December News from the Homestead

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Every year December sneaks up on me and I wonder how did we get to the end of the year again.  The days are shorter, the nights longer, the chores a little lighter, but there still seems so much to be done.  December is a typically busy month for our family, mostly because of the activities that go on in our little town.  We have an annual Christmas Tree Lighting. . . .



A Lighted Tractor Parade. .

 

 

And the kids' favorite, the annual Rotary Christmas party, put on by the General Manager's Rotary Club.  We love that Santa is played by one of the employees at Fernbridge Tractor.  All the kids know who it is and just giggle away when "sitting on his knee" and telling him what they want for Christmas.

 

 

But, December should be a month to slow down and enjoy some of the simple pleasures life brings us. . . . . quiet evenings playing games with the kids, quilting projects for the new year being cut out and pieced together, lots and lots of baking, and drawing some amazing pictures of Lego people (okay, that one was for George).

My friend, Heather and I are working on a Civil War Quilt this year as our annual quilty project.  The pattern is by Barbara Brackman and it is called Threads of Memory.

 

I just love the "Quilty Cake"  I made Heather for her birthday!  It's more fun quilting for friends.

One of my big projects this year was a quilt I did for my sister for Christmas.  The pattern is called Old Glory by Barb Johnson and I used Riley Blake Splendor fabric line.

Even Lindsay is getting hooked by the sewing bug and has begun Lori Holt's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" quilt along.  I just love the whimsical blocks and fabrics she is choosing.

Here on our homestead we've been busy too with some simple farm chores.  The garden is getting a complete overhaul due to the abundance of gophers we dealt with this year.  All the boxes are being pulled up, the dirt moved, the plastic sheeting underneath removed, everything tilled under and then in the spring we'll start anew with fresh boxes (lined with more chicken wire) and a new layout so that a lawn mower can get between the rows for easier maintenance.  In our haste to get the garden in, we forgot to plan for maintenance in-between the beds.  Sometimes, we have to learn lessons the hard way.  It's nice to know that it's still possible to regroup, rethink and fix things for the better.

We also had our house painted in November. . .right before our rainy season starts!  It is a brand new color called, "Shopping Bag," which is definitely appropriate for a house full of women.  It is just a light enough tan color that it makes the whole house stand out, rather than blend into the background as it did when it was a grey-blue color.

I hope and pray that your December was filled with love, laughter and happiness.  Thank you for continuing to follow our family on our homesteading journey.

A Quilt for Lindsay

This last week, I was so excited when I received the quilt I made for Lindsay back from the quilter.  This quilt will adorn her bed by the end of August.  She is not very happy that it has to wait until then, but in order for me to enter it into our county fair, she must wait.

Kathy, from Stitch by Stitch, in Montana, did a fabulous job.  I used the granny square pattern from Lori at Bee in My Bonnet.   The fabric that Lindsay chose was Floral Gatherings by Moda.

 

I absolutely love the swirls in between all of the granny squares.  And the orange slices within the granny squares actually make the squares pop out.

 

 

To my surprise, I received an email from Kathy telling me that she had posted my quilt on her blog.  Be sure to check out her work and her post HERE.  She is a wonderfully talented quilter.  When I send her a quilt, I feel comfortable allowing her to "play" on them, being free to quilt whatever design she sees that the quilt needs.  It really frees me up from having to ponder forever over what design would work well with the quilt blocks and borders.

 

Thanks Kathy!  Here's hoping to a blue ribbon at the Humboldt County Fair this year.

Birthday Made Easy

Getting older is not easy.  My children know that momma is not having anymore birthdays, nor do I like to be reminded that I am getting older.  I can experience that every morning when I get up and look in the mirror.

 

But, with my friends, getting older is EASY, especially when they know me well enough to feed my addiction of quilting and sewing.  This year for my birthday, my dear friend gave me this wonderful mini quilt kit called Thimble Blossoms by Camille Roskelley.  Could these little spools of thread not be more adorable or fit my likes any better?  And to top it off, I have the perfect quilt hanger for this quilt.

 

 

Included in my birthday bundle was a Potluck by Moda charm pack, as well as additional yardage for the borders, backing and binding.  The finished quilt measures 14 by 16 inches and it only uses 14 out of the 42 squares.  The tops of the spools were made from leftover grey that I found in my stash from my barn quilt that I finished late last year.  It really was by far one of the quickest quilt tops I have ever put together, but I will admit cutting and sewing the tiny pieces was a challenge.

 

 

 

While the design was fabulous with just the white borders, I thought it needed just a little something more.  Plus, I had all those remaining charm squares just waiting to be used.  Today, I added a 2 inch square border with some of my favorite fabrics.  Aren't the little white chicks so sweet?

 

 

 

It is now all pinned and ready to be hand quilted.  Yes, I know I am not a huge fan of hand quilting, but this little quilt squeals to be hand quilted.  Plus, can you keep a secret.. . . . .  sssshhhhh . . .  I plan on entering this quilt into our local county fair in August and I was let in on a little secret that there are not many hand quilted entries.    It will be fun to see my little quilt hanging in amongst all of the more skilled quilter's quilts.

 

 

Thanks for making my birthday special Heather!

 

Spring time

If I had to pick a season to call my favorite, I just couldn't do it.  I love so many of the different aspects of each season that I couldn't choose just one.  Spring is new growth, fresh air and the start of longer days.  Summer is gardening, end of the school year joy, swimming and our big birthday bash.  Fall is full on harvesting, canning, preserving and Winter is snuggly fires, hot chocolate or warm apple cider and lots and lots of quilting projects.  Here we are in spring and these are just a few of the things going on at our homestead.

Spring:

* New flowers blooming, buds on some and little plants emerging from the ground (which I seriously thought I killed last fall)

 * Really green grass from much of the rain we've seen here on the coast.

* Overwintered cauliflower (who would have thought that could happen to me?)

* Some quilting projects from the winter season.

 

This one is from Barbara Brackman's Civil War Quilts.  These are the first two blocks in 12 total blocks-of-the-month for 2014.  The fabric I chose is called Homestead Gatherings from Moda.  I absolutely love the primitiveness (is that actually a word?) of the fabric and think it will work well in any of the rooms in my house.

 

Another quilt for a special little granddaughter of a friend.

 

This quilt is for Lindsay.  It still needs two borders.  The fabric is in the mail (Somehow, my children thinnk I receive too much fabric in the mail, so I have been currently banned from ordering anymore fabric) and since the sun was shining and the wind wasn't blowing I just knew I needed to snap a picture.  The fabric I used for this quilt is called Floral Gatherings by Moda.

 

* Plant starts growing in the green house, chive blossoms (perfect for chive infused vinegar for my homemade salad dressing - YUM! and some direct seeded spinach in the hot house.

* A new swing set for the farm kids built by their grandfather, stained by their grandmother and installed by their father - if this swing set looks massive to you, it's because it is!

*  Pregnant momma goat due June 10th - we are very anxious and thrilled to begin this new adventure in homestead living.  Raising animals has not been an easy road for us.  But, with each experience we've learned something valuable.  Our kids will thank us one day for teaching them responsibility, accountability and compassion for animals.  We have many conversations about how these animals depend on us for their survival.  It is good training for when they all have children of their own one day.

 

So how is your spring time going?

A Quilt for Abby

Abby . . .  our six year old.. . .  our monkey and minion hat wearer. .  . and toothless wonder as of last week, needed a new quilt for her bed.  She has patiently endured having, for the last few years, her sister's hand-me-down comforter which had too many stains on it to count.

After a friend gave me an extra Marmalade jelly roll and the suggestion of an Irish Chain Quilt Pattern, her quilt was begun. 

 

Here is the finished quilt for our littlest girl.  I think it turned out adorable on her bed and I absolutely love the quilting that was done by a professional quilter in Crescent City, Debi's Thread Tales. 

 

 

The rose flower pantogram is the perfect pattern for a little girl to trace late at night.  She loves her new quilt and she didn't murmur one complaint when I threw the old comforter in the trash.

 

 

 

 

Next quilt up on the machine is for Lindsay and here is a sneak peak of her fabric.

 

 

 

 

 

On the Go Baby~

And another sweet baby quilt is ready for quilting.  This one I will hand quilt because the momma who will receive it, isn't due for another 6 weeks so I have plenty of time.

I found this pattern on Moda Bake Shop here.  It is entitled "On the Go."  It was a fairly easy quilt block pattern, until I put it up on the wall to take a picture of it and realized some of the squares were in backwards.  A quick trip back to the sewing machine and they were all fixed.  My children were hollering in the background to "just leave it be momma."  I just couldn't though - it had to be just right.

The fabric was not from any particular grouping, but rather a random combination from Joanns, our local fabric store, my stash and my favorite Kona Cotton in white.  I think it turned out so adorable!

The momma to be is having her eighth child, another son, and she is my age.  How I long to have another baby of my own, but it is not apparently in God's plan for my life.  So for the time being while I don't get to hold one more of my own, I will rejoice in holding the precious gifts of others.

Stay tuned for the reveal of Abby's beautiful quilt for her room.

How did it get to be December?

Once again I feel like I'm starting out this entry with the statement, "I've been absent for so long. . . ."  It seems to be a trend for me on this blog.  

My last entry was at the end of the summer and here we are already in December.  Where did the time go?

After the kids and I started another year of home schooling, I feel like we flew through the months of September and October.  We had just an amazing summer and fall, with barely any rain and beautiful sunny/warm days.  We had many play dates with friends and lots of time outdoors.  The three younger girls began their full load of ballet classes for this semester in September.  Running them to and from the dance studio has become my life these days - thank heavens we are only 5 minutes from the dance studio in town.

Harvesting this year's bounty took all hands on deck.  Many hands make light work.  One afternoon we harvested our neighbor's apples.  They made a spectacular batch of apple butter.

In early August, I relisted some items into my Etsy Precious Peas Shop.  It all began from inspiration from my Dad, who brought home some burlap fabric for me to make something out of it.  A table runner seemed probable.  Since I have listed this table runner in August, my shop has sold over 140 of them.

 

Check out the latest additions to the shop:

 

 
 

 

Thanksgiving was spent with the entire family.  Both older girls, and their families came out for a visit.  We also got to meet our newest grandbaby.  It was sweet time of fellowship with everyone.  They even had time to fit in some Black Friday shopping - I know some of them are anxious to see what deals they scored that night.

 

 

 

I almost forgot one important thing - my Barn Quilt is done!  Now off to the quilter it goes!

 

Have a blessed holiday season!