See Macy Sew

Macy called yesterday evening and said she wanted to visit.  She had something special in mind I was to discover.  Not the usual desire to visit the chickens.  She wanted to learn to sew.  A pillow seemed to be a simple start.  She chose her fabric and some shiny buttons.  We cut a nice contrasting wool heart in her favorite color, blue.  She hand stitched it and the buttons on, and then, with a little help, we got the pillow stitched up and stuffed.  Did I mention that she is only six and left handed???  She did a great job!  We finished the visit with some flower picking and arranging, resulting in a nice bouquet to present to her mom when she came to pick her up.

Last night was one of those sleepless nights.......probably because I knew I had to be up at six this morning.  I spent the day at a training session for the Good News Club, which our church will be presenting again this year at our local elementary school.  It is a wonderful program and has introduced many children to Jesus.  We have over 120 children already registered.

Afterwards we went to Becky & Kit's for BBQ Dinner following Turin's annual Tractor Pull.  It was a great dinner.  Thanks, guys.

Got the last book from the lot I ordered this week in the mail today.  A wonderful, classic cookbook recommended by good friend Laura, whose family has sworn by it for years.  The price was right on eBay.....just under $8 including shipping!

Being pooped due to a busy day and lack of sleep, a nice hot soak in the tub was called for.........during which I started and completed this sweet read.......grab the tissues if you decide to partake.

And now, it is time to fall in the bed.  Sunday School and Church tomorrow.............

GRATITUDES:

The opportunity to make memories with family.

Freedom to practice my religion without fear.

Volunteers.

Folks who love animals.

Take care,

Jennie

iPhone Addiction

I gave Blake a new iPhone for Father's Day.  This is a man who could never text or navigate the menu on his simple flip phone.  His son said it was a waste of money.  His old friends from the Sheriff's Office are in awe.....they think he pulled the wool over their eyes all of those years, pretending he couldn't figure out his simple phone.  This man is an iPhone wiz.......totally addicted.  This is a typical morning scene on our back porch:  coffee, rocking chair and iphone :-))

On Monday, Sara Ashley and I had a girls' day.  We went shopping (she bought a purse, some socks and a hat for her brother), got her toenails painted (blue, of course),  and had lunch at the restaurant of her choice, Red Robin.  She is so grown up now......in fifth grade already.  When we were shopping for her purse, she clearly didn't  go for my suggestions.  She informed me sweetly that she had her mother's taste.  I had to laugh.

Robert made the Evans Middle School Football team.  We are so proud of him and his hard work.  I am also very proud each time I have the privilege of sewing more badges on his Boy Scout sash.  I trust that one day he will make his goal of becoming an Eagle Scout.

This week has been the week of the book.  Some times it is better to stay away from Amazon and blogs......this was probably one of those times.  Oh, well.......I got some great stuff.

For Quilting (a book and two patterns) :

 For Weaving:

For Inspiration and for just because there is nothing better than a good dog story:

I also accomplished my goals.  Meadow Cosmos blocks 8 - 16 are fused and ready to stitch.

and the Paisley Runner is bound, labelled and has been delivered to its new owner, Ashley.  I believe it is one of my favorite rugs thus far. Sorry, but the iPhone photo is a little blurry.

Primitive Gatherings Freebie block 10 arrived and was promptly done!! These have been so much fun.

Over the Meadow Block 5 is now stitched.  I wish I didn't hate prepping these blocks so much.  They are so cute when they are done.  And I am three blocks behind schedule.  I may or may not catch up, but will eventually get them finished.

At my weaving class I finished the overshot table runner I was working on, but didn't cut it off the loom as there was plenty of warp to weave a dishtowel.  Diane shared a nice deep red yarn and a pattern with me.  I think it is going to be quite nice.

We lost our chicken, Esther, this week.  I was really sad, but it was not unexpected.  She had not been well for a couple of weeks, as I had mentioned.  She was eating well and looking better that morning, but when I went to check on them later in the day, she was gone.  And on Sunday, Zulu will be going to his new home with Captain Cluck and lots of other chickens.  I am simply not cut out for the rooster thing.  Bobbie has been cranking out an egg everyday or every other day for the past week.  We don't expect the younger girls to lay before late October or early November, so Bobbie will be our sole egg producer for awhile.

My goals for next week include finishing this cute Hooked Santa with Star that I hooked up last night (I will do this with my Eric's Day friends on Monday).

Preparing the binding, using the method from Red Saltbox, for this rug that I hooked back in June is also on my list.  It is called Wish Upon a Star.  Looks like I have Christmas on the brain :-)

Finally, I want to get the buttonhole stitching done on at least four of the Meadow Cosmos blocks.
Sounds like enough to commit to for the week.

GRATITUDES:

Cooler temperatures.......do I detect a touch of Fall in the air??

Deer grazing in our meadow.

Technology that allows us to be friends with people we have never met.

Take care,

Jennie

Setting goals

Setting goals seems to be helping to keep me more focused.  Over the past week I prepped eight of the Meadow Cosmos blocks, as planned.  I love the way the fabrics blend and are so subtle.  I can just imagine cuddling up in this quilt.

The binding on the Paisley Runner is a work in progress........I am about half done.

Blocks eight and nine of the Primitive Gathering's Favorite Things are done and I expect the next one in the mail tomorrow.  I am trying to keep up with these.  They only require about an hour each, so it is really not difficult.

The next blocks on Coxcombs & Pomegranates have not arrived.  However, after a considerable amount of effort, I finally spoke to Tori at Jan Patek's yesterday and I am hopeful that the kinks on this BOM are now resolved and the blocks will arrive soon.

One of my Yahoo groups is doing a project from the latest Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine.  I loved almost every project in this issue and was glad to get the nudge I needed to do my favorite, Sweet Pickins.  I changed mine a little and did the applique in wool.  The top is finished.  Now for my least favorite part:  Quilt as Desired.  I don't know how I desire.  I desire that I would wake up in the morning and it would be done for me!!!!

So, my next goal is to finish the binding on Paisley Runner and to prep the next eight blocks on Meadow Cosmos.  Anything else accomplished is icing on the cake.

On the chicken front.........raising backyard chickens is not as simple as I thought.  Like my friend, Diane, said...."I thought you fed and watered them and collected eggs".  Well, that and some more.  Last weekend Esther was eggbound.  That was an education in itself.  She finally laid on Sunday, thank goodness.  But then she didn't seem to get better.  On close inspection, I found that she was literally covered in chicken mites.  YIKES!!!  They were sucking her blood out and she was anemic....think pale comb, listlessness, shortness of breath.  The others were all okay, but had minor infestations.  Thank goodness for the internet, You Tube and local chicken expert Brian.  The chicken house and yards are decontaminated, as are the chickens.  You don't even want to know how much work that was.  Esther has been getting extra iron rich foods and seems better, but not quite herself.  She isn't laying again, but doesn't seem in distress because of that.  In the meantime, Bobbie has started laying.  She is one proud girl, clucking loudly as soon as she produces her lovely brown eggs.  Zulu, the rooster, is in the market for a new home.  I find that I am just not up to having a rooster, even though I love to hear him crow.  All that being said, I am still enjoying them immensely and spend an inordinate amount of time at the chicken condo.

On Sunday we had our first meal that was compliments of the girls (the eggs, not the sausage).  And they were yum!

The Hornes recently vacationed in Florida and spent some time at the amusement park.  When Macy saw this chicken on the Merry Go Round, she had to have her picture taken just for me.

Son in law, Rob, is on a flight to Brazil tonight for a ten day mission trip.  Robert and Macy started school this week.  Robert is trying out for Middle School Football and made the first cut.  Jackson attended a camp at Newnan FUMC and loved it; he won't start preschool until after Labor Day.  Colten, Dillon and Sara Ashley start school next week.  Today Ashley and Sara Ashley surprised Macy at school and had lunch with her.  Here are those two sweet girls:

GRATITUDES:

The privilege of being a part of the lives of our grandchildren.

Rain.

Cooler temperatures.

Hummingbirds swarming our feeders, preparing for their trip south.

Take care,

Jennie

We've got eggs!!!!

Well, Esther finally delivered for us........literally........and we've got eggs.  Pretty, perfect little brown eggs.   Five in the last six days.  Go, Esther!!!!

Two brave mothers took Robert, his friend, Macy and Sara Ashley to Six Flags for a very hot, busy day.  They had a great time.  Macy was finally tall enough to ride some of the big kid rides and even rode the Scream Machine!  No thanks!!!!  Robert's companion was a game win, Eric the pencil.  You have to be thirteen, I guess.

The Sew Crazies have a second QOV, needing just to be quilted now.  We all contributed blocks and Sandra put it together for us.  We made this one with a female soldier in mind.  A third quilt is in the making.

Dear friend Laura made these beautiful, leaf shaped face cloths for me.  She is one busy lady.  I don't know how she gets so much done and is still a working girl.  And so generous.  Thank you, Laura!!

Block 4 of Over the Meadow is finally stitched up.  I love these blocks, but the prep work takes a long time and I am awfully slow getting them done.  I am using the Invisible Machine Applique technique with Sharon Schamber's wash away applique foundation paper.

I continue to make progress on my projects.  The Paisley Runner is ready to whip and I would like to get that done this week.  The first three blocks of Coxcombs & Pomegranates are complete.  I wish I had the other two to work on, but they still haven't arrived yet.

Block 3

Block 2

Block 1

 My friend, Kathie, says that if you are "hot" to do a project, you need to go for it.  If you lose that enthusiasm, you aren't as likely to whip it out.  Taking that to heart, I am starting a new project this week.  I know.........what can I say??  The project is from Blackbird Designs new book, "In the Meadow" and the name of the quilt is "Meadow Cosmos".  Just love this muted design.  I have the fabric and the background blocks are cut.  I am going to use the fuse and buttonhole applique technique, so it should be fairly fast.  My goal this week is to get 1/2 the blocks fused (that would be eight).  The blocks are 20", and the quilt is 80" x 80".  I am excited about it.

GRATITUDES:

My faith.

The feel of fabric in my hands.

Toenail polish and sandals.

Pretty "homegrown" chicken eggs.

Take care,

Jennie