Lattice Garden

The picture yesterday of "Petey's" blocks was so awful I scanned the pattern.  A few people wondered what the rick rack would look like as vines.  

I am making Petey's quilt rectangular instead of square.  The cheery primary colors and bright rick rack bring back childhood memories.   Instead of turned edge leaves I am considering making them with raggy edges.  What do you think??

 

Design Wall Monday and I Need Some Goals

These are the blocks currently on my wall.  The start of a baby blanket for "Petey".  I know Laura Beth is rolling her eyes--the baby expected in December hasn't a name (okay--his parents may have picked out a name) and somewhere I heard the name "Petey" mentioned.   So for now his name is "Petey". 

Design Wall 10-9-2011

Taking pictures at night yields awful color!  But I'm not a morning person so....!  I still need about a dozen more blocks--I'm making two sets--one will be an extra quilt.  On those white diagonal rows bright rick rack is sewn like a winding vine--and appliqued leaves from the block fabrics are sewn along it.  

I need to start setting goals every week.  This week they will be small.

1. Make more Petey blocks
2. Load quilt for Henrietta 
3. Finish blue/white swap blocks

Its been very dry and harvest everywhere has had field fires.  The dry grain dust + hot machinery + dry crop leaves/stalks has been very dangerous.  

Field Fire South of the Campground

About 1200 acres burned less than two miles from my camper.  This picture shows what looks like smoke--but is really blowing sand.   This picture was taken the day after the fire, see the sand dunes already on the road??  The fire burned all the crop residue from the field and the high winds made a dust storm.   Crop residue (what's left after you remove the corn, soybeans etc) is normally left in the field and you won't have the blowing soil--but the fire burned all of it.  Luckily we've had some good rains over the weekend.  Slows harvest but a fire is worse.   The weather the last month has been both "unseasonably cold" and "unseasonably warm".  This afternoon I had the central air on--in October!

Here is a picture of my boss at the Visitor Center-Karla-with Toni and Eddie and I.  Toni and Eddie have left heading for winter in Texas. 

Me, Karla, Toni, and Eddie

It will be lonely at the campground the next few weeks.  Soon I will be done for the year.  But we'll be back next year!  

And a few random pictures---

Katie and Award

Katie received an award.   Congratulations Katie!

Spillway Gates Closed

There are still some spillway gates open.  They closed them while they were putting a buoy line across with a boat. Doesn't it look peaceful?

I'm Holding a Bat

Yes, my hands are inside those gloves.  We have "bat gear"--a long handled net and heavy leather gloves to catch the bats.   We take them outside and transfer them to a tree.  

Bat in Tree

He quickly crawled about 10 feet up the tree after I released him.  


I'm not a squeamish person.  The Visitor Center has three story glass windows.   Birds bounce off them all the time.  Once in a while we have a casualty.   This bird was unusual.  Yes, I took the corpse and measured it with lots of photos.   A bird we usually don't see--a Merlin.  This was either a female or an juvenile.  The pictures went to professor in MN who could identify it.

Merlin

And if you are wondering what happened to the bird, it went in the freezer!   Since it is a somewhat rare sighting for that area, it may go to the taxidermist and be mounted for one of the displays.

 

Relaxing Sunday

Another beautiful day.  75F with a breeze.   Ken came down to the camper because he had a combine part ordered and you KNOW what happened.  Half the parts aren't here.  He wanted to go home, but now is waiting until tomorrow since the other part should arrive then.   

Last week we had a few days that looked like this---

photo from internet

Very windy!!   We were "unseasonably cold" and now we are "unseasonably warm".    I LIKE it!!

I have a whine.  If you don't want to hear it--that's ok!!  Skip this part!  We have a few apple trees on our farm.   (We live in town now--but still have the farm)  Tuesday Ken said my little apple tree had lots of nice apples on it--should he pick them for me?  Yes!  Two days later Ken went back with boxes and buckets.  Someone stole EVERY LAST APPLE!  This is the 2nd time--last time they cleaned off my big Granny Smith tree.  There were plenty of apples--if someone had asked I know we would have shared them.  I just don't understand the greediness.

Warm Weather and Cookie Baking

Its a beautiful sunny day--highs should be in the 80's.  I'm going to enjoy it!  

Laura Beth, Nick and Mason arrived Friday night.  Family visiting and we went to the local steakhouse Saturday night.  Ken ordered the "Tyler Burger".  

Tyler Burger

Ken loves burgers. He was in 7th heaven--but said it was a family meal!  Three 1/2# patties.

Remember--I promised Mason we would make cookies?  Sunday morning BEFORE I HAD MY COFFEE Mason was asking "we gonna make cookies Grandma??"

Mason waiting for Grandma

Yes, we made cookies in our PJ's.   Mason sifted the flour.  

Packing brown sugar

 Packed the brown sugar.  Cracked the eggs.

cracking eggs--no shells Mom!

We made M&M with chocolate chips cookies.  Mason liked measuring the M&M's--a few were eaten!

Soon we had them mixed and were ready to bake.

Mason with cookies ready to go on pan

We used a small scooper to form the cookies.  See???

Hey Dad--see my scooper?

See Dad???  (Nick kept busy taking pictures for me.) Thanks Nick!

Soon we had a pan out of the oven ready to eat.

Mason with first pan done

The cookies came out pretty perfect!  Yes, a few bits of dough fell on the floor.  Mason had two casualties (two cookies flew off the plate as he was running to share them with Dad).  But there were plenty of cookies.  Mason took some to Great Grandpa John, and we packed a large container for Mason to take home. 

Mason--are the cookies all gone?  Grandma is ready to bake some more!! 

Another Beautiful Monday

The sun is shining and the temp to be in the 70's today.  Another beautiful Monday.


I remembered to take pictures of the most recent "auction treasures" Ken bought.   I love old enamelware, and he bought a whole box full a few weeks ago.  

A covered deep square pan (reminds me of a refrigerator drawer) a larger rectangular pan, an 8x11 baking pan, a covered pot with lid.  A large mixing bowl.  My favorites--a pitcher, a covered pan with fruit decals, a colander and a drinking ladle.  One stray lid.  

This pan is a favorite-the colorful decals are so cheery.  Some of these will go on my "treasures" shelf, and I know I will use all of them.  


And I have been sewing.  Last week I worked on the blue Jacob's ladder blocks.  The Sister's Choice blocks.  A blue/white Irish Chain.  "Mason's brother" quilt.  That means I worked on three UFO's.   None are close to a finish--but they are getting there!


I have another round of the blue/white swap in a few weeks.  I made this sample block--do you like it??

I like that the outer tips of the pinwheels point into the white hourglass portion of the block--they look like they're floating.  Most blocks made in this pattern are turned 45° and there are flying geese instead of the hour glass blocks.  Its a rather bright blue with white polka dots--I may try making another one in a softer blue.  I not sure everyone shares my love of bright "poke your eye out" colors.

This weekend Laura Beth, Nick, and Mason are coming to visit.  I promised Mason we'd make cookies together.   

Beautiful Monday

Today is a beautiful day, the door is open on my camper and a slight breeze is blowing in.  I can hear the roar of water going over the spillway on the dam and the crickets are busy singing.   The weather is going to change and become cool with perhaps some rain in a few days.  I hate to think that its fall already.  

A few weeks ago a fellow quilter from Yankton called and invited me to a trunk show--I think the local guild in Yankton sponsored it.  Pat Nagle--Eleanor Burns's sister was the speaker.  Lots of quilts and patterns and tools from Quilt in a Day.  But my favorite moment was this---

Pat is talking about this quilt and FORGOT that the gentleman behind the quilt was holding it.  Yes, those are Van's(??) Merrill's(??) legs!  It wasn't quite caught on the top and he's standing behind it with aching arms!   Thank you Jeanette for inviting me!

Lest you think I am slacking off in my quilting--here it the picture of my table today.

I started a baby quilt for "Mason's brother".  Most of the blocks for it are pieced.  Next I worked on the last of my nine patches, I'm sewing them together in pairs.  It was a block a day quilt-a-long from Crazy Mom Quilts.  I had a lot of fun making them--enough for 3 large tops!  These are the last ones.  These all have brown points turning them into Sister's Choice blocks.

I pulled out a UFO stored in the closet in the camper, I thought it needed more sewing, but it's to the pressing stage and needs some background fabric.  None here, it will have to wait.  

On Mason's birthday he baked and decorated a cake with me.  He's good at cracking eggs, loves to run the mixer (grandma helping!) and scraping the bowl.  He picked out some "sprinkles" when we were at the store to put on top the cake.  

Mason sprinkled enthusiastically and dug into the frosting with the jar--then licked the frosting off!  A small hole in the cake--we just added a LOT of sprinkles in that spot!  You can see some of our mess in the background.   

And then a picture of Mason being hugged by grandpa---

Life is good!

I Had A Coupon.......

Don't you just love having a coupon??  Me too!!  On the way to Mankato to visit Laura Beth and family, Ken obliged by stopping at my favorite fabric store.  And---it was 50% off everything that wasn't already on sale--with a coupon!   I thought I had read about Judy suggesting stash enhancement but I was wrong and Katie said it was using stash and setting goals.  Oh drat---too late!!  I didn't dig out the slip to add the totals, but its a "fair dab" of fabric.  I need more blues for a project.

A "fair dab" of fabric

We're in Minnesota for Mason's 3rd birthday.   

Mason blowing out candles

 Mason with punked up hair and Laura Beth.   

Next Mason showed me a new game at their house--

Yes, Mason is getting a baby brother in December!  New quilts are needed.  The only sewing I've done this weekend is hem five pair of pants for Laura Beth.  But, I did buy a new book--

Tomorrow we'd heading home.  I'll read the book and plan on the way.