Rodeo Baby Quilt Finished

I'm still not getting a whole lot of sewing done, but it feels good to be working on things again. Those 3 a.m. mornings give me some extra sewing time. I've still had the odd day of cooking for the crew and my lawn mower is getting a workout, but when Jackie called and told me she had 2 baby quits ready for me a few weeks ago, I pushed things aside and stitched the binding to the front of this quilt. It took me a week to hand stitch it to the back, but I finally finished it.

This cute pattern is by Shelly of Prairie Moon Quilts. It's a free pattern she designed for Riley Blake and I knew I had to make it as soon as I saw it even though she shared it last year and it's taken me this long to finish it.

 I made this one for a baby boy with fabrics from my stash, but my coworker made one for a baby girl and I hope to make one too. Tis' the season for babies around here. Here's a link to the free tutorial

Rodeo Baby

I pieced the back and included an extra block I had

And here's a good look at the fun pattern Jackie quilted on it

This one makes up to a nice size - 48x66" that will be useful as the baby grows which we all know happens overnight. I'm actually saving this one for a little boy when he's 4 or 5.

                                              

Busy Bees

The days seem to be getting away from me lately...a sure sign that summer has arrived. Thankfully, we've not had the intense heat this year that generally cloaks our summers around here. The showers have transformed our usually 'dry heat' into sultry days with heavy air although you'll laugh when I tell you that the humidity has been hovering around 40%...that's sultry for us desert rats. And its the reason I am trotting down the road at 5:30 in the mornings. Its the coolest part of the day. Our girl has been DH's sidekick lately so after I fix breakfast for them, I head out the door. As long as its light enough for me to avoid stepping on a snake, its light enough.

                               

We've been invaded...by honey bees. Our wet spring brought on a prolific wild flower crop this year and the honey bees are taking advantage.

One night we heard incessant buzzing when we went to bed and we quickly zoned in on the problem. Apparently, a colony of honey bees decided to take up residence in one of our bedroom walls. We didn't want to kill them all...they are fascinating and helpful creatures, but we certainly didn't want them building their hive in our wall either. We found their entrance and DH bought a powder he used in hopes of making them leave. Regular wasp spray had no effect on them. Once we thought they had vacated the premises, DH sealed up the holes - he had drilled a few more in order to be more effective.

 Then a few days later he called me to another building and pointed out this:

I briefly...very briefly... considered taking up beekeeping as we love fresh honey, but  it was a fleeting thought. They are welcome to make their home here without our interference.

 On the sewing front - I've been piddling. I pulled out 2 old layer cakes and commenced to stitching and slicing. I just wanted an easy, 'no thinking required' project and this fit the bill nicely although there was more trimming than I would have liked:

But I ended up with 160 blocks to show for it. Then blocks were stitched into rows and that's as far as I've gotten.

                                                 

I added borders to the little hourglass baby quilt:

                           

And I did manage to get the stars appliqued onto the Rodeo Baby quilt and pieced a backing so this one is ready for Jackie too

                          

Now I've got to spend some time behind my trusty lawn mower and help sort some cattle in the pens before I can call it a day. I'm thankful for leftover brisket in the fridge for supper and clean sheets on the bed. Its been a good week.