sailboat quilt, com.....plete!

Well...I've been going on and on about my sailboat quilt for some time now. 

I've been talking about it here on my blog...and on my facebook. 

Well....I have finally completed it! 

Finally! Yay!!  

I will talk no more about it....I will just show ya a couple of pics and then we can move on. hee hee!

Wait...I have one thing I have to say...pay no mind to the cut off points of my triangles!!! I totally messed up on this quilt! Years ago, when I started this quilt...I wasn't concerned about perfect points and all...if I was piecing this now-a-days....I would not be liking this and would rip out stitches and re-sew...anyhow, just sayin.

Curious about the fabrics? They were all purchased at JoAnn Fabrics about 6 years ago. I haven't purchased  any fabrics on  line yet....but  I am oh so ready to do so!! You just can't  get awesome quilting  fabric at stores  anymore. There IS still some out there....but, it  seems like the fabrics that make me drool are all available through the internet....these on line fabric shops totally rock! 

Have a great day!

A very blueberry crisp, A very quilty quilt, and Some very crazy chickens

Man oh Man!! 

We've been blessed with some REALLY good blueberries in our CSA this summer.

Not to mention they are organic. Double bonus there! 

I made some blueberry pancakes a couple of times, and they were heavenly. 

These blueberries are not tart at all.

They are perfectly sweet.

I love blueberries. 

Yesterday, I made a very yummy, blueberry crisp. 

I was happy that the recipe used the remainder of my blueberry stash, as I didn't want them going to waste. 

The recipe for the awesome crisp will be at the end of this post.... so DO check it out.

I finally got myself going on my sailboat quilt again.

Yay!! 

I have really been putting the hours in on this thing.

I am hand quilting, so it does take some time. {but I machine pieced it together} 

Anyhow, I am proud of myself, because the quilt is starting to really come together. 

I am hoping to be done with all  hand quilting by tonight, 

and then I can start making the bias tape that goes around the edges. 

Call me crazy, but I love sewing on the binding. 

It is so fulfilling!! 

I attach the binding edge with my sewing machine... 

and then when you fold it over the edges and tuck in under, I hand stitch it to the back. 

For some reason...I love this part. 

I think because it is just stitch after stitch and it's almost mindless. 

It's just good.

For now, I will leave you with a couple photos of my crazy chickens. 

They look dead, don't they?!

Don't worry, I assure you...they are very much alive!

They are sunbathing on the hot wooden deck.

I have read that chickens don't like the heat and the sun...

so what's wrong with my silly chickens???

They have always done this....this is nothing new....this is a normal thing for my chickens.   

They apparently love the deck because the wood is so warm. 

Sometimes there's 3 or 4 of them all doing this together. 

In the rare occasion the chickens do this when we have a visitor, our guests will look out on the back deck and say "OH NO! I think something's wrong!!"  

I'm like, "oh, ya, they're fine, just get a little closer to the glass and they'll notice you and be up and running." 

My chickens don't do this all the time, but they do it a few times a week. 

Mostly, they do this in the cooler months when the sun is out and warming the wood...

but they do it once in a while in the summer too.

To me, chickens are a constant source of interest and entertainment.  

Too funny!!


A VERY BLUEBERRY CRISP

3 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. corn starch
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
pinch of salt
4 Tbsp. softened butter

Toss blueberries with white sugar, corn starch and lemon juice
Dump into 8 or 9 inch baking dish.
Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, oats, salt and butter with a pastry blender of fork.
Sprinkle mixture evenly over berries.
Bake in 375 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes until golden.

tid bits of the past few days

my favorite drink on a hot summer day

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

To Kill A Mockingbird, a book I was forced to read in 7th grade English, but didn't remember a single thing about because I was only 12 years old and not interested in the least...at 12 years old, I could barely make myself read this...why do they make 12 year olds read American classic literature???  I was way too young to even appreciate this story....I think you've gotta experience life a lot more than 12 years to be able to appreciate the social and cultural aspects in this story.  It is not a difficult read at all, it's quite pleasurable...but not for a 12 year old. As an adult, I loved this story!! Especially now that I can look back on my childhood and laugh at the hilarious antics of Scout, Jem and Dill.....and now that I know what it's like to be a parent, I can appreciate the character of Atticus as well as Calpurnia...and now that I have been around racial and social issues, I have so much more sympathy and empathy for the characters in this book. There is no way I was going to get that kind of emotion and understanding when I was 12 years old. Especially thinking about  the part  in the story ~  the  morning after Tom  Robinson's trial,  Atticus awoke  to a  table filled with food, all  brought to his house by Tom Robinson's friends and family and Calpurnia was making chicken for breakfast!!! I just cried  when I read that part...that was beautiful and so powerful. Ain't no way a 7th grader would experience those emotions after reading that. Anyhow, my point...if  you read this in high school, and you are much older now, and you've been through the ringer a time or two, and you've experienced  love and blessings as well as pain and loss and suffering, please give this book a second chance....don't just go by your feelings about it when you were forced to read it in middle school.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

And then, last but not least,

I've done a little quilting!

I had so much fun making this block!!  I used fabrics from  my stash. What I really wanted to do was  go out   and buy more fabric...but I've gotta stop that! Use what I have!!!!!!  Anyhow, I'm going to make another one with reds and whites! I think that will be very pretty!! This square is going to be made into a kitchen table mat. Something to put in the middle of  table for your salt and pepper and butter dish to sit on. I still have to make the binding and quilt it.

Well, there's my little tid bits of life these past few days.

What have you been up to??

Oh darlin' . . . I've been busy!

O H,   T O  F I N I S H   A N   O L D   P R O J E C T  ! 

It's sooooo gratifying !

This month I've been catching up on unfinished projects . . .

and Sassy was the first thing I completed ! 

Yes ! 

I've been working on him, Sasquatch, on and off, for the last 18 months.

Oh the shame of it.

But . . . sweet Sassy !  

He's done . . . and I am loving him !

Your curious, aren't ya ?

You want to know if I believe in Sasquatch, don't ya ? ! !

Should I tell you ? 

Hmmmm.

No, I don't believe there are Sasquatch out in them there woods.

It's  fun.

It's  folklore-y.

It's kinda  scarey.

It's  mysterious.

And . . .that's all it is for me . . .

that's why I like the legend !

It's just fun!

By the way, I love those "messin' with Sasquatch" commercials,

and that Finding Big Foot show.                          

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

N E X T   O N   M Y   L I S T   T O  F I N I S H . . .  

was a sweet, little, chubby bunny !

I started this project last January !

Yes.

One year ago.

Sad but true.

She sat . . . 

unstuffed . . .

no ears

no legs

and no arms . . .

for one year !

So rude . . . I'm so sorry sweet little chubby bunny !

Well, she is now complete . . . made from an old pair of corduroy pants.

She has been mailed out to my little 3 year old niece in Florida.

She now has a happy home  !

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A N D . . . C U R R E N T L Y   I ' M   W O R K I N G   ON . . .

this awesome sail boat, children's quilt !

This one takes the prize for how long ago I started it ! ! 

Let's see . . .

I started this when my son Easton was 5 years old . . .

he's now 10 years old !         

Yes, he's still a children . . . a child . . .  

but, this won't quite cover a 10 year old boy.

His feet will stick out the bottom.  

His head will stick out the top . . .{ that's a good thing ! } 

However, he is still excited to see me working on it.

He says he can't wait to sleep with it.

He can definitely cuddle with it.

Heck, I've even curled in a ball and covered with it whilst napping on the couch.

I pieced this quilt on the sewing machine . . . 

and I am hand quilting.

I have machine quilted before, but I have found, that over time . . . 

the stitches have pulled snapped and broke.

Very sad.

The quilts I have hand quilted, have withstood the test of time . . . 

and even the washing machine !

However, I am not a professional machine quilter by any means . . . 

so, I am not knocking machine quilting.

I'm just knocking MY machine quilting ! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~