat down to type out a blog post. It all started a few weeks ago when it was time to pick pears. We've got a very old pear tree in the front yard that produces enormus amounts of pears. Between my friend Maria, my kiddo & me we got the whole tree picked in one day. We have to use the backhoe so that she can reach the top of the tree!

This tree makes beautiful pears

Here's this years pear harvest

That's a lot of pears! These are just the good ones. We sorted them & gave the small ones or the ones that weren't quite good enough to the cows. 

It has taken a few weeks for them to rippen in the garage but they are ready to be worked up. Maria has come up twice & then she came up again this past Sunday with Randi to can pears. We spent 5 hours & 10 gallons of pears to make 33 pints of cinnamon pears. They are yummy!

On the quilting front I made myself finish my current Civil War scrappy quilt before I could work on Bonnies Smith Mountain Morning quilt. I finally got it done this past week & was able to give it to my LAQ at guild meeting. Here it is some what laid out on my living room floor

 

I tweeked the pattern & well it didn't quite turn out like my sketch. I didn't figure the row width correctly & the quilts dimensions turned out to be 87x119. Holy Cow that was long! I decided to take the botton row off & not put on borders. I will finish it with a scrappy binding & call it good. I really like how it has turned out & am really happy to call it done!

So now I can turn my attention to the batik beauty!!! Yeah!!!!

On the cow/farm front it's been nuts. The fall calves have started to arrive. We've had a set of twins with one of the babies not claimed by its momma. So another cow stepped up & adopted it & is feeding it along with her own. She's a rock star! About a week or so ago we had Squirt. He is so small! This is him & his momma when he was first born,

We are guessing he weighed about 40lbs when he was first born (which is incredibly small. We like them to be in the 80-90lbs range when born). I could scoop him up in one had & carry him. We brought him & his momma to the house so that we could feed him with a bottle & watch him. His momma is not a tall cow but he could walk under her belly & have about a 2" clearance between him & her.

He's doing much better eating his bottle & trying to eat more from momma, which is very good!

Also I almost forgot a week & a half ago mom & I went to Belleville, KS to speak to the Heart of the Prairie Quilt guild. It was a fun time with a great group of quilters. Thank you for having us!

I hope that y'all are having a great fall. I love this time of year. The weather is getting cooler & that makes me very happy. More later on,

Vicky