OMG for April....

It was close but I finally got all these churn dash blocks stitched into a quilt top despite the 'help' holding down the rows for me by Mr. Peanut Cat. 

My goal was to get these blocks stitched up into a top. The stretch goal was to get it completed but that did not happen. I am quite happy that this made it to a top stage this month. One more collection of blocks sewn up into a quilt top. We won't discuss how many other block collections are waiting!

 

I'll be linking up with the OMG finish for April.

Blueberry season in Florida....

There is about another week of blueberry picking near where I live in north central Florida. I headed to the field after dropping the kids to school today and picked a little over 4 pounds this time.... in about 30-35 minutes. They have a big field and the berries are big and taste great. I think I had Farthing, Chickadee, Prima Donna and Emeralds this time. I put the majority of them on half sheet pans and popped them in the freezer. I'll get a couple quart bags of berries from each pan for the freezer stock. 

I really need to schedule a time and take the kids... unfortunately it is around 90 degrees after school. Might need to have them get out of bed early Saturday to go. It was getting toasty by 9:40 when I was leaving to head home. Must be time to head into the sewing room! 

I have 2 hexagons in blue in the tin to be stitched and that lines up with 2 days left in the month! These are the ones I stitched up this week.

I also prepped step 3 of Harmony to 'remake' my last attempt that did not come out the right size with the templates.... so I decided to make them the rotary cut way. I think they called these 'fancy' HST's.  I cut out and am stitching the HST's and then I'll cut and add on the extra half square triangle to one end. Here is step 1+2 along with the process of step 3. I am making the throw - so there will be 4 blocks. I am way behind on this one as they are on the last steps of putting all the parts together at this point.

Time to go work on my April OMG that is still not to a top stage. Hopefully it will be by the end of the day. Dinner is in the crockpot - French Dip sandwiches. I pulled a chuck roast from the freezer Tuesday and remembered to pop it in the crock pot this morning before taking the kids to school. Last night.... I pulled some ribs from the freezer (Greg made them last month) and made a potato salad for dinner. See - I do pull from the freezer for meals occasionally! Next week I'll pull a seal a meal bag of Carnitas for Cubans for a dinner one night.

A splurge?

 There was a sale last week (I think). I've been watching them over at Accuquilt.com since I purchased mine last fall. It is SO amazing at cutting perfect curved pieces for quilting. After nearly 30 years quilting I finally ventured into curves and I have to say - I really love hand stitching them! I picked up the flowering snowball one  and have made blocks for a little quilt of that using some FQ's I've had waiting patiently for over 13 years.

Karen started cutting some pretty fabrics into drunkard path parts.... oh my. That is on my 'someday' list but I did not want to have to make templates and cut them all out. Then I saw a Buy 1 get 1 70% off sale pop up! Hmmm.... apple core was another one I wanted to try. They are both dies that were available. While in there..... I might have said, hmmm Winding ways is a neat pattern and I've been wanting to try one since I saw Ellen make hers and from reading the Winding Way's books by Jennifer Chiaverini. That landed in the cart and then there was a clamshell (it is curved....) but I really have no desire to make one of them so I went looking for another die that would use the same size mat's I had or was ordering and was around the same price. Crossed Canoe! This one keeps coming back onto my someday list and I think it would make a great RSC quilt next year so the clamshell was removed and that one was added =).

I did tell myself I have to finish my OMG for April before I can play with them though! I also need to cut out my light and bright blue flowering snowball parts for the RSC kit I am adding to each month and make my garden path block with my 8 inch cube HST die. I think that is enough motivation for me to get my OMG finished by Friday so I can play!

Another finish! 16 patches

 I finished the binding on the 16 patch baby quilt on Sunday. This one is 32x40 and will be donated to charity with the stars and nines. This one is similar to the last one but no stars!  The chickens would not pose so I put some treats down for them for a photo op. Poppy was missing from the photo but this has the 4 Sexlink (Rhode Island Red/White cross), 3 Plymouth Rocks and 1 Easter Egger - Rosie.

I had my first in person girl scout meeting last night at my house. It had been over a year since we have seen them all in person! They sure do change a lot in a year. We met outside on the side lawn and they all visited the chickens in the back yard.  Now I can relax a bit until next Monday...and make phone calls and schedule the Roller Skating and Painting with a Twist that was put on hold last year. I'm not ready for the camping yet.... maybe this fall.

RSC last Saturday in light and bright blue.

Lets check the white board and see how I am faring this month. 3 check marks out of 6. I guess I still have some sewing to do!

The daily hexagons so far this month. 21 of them completed but I think I do have the rest all prepped and in their container. I might have neglected them for a couple of days in order to get the hand quilting and binding completed on the table runner. Plenty of time to get them all done before next Friday!

The Table Scrap Challenge was completed this week and is in this post.

The scrappy squares added 2 blocks this month. They will be added to the pink and yellow. I seem to have not done the dark green last month after having a size issue with the first one I made. I'll go back and add green eventually - probably in the next green month.

Erin's butterfly got sewn together on the machine for the fans and then I hand stitched the middle of the wing. I basted the 1/4 inch seam down all around so they will be ready to applique onto a background.... sometime. Again - seems this one is missing green. 

The other 2 things on the list are the Garden Path block - using the scrappy hst's and the Full Stop block which is an asterisk this month. Maybe I can work a little on one of them Friday night, otherwise they will get worked on this weekend and shown next week on May 1. 

I have 2 bindings to hand stitch down on these rainbow blocks from last year. The stars and nines and the 16 patch blocks. 

****Edited with a finish last night! Lily the chicken approves.

This one has a dark green leaf binding stitched to the top and waiting to be hand stitched down.

Linking up on Saturday with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and Sunday with the Slow Sunday Stitchers.

 

Table Scraps Challenge for April

 It was touch and go but I finished the binding on the table scraps challenge late last night, just in time for Joy's linkup!

I started out the month with these extra basket blocks and a few strips of the background fabric.

They got sewed into this.

I decided to hand quilt it. Someone remind me maybe to just machine quilt it next time! I was a little worried about finishing it in time but some dedicated time got it done.

I did have help along the way with marking some of the sewing lines and supervision by the cats.

For a finish!

Linking up with the Table Scrap Challenge and the Rainbow Scrap Challenge where April was light and bright blues.

Tuesday Update

 I got my second Pfizer shot yesterday morning. Nice and easy. No arm pain or any side effects with this one either. I guess I have good genes - thanks Mom and Dad!

I am trying to make progress on the Table scrap in blue and have a feeling it will be down to the wire. We will see if it is actually completed this weekend or not..... I'm still shooting for end of the month which gives me another week! A decision on the open spaces was made and I marked one last night and then someone wanted to do it for me..... so I let her! I got one of them quilted and she wanted to spritz out the blue marker. Got a little heavy handed with the water so I was done for the night while it dried. A little progress though... 

Emily was being supervised by Peanut to make sure she marked them correctly! Doesn't he look all comfy in my recliner?

Sunday, Sunday

 I was hoping to have 2 bindings to be stitching down today.....and I will eventually. I am waiting on someone to press the second binding so I can attach it. 

I managed to add some simple squiggle line quilting on the stars and nine quilt on Thursday. I added the binding on yesterday. This is a little 36x38 size.

Yesterday I simple quilted the 16 patch blocks and made the binding...just waiting on someone to press it. I went ahead and did the first one but figured I'd get issues if I did both of them. I'll be hand stitching them down today. This one finishes at 32x 40. Both will be sent off to a charity for Hands2Help as baby quilts.

A little progress on the little basket quilting. I pulled out the stencil to mark the middle squares.... just not sure what will end up there yet. It should be done for the Table Scrap link up next weekend.

We have been getting lots of rain in some rain storms the last few days. The pool got to about an inch below the top rim so that got drained out yesterday a bit. We are scheduled for another 4-5 inches of rain for the next couple of days. Thinking we might need to build a boat soon!

The kids and I were up late last night. I had found a brownie recipe on Tasty 101 (Hulu or Youtube) that looked oh so yummy and uses 6 eggs. Yes, always trying to find recipes to use up eggs! They are little 6 minute bits on how to make things so we were watching different ones. We might have to try the pasta one as well! I went out to get ingredients last night for the brownies and plan to make it today.

Emily got her birthday shopping trip in with Grandma after horses yesterday so both get to head to Grandma and Papa Andy's house today for the day. I'm probably on pick up duty. I had picked up bacon and popped it in the freezer when I got home but asked Aidan to pull it for the fridge late last night (he was in the kitchen!) and he asked for the sausage you cut instead and Emily said - Dad's sausage gravy!. We had some so that got put in the fridge instead. I'm just waiting for them to all wake up so they can make my breakfast! I do love Sundays.

Linking up with Kathy and the other Slow Stitchers.

Thursday Catch Up

 It has been a busy morning so far. Kids were dropped to school. Then I stopped on the way home and picked some blueberries at Ashbier Farms. I tried the Farthing this year - they were the first 6 rows and I am trying to be good to my ankle which is not hurting so far today! They taste just like the ones I remember picking on the point up in Vermont when I was growing up. Sweet but not too sweet. I think I will try and make blueberry jam today with some of them. I picked 3.5 pounds at $4 a pound. 

I'll be heading back with the kids at some point... and maybe next Thursday morning as well. I freeze them on cookie sheets and then pop them into quart freezer bags. I might try a blueberry pie this year too with the next batch.

Then I tilled the garden between the rows. It needed it. The garden is producing pretty well this year - I guess the added chicken fertilizer is helping with the very sandy soil we have. We enjoyed some swiss chard and fresh peas with dinner of Risotto last night. I had to make a double batch (2 cups of arborio rice to start) and there was ONE spoonful left. One! I guess my family really likes it. I was planning pork chops with it but 2 of them said they were happy with just the rice so that was dinner! Tonight - will be chops on the grill and leftover grilled veggies I think. I do have to pop to Aldi today to get milk and creamer and 'snacks'. Snack are their fruit and grain bar and granola bars. Seems I have been out all week and it is causing issues with packing lunches! Asparagus is on sale so that might get added to the mix for dinner. My green beans should be ready for their first pick tomorrow - they are purple =). The beets are looking great and I picked the last of the radishes so I'll plant another row of them. Looks like the tarragon, basil, cilantro and a little parsley is coming up. Nothing from the dill. The spinach got picked and is being part of my mushroom and spinach omelette in the mornings. Emily's rows of carrots are looking good as well. She grows them for horse treats!

I did a little sewing last night and got the 16 patches sewn into a top. This will be 32x40 - perfect size for one of the hands2help charities. 

I also sewed the churn dashes into rows of 7. I just picked them up and sewed so who know's how it will look ... I had laid them out last night but it looks like the cats were unhappy with the look and decided to move things around a bit in the night.

I'd better get my shower done so I can go shopping and then I get sewing time! I hope to pin and simple quilt the 2 colorful charity ones today. Hope was the key word in that sentence!

Wednesday....

 Hand work does not really show much progress very quickly! I just got out of a 2 hour meeting where I was able to do some pinning and some hand stitching.

My sets of two are now 2 sets of 8! I have 2 more sets of 2 that need to be made into a row for the bottom. Potentially 3 more seams to pin and sew and I'll have a top! 

Lazy Sunday......

 Well, it was a lazy start around 9AM. Seems everyone turned over and went back to sleep after being woken up at 4:30AM with thunder storm number 1 and then again around 7:30 with storm number 2.

We called off Grandma/Emily shopping birthday day as storm#3 was to be heavy rain and wind about the time Grandma was to drive up to us. It was a good call as the heavy rain started around 10 and has been off and on heavy to light rain with thunder for almost 3 hours now.

We (you know that We Mom? Greg was the We this time!) cooked a briscuit on the smoker yesterday until the 4:30PM storm had us bring it inside and cover the smoker - it has the thermostat as electric and water and electric don't mix. It had done the smoking portion already so we finished it in the oven on low. Around 7PM.... it was oh so yummy to 'taste test' it. It will be warmed up for a late lunch today. I have white bread about ready to go in the oven and potato's bubbling in water for a potato salad. Greg boiled up 20 eggs yesterday (coming out our ears they are... but I got a few dozen sold for next Saturday's horse lesson at the stables!) so that portion of the potato salad is done.

It was a lazy start watching America's Test Kitchen Season 17 on Amazon Prime. I got a couple of Hexagons stitched and have 11 done this month. I prepped enough for the week yesterday so they are easy to grab to stitch and quilt in the evenings. 

I'll be resting up my ankle today with some hand stitching and a movie. Some work to finish off stitching this flowering snowball block and I have one more prepped and ready to stitch. That will give me a good amount for a little throw.

Then I'll add some stitches into the basket table topper.

I turned my ankle about a week ago and took it easy but overdid it on my walk Thursday night. Then was up on it way too much yesterday with horses - walking to the outdoor arena, then around Lowes with Aidan, then planting and walking around the yard. Of course.... I have been up on it today too - prepping the potato salad and making bread and cleaning up the kitchen. Let's just say I can feel it so it will be up on a pillow for the afternoon! Maybe I'll even have time to get the twosies of the Endless Diamonds into foursies!.

Linking up with the Slow Sunday Stitchers.

RSC in Blue

 I have been working on adding a sashing strip to these old churn dash blocks. There are around 70 of them if I remember correctly. The pile at the bottom is a lot smaller than when I started! 

I have the first 9 Hexagon QAYG completed and need to cut out more backing fabrics for the next set and prep them for stitching.

This is the back. I decided to use some blue quilting thread on these and I love how it shows on the back. I think I will try and add some color on the back of some to add some fun for the back of the quilt when they are stitched together.

I made a yellow stars and nine so I could sew these remaining blocks together for a quilt top this week. Just a simple nine patch and friendship star using 2.5 inch squares. So simple but so fun! This top is 36x48.

A little quilting has been added to the basket table topper.

With a rainy day day tomorrow, I hope to get a lot of sewing in on my blue block collections.

Linking up with the RSC on Saturday.

A little sewing on a Thursday

Would you believe that #17 on my Spring UFO list decided it wanted attention before anything else?

 I needed a yellow stars and nines block to finish off the size. I managed to pull from the yellow bucket and get that block created this morning. I need to double check the size requirement for Little Lambs.... suggested size of 36x42 per size. Hmmm. Mine would be 36x48.... I'm guessing that it would work to be slightly bigger by 6 inches. I'm planning to add a soft flannel cotton backing and simple wiggle quilting. We will see if it becomes a scrappy binding or a solid one... when I am ready to quilt it. 

During a Zoom girl scout leader meeting last night - I cut a slew of light blue fabric hexagons, some batting hexagons and the backing hexagons and pinned the middle in place. I did the rest of the pinning last night after a yummy cheesecake desert while watching an episode of NCIS. Three got stitched and the rest are waiting their turn.

I took a break and decided to weed the front flower bed of weeds so I can plant it this weekend. The ants need to settle down a bit before I do anything else out there. It was time to think about making some lunch. Potato Leek Soup worked!  I just grabbed a few tbsp of butter and melted that and added 2 leeks cut up with some salt and pepper. Then I cut up some potato - I had red on hand - and dumped that in. A little more salt and a box of chicken stock. I added a little heavy cream we had in the fridge leftover from the cheesecake and brought it up to a bubble to cook the potato.  I added some cheddar cheese to my bowl of it. Simple but yummy!

While I was in the sewing room - I cut out a stack of 1.5x6.5 sashing strips to be added to the stack of churn dashes. 

Time for a shower and then an errand to pick up some pellets for the pellet grill. I might have picked up a flat briscuit from Sams yesterday and we will put it on the smoker grill this weekend and see how it comes out! A first time for us. Aidan always orders it from Pig and Cattle so we figured we'd give it a try ourselves. I should have a little over an hour to sew this afternoon before heading to pick up the kids from school. I'm guessing I can get the first one to a top and hope to get a way's through the stack of churn dashes. The plan is to add a sashing to one side. Sew them together into rows. Then use a long strip to join the rows. I think it will work. This one is also planning to be donated for Hands 2 Help.

Happy Birthday Emily!

I'm not sure how 12 years have gone by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday I had this little girl..... with all that curly hair!

Has now turned into this pre-teen who is responsible, organized and smart!

 

Happy 12th Birthday Emily!