On the Wall

On my design wall this week, many more little red houses from the  Domiciles  pattern by Aardvark Quilts and the early stages of a Trip around the World.

Y'all come back!

Goals & Progress Report

Not too much sewing has been done. The weather has been glorious and I have been playing in the garden, wonderful Mr Mutchmore came and tilled the vegetable patch. I immediately planted Early Girl tomatoes, three pumpkins, lettuce, and a few radishes. The little boy next door is going to grow corn in the back 40 (square feet) and I will plant runner beans, spring onions and carrots when the plot dries out from our recent rain. Fingers crossed we do not get another freeze.

I have used either Lori's or my own Singer 15 exclusively for rather a long time and have become very set in that particular rut. Here in South Dakota I can use a 15 at Lori's house but I have a little vintage (1955) Singer 99K in mine, click image to enlarge. The “K” in the model name indicates it was made in Kilbowie, Scotland, it is a long way from home.

The Singer 99 is a 3/4 sized machine but still plenty tough. Surprisingly different from the Model 15 in its little quirks, probably nobody else would notice, but did I mention, I am very set in my rut.  I have had to 'cowgirl up' but because of those differences I have put the Double-X Effect quilt, which is all triangles, back in the "To do Box"

My choices of machine to bring to this house from 200 West Main were limited, it is the only Singer and the youngest machine in my collection of antique and vintage machines. I bought this particular machine because it was a bargain, it is absolutely pristine, looks like it has never been used and it has a cabinet or sewing machine table, as opposed to a case. Those 3/4 size cabinets have never been common and are getting really hard to find. Back from the wonderful machine repair shop in Mitchell, it has a new electrical cord and plug and is much happier.

Quilty goals progress: 

• I have finished piecing the Swoon quilt which I started last year, the backing is pieced and it is waiting it's turn on the quilting machine. The Baby Swoon is in Texas awaiting the birth of baby Brock next month. This is the first time a quilt has arrived before the occasion. History is made!
• The Domiciles,  project has 36 little houses completed, 63 to go. I am enjoying this one which is decimating Lori's stash of reds. For scrappy quilts my personal rule of thumb is no more than 5% of any fabric and preferably no two identical block/fabric combinations.
•  Summer Porch from Eleanor Burns Quilts Through the Seasons: A Quilt for Each Month of the Year book has four new blocks, for a total of 30 completed on the blocks. there are a bunch of simple border blocks too. It is my "keep at Lori's house project".

Progress on non quilting goals:

• Mow the lawn - done, several times!
• Fill the birdbath and dig the flower bed around it. - done and Morning Glories have been planted
• List Lori's very large box of surplus books on Bonanza and Amazon (different ones on the different sites)- done
• Continue weeding the front and side flower beds - in progress, may be ongoing for months :(
• Plant my hanging basket for the front porch - done, I made two and a large container, all are on the front porch.

This weeks goals:

1. Five more Summer Porch blocks
2. Ten more Domiciles blocks
3. Sand and paint the $1 coffee table I bought last week, I am thinking Swedish blue to complement the ratty carpet which needs to be replaced.
4. Continue weeding front flower beds, removing river rock 'mulch' and rotted shade cloth.
5. Plant Asiatic lilies and some perennial flowers.
6. Make a climbing trellis for Moonflowers by the side door deck.

Y'all come back!

Shabby Chippy White Bentwood Chairs

I adore older, previously loved things.

This is just as well because very few brand sparkling new things have come my way in my lifetime and please note, I am not complaining.

Here is a real treasure from last week's sale, carefully posed next to the Bridal Wreath Spirea hedge just coming into bloom.

It is delightfully shabby,  the creamy white paint is slightly chippy, a solid, real wood, American made bentwood chair. I bought two, the second has very workmanlike heavy wire bracing (carefully painted) on the legs.

These chairs were obviously valued by their previous owner a farmer who passed away at the grand old age of 84 last December, he carved his name under the seats.

This is now my sewing machine chair, the other one lives in the enclosed side porch where it makes the changing of shoes much easier.

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Swoon Baby

Click image to enlarge 

This is the one block size baby's first quilt I made from the Swoon pattern for my soon to be newest grandchild. As you can see it is a monochromatic quilt in blues, yes he is a boy and his name will be Brock.

My son and daughter in law live in Texas so the star theme seemed appropriate, Texans love them some stars; big is always good in Texas and as I understand it, you can never have too many of just about anything, but especially stars.

Here is the back showing the quilting.

At 36" square it will work for a either a crib or bassinet and it is small enough to be used on the car baby seat. The pantograph is Hearts A Flutter by the talented Lisa Calle of Stone House Designs.

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The Day After the Sale

This morning is a delightfully crisp 39 degrees and the sun is shining with promise of a lovely spring day ahead. Mr Robin has driven off all the other male robin contenders for possession of my garden and (I am told) is waiting for the arrival of the ladies from parts south. I am not sure how desirable his territory is, but he took a bath with much vigorous splashing; hopefully some nice girl will choose him to raise a Click image to enlarge gap ffamily this family this year.

Lori and I went to another sale yesterday. On the way there we assured each other that if we didn't see anything enticing we would come home. As we were hauling an enormous horse trailer I am not sure we believed ourselves.

We arrived in the nick of time, I was able to inspect, bid on and win a vintage hand quilted elongated nine-patch, sewn in the 30's or 40's for a very reasonable price. A badly faded and patched hand quilted wholecloth quilt, probably with wool batting was in the same lot. I was going to give it to Boysie but Lori was in love with it so I gave it to her instead.

Lots of other treasures came home with me including this sweet bright red wooden caddy, two antique office chairs, a 60's Mid-Century Modern Eames style chair for the porch, some vintage pyrex, china, glassware, pots and pans plus loads of vintage table cloths.

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The Dog Gets a Cat

Do you remember the nursery song about the Farmer in the Dell? He got a wife, the wife got a dog etc.

Boysie is a rescue dog, all of our current dogs are rescued and living with us because they are, for one reason or another, unadoptable. My husband and I had decided a couple of years ago that it was time to allow natural attrition to lower our dog population. We were afraid that a new young dog would outlive us.

When I got the call about Boysie it was a life or death decision for him and the carefully reasoned plan went kablooie, he was five months old and going to the pound the next morning.

Our local pound has a 24 hour rule. If you lose your dog on Saturday afternoon and he ends up at the pound he will be killed on Sunday, even though you couldn't pick him up because they are closed and do not answer phones at the weekend.

Boysie came with a (very sick) cat, Kenny was his bestest friend and I was unable to turn him away. $300 in vet bills and 18 months later he is a gorgeous and healthy cat although not as keen as he used to be to wrestle and be covered in dog saliva.

I had not realized how much Boysie missed his kitty friends until this adolescent tea drinking kitten 'followed him home'. The kitten is between 7 and 9 months old and totally unafraid of rambunctious little dogs. He is very friendly, thin, has had an injury to one back leg, has not stopped eating for two days and uses the litter box copiously.

I have placed an ad in the local paper and am hoping nobody responds.

Y'all come back!

Design Wall Monday

Twenty six blocks for the Eleanor Burns Summer Porch quilt, which I mistakenly called Front Porch last week. The pattern is in her Quilts Through the Seasons: A Quilt for Each Month of the Year book. The size I am making will require a total of forty two blocks.

Above, twenty six scrappy little red houses for the Domiciles quilt, a total of 99 are required. My design wall tells me I need to use more darker tans and less beige and very dark browns for the backgrounds, and I am considering adding brown and maybe pink for some of the houses. What do you think?

There is no magic in the number twenty six, just a co-incidence.

Y'all come back!