Sunbonnet Sue #1 is quilted and ready for binding.
Category Archive: Garden
Sunbonnet quilting
Not only have I decided on a pattern for the Sunbonnet quilting, I actually have begun the quilting. It isn’t the pattern that was #1 on my list, but I went with the second idea of all these little daisies and I like it. Maybe I’ll squeeze a bit of time on Father’s day to finish the quilting. Then I want to put something in her hand, but haven’t decided on that yet. After spending the morning at the eye doctor and another appointment, I very much needed to do something creative and was happy to have this quilt ready to go. It feeds the soul to work on something pretty.
I picked a few strawberries today, but I am not happy with the quality, so I may pull them at the end of the season and put new ones in next year.
I also managed to get in a quick trip to the grocery store and pick up the chicken for the dogs, get it in ziplock bags and freeze it.
This very full day has come to an end and so have we, so I’ll say, Shabbat Shalom and have a terrific Father’s day this week end. Those of you with families, love and cherish them.
Tidying up and Occupational therapist
Right inside the back door is the fertilizer and seed that we use in the hoop house. It is kept there during the summer because the hoop house is too humid to keep it in there and we don’t like to run through the house to get it when needed.
The visiting PT wants it moved and she is coming back tomorrow, so now it is restacked. I’m hoping she will be happy with this arrangement. I agree that it does look neater, which is something that gets thrown by the wayside when one is always in a hurry.
The lambs received their first shot this morning and the geese received leg bands. Then one of the new geese vanished. I do hope he shows up, but don’t have high hopes. I’m very thankful for help today as now the strawberries are weeded and netting over the top. She’s good at catching sheep and geese as well.
The occupational therapist was here and put DH through the hoops. The way he is being questioned, you would think he became disabled at the hospital. I asked how long this would go on and was told “until he has been released”. That’s an answer? OK.
These 4 bags of food have been in the car for about a week and a half now, so I decided to roll them up to the barn (animal cracker are for treats).
Look at the reception party! The whole gang turned out. Anytime they see me, they think grain or treats of some sort. But then, there might be a reason for that.
Sheep coats and June projects
What a relief it is to have the sheep wearing their nice new coats. It is a project with which I need help. We are getting better at this. With the crook, they are held at the neck, then the coat is slipped over the head and the crook adjusted to over the coat. Then each hind leg is picked up and put through the strap. That sounded easy, didn’t it. And it would be if the sheep wasn’t struggling so hard to get away and back to her friends. Only with Ava is this easy because she wants to please me and be with me.
June projects:
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Linking up to OMG (one monthly goal) to make these paper pieced magpies, which are in the bunny series.
2. Patchwork times #7 will be this cute little wall hanging which includes little lights in the sky. This will be interesting and a new technique. I bought this pattern some time ago and it is time to make it.
3. WA state quilters will be # – this snow cabin in the woods which needs some stitching around the cabin, then quilted and bound. This was a pattern I tested last year and then somehow lost this little quilt, so it didn’t get finished.
4. Hatched in Africa will be a pair of jeans embroidered with their design. For every three consecutive month we use their designs on a project, they give us $10 of free designs. I love their designs so have many in my library that I haven’t yet used. That someday is here for some of them
So it appears that I will be getting a jump on Christmas in July. And this year I’ll get to use these two hangings that have been sitting here waiting for their turn.
Tied to the kitchen
I’m starting to feel a bit tied to the kitchen, which is never good, because bites of food find their way into my mouth. We finished processing the soup between other jobs. Two students came to help me today in the rain. One of them cleaned stalls in the barn and worked in the hoop house, weeding, fertilizing, watering, thinning lettuce and planting carrots. The other cut blackberry vines and planted corn (I hope it’s not too early)
We harvested two crispers full of lettuce today. We need to up our intake or we will have a refrigerator full of lettuce.
Meanwhile, I got some basic house cleaning done and tried a new recipe for “kamut sandwich bread” – yes, kneaded by hand. It did not rise like I would have liked. I will buy fresh yeast and see if that was the problem. It does taste good and is not heavy, so I’m not sure if it is the yeast or that kamut doesn’t rise like the wheat I normally use.
I’m still a bit tired from our mad dash across the mountains Saturday to see my aunt who is in the hospital (8 hrs of driving), so I spent part of this afternoon sitting and plying some more of the wool for the sweater. Maybe, just maybe, tomorrow, I’ll visit the sewing/quilting studio.
Today came/went
I sat down to write this post and realized that it is dark and I have not put the sheep in for the night.
Sheep are in – I don’t know what happened to today’s hours, but they are gone – they came and went FAST. The sheep are such fun when I let them out in the morning. The babies leap and run and leap again for the joy of life. Tonight when I got up there to put them in, the babies and moms were in the barn. But in the dark, it’s hard to tell who belongs to who, so I ended up leaving the stall doors open and let the mothers sort out their offspring. The sheep who were not bred this year, were put in a different area. I am so thankful for having indoor facilities for them.
I am so thankful for help! The strawberries are weeded and hoop house is cleaned out and new seeds are started. This young lady can only help me 2 days a week, but she gets so much done, it is enough. In fact, it is wonderful! Next week, we will work in the barn.
Coordinating and baby 8
Hiring and supervising are not my favorite things to do. But today, we had the plumber out to do some repairs on the barn water system and tell us what we need in terms of money and supplies to get done what we need.
Then there are the repairs needed to the barn doors which, the last person saw fit to remove and put on backwards, plus remove all the hardware. So that also meant a trip to the hardware store to purchase the right hardware.
I hired part time help in the garden to finish planting potatoes and help with weed control in the hoop house. She worked so hard today, she finished the potatoes – which was about 160′ of them, before the rains hit. Then she went into the hoop house and worked the rest of the day, staying until she finished weeding all the aisles, picked parsley, and watered.
I need someone else to help with some of the old fence posts that are coming down. I guess 20 years is a bit much to expect from some of these posts. So an interview was in order. My first impression of the fellow that applied was good, but he needs a full time job, so will call me when he has achieved that.
Plus, I have someone doing some drywall work on the little studio apartment to get it ready to rent. So I dealt with the repair work on that
Oh, and did I mention baby #8 was up and nursing when I went to the barn this morning. The air is breeze and a bit crisp, but definitely springtime (this morning). I don’t have a photo of baby 8, but here Friday’s babies are out romping in the sun. Mom is a Ouissant – a rare breed. Babies are half Shetland.
All I did was coordinate, freeze (it is cold out there in the wind and even in the barn), go for parts. Why should I feel this tired?
Spinning, planting, shearing
A bit of spinning,
50 potatoes planted which is about 1/4 of them,
and 5 sheep are sheared. The lambs are getting reacquainted with their mothers and the rams are in a big fight. With their coats removed, they don’t know each other. It got to late to finish the shearing, so the others will be sheared in a week or so.
Monster truck blocks
On our outing, I was able to get 12 tomato plants, which are now in the ground.
I am starting the braided table runner from Jenny Beyer. Each of those little pieces is 1.25 x 3″. There are 60 to a chevron row. There are 5 rows. However, it is fun to watch the colors change.