Under the Needle : October

 Much of October was filled with lots of things that kept me out of my sewing room...things that are more important than sewing, but I would walk in there and cut a few pieces, press a few FQs or stitch a row when I was able. Most days I was even too tuckered out to do that.

I drove past a quilt shop one day when I was leaving town after visiting my MIL and hit the brakes. I'm never in this town and didn't know about the shop. It's called Pins & Needles and sadly, it closed this month.

It's a very small shop, but I found some treasures for a hard to resist price. The wild child in me bought this piece that I thought would make a cute little quilt or 2. I like the way pink, green, and orange play together.

And then these treasures came home with me. I've never even seen these! 🥰

The first few days of the month, I pieced blocks and got this little baby quilt together that I cut out last month. I started taking pictures of pieced tops in an attempt to catch turned blocks before quilting after finding an oops in one earlier this year.

On a whim, I grabbed a stack of HSTs left over from a previous project one rainy day, laid it out, and pieced it into a top 

And my Snuggle Season fat quarters were cut and I started laying them out for a fun triangle quilt top, but they've been on the floor for 4 weeks.

The 1st Balsalm Gnomes quilt is currently keeping me company in the evenings as it slowly, but surely, gets a binding

And this Favorite Flannel quilt was finished and gifted.

Okay folks! Ready or not, November is upon us. October was insane and we are exhausted. I'm scaling things back and hoping November will include some quiet dirt road days, soaking in the season.

More Fence Prep

 DH finally has a date with his surgeon for a new hip. You would think a man that can barely walk and needs help with shoes and socks would be a bit compromised, but I am married to a different breed. 

Besides, thinking he needs to get the fence project done asap, he is concerned about a hunt he has coming up in January. He drew an Oryx tag and it's a once in a lifetime draw, meaning once you draw a tag, you are never eligiable to put in for another. And he needs a new hip before the hunt. 

Needless to say, crawling up and around these mountains to work on building the new fence has been challenging. A few weeks ago he built a couple of H braces and hauled them up top to fit the holes he dug. I have 2 good hips and it was a struggle for me to get up there. And once you get there, there's no level spot to really settle, but with Skeet's assistance

And hiking sticks for both of us

We did get all the measurements we needed

It was such a pretty day

And then we climbed back down, loaded the 80# sacks of Quikcrete into the buggy the next morning and drove as close as we could get

DH had saddled 2 of his horses, led them to our loading spot (just over 1/2 mile) 

and loaded 2 sacks on the one with the pack saddle

before leading them out

And up

To the top

4 times

And a 5th trip to carry the water

Getting off and on his horse was excrutiating, but he never said a word.

He waves it all off and says others work harder and I'm sure some do, but I also remind him that it's doubtful those others are doing it by themselves, with one hip, nor are they about to blow out 64 candles.

The surgeon is active duty military and he replaces hips for those who go above and beyond, but he said he can count on one hand the hips he's replaced that look as rough as DH's and DH has really good bones. He probably should have had this done 10 years ago, but I'm grateful he's having it done now. The 2nd week in November can't come soon enough.

Skeet agrees

But, until then, Skeet will keep a close eye on his favorite human.

Sharing a Poem Today

I don't read a lot of poetry, but I stumbled upon this poem a while back and it evoked a very unexpected burst of tears when I read it. 

 she sat at the back

and they said she was shy

she lead from the front

and they hated her pride

they asked her advice

and then questioned her guidance

they branded her loud

then were shocked by her silence

when she shared no ambition

they said it was sad

so she told them her dreams

and they said she was mad

they told her they'd listen

then covered their ears

and gave her a hug 

whilst they laughed at her fears

and she listened to all of it

thinking she should

be the girl they told her to be

best as she could

but one day she asked

what was best for herself

instead of trying 

to please everyone else

so she walked to the forest

and stood with the trees

she heard the wind whisper

and dance with the leaves

and she spoke to the willow

the elm and the pine

and she told them what she'd been told

time after time

she told them she never

felt nearly enough

she was either too little

or far, far too much

too loud or too quiet

too fierce or too weak

too wise or too foolish

too bold or too meek

then she found a small clearing

surrounded by firs

and she stopped and she heard

what the trees said to her

and she sat there for hours

not wanting to leave

for the forest said nothing...

it just let her breathe

-Becky Hemsley

My faith in Christ is very important to me and although this poem does not indicate Him by name, and I know He is ALWAYS with me, it is in this mountain forest that I am able to shut out the loudness of the world and truly feel His loving presence and just breathe.

Favorite Flannel Quilt

 I started this quilt in January after a conversation with our DIL. She had asked if I had a flannel quilt that needed to be adopted.  😄 I didn't, but as soon as we hung up, I went to pull a fat quarter bundle of Woolies Flannel and started cutting

I made a similar quilt using this design a few years ago, using 2 layer cakes, but I resized these blocks in order to make the best use of the fat quarters. I was able to make 4  7 1/2" blocks from each FQ 

That allowed me to make an 8 by 10 block layout...making a 57"x 72" cuddle quilt. 

I am trying to use what I have, but flannel is one thing I do not have so I found a green plaid for the backing and had enough for the binding as well.

I had leftover scraps and pieced those into the back. You can really see the fun quilting design Sandy used...it's called Mesa.

With everything we have going on at the moment, there's not a lot of sewing taking place, but after almost 2 months, I finally finished binding this one.

I really like this pattern and I'm sure I'll be making it again . The blocks come together so fast. I think it makes a great quilt and I hope that it will be well loved.