A Bit of Sewing Progress Amidst the Daily Adventures of Ranch Life

Yesterday was the first day we've had sunshine in 11 days. That's probably a record here as we have over 300 days of sun here every year. It was a welcome change though and the perfect way to welcome Autumn. In between raindrops, I managed to get the chicken coop mucked out and hauled in many loads of sweet smelling loose hay from the floor of the barn:

 Our dirt tanks are full

and the pastures are thick with grass. The ranch has had between 2"- 6" of rain and we're incredibly grateful.

We made a fast trip to Lubbock last Friday in the rain (almost 3 hours one way) for some shopping

Doesn't everyone shop for livestock scales when they go shopping? And yes, that is all we shopped for. We were there for 2 hours and then we ran into Cabela's for 30 minutes, grabbed a bite to eat and headed home.

DH has been making ladders in the shop

for the storage tanks we installed and plumbed in a few weeks ago:

So, even with the rain, sewing time has been hard to come by, but the Four Corners quilt needs attention and is at the top of my priority list. DH is helping the neighbors today and tomorrow which means he leaves by 4. And yes, I do get up with him as we like to start our day together and I stumble into the kitchen to make him coffee while he heads out to catch and saddle his horse.

That leaves me empty morning hours and I am spending them at my sewing machine. It took me a while to figure out where I had left off and remember that the pieces weren't lining up right when I put it away

There are some pieces that called for 1 7/8" squares cut in half and I cut them into 2" squares, but I guess I was more precise with my stitching than I thought and my seam allowances probably weren't consistent from time to time as I put this project on the back burner for weeks and then months, and the parts didn't fit together properly. The way everything fits together, there really isn't a way to trim either so I had to re-cut over 300 1 7/8" squares into HSTs. Much better!

I finally reached the spot where I had originally stopped because June got crazy and was able to make some more progress:

This pattern isn't hard, but it requires concentration so things don't get turned around and I can't listen to an audio book while sewing on this one. Now that I'm back to working on this, I hope to stay focused and get this into a top soon. I've also got a box of fresh orchard picked apples I'm working through  and the house smells like fall:

And I've got small bunch to cook for on Thursday and Friday and antelope hunters will be here this weekend which means stripping and washing bedding for 6 beds and cleaning the bunkhouse. DH installed a new water heater for it last week.

 And next week we start weaning calves so I've got a trip to town planned at the end of the week for groceries.

I am really going to love this quilt and I'd love to keep it, but it's a Christmas gift and it's frustrated me enough that it's doubtful I'll make another...although I've been known to change my mind.

All of that SHOULD keep me out of trouble, but I'm not making any promises. :)

The First Stitch

Starting new projects is always so exciting, but I have been completely intimidated by this Four Corners Quilt and thus, I have been dragging my feet. However, it's never going to get finished if I don't take the first step. I posted a bit about it here:

New Quilt Project

 The 28 page instruction book had me spooked, but after consulting it more closely, I was happy to see that the first half is dedicated to the table runner instructions, and I also have a secret support system in one of my readers. She is also making the quilt and after a good visit via the phone, I am feeling much more confident. She was sweet to share her tips and helpful hints so I am digging in and making the first cut. P shared that this is the most challenging quilt she has ever worked on, but she loves a good challenge and if she's up for the challenge, then I'm jumping in too.

P mentioned that staying organized with this project is key so I'm devising a system and labeling everything as per her advice. No fancy labeling system here. Masking tape always does the trick for me and I ordered extra fabric in order to mitigate the oopsies I make along the way.

It took me 4 days to get it all cut out and when I had finished, I was pleasantly surprised that they had been incredibly generous with their fabric cuts and I had a lot left over. I hope I haven't missed something, but there's plenty left and never even touched the extra fabric that's propped up in the back:

The pieces in this quilt are small compared to the quilts I usually make. The entire quilt is comprised of 1 1/2" strips and the largest piece is a 3 1/4" square, but those are cut into 1/4 square triangles.

So, here goes nothing! I took a deep breath and stitched the first seam.

Ripping happened almost right out of the chute and I imagine I had better keep that seam ripper close at hand. I often listen to audio books when I sew, but that's just not possible while working on this project. I need to pay close attention to each step in order to get these pieces built correctly.

There are good pictures of each finished step, but there are sometimes multiple steps for each picture and you have to cock your head a bit to insure that you are sewing the pieces together correctly in order to make it turn out the way it needs to. I sewed most of  one afternoon and completed the first 4 steps

And then made it through step 11 over the weekend:

Disregard the fabrics peeking out from the strip at the top. That's another quilt I'm working on. Doesn't everyone work on more than one project at a time?

Slow and steady, but I am hoping to have this top completed by the end of June. We've got a week of cow works next week and I'll have to shut down sewing progress that week, so I've got 3 weeks to focus and execute.

and if the phone rings, P, it'll probably be me. Good thing for you that we don't live closer or you might find me camped out on your porch!

New Quilt Project

I've been on the lookout for years for a special project. I've been wanting to make a quilt for a remarkable couple, but hadn't ever found the perfect pattern for them....until now. When I stumbled upon this one, I knew I had found it:

It came in a kit and I'm not a big fan of kits. I've only made one other quilt using a kit so that's probably not a fair assessment, but I cut carefully and it was a still a very close call as to whether I'd have enough fabric. I squeaked by, but my SIL said the same thing about kits she has ordered. Still, this was perfect so I bit the bullet.The fabric is still available so I am going to play it safe and order some extra.

Then I became incredibly intimidated when I opened up the pattern:

There are 28 pages of instructions! Good gravy!! I am nothing if not determined though, but I am going to take precautions and make the accompanying table runner with some fabric in my stash first just to give me a little insight into the construction. And if I want this finished by Christmas, I had better get started!