V is for Victory

Yea me!!!! I finished piecing the last blocks of 18.

Liberty Star, Airplane
Brave World, Victory Block (my least fav..)

However, this does not mean I finished a quilt. I've only BEGUN.

Now, back up the truck..... you might recall I made one block too small and had to redo it. That would be this:


The one on the right is the new one and you can easily see it is larger. Considerably. If you ever decide to make this quilt, remember to sew a scant 1'4", especially on this block. Tricky because there are ALOT of bias edges. I didn't have enough of the dark blue fabric to repeat the first one and the shop had sold out of the bolt...... note to self: buy slightly MORE than you need. You might NEED it!

Here is a shot of all 18:

They will be "on point" eventually but you get the general idea of the blocks themselves.

As I wrote, I have only begun. The Hard Part: Applique

I hates it. I do I do I do..... root canals are preferable but I love the way it looks. So I am getting busy and here is the first of the last of the (blurry) blocks. Avec Applique


If you wish to read more about this, go here and scroll to the bottom of the post.

WHO DAT?!!!!!!!

SAY THEY GONNA BEAT THEM SAINTS????? WHO DAT!!!!!!!

From AP photo Bill Haber


WHOOHOOOOOOO Super Bowl BABY!!!!!!!


ZOMG!!!!!

Quilt in a Day Goodness

Here's a quick story to tell:
I have been working my thru the book, as you probably know by now, and when marking a template from the supplements in the back of the book, I noticed that I didn't have 6" Fala patterns. Or 6" Bride's Bouquet! Hey, what's up with that? So I popped over to Quilt in a Day website and shot off an email question. (Don't you LOVE LOVE LOVE technology? Back in the day, this might takes weeks by snail mail or a pricey long-distance phone call)

I got a response from one Jeanne S*******. who thru a quick series of emails BaF and one phone call, resolved the problem in just a few hours. The solution? So glad you asked.

The 6" patterns were already printed at the back of the book, just a few pages shy of the cover and of course, it didn't occur to me to thumb around first. Remember what I said about READING instructions thoroughly?

No, neither did I apparently.

Thanks Jeanne!
PS there IS however a correction for page 222 on the website. I figured that much out on my own. Not completely useless.

12 Eggs in 5 Days

At this rate, we'll be swimming in eggs!
Yuck!

Yesterday we spent several hours burning 5 piles of tree trash and other wood John had dragged out of the triangle last year. This is the second or third burn we've worked on and as you can see form the photo, we have a ways to go.

But it's getting there. What you don't see is how little of all that is left. That's sort of a In the Middle of, not a Before or After shot.

And hanging around back there beside the run gave me a chance to "observe" the chickens and their behavior. The two Wyandottes were fluttering in and out of the runs and generally hang out. The other three wandered in and out of their newly cleaned coop as if to pass judgment on our housekeeping skills. Q kept wandering in and out as well. I had to keep my eye on her. Alot of wandering around, if you ask me.

It was a beautiful day to be out there and I pottered about in the garden itself, making mental notes of where I'd like to plant what when the time finally comes around again. It is a mistake to be lulled into thinking spring is upon us. We can have a freeze into March up here. Apparently.

We harvested the first brussell sprouts. They are quite small but flavorful. And along with kale, shallot greens, carrots and lettuce, we used 6 of our egg-take to make this meal:

Yes those are our pickled jalapenos! Sweet and sour.

Below you find 4 more blocks for the Victory quilt from Eleanor Burns. They are turning out beautifully, especially as I read the instructions more closely. I recommend this to anyone reading. If instructions are included in a project, it behooves one to actually read them and not assume being in the same room is sufficient.

Bride's Bouquet, Hope of Hartford
Army Star and Propeller

I've lost track of how many are left to make before I begin assembling the quilt. Go on, click on the pic and check out the "points". I am rather pleased with the result take my time accomplishes.

Stay Away From MY Chicken Eggs!!!!

Last week, John introduces the chickens to the veg garden and we have been allowing them to enter and scratch for bugs and whathaveyou. This may be another problem.

A few days ago, i walked out and saw all the straw mulch had been kicked to the walk paths! What a mess. A thorough job of it, as well. They don't mess around when they start to mess around.

So, now when I am out there, messing around myself, I let them in and do their chicken thing. It's putting fertilizer back in to the beds as well. May I call that "side dressing"?

Here you see they found the kale. This could be another problem.... if they only work that bed, it leaves some for us in the other bed behind it. But I have noticed they take that "All your greens are belong to us" attitude.

Since Monday, our little pile of eggs have been steadily growing to 9, count 'em, 9! But I am starting to feel more like a weasel or ferret. Or a RAT! Or a Gouana!!!!! I'm stealing their eggs! Oh they are delicious, too.

We Have The BEST Little Girls!!!!

and by that I mean chicken girls. The other girls are pretty okay also.... but they don't LAY EGGS!!!!

For a couple of days, when I'd walk around to the coop, I'd find Ginger IN the coop and sitting in the nest boxes..... I didn't think much of it because as the weather was coldish, I figured she was in there, nestled in the straw and keeping warm. Also, I'd look in the boxes every time I opened the door to see if I found an egg. I mean, Come ON..... I'm feeding them. They need to hold up their end of this relationship.
But no egg has been seen since the first few days when we were "gifted" with five eggs. Total.

BTW, don't you just HATE the use of the word "gifted"? When did THIS sneak into our vocabulary as a VERB? You are presented. Not gifted. You are presented a gift. Not gifted a present.

Back on track.... yesterday a friend gave us a dozen free-range eggs because she was "gifted" (HAHAHAHAHAHAH) 2 dozen and she is very generous.... and she knows we are completely surrounded by no eggs. And today, another friend gave me a dozen eggs from her beautiful flock of productive hens! What kind benevolent friends I have!!!

So I get home from the shop this afternoon and scoot the black and whites I spot pecking around the front yard back to the coop and find Ginger is missing. After I stop panicking, I look in the coop and she's staring back at me with one beady eye and I coo at her, "what a good little girl!", thinking that would send her flying out to the run. They usually flee at the sound of my voice. She sits there.

I move closer. She clucks at me as thought to say, "Stand back sister....." I cannot help but see two brown eggs and when I get her shifted around, I spy a third!!!!

So!!! Either she is one very slick, crafty customer and able to HIDE her eggs, or the others have begun to ovulate with her.

Whoo-hoo indeed! Houston, HEY HOUSTON!!! We have eggs.

More For The Quilts

Still sewing on the BOM series for Sharp Needles (which means I haven't touched the Victory Quilt for quite some time now) and I have been playing with that 16 patch arrangement.

These for the "oriental" motif and I really like the pinwheel effect

Seeing these together tells me they will finally placed far apart in the final quilt; they are too similar in design to be neighbors.

Okay, quick playback. This series started last fall with a quilt design made up by Leslie (who's moving soon to the East. Boo) and MY personal goal was to use NO NEW MATERIAL, only scraps from my stash. But as I could not decide whether to make a Christmas theme or a "brights", I said to myself, "Self, why not make two?" So I did but in searching through the stash(es), I found I had other packets (ok ok, I knew I had other packets. Somewhere) and said, "Self, use it up! What are we saving this for if not for this very thing?"

So I have 6 quilts working at the same time and making slight variations on a block if I believe improvement can be made. The ones I have been displaying recently are blocks 3 and 4. 9 to go for each and the center one, No 13, is huge. It's a Rosette and I am going to request that we not wait til the last month as I know I will need larger bits of fabric to complete it alone.

Linda Kay, If ever you read this, heads up!