Playing in the Sewing Room in Winter

All the fabric, all but the applique pieces cut.

Applique templates

Leaves, Flowers, Hearts and Stems.... Oh My!  The fuse ironed onto the material and awaiting the cutting.

Stacks of applique pieces, all cut out.

The Heart Blocks

The Flower Blocks

Now I need to machine stitch around the edges. 

More to come... stay tuned...

Hugs
K~

** Grandma quilts have love in every stitch.  ~Author Unknown

Randomness Becomes Me in January

My companion these cold winter days.

Hi There Puffins!

I’ve been scolded by several people for letting my blog sit stagnant these past few weeks.  I’ve had a bit of writer’s block. There has been either too many posts flitting about my brain and they all wanted out at once which would have resulted in pure chaos or nothing of any interest to write.

In any case, that is no excuse for just running off and leaving you all here bored to death.  ;o)

I'm sorry. 

So without any further adieu, here are a few things that have been on my mind lately (in a very random order):

1.  Reading the Bible through, chronologically.  I found a website that gives you different translation options and the formates/schedules.  I’ve always wanted to read the Bible chronologically, as we read most books that way.  Over the past several years we have gone through much of the OT in Sunday School and I like to know how the history fits together.  It makes more sense to me that way.

The website is:  www.biblestudytools.com .  Look for the Bible reading plans.  You can start at on any date, read the day’s selection from the site and have it marked “read.”  I’m in Job right now.  His “friends” sure weren’t very friend-like, were they?


2.  It’s cold here.  And we have 6-10” of snow on the ground. And ice in places.  And I fell on the ice again last Sunday at church so my ego was newly bruised and my wrist/hand is STILL not 100% healed.  Prairie Farm workman’s comp is a joke.  But the other benefits are great!  (warm showers and time to sew!)

BFF's "Roses" quilt top, before quilting

3.  Speaking of sewing.... !!  Did you hear the joyous celebration?  BFF’s quilt is pieced and quilted and as soon as I get my behind out of this desk chair, I’m going to continue hand-stitching the binding down.  AND... She likes it... She really likes it!!  (I knew she would... even though she had reservations about the initial fabric choices.)

I love these bright girlie fabrics!!

Dgd3 (who is still incubating inside momma) will have a birth quilt.  I started cutting out pinks and purples and bright blues and yellows yesterday.  It will be my first foray into fusible machine applique.  Oh my~~  Hearts and flowers and lots of bright colors.  And then the need to buy more as my stash of bright girlie fabrics is woefully sparse!  Cosmic Cow.. here I come!!

4.  More sewing... I received a gift card to Joann’s Fabrics because ds2 knows me so very well.  Along with a 40% off coupon rewarded me with 3 pieces of pink flannel (receiving blankets or quilts or ??) and a rotating cutting board.  I dislike having to constantly turn blocks I’m trimming or have to walk around my cutting table.  It’s not always handy. 
I’m also impatiently waiting for Cosmic Cow 2 to open in our hometown. Work continues on the inside.  Would it be too rude to put a note on the door that says “HURRY UP!  I need more Fabric!!”  I suppose it would.  lol
And thread!  Who knew I was low on dark colored thread!  Doggone it! Guess I need to do some online shopping at Signature Threads dot com.  Or Connecting Threads.  I like “good thread” as opposed to el-cheapo stuff from Wal-mart.  The lint is unbelievable from the cheap stuff and my Kenmore chokes and spits out thread wads then.  Not fun!

Told you my mind was a wild and wooly place these days.  This is just scratching the surface. 

Stay tuned as I churn out more in the days to come.

Hugs!
K~

PS  I LOVE my new windows.  Makes me sick to think of all the money we lost from our old drafty ones letting in the cold and letting out the warmth. 

Lighten up already...

Since yesterday's post was a little heavy (get it?  ... pig? ... heavy?.... lol... sorry...  **giggle**)... anyway.... since I was so serious yesterday, I thought today should have a lighter, more fanciful and more colorful feel to it.

And the weather sure isn't cooperating... damp, rainy, cloudy, gray, humid, warm, muggy....Ick!  (I'm all for Autumn rainshowers, but can it be cool too, please!  This woman of a "certain age" doesn't need any more "warmth".)

So to add color to our lives, I took this photo...

 

Guess what I'm going to go do this afternoon....

Hugs, 

Kay~

** "How is one to live a moral and compassionate existence when one finds darkness not only in one's culture but within oneself?  There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions.  You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light."  ~Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams

Love me, love my Singer

He loves me....
but hates my clutter. lol

Blue-eyed Farmer that is....

He loves me, a lot....

But he hates my quilting clutter in the basement..... a lot!

But since he loves me, so very much...

He doesn't demand I get rid of it all, the clutter I mean.

(well, ok....he only sighed once or twice at the 7 sewing machines and suggested maybe one could be removed. That suggestion was not even considered for a second by me. We reached a second compromise....)

Since he loves me, but dislikes my clutter, he helped me plan out a new configuration for my stash and machines.

And this evening bought me 2 of these....


(BOGO free!)

All because he loves me.

I think I'll keep him.

Hugs
A beloved Farmer's Wife

** Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor,
after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots.
-Hoosier Farmer

Day 3 of Winter Storm #3-- Getting Restless

Blog Jan 8

Day 3 of the January Blizzard/Snow-In.... The natives are getting restless. Going out into the frigid temperatures doesn’t faze the Farmer anymore. The Farmer’s Wife has even succumb to doing farm bookwork as a diversion from looking out at all the snow, all the same snow... that never melts.

Of course I’m just joking, mostly...

We are still snow-bound. Watching for the snowplow has become one of our new pass-times. We are also passing the time by catching up on projects. Farmer-dear continues to do all the chores alone. The ice on the pond is still 15” thick.

Today he tore out the old lazy susan from under the counter in the kitchen. The same cupboard that the mice use as their “condo.” He had given me a glide-out trash can for Christmas (I know. lol) to go in this cupboard. We’ll see how it works if (when) the mice get in again.

While he’s been busy with chores and tools, I’ve been catching up on the farm bookwork. I’m 90% done with 2009! As I’m filing receipts, I’ve been fine-tuning my files so we can find specific items more easily.

I also did a little sewing on the autumn table runner. It is my first Stash Busting project for 2010. My goal this year is to see how many projects I can complete or make entirely from my stash. I have enough fabric, patterns, books, batting, backing, embellishments, thread, rulers, and sewing machines, that I shouldn’t have to buy anything this year. That doesn’t mean, I won’t want to buy some new fabric. *grin*

I also tried a new whole grain bread recipe today from Cook’s Illustrated. It was not a success. I’m not sure if it’s because I got interrupted several times in the process of mixing up the dough or if my home-milled wheat flour absorbs more liquid than purchased whole wheat flour? The recipe made two loaves but the dough was very dense from the start, and the loaves never really raised well and baked into bricks. I guess the birds will be happy for a few days. I’ll try the recipe again when I get more 7-grain hot cereal.

Another diversion to the snow and cold has been the Wii. This evening I tried Bowling for the first time. I don’t want to brag, but let’s just say, in this household, Women Rule at Wii Bowling!

So I can’t say we’re bored, exactly; but we are getting a little stir-crazy. We are both so very thankful for our warm home, our shelter and refuge, heat, food and all the entertainment we have available. And we’ll be happy to see other real live people and do something besides chores, work, being home. The Big City calls loudly.

But in the mean time, we’ll just continue on. If you don’t see us by June, someone send in the Mounties!

Hugs!
K~

** Most people are about as happy
as they make their minds up to be.
- Abraham Lincoln

Ya'll Come on this cold Sunday

It's a happy day here on the Prairie Farm.
The Blue-eyed Farmer is feeling a lot better than yesterday.

We got the obvious Christmas decorations put away.
I left out the more "wintery" ones for some color and sparkle yet.

And I messed around with these kind of ingredients.

(But not this, because I'm lazy today.)

And went from this.....



to this....

because I have this.

And because it's still like this outside. **sigh**

Which means it's a good day to play with this.

Ya'll can come on over to eat and play too.

Hugs!
Kay~

** "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in,
where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. " ~John Muir

I love Red & White!

Is this not just the cutest thing?!! My dear, sweet, much-loved "Cyber-cousin" Maggie & dh Bill repainted and reupholstered this adorable rocking chair pin cushion for me. And then sent it here all the way from their home on an island off the coast of Maine.

Thank you, Thank You, Thank YOU! dear Maggie-Mine. I squealed with delight when I first saw it and I can't stop grinning. Now I'm gonna go cry some happy, "I'm loved" tears.

K~


** "It is a good thing to be rich,
it is a good thing to be strong,
but it is a better thing to be beloved of many friends."
~~Euripides (480-406 BC) Greek Playwright

Making Excuses .... I mean, a Menu

Banking a Prairie Farm with Sod for the Winter in Dakota Territory, 1880s

Today it looks like this.

I know... I said I was taking a break from blogging and I am... but I've been procrastinating* ... catching up on favorite blogs while eating lunch.

Tammy, my fellow Neb. blogger, and my dear PennyAnne Poundwise, both posted their menus for the week.

(Gee thanks Tammy, for reminding me about the change in the weather. I think I'd rather dodge the stray tornado & hail stones if the temps would stay in the 60s-70s. I'm not liking this 40s and cloudy and cold and rain, snow in the forecast and lows in the 20s! [Hellooooo... we just moved back to our UNHEATED bedroom! I don't want to move back down to the HEATED basement guest room. My back just got used to the change in mattresses.])

Anyway.... they posted their menus and ok, I wanted to keep procrastinating *.... participate in menu-sharing too.

Here's my menu for the Week of March 23-28th

Monday: Sloppy Joes on whole wheat buns, Cole slaw, Chips, various found things for dessert - Farmer-Dear; Leftover Spicy Catfish fingers, Jalapeno Mac & Cheese, Corn muffin from Sunday's dinner at Famous Dave's®, no dessert - me.

Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner (B4D) Night- Ham and Cheese or Tomato and Avocado Omelets, Hash browns, Whole wheat toast, Cinnamon Apples - both of us (and should be that way most of the rest of the week, unless "someone" decides He doesn't want what I'm having.)

Wednesday: ("warm" day of the week) Chef or Chopped Salad with variety of cheeses, smoked turkey breast &/or ham, Butter sticks (quick bread), Almond pound cake with berries

Thursday: Dining Alone Night** Eggplant Parmesan, chopped salad and pesto ww angel hair pasta for me; Schwan's battered Fish, fries and canned veggies for F-d

Friday: (We're babysitting in the evening for a super-cute little neighbor boy, so it'll be an easy,make-ahead supper.) Soup and sandwiches. Haven't decided on the soup yet. I've found some new recipes but F-d may want to stay with the TnT (chili, baked potato or tomato). Sandwiches will be either tuna, egg salad, grilled cheese or just corn bread.

Saturday: (I'd like a Date Night, but not sure of the weekend schedule yet.)
Individual meat loaves, Baked regular & sweet potatoes, Roasted broccoli for me & something canned for F-d (hey! He likes canned veggies.), Homemade dinner rolls, a yet-to-be-decided Cake or Dessert from scratch.
(PS Found my Cake recipe! Lemon Ricotta Cake with Strawberry Sauce ala Storybook Woods )

Sunday is Cook's Day Off, unless she wants to cook. Next week will be a little nutty with our church's Easter Pageant 4 days. I'll be eating at church this day (Sunday) I think, because of full dress rehearsal and then every day of the performances. So next week might be alot of "find what you can" meals for Farmer-dear. Good thing the Schawn truck comes this week.

I continued to procrastinate *... puttered in the kitchen and cleaned off my prep/coffee area. (I have a very small amount of countertop, so this corner does it all.) Slowly starting some Spring Cleaning.

While I was wiping down and de-crumbing (and killing awakening Lady Bugs Grrrrr!); I nuked what was left of the 99¢ package of turkey bacon and it is now jarred & in the freezer to use as Bakon Bits on salads.

I also processed 4 slices of Buffalo Jerky into "gravel." (it's not "dust" and too big for "crumbs", so "gravel" it is.) But what do I do with it? The flavor doesn't impress me. It's not a strong smoked or spicy jerky, just a bland-kind of beefiness. And obviously, being jerky, it will need to be used in something with moisture or cooked in liquid. Or not?? I'd appreciate any suggestions on uses for this. It's in a jar in the freezer too.


I hope to have photos of the newest calves soon. We had a new one, yesterday in the midst of the storms, but he and Mama are doing fine. We let the twins & their mama out of the barn. It was a bit of a muddle, all these new black babies and 2 black mamas. Plus the black/white face Aunties have "certain body parts" that look the same as Mom's to the calves. The Aunties were not amused at the extra attention. (giggle)

OK, I guess that's enough procrastinating *.... Blogging for now.

I'll be back when I as soon as I can.

Hugs!
Kay~

* I should be making a diaper cover for a goat right now. I'll let you mull on that one for a while. lol

** Click on the link for her blog. I have to cook & dine alone alot too. Farmer-dear is not very adventurous in the food area, as you know.

A short break

Just a note to let you all know, I'm not leaving blog-land forever, but need to take a short break. You probably won't even miss me. So maybe this is just permission to myself that it is "OK" to take a break and not feel guilty. :o)

Our church's annual Easter Pageant is coming up soon and I'm helping in the costume department this year. Since I'm new there, I feel slightly lost all the time. I'm so glad everyone has patience with me.
I've been stitching and sewing and tacking costumes and getting to know some of the older ladies of the congregation. Plus both ways. :oD
This week I have to make 6 cowls/head-dresses and.... a diaper cover for a Fainting Goat! Yes, you read correctly.... a diaper cover for a goat! lol Out of fake fur. LMHO! I think I'll need a liner and then the fake fur over the top of that. Not sure how this will work out. I'll let you know & hopefully will remember to take photos of the finished product on the goat.

And we will be babysitting for a neighbor's sweet 9-month old boy this Friday evening. I've been in the 1-year old room at church for the past few Sundays and they are fun. (Once you get past the tantrums & screamings.) But the diaper changes are worse than the infant nursery. OY~

And Easter itself is coming and we have a houseful coming. So I'll be cleaning and cooking after the Pageant is over. (Pageant is Palm Sunday weekend for local readers. If you want more info, email or message me or leave a comment here.)

And I really need to get to Spring Cleaning. REALLY! The number of dead flies in my bedroom is too embarrassing to count, but it's bad! They winter-over in the walls and find their way out into the windows. And then die if it is still cold. All I know is, it's gross and embarrassing and I need to clean up there ASAP!

And... our newest cows are close to calving. Matter of fact, Mama 331 had TWINS yesterday. Both heifers and are black. Such cute little things! I couldn't get a photo last evening as it was too dark by the time I got home to see them. But I'll get one soon. Farmer-dear put Mama and babies in the barn this morning as we are in for some nasty weather over the next 24 hours and falling temps. Typical, ugly March weather.
The other 3 mamas should be having their calves soon. So we may be making other barn arrangements as the weather worsens.

So, as you can see.... it's just a little busy here on the Prairie Farm. When I start to feel really stressed about life, it's time to let go of some of the inessential activities for a little while.
But no worries, I'll be back with more of my random chattiness in a few weeks.

Until then,
Hugs!
Kay~

** "March arrives to martial music; it's a warrior month; the winds are trumpets, the bright banners of the sky are unfurled, and the pennants of the clouds flutter. Now and again drums roll in an unseasonable thunderstorm, or the snow comes galloping in like white horses."
~~Faith Baldwin, Evening Star(1964)

Thrift Shopping & Sewing

So what does 30 mins. and $37 get you at the local thrift store? All of the above!
5cup Hitachi Rice Cooker (looks brand new, never used. Was able to download the manual.)
3 hardbound books & one cartoon book
1 fake minature rose plant to brighten some corner of my home (looks pretty real to me)
3 small gold-colored baskets for little gifties or adding sparkle to somewhere

8 rolls of fabric, none less than 1 yard

2 twin-sized sheet sets in a perky yellow/red/pink
1 full-sized sheet set in blue/white

The blue/white sheets will fit on the basement guest bed. I plan to join the flat sheets into one full-sized top sheet and find a yellow or pink fitted sheet for the grand-girls' guest bed. The twin-sized fitted sheets will be used in either room decor or for quilting. They are 100% cotton.


*warning to non-fabric lovers-- extended gushing about my finds ahead, scroll through if not interested*

Is this not the coolest design! I really like paisley. This material has a brushed suede feel to it. I suppose for skirts or light jackets? I just like the richness of the colors.

Oilcloth anyone? Not really but has that feel. Avocado....caning.... from the 7os, perhaps?

This one and the paisley are going to be used to make new shopping totebags.

The blues.... love them for their individualness. The grid, so masculine and orderly, but the shell design is more "me." These will be for covering old canvas tote bags. (I wish the shell design was 100% cotton. Would love to put it into a quilt.)

And then we have these lovelies. The yellow/blue vines remind me of Jane Sassaman's fabric and quilts (http://www.janesassaman.com/core-pages/quilts.html ). Again, none are 100% cotton and won't work for quilting. The red/yellow floral is glazed & would make great pillowcoverings. Or great tote bags!

I have this as an idea for covering my tote bags:
Aren't these yummy? I copied this from someone's blog and forgot to note where. Sorry!!! (If it's yours, please LMK and I'll give proper credit.)

And on that site, these: Sweet pincushions. No pattern but I bet I can figure it out. That "vine" fabric would work for these.

Then, yesterday afternoon, after fondling all my fabric finds and washing the sheets, I decided to hunt up my tote bag patterns. And in the pile I found one for the Humbug Bag that one of my quilting friends had sent me, complete with fabric she had quilted. I LOVE batiks and this is just my style! Well here... take a look at what I made from that material, a 10¢ thrift store zipper and about 30-45 mins. (would have taken less time but I was learning how to use my zipper foot):


and a close-up of the inside, the zipper and the thrift store organza ribbon accent. (Have I said how much I LOVE my local thrift store! )

This little bag will be perfect for my lipgloss, mints, etc in my desk at work.

I can't wait for Sunday, more sewing. (this evening- eye exams & dinner out; tomorrow-Bull shopping [yee haw I'll be reading in the truck])
I just need to decide what to sew.... the Anniversary Quilt? More bags (but I need more zippers)? Those pincushions? The tote bags &/or tote bag covers?

Oh! And want to know what spurred on my Muse to make this bag? Restitching Farmer-dear's zipper in his chore coveralls. LOL Hey! Whatever works, right?

Finally, thanks for all the good thoughts, prayers and well-wishes you all sent for Farmer-dear & me. He's feeling lots better. Good enough, in fact, to trim some trees with the chainsaw yesterday. I'm about half-way through my cold. At the gunky stage (sorry) & with a sore nose, but no more fever, so I'm on the mend too. Definitely time for Spring weather!

Hope you all have a Fabulous Friday and a Wonderful weekend!

Hugs!
Kay~

** "Methinks it is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics,
when women of high thoughts and accomplishments love to sew;
especially as they are never more at home with their own hearts
than while so occupied."
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, 1859

Busy Day & Busy Week

Winter Pansies blooming on my back porch

Good Evening/Night everyone.

It's the end of Monday. It's been a good day, I guess. I got alot of stuff done. Mundane things like laundry and dishes. We have a new little bull in the Cow Lot as of 2 p.m. I finished the pillowcase for my co-worker's bday and the bread is in the oven now.
The sun shone and I got supper "out" too.

On the not-so-great side, Farmer-dear has the start of pneumonia and is on stronger meds. If he's not a lot better by Wed. he goes back for more. On the plus side, the EKG they took (because he had pain in his chest), showed his heart is fine. The chest x-ray showed the pneumonia. Maybe these meds will get the poor guy well again! At least he's not feeling too horrible, just run-down and not 100%.

Then we had to wait for 45 mins. at the dreaded W-mart to get the script filled. Sheesh! You'd have thought it was Monday or something. lol
(the entertainment was watching some woman come unglued when the pharm. associate couldn't fill her script because it had been too long since it was originally written. Poor associate.)

Then on to the city to get some farm chemicals (I know... go to the City for Farm stuff.) There goes $700+....

And now I'm bushed and ready for bed but have to wait on this bread and put the laundered sheets on the bed.

But, I did get to sew today. :oD And I took my time and enjoyed it. Fiddling with matching the thread (instead of using the usual gray/beige combo) and switching the feet to get the right seam allowance instead of fudging it. Pressing well and frog-stitching a few spots that were not "perfect." I'm not sure what came over me. I'm usually "done is better than perfect" but today it just felt right. Who switched Muses on me?? lol

Above is the pillowcase I made last week for my lady boss and below is the one for my co-worker.

Tomorrow I'm working and then to the Eye Doctor for at least one new lense in my glasses. Only one bifocal works and I'm tired of tired eyes and having to focus with my right eye.
Wednesday I'll probably off work but need to get my grays covered and my back adjusted and Must rejoin PACE again. This winter "insulation" is getting out of hand. :oc
Thursday probably working.
Friday NOTHING.....sewing! (I hope)
Saturday Dinner out w/ friends.

It'll be a good week, but busy.

Hope you all are having a good one too.
Hugs!
Kay~

** "I hate a woman who offers herself
because she ought to do so,
and, cold and dry,
thinks of her sewing when she's making love." ~Ovid

I have an addiction

and it's growing worse, but I have no desire to over-come it right now. It sneaks up on me unannounced.

Here's how I fed it today....


(sorry about the mess in the background...this is where she got "plopped down")

Isn't she cool?! Miss Vintage Singer 503a, born a few years earlier than I was. Very clean and well-cared for. (like me) No manual but I downloaded one. Some cams for special occasions and the needed feet and some extras that aren't really needed but they were included.

Yes, I have a Vintage Singer Sewing Machine addiction. They are just so neat!! Miss 503a became mine after some wheeling & dealing; for the price of $27!

I gotta get that painting done and those apples worked up so I can play with her!!

Here is her "older sister," Miss 99K.



Made in Great Britian and after a short stay with the sewing machine "doctor" is a lovely, free-moving thing. I'm almost scared to use her since her "operation" cost a pretty penny.

Poor Farmer-dear just can't quite understand why I am addicted like this. He counted 5 sewing machines in the sewing room today. Kenmore (my Tried & True), the Necchi cabinet my BFF gave me, the 99K, 404 and now the 503a. He doesn't know about the 66 and forgot about the vintage Bernina upstairs and the Wards in the shed.

It could be worse, you know.... I could have a strong addiction to Jimmy Cho shoes.

Have a great Monday tomorrow! I'll be working at the magazine and then home to paint, unless it's raining and too humid. Gee, then I'll have to sew.

HUGS!
Kay~

–– "Methinks it is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics,
when women of high thoughts and accomplishments love to sew;
especially as they are never more at home with their own hearts than while so occupied."
~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, 1859