I Spy Quilts

 Since realizing I didn't have a ready supply of little boy quilts, I've turned my attention towards making a few. I settled on making I Spy Quilts. I've had it in my mind to make one and a friend and I even exchanged some squares a few years ago. However, for some reason I suddenly felt compelled to make them now and I began collecting. I won't tell if you won't.

Some are from my stash, but there are packages arriving in our mailbox as well and I am having so much fun

I've been collecting setting ideas as well. My mind needs some semblance of order amidst the chaos of so many busy prints, but I also don't want these quilts to be huge. That may be a problem since I think I've got close to 70 different fabrics and I can't seem to quit! I've spent way too much time looking for JUST the right prints with bears and horses and I simply refuse to make an I Spy quilt that doesn't include Winnie the Pooh. If you know me at all, that will come as no surprise. 😊

Dinosaurs for Taos

 The day after the kids headed back, our girl called with a quilt request. A little 2-yr old boy was diagnosed with Leukemia and would I happen to have a quilt ready to send. I try to keep some on hand for just this reason, and while I seem to have an abundance of quilts for girls, my collection is lacking in suitable quilts for little boys. We wanted something fairly small that would be easy to haul to appointments and treatments. I dug out this top I had pieced probably 4 or 5 years ago and our girl gave 2 thumbs up.

 I thought the little dinosaur print was so cute.

I think strip quilts are a sweet way to showcase a fun novelty fabric so I just pulled some coordinating fabrics from my stash and added some patchwork. 

I made a trip to Hobby Lobby for some blue Minky to add that snuggle factor and took it to Jackie. She quickly added her magic touch in the form of meandering leaves. Perfect!

This orange print that I found in my stash made the perfect binding:

 I filled it with prayers for healing and love as I stitched on the binding

This little quilt finishes at 40x40 and as I publish this post, it ought to be arriving in Oklahoma, hopefully bringing a little comfort to Taos...and his parents, knowing they are being prayed for:

A Visit With the Okies

On Friday, the 10th, our girl, her fella, his mama, Harvey, and Chopper pulled in for a visit and that translates to a wonderful weekend! I usually take lots of pictures, but I didn't take many this weekend and I regret that but our girl and Kenny's mom were kind enough to share theirs and combined, I have enough to document the fun!

These two make a good team

It's dove and Teal season here so lots of time was spent out and about:

Team work:

Chopper loved working in the water as Skeet and Harvey cheered him on from the sidelines:

I love this shot, Shirley snapped (thank you for sharing it, Shirley!)

This gal is just fun! I'm so glad the kids brought her - she jumped right in and it was so good to meet her - it felt like instant friendship! A Buckaroo Bundle Class was in session:

Cinnamon Rolls were on the menu

As were Philly Cheese-Steak Sandwiches:

Our girl invited a sweet couple that are friends of ours as well for supper on Sunday and that added so much fun to our evening! It seems the only shots I got of them are from behind. Eric and DH have a lot of common interests- one of them being they have both built smokers from scratch - so they enjoyed discussing their projects:

Poor Nina! Be prepared!  You may find yourself slaving over a hot stove when you visit! She's such a good sport, as well as a great cook - she brought wonderful Spanish rice and spoiled us with homemade tortillas.

Fajitas are always a favorite around here and I introduced everyone to Palomas. They made a fun addition to our menu and I think it's safe to say they were a hit and will be a refreshing summer treat from now on:

And Arkansas Possum Pie for dessert

Our girl and Kenny's mama made a trip into town on Monday morning for 7 bushels of green chili to take back to Oklahoma 

 I missed out on the great green chili project because Monday is sale day at the Sale Barn and I had to work. After 3 late nights, it was a struggle to stay focused, but it was worth every moment of memory making!

20 Years

 

Economie Zoologie Top

I bought this kit on clearance from Craftsy - they had some great deals back in the day - in September 2016 (blogs are great for keeping track of everything) and last year I decided it had lived in a bin long enough:

I'm not a big fan of kits, but I've caved on occasion. Pulling fabrics together for projects is one of my favorite parts of the quilting journey and kits remove that aspect so I'm thinking that may be why I'm not drawn to them more often. But the fabrics in this little quilt were too fun to resist:

Once everything was cut, the blocks came together quickly:

I pieced this in February 2020 and soon I had a completed top. Once Jackie worked her magic, I stitched on the binding:

She used a fun alphabet quilting design 

and I backed it with these happy dots:

It's bright and cheerful and at 66" x 84" it'll be the perfect size for all sorts of grandbaby adventures:

Pinwheel Polka Quilt Top

I know, I am posting a lot of quilt finishes lately. I didn't finish anything the first half of the year and now they are all coming together at once, but most of them have been on the assembly line for a few years. I have 2 more here that need binding and I'm picking one up from Jackie on Monday - that one needs to be finished first. Sometimes I feel like I'm spinning my wheels and not finishing anything so this feels pretty good.

This little quilt began in June 2019 with some cute charm squares:

And a simple plan. I like simple and I'm a pretty simple girl.

Make some pinwheels and alternate with a charm square.

Wait.
Let's put it on point.
Sashing might be good.
Oh, let's add cornerstones.
Sigh.
I'm sure a pattern exists somewhere for a quilt like this, 

but I took the road less traveled and made it up along the way.

And let Jackie work her magic

I had enough of that pretty blue print for the border and I used a blue Kona for the binding:

And at 60"x60", I really like the end result, but next time, I hope I can keep things simple and put the pinwheels and charm squares in the right spots.  I never even noticed that I mixed a few up until just before I hit the button to publish this post. Funny how this last photo camouflages my 'well fiddlesticks' mistake. Now I really will need to make it again - just to prove I can make it right, but since there is no pattern, we'll just say it IS right and that the mixed up blocks just add character. 😉

To Bee...or Not to Bee...

 That really IS the question around here lately. DH has been toying with  the idea of diving into beekeeping. I laughed and told him I liked being his only queen bee. 😂 

A few years ago he bought this book and he recently pulled it out again:

I have been reading a financial planning book at night and he has been reading his bee book. I laughed and told him we had odd bedtime reading selections. 

So last Thursday we drove into town at 7:30 in the morning to spend some time at the tire shop to have some ranch tires repaired :

And to stop in at the local Seed store:

To pick John's brain about bees:

We had no idea there was such a robust bee community in the area, but I think we're swarming (LOL) around the idea of taking part:

DH has seen bees set up around the ranch through the years and they have always peeked his interest. He saw this ball of bees in a mesquite bush the other day when he was spraying Cockleburrs:

So we drove up to North Adobe after dinner and attempted to capture them into our newly acquired hive:

DH scooted the box under the tree 

                                                                                       

Cut the branch

And the bees just fell into the box

                                        

After sliding the lid on                                 

                                          

He loaded them up

                                          

DH wears a lot of hats around here - looks like he's added one more:                                      

                                          

and we drove them back to headquarters, setting them up with some sugar water for 2 days before opening the hive back up and hoping they'd settle and stay. We shall see. I figured he'd tie into this when we slowed down and semi-retired, but if this is something that interests him, then beekeeping it is. I'll admit that I'm a little fascinated as well:

P.S. John siphoned that jar of honey directly from the extractor on Thursday and made us promise not to tell his wife that he gave us the first jar from this year's crop. 😉I have to say, it was the best honey I've ever tasted. I think my initial question of to bee...or not to bee...has been answered.