Under the Needle: March

 Between having a houseful for a week, a 2nd batch of overnight company, spending 4 full days immersed in taxes, and ongoing outdoor projects, I was surprised at the progress I was able to make on the sewing front this month.

I cut everything out for this Farmhouse quilt at the beginning of the month, got it pieced and binding made - the blocks are big and it didn't take long to put together

I pieced this little quilt I am calling Blustery Day and will hand it off to Jackie later this week.

And I cut and pieced this Smokey the Bear donation quilt

I patched a hole and replaced the binding on this quilt I had made for our boy in 2008

This Animal Crackers quilt was finished

As was this Baby Dinosaur quilt

These monthly posts keep me focused and that helps me move projects forward. Without them, I'm fairly certain I wouldn't get as much accomplished. You would think there would be a noticeable dent in my stash because I'm not bringing new fabric home, but thus far, that hasn't been the case, but I did empty 2 project bins and have crossed off 2 other quilts that are on my list I made in January. Tomorrow I'll start binding my next finish. 😉

Baby Dinosaur Quilt

I don't remember where I picked this print up, but it didn't have any company name on the selvedge so it was probably from Walmart or Hobby Lobby years ago. I thought the colors were great and who doesn't love cheeky baby dinosaurs. 😁 

It was easy to pull coordinating fabrics from my stash. This is my preferred design to highlight a fun focus fabric. There is no pattern; its one I made up 6 or 7 years ago.

This is an old UFO that's been hibernating in the back of the closet for 5 or 6 years. All it lacked was the binding.

The backing was the leftovers from a backing of a quilt I made our girl 12 years ago...it was just the perfect size for this 48" x 48" quilt

The orange binding came from my stash too. 

It feels good to be using things I have.

It's hard to see the quilting, but you can see the fun design Sandy stitched across it best in this photo

I need to stock up on some baby boy quilts and I think this one will be a great addition

Alycia invited me to her Friday Finish Party so I linked up and look forward to the inspiration and seeing what others are up to.

Alycia

Recap From Last Week

 Just jotting out a quick post for my journal about last week because being in Gram-mode made it extra-special. Our boy, our dil, their dogs, and E were here from Sunday through Saturday.

It was busy and fun and I wouldn't have it any other way, but boy was I feeling my age by Saturday!

 And apparently multi-tasking is not my forte because I made Chicken & Dumpling Casserole (a long time family favorite) one day and just as we finished, I realized I had forgotten to add the chicken. 🤣🤣🤣 And no-one ever said a word! I had cooked the chicken the day before and there it sat in the fridge. Sheesh! So I added it to the leftovers and we had proper Chicken & Dumpling Casserole the next day. 🤭

Our boy was a ton of help while he was here

He and DH worked on cutting and pounding pipe for a permanent fence around headquarters. E crawled up behind the bathtub to keep an eye on them one day.

She was fascinated for a good long while and asked endless 'why' questions. I love this age.

One day we had my in-laws over for dinner and my FIL was called into action as well...does my heart good to see them working together 

This little 3-yr old kept Gram busy

My dil works remotely and she's taking online classes for a 2nd Master's degree as well so she was able to work while they were here. Not too shabby for an office view

E and I baked

And cooked

Washed lots of dishes

Should you ever need to know how to keep a little one busy, just add water. And Gram's floors have never been cleaner

We bought new baby chicks and stopped for donuts and colaches on our way out of town

And decorated our circle drive with all matter of artwork

She asked me to make her an angel. ie: she already is one. 😉

And then she said it was my turn and she wanted to take my picture with it. I'm so impressed. That's the best picture anyone has taken of me in years. 😁

Lots of stories

And one night she wanted to read 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed to Pap

She changes the voices and everything and when she deepened her voice to read, "and the doctor said...no more monkeys jumping on the bed!", Pap lost it 😂

The wind absolutely howled most of the week so we didn't get to wander and explore like we had hoped, but there was no shortage of antics

I introduced her to the sewing machine

And she had her 1st lesson

It was a lovely week. The only thing missing was baby L and his mama and daddy, but hopefully we'll get to spend some time with them soon. After all...we have more memories to make!

New Project

 While the kids were here, they went into town one morning to look at a property. My daughter-in-law saw a quilt shop and asked to stop. She's not a quilter, but she does crochet.

The previous day, we had been talking about projects we both wanted to make. 

We live 34 miles from a little town that is the home of Smokey the Bear and Riley Blake recently released a Smokey the Bear collection. I thought it would be fun to make a quilt and raffle it off during the Smokey the Bear Days as a fundraiser for the volunteer fire department. 

My thoughtful dil pulled out 2 bolts of fabric from the backseat when they returned.

10 yards on each bolt! 😂

She had asked me how much fabric it takes to make a bed quilt and I said it depends, maybe 9 or 10 yards and then about the same for the back, but she hasn't seen my fabric stash. LOL. But how sweet of her. 

Smokey the Bear Days are the first few days in May so I'm under the gun. Initially, I had thought I'd make the quilt for next year, but now that I have been gifted this fun fabric, I figured I had better get to stitching. There's enough fabric for future quilts. 😉

I pulled coordinates from my stash

But since I'm in a little bit of a time crunch, I need something simple. I settled on this

The oranges in my stash were too loud, but I thought this one was a good fit. I had pulled it for another project. Orange is not a go-to color for me, but it seems to be finding it's way into more projects and this one seems to work well here without being too wild...at least that's what I'm hoping.

I still like my initial fabric pull so those will factor into the next quilt. So, in between helping DH build fence, I'm making time to stitch.

Peep! Peep!

 Every 3 years I refresh my chicken flock, keeping the old hens and adding new ones. I've got 6 old ones and hoped to add 12 babies. They are in high demand, hard to come by and much more expensive this year. The Farm Store was selling 2500 on Friday and they were expecting to be sold out that day. We weren't sure if we'd go in so DH had picked up 6 chicks at Tractor Supply on Thursday when he went in to get some metal, but we ended up pulling poor E out of bed just after 5 and drove the 56 miles to town, thinking we'd have to wait in line. Surprisingly, there wasn't one. 

 It was fun to introduce her to the new babies

She's an eager egg collector 

At the Farm Store, you get 6 chicks if you buy a 50# bag of start and grow so I bought a dozen. 18 is more than we need, but I share eggs with my in-laws and my long arm quilter, and DH thinks there may be some attrition here in the mountains. These little fuzzballs are too cute.

This year we added 2 black Sex-links, 1 California White, 3 Chocolate Orpingtons, 3 Easter Eggers, 3 Production Reds, 3 Buff Orpingtons, and 3 Barred Rocks. 

An empty water trough makes a great brooder and they stay warm with a heat lamp in the shop

They won't begin to earn their keep for about 18-20 weeks, but it's fun to watch them grow and peek in on their antics. Their little feathers are already beginning to emerge.

We probably should have built a bigger coop. 😉 

In the Middle of Fun!

 Spending the week with this little Sprite!

Which means adventure is the just around the corner! Wishing ya'll a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

When she first saw the headband, she was so excited and called it her 'broccoli' hat. 😂

Out & About

 Ya'll were sweet about yesterday. With raging winds and no electricity, you wisely suggested  I linger over a cup of coffee (tea for me) or enjoy some hand quilting. That sounds so good in theory, but I guess we're not very good at dialing it down. Almost as soon as I published that post, DH suggested we drive to a town 2 hours away to pick up a welder and we'd make a few stops to inquire about baby chicks.  They are in high demand this year. So we tended to chores and headed out.

We loaded up a small anvil that the previous owner had left. He had expressed interest in keeping it and we'd be close to their new place.

DH has a big one at the barn for when he shoes horses and one in the shop

One stop for a new little stick welder for the shop

One stop for some extra quikrete for the new flagpole

3 chick stops, but we came home empty handed. However we've got a date to pick some up in a few weeks.

1 stop to pick up a little side table so that I could stop using a still packed Uhaul box to set a glass or mug and my hand binding supplies.

I didn't want anything big or bulky and this little metal table with a wood top is perfect. 

Then we spent a couple of hours visiting with the kind couple from whom we bought this place  before heading back. They have become friends and we're so glad we're staying in touch.

We hadn't eaten all day and it was 4:30 when we stopped at a favorite little spot on the way home.

Home at 6, in time to chore. And we have electricity. Yay!

I'm in the kitchen today, cooking...we have family coming for the week!