Calendar Inspiration

Each year I look forward to a new Mary Engelbreit desk calendar. Mary's artwork and inspiring sayings have been an uplifting way to start the day for many years. Some of the calendar page sayings are on the side bar here on my Blog….Today when I tore off the calendar page it said:

"Best friends are like Stars.

You don't always see them,

but you know they're there"

~Anonymous

Too all my friends who I don't see often, hugs to you, and I do know you are there. Thank you for your friendship. Have nice weekend!

Slotted Ruler Holder

Warning. Enabler: Sometimes it amazes me what you can find on Etsy!  When the new cutting table for the sewing room arrives in late March I don't want to clutter the top of it with rulers and rotary cutters and scissors.  I thought someone has got to make a good slotted ruler holder that can be placed up and away from the cutting table.  Preferably on the wall close to the table.

 Clyde in Montana ! He makes these slotted holders in maple, oak and walnut. The workmanship is wonderful!  He has both the table top or wall mounted styles.  He also does custom finishes.

 I asked him to paint mine white instead of staining the wood. It arrived today and it is so nice!  Fourteen slots for rulers. Eight hooks for hanging, and the small front door opens up for storage as well. He even provided the screws for hanging.

This is a similar picture of what mine looks like.  I'll be hanging it once the sewing room remodel is finished.  I'm so excited to have found this!  

12 Anita Goodesign Homestead Quilt Blocks

I have this many finished---not near what I hoped to accomplish by now. I finally found some Lite Steam a Seam2. That is good!  I'm also getting the process down so that I know: outline, sky, trim. Outline, grass, trim. and etc. The buildings take the longest to stitch out. The trees the least amount of time. The little quilt blocks take the most time, but they are finished. I'm having so much fun picking fabrics for this quilt. The blocks are 8" x 8".

I'm hoping to get them finished before I tear apart the sewing room(s), if not I may set up Miss Ellie' on a table someplace in the house while the contractors are working. I just wanted to share the progress so far. Have a good weekend.

Some Early Signs of Spring

The weather has been so strange here in Sonoma County for the past three months. Freezing cold January nights, warm days, no rain, lots of rain this past week  and now more warm day time temps. I'm confused, and the Spring blooming plants are even more confused.

Daffodils in January and February. 

The Camellias are also in full bloom since the rain this past weekend. Usually the rain plasters the poor blooms all of the Spring months and causes them to fall to the ground, and we never really get to enjoy the full effect. Today, the bush is not wet and the flowers and shiny leaves look beautiful!  Enjoying an early Spring!

Quilted

I finished quilting this Remnants top Cora pieced yesterday with a pantograph.  I like all over designs or pantographs for scrappy donation quilting.  The quilting design is a paper pantograph,  Ground Cover.

I used Mary Johnson's "Quick Strippy" quilt pattern and some older fabric from my stash to make this second rose pink donation quilt.  I free motion quilted the design on this one---

Homestead Quilt Blocks Progress

It has been slow going with the Homestead quilt blocks.  I've been preoccupied with thoughts of the sewing room remodel and I spent three days in town searching for sewing room furniture, and then Miss Ellie,' the embroidery machine decided to act up and she spent a week in "intensive care" for repairs and maintenance.  Turned out her "timing" was off, and I had raised the embroidery foot just a tad to high for her liking.   I don't know what caused the timing issue. No broken needles or mishaps with thread. I'm considering that it was due to some pre wounds that I had recently purchased that were very poorly wound.  So, I'm back to using my reliable Finishing Touch bobbin thread and winding my own bobbins.  Miss Ellie' is home and purring again thanks to my wonderful repair technician, John at Village Sewing.  In fact I don't think she has ever sounded better! So quiet and smooth.

Here are some of the blocks I've managed to squeeze into doing a ba-zillion other things,  drawing out new plans for the sewing room, meeting with the remodel contractor, finding new sewing room furniture, thinking paint, flooring and oh, yes packing out every inch of what is in the quilting room very soon.  Last Friday I actually cleaned some of the house…you wouldn't know it today, but it was quite clean for a few days…..

These blocks are soooo---Fun! Time consuming too. I've also run out of Lite Steam-A-Seam2.  The original stuff in the 9 x 12 sheets. And it's nowhere to be found online. I've been told the Warm Company was unhappy with the paper on the "original" Steam a Seam and they have not found a replacement paper as of this date for this product. You can can find the narrow rolls of 1/2 or 1/4 inch, but not the 9 x 12 size. I bought some "other stuff" thinking it would work, but I really dislike it, but I'm making do. All the grass and parts of the building in the Homestead blocks need to have fusible on them or the edges of the fabric will fray where the blanket stitch separated the various parts of the embroidery. I'm sort of at a standstill at the moment while I try to find a nice fusible to use that is light.

Edit: I've received some questions about this project. This is an Anita Goodesign embroidery quilt called "Homestead". You can find more about it at the Anita Goodesign website. Regarding thread. I am using Floriani and Isacord threads. I don't use a thread number/color chart. I pick my own colors that I think best depict the leaves, bird, quilt designs, etc. Whatever color I like. Same with the fabrics.

All the blocks I have finished so far.  Each block take between 45 mins. to an hour plus to complete.

Can I

Can I come in from the rain---

 ---and sit by the fire

 While you quilt ---

Can I, can I ?

Rain on me o' rain rain

rain on me o' rain rain rain

o' rain rain rain
come rain on me o' rain
rain on every plant that grow o' dear rain
rain on every resource o' dear rain
rain to green the plants
the plants that of nature's decor
rain on us and never let go
quench my thirst; to get so
rain on me o' rain rain rain

rain for happiness and leisure
rain for our children to play
rain on the soil for us this day
so, we plant more food to feed us this way
go to the fields and gardens; same way
rain o' beautiful rain
rain rain rain

By Onalethuso Petruss Ntema

Wildlife Cam

I thought I'd show you some of the photos from two of our Bushnell Trail cameras. One camera is in front of our garage, and one is on a trail into the woods not far from the house.

 Bobcat on the garage driveway cam two days ago.

 Trail cam. I do not want to meet this Stinker!

 Trail cam.

 We have lots of Deer. Trail cam.

 Large Fox or Coyote. Trail cam. (I don't want to meet him either)

 Snoopy Squirrel. Trail cam

 One of 46 Turkeys that roam the property! Trail Cam

Hey! Blue, I'm on candid camera!

Rack-OON