the last day of summer ...

 

looking east away from the sunset - Saturday night on the trek home from Oshawa .. clouds were cool looking --

 

 

my magic mushroom (fungi) isn't dying/drying/wilting very fast -- 10 days since I first spied it it's slowly getting smaller -- it is still the size of a dinner plate.

 

squirrels have been happy ... loving the acorns

 



 

at least the little varmits haven't found this apple yet.

 

Since it's about to rain ... I'm headed to the sewing machine and the design table -- a project just came up and it needs to be done in 12 days ... bought fabric to supplement the stash today ... all on sale!!!

 

friday adventures

so after pondering the crappy month of August -- my August is generally calm and restful and August 2014 has been just the opposite. 

I picked up supper and headed to the farm ... them Mom and I had a little adventure we  ...

 

drove up the patch and on the way it started to rain rather than mist .... but ... anyway .... the first watermelon of 2014 !!!!  It is pretty darn tasty .....not sure of the variety but it is an early one.

 

2014 selfie ... thankfully I don't do this often -- but I was lucky -- had a couple of plastic rain ponchos in the door pockets of the truck .... ya -- handy buggers.

 

We checked on Jean who was busy canning tomatoes ... then

 

We headed over to check on Grandma's Little Acre -- making sure the barricades were finally down and her customers could finally get to her ... since we were there we toured her gardens -- via the truck ... it was raining harder over there .... then we

 

 

delivered this wedding gift to the bride and groom from last weeks wedding -- it's been riding around in my back seat for 2 weeks.

 

Okay -- thru this entire voyage -- it was raining -- I was barefoot and had the muddiest of feet ... and my hair kept getting curlier by the minute. 

 

Today's agenda -- more rain --- must sew then.

 

 

 

this week in quilting

 

remember quilting only ... binding tonight (maybe) ..  Soul Blossom jelly roll (or parts of one) ... it's loud and bold and fun ... crib --- toddler size ....  the back is a light teal solid.

 

which looks white in this picture (hmmmm) ... I've got the swoop and swirl mastered!

 

parts and pieces of a layer cake just stitched up .. it was tossed in the back seat of the truck so it's a bit wrinkled and wonky -- I promise it is a rectangle! ... love the soft colors... tried to be random (or as random as my brain will be) it's going to finish 48 by 57ish ... nice lap robe size ... the back is a soft pink print from my aging fabric stash.

 

I've done pretty darn good using up the old and aged stuff!!!!

 

 

and there is this one ... the long arm kept shredding the top thread and then it would break .. it's a quilting mess.  then (3/4ths of the way thru) I realized the thread was hanging up on the spool ... there was a nit/knot on the spool.  I think this is destined to be a doggie blankie ... the quilting is really really rough and it's way to much to rip out ...

 

NEWS FLASH!!!  The detour from hell is down and traffic kind of back where it belongs -- there is a long long way to go and it is still not the safest stretch of road.  Be safe peeps!

 

happy weekend y'all .....

 

Diva

 

 

I think I'll eventually link up to Crazy Mom ...

damn ...

  it's 3:27pm on Tuesday ...

  Monday is a blur
  Tuesday was way to long of a meeting ....
  
   It's a gorgeous day -- and word on the street --- the detour is coming off late Thursday ... ((((  big sigh ))))   !!!


edited to add some pictures....

 

season of change

  I'm going into the end of summer and beginning of fall -- kicking and screaming.  WTH where did summer go -- I really haven't taken any time off and it's beginning to show.

 

a nice looking tomato ...

 

 

soon mr sunflower, soon ...

 

 

still in detour mode - another week, long, long week ... god willing

 

 

I saw this giant mushroom (fungi) of some sort last week along the driveway and tonight remember to snap it's picture -- it is the size of a dinner plate ... there is a dried up dead leaf next to it ... crazy looking thing.  No I did not touch it (or sample it).

 

 

truck week -- ruby needs a bath and well, so does this one.

 

 

I am cute -- sorta ... although my mama thinks I should be more independent.

 

 

and here is my sibling -- there was one more I think the neighbors dog got #3 -- it's not a good topic of conversation ...  but #2 (above) has a red tinge to his coat .. and a yellow spot on his chin.

 

 

fall.  what more can I say ... high heat index today and tornado watch is posted ... but it is snowing in Montana (only 800 miles away)

 

 

 

Dots! Lots of dots!!

 

dots!!! lots of polka dots!  I snapped up some mini jelly rolls both large & small dots ... I was going to chop them up into something else ...  but by now ... it's only stripes peeps.  I like strip/stripe quilts.

 

 

close up of my freehand quilting .. insert another grin

 

 

you are lucky  -- I had 8 pictures of this one ... and everyone was pretty darn cool. 

I have a fairly good idea where this one is going ....

 

 

 

 

 

Twins -- on the way ...

 

A colleague up the street is awaiting their first grandchildren -- yes, grandchildren, TWINS, next week ... identical twin boys !!!  So I thought they needed crib quilts ... same color scheme yet different.

 

 

Left over jelly roll batik strips zipped together and added some mossy greens to lime greens -- not the best picture -- it was sunset.

 

 

And various leftover hunks ... see my quilting it's getting better and believe me, the long arm is the best investment I've made.  Love it!

 

 

This crimson sweet will be the first watermelon I pick -- we have a family gig on Sunday and it just might make it in time!  Keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

 

My goal was to piece/quilt or finish 7 quilting projects this week -- so the

 

1.   above two got bound, washed and dried. 

3.  I pieced a bunch of leftover strips into a crib quilt .. blacks/greens/orange

4.  I found a wild jelly roll and stitched it up

5.  I bound the polka dot crib quilt (no pix's yet)

6.  I found some amy butler jelly roll strips and pieced them together

7.  will happen shortly.

 

Happy Weekend

 

Linking up with Crazy Mom's Finish it Up Friday

 

 

aahhhh rain ....

  I awoke the rolling thunder and lightening ... even with the a/c on it was loud and wonderful.  An inch ... a whole inch.  Since July 10/11th we've only had 1.5 inches ... not nice.  Need more.  Might be too late.  Who knows.

 So my not so productive week continues.  I'm predicting gridlock to start at 12:34 today and continue thru labor day.

 After starting the kitchen garden irrigation system (Dad's hose set up / gizmo ) I took an atv ride up to the patch .. looking okay .. slow but okay.  I then headed down to supervise the road construction on 169.  Again --  I was ignored.  I have pictures of some woman using a shovel ... a garden shovel on a state highway project.  Odd.

 I went home to laundry and a jigsaw puzzle on the iPad .. my latest addiction ... iPad jigsaw puzzles.   

 While disconnecting the irrigation system the largest deer ever wandered thru the yard .. he (and his rack of antlers) was freeking huge.  Fuzzy pictures are on my phone and the bugger was standing in the garden again this morning ... during the rain! 

 What a disjointed bit of post rambling.  Sorry.  Describes my week, month, well, life.

Toodles

Marie
 

Home!

Semi Wordless Wednesday (I'm never silent peeps)!

 

  picture from the fair ...imagine quilting yellow on the blue ... steady steady sewing ...

 

 

ditto

 

the coolest folding chair on the planet.

 

I've had a crazy busy week so far (and it continues) Ruby and I made a stop at the garden last night before heading home (via the field road) ... There is nothing growing in the weedy patches and I wasn't wasting chemicals to kill 'em ... hopefully tonight I can spend some time up there .. there is a few spots that need attention. 

 

The dreaded squash vine borer has made an appearance -- I only have 25 hills of squash ... you would think Mother Nature would give me a break.

 

 

Monday -- meetings until 10:30 ...

Yesterday they (the meetings) started at 8:00 and ended at 7:00 in New Ulm

 

good morning world ...

 

with all the chaos and crap lately I keep forgetting what that I (we) live in pretty awesome part of this earth ...

 

sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular lately ... this morning was no exception ... and thankfully, the iPhone snapped some nice shots

 

Happy Tuesday all.....

 

Helloooo Monday ......

   Are we all just so happy to leap out of bed and go about our daily doings !!!   (I know --- keep dreaming).

   I finally achieved one of my summer goals.  Sunday was my "sit on my ass and do nothing all day" day ... well ---
   
     1.  there was 5 loads of laundry ....
     2.  a trek with 5 bags of trash to the dumpster
     3.  a spot of cooking
     4.  a mini atv ride
     5.  bound a crib quilt ...

     but all of the above was completed before noon .... I never even opened a library book -- I napped, I napped and watched mindless TV  ... oh and the newspaper got read.   And best of all ....

    the heavens opened up and 4/10" of rain fell.  I forgot my camera (and the pictures on it) ... I went for an atv ride after the rain ... smelled wonderful.   and by this morning it had all soaked away.


Toodles
M


 

thankfully, it's finally Friday ....

 

this week's finish .. I used the fence between my office and Mr. State Farm next door .. after the picture ... I pulled the weeds. 

 

moved back to the front railing ... anyway big blocks of color.  I used some of these same fabrics for Emmy and Ryan's wedding gift (see it here on the long arm) and I've used up most of it.  This too is a wedding gift ... I've got it done 10 days ahead of schedule.

 

 

and a peek at the back -- there is some black polka dot hiding under the fold.  The top is quilted in a mossy green -- and on the back it was "use up the 1/2 full bobbins" ... white, orange, lime green ...

 

 

yep, welcome to Saint Peter, where road construction rules ... it's been a scary crazy week  --- please drive smart and drive safe ...

 

I'm predicting total gridlock by 4:23pm.  It's damn tough to be a northender this week and will be for the next 3 1/2 weeks!

I'm an exhausted Diva ... so, I'm thinking there's a couple of nights at the Bernina over the weekend. 

Marie


wednesday night travels

 

"oh, is the road closed" ... dumb shit.

  

 

conversion to a 4 way stop ... scene of the crime.

 

 

do you see what I see ...

 

 

I see weeds turning color and dying.

 

 

it's dry and dusty on the prairie ... no rain for 3 weeks -- looking west towards the cell phone tower ...

 

 

So I couldn't sleep again .. got up and started to sew at 4:45am.  Finished the binding on a quilt, washed it and it's in the dryer ... cut out some strips for another baby quilt (I've donated most of the finished ones) ... blogging and getting ready to head out to the office.

 

I'm sure by 3:00 I'm going to need a nap.  If not sooner.  Happy Thursday Peeps!