. . . raking up pine needles to use as mulch around the blueberry bushes . . .
. . . building cages to go around the blueberry bushes (the deer had found them!) . . .
. . . cross-stitching (all that is left is some back-stitching and stitching the verse) . . .
. . . working on my quilt . . .
So far, I'm about 1/4 of the way finished with piecing all of the blocks
I couldn't resist laying out the finished blocks and getting an idea of what the quilt top is going to look like once it's completed! :). . . enjoying foggy mornings while taking care of the animals . . .
. . . having fun watching Leah and Mandy while Leah raked up leaves to put in the chicken pen . . .
. . . making birthday cards for two of the girls in our girls group . . .
. . . watching the chickens during evening chore time (they can be quite entertaining at times!) . . .
. . . and enjoying sunsets . . .
We cannot see sunsets very well from our place, but I always enjoy them anyway! :)The weather has been beautiful here the past week so time outdoors has been very much enjoyed. Our highs for the next few days (including yesterday and today) are all in the 70's! And I'll be enjoying that beautiful weather before too long as Ryan and I are heading out to his place to work on his house this morning . . . so I better bring this to a close and go finish getting things ready!
23 comments:
Your quilt is going to be stunning Sarah, I love the nine piece block and variations.
Wow it has been warm there! We have had some warmer weather too, but it was more like high 40s and low 60s.
Those fog pictures are so beautiful, I especially like the first one. Thanks for posting all these photos...!
~Hannah
Both your quilt and cross-stitch are beautiful, Sarah! Are you machine sewing the quilt? And then do you plan to hand quilt it once you are done?
Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment! I enjoyed hearing from you!
Amy
HI Sarah~your cross-stitch and quilt look so lovely!! I received the skirt and blouse with the scrunchies and ties for my hair. Everything is so beautiful and fits perfectly!! Thank you so much for sewing the skirt so nicely~I wasn't sure how it would come out since I was short on fabric~but you did a fabulous job. I am going to wear in for Church with leggings under. I have not worn pants in 5 months now. I don't even have any. I am only wearing skirts or dresses. How did you come to wear only skirts or dresses? Were you taught by your mother? I am trying to reach out to my 14 year old daughter to wear skirts but she will only wear them to church. At our Evangelical Baptist Church the teenagers wear a lot of pants/jeans~maybe one girls will wear a skirt besides my daughter. I wish they would dress more feminine. Do you have any ideas? God bless, Rose
Sarah, this post was very enjoyable!
I love the morning photos! How lovely! I also really enjoyed your Missouri sunset!!!!
Those birthday cards are very pretty, Sarah!~ (I seemed to remember recieving one like it for my birthday?!?) Do you use stencils or is that your handwriting on the front???
Have a wonderful day!!!
The quilt and stiching are very lovely. YOU really do great work.
How long does it take for you to make a quilt?
That picture of Mandy with her bumper in her mouth brings back tons of memories for me. I worked for a family and looked after not only their son but their black labrador dog too. Candy her name was and she had to hold things in her mouth. And the dad bought boxes of those bumpers and they would be thrown in the water and she would go after them. I still her holding it in her mouth like Mandy is doing.
Here is rainy, downpour we are getting, early morning was stormy out. WE get tiny bits of sunshine.
YOU have really healthy good looking chickens, how many do you have?
kathleen
This post makes me want to head outside right now and work on some gardening, Sarah! :o) It looks as though you've been having a very enjoyable time though.
What beautiful photos those are of the early morning... wow! I really like how the bare tree stands out in the first one with the sun beginning to show on the tops of the trees behind it. That is one pretty field out there!
Your chickens are looking great! I had been wondering how they were doing lately, so the photo was a special treat!
Thank you for this post Sarah! I did enjoy it... as usual! :o)
Have a great afternoon!
~Ashley
Thank you, Elizabeth! I, too, love the nine piece block and variations . . . they have such a beautifully simple and old-fashioned feel to them.
Yes, it has been warm here, Hannah! From looking at the weather, though, that is going to be changing soon. We definitely enjoyed it while it lasted! How nice that you all were able to have warmer temperatures as well!
I am glad that you enjoyed the fog photos. :) And you’re welcome!
Thank you, Amy! Yes, I am using the machine to piece the blocks together, and at this point, I am planning on using the machine to quilt it as well. I would love to hand quilt it (as I definitely prefer how that looks!), but I just do not know if I have the time to do it (I am a slow hand quilter. :)
You’re welcome! :) I always enjoy hearing from you as well!
Thank you, Rose! I am so glad that you like the skirt and blouse and that everything fits you so well. :) I always like to hear that!
How we came to be wearing skirts and dresses is a long story! But in brief, the Lord began convicting my Dad’s heart about this area of modesty, and he spent much time studying Scripture about it as well as reading some writings that others had put together on this topic. So it was through my Dad’s leading that we began dressing in the way that we do now. It wasn’t easy at first as it was different from what we were used to (and at that time we didn’t know really anyone who dressed this way!), but I am so very thankful for my Dad being obedient to the Lord and guiding our family in the direction that he knew God was leading us in. So that is it in a very small nutshell! :)
I will be praying for wisdom for you, your husband and your daughter in this area of dress! And I’ll talk about what you shared and your question with my parents and then will be sending you an e-mail.
I am glad that you enjoyed it, Ashley! And thank you for your sweet comment! Your comments are always so enthusiastic and never fail to bring a smile to my face. :)
For these cards, I had a stamp that I used and then I traced over it with a gel pen. My calligraphy skills are still far from being able to do something like what the stamp can do!
I hope that you have a wonderful day as well!
Thank you for your kind words, Kathleen! The time it takes me to finish a quilt depends mostly on how much time I have to spend working on it (which can vary quite a bit! :) I’d say, though, that it probably takes about a year start to finish on a bed quilt.
It sounds like you have some fun and special memories from when you worked for the family! It is a lot of fun to throw bumpers into the water and watch the dogs retrieve them. :) And the dogs always enjoy it, too!
We currently have 30 laying hens, and they have really picked up in their laying now which is nice!
Thank you for your comment, Ashley! As always, I enjoyed it!! :) I am glad that you enjoyed seeing the photos . . . if only you could have seen the foggy morning ‘in-person’ – it was so neat to watch the fog slowly spreading across the pasture and to watch the sun gradually lighting up the trees until the whole pasture was awash with light and the fog was finally chased away. It was definitely a treat to see!
The chickens are doing really well! And are laying really well, too. :) I think we had 27 eggs yesterday! And they are just about up to being large eggs. Once they reach that point, then we can start up the ‘egg business’ again!
You’re welcome, Ashley! And I hope that you have a great afternoon as well!
It still amazes me just how fast chickens grow!:)
Your quilt is going to be so lovely...all those tiny squares coming together to make an heirloom.
Thanks for answering my questions, Sarah! I have never done machine quilting, but I can imagine that it would go faster than hand-quilting.
I did have a couple questions about quilting. If I'm remembering correctly, you've posted pictures once of a quilt you began hand quilting and then later on you finished by machine quilting it.
When you were hand quilting, did you use a quilting frame or hoop of some sort? And then, if you don't mind me asking, what made you decide to machine quilting instead? Did hand quilting just take a long time or was it pretty difficult to do?
The reason I'm asking is because I have a quilt top that I'm deciding how to finish, so I'm trying to get some ideas of what would be the best way to go about it.
Thanks!
Amy
They do grow quickly, Ellen! And thank you for your kind words about the quilt! It is exciting to see it coming together.
Thank you for your comment, Amy! And I'll be getting back to you soon in regards to your quilting questions. :)
You’re welcome, Amy! :) Yes, machine quilting is much faster than hand-quilting! Though, in order to do it, you would need some special sewing machine feet such as a walking foot and a free motion quilting foot (though, if you are quilting only straight lines, you wouldn’t need the latter.) So far I have only quilted with straight lines, but the quilt I am working on now I think I might be more adventurous with it!
The quilt that I believe you are referring to is one that I had planned on hand-quilting, but then later decided to quilt it by machine instead . . . so I never actually hand-quilted any part of it. The reason that I ended up deciding to machine quilt it was simply for the fact that at that time, I had never hand-quilted before, and I didn’t know if I would have the time to devote to hand-quilting it.
I have hand-quilted a small baby quilt before, and when I did that, I used a large round quilting hoop which worked well. Yes, hand-quilting does take a long time to do, and while it isn’t necessarily difficult, it does take some practice to become familiar with the technique. Do you know anyone who hand-quilts who could help to get you started? Having someone to help you would be so much easier! (I learned through books and ‘trial and error’ which was challenging at times!)
How neat that you have a quilt top that you are working towards finishing! Is this one that you pieced yourself? What colors is it?
I hope that what was shared here was helpful to you! If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask. :) And have fun quilting!
You know, Sarah, I look at your blog regularly, but sometimes I don't get a chance to comment! :)
It was so fun to see all you've been up to, and as usual I LOVE all your great photos! You quilt and cross stitch look beautiful, and inspire me. Your handmade cards are sweet, also.
The post before this one was so nice, also. What a blessing to have such lovely friends!
Sarah, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions! Your answers were helpful.
I think what I'm going to do is begin hand-quilting the quilt. I've done a little hand-quilting on a wall hanging before so I have the general idea of how it is done, and my mom has taught herself a little so she would be able to help me get started. I am sure it will take me quite a while, but I'll just try to work along at it, and hopefully the end result will be worth it. :)
In answer to your question, yes, it is a quilt top I made in a double Irish chain pattern. The inside chain is a bright red, the outside chain is blue, and the large areas between the chains are white.
By the way, the quilt you made that we've both been referring to is lovely! That pattern is on my list of quilts to make someday!
Thanks again for your help! I'll let you know how the quilting goes. Come to think of it I might post some pictures of my recent sewing projects on my blog sometime soon.
Have a nice day!
Amy
Thank you so much for your comments, Joy! I always love to hear from you. :) I am like you . . . I read your blog regularly, but sometimes don’t get the chance to comment! I always enjoy each and every one of your posts, though.
Thank you for your sweet words! I am glad that you enjoyed the photos. :)
Yes, it is a great blessing to have such wonderful friends!
I am glad that it was a help to you, Amy! Your quilt sounds like it is beautiful! I would love to see photos of it. :) I hope that the hand-quilting goes well for you! Hand-quilting is so enjoyable to do and the end result is always lovely.
Thank you for your kind words about the quilt that I had made! That would be fun if you were able to make that pattern sometime, too! From all that you have shared, it sounds like we have a mutual love for quilting. :)
You’re welcome, and I look forward to hearing/seeing how the quilting goes!
I hope that you have a nice day as well!
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