Summer catch up #1

I started writing a post, hoping to do a catch up and counted over 20 photos to share!!!

So, here will be half of my catch up, in a few days I'll finish the catch up, and then I'll try to stay caught up...hopefully!!

Summer's in full force here, we've had some hot days and the farm has burned to a crisp. On the really hot days, a great place to visit is the stream partway down the farm. It feeds into the main river after starting as a spring somewhere up in the bush and winding its way up down.

It's a fabulously cool place to be, and very peaceful and relaxing. I took some friends who visited earlier in the month up there. They had their four dogs with them, and they really appreciated the spot —

A few days later, while childminding, I took the kiddies there as well. we walked up quite a way. When there are deeper pools we skirt around through the trees but I do admit to ferrying children along one particularly long deeper patch - I was in water up to my knees but the kids all stayed dry!!

Here are Kaliah, Saydee and Xavier having a picnic lunch on the 'old bridge' afterwards —

When it's too hot for much action outside it's nice to sew, of course.

I've picked up my Wings and Pretty Things project. I haven't worked on this for a long time as my evenings got busy with other projects last year.

Two more applique blocks complete —

And Miss Lily requested some clothes for her Barbie — 

This pattern is a free t-shirt pattern from Pixie Faire which I adapted to form a dress. I used a Barbie ED used to play with to check the sizing and halfway through sewing I had a sudden fear that the Barbies of 20 years ago might be a slightly different shape/size than today's ones. The dress was a perfect fit for the old Barbie —

And luckily was perfect for a 2021s one too. So perfect that a second dress *exactly the same pwease Ganma* was requested for her Barbie #2! 
I'd been happy to find a scrap of fabric in the cupboard for the dress (I made tights from it for ED when she was about 8!!) - luckily I squeezed the second dress out of the leftovers this afternoon and there's definitely only scraps left now - very satisfying to finally use up that bit of fabric that's been sitting there for so long!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some of my favourites in the garden at this time of the year are the swan plants and monarchs. I have some really decent sized plants which provide a lot of food.

And lots of seedlings come up which soon get stripped bare. Look how many are feeding off these stalks! —

'til next time,

happy stitches,

Goals for 2022?

It's always fun to start a new year with goals, promises and inspirational words. It's also Great Fun to start a new year with new projects.

I've decided to use January this year to have a bit of a catch up and tidy up before my new aspirations take over. Believe me, I have several new starts and projects on my mind but, just right now, the urge to clear my mind (and desk) of the old stuff is strongest. 

So at this stage I am thinking that February will be my January (haha I don't think that even makes sense but it'll do!)

Just before the old year clicked over I made the final basket block for my Basket-case quilt. I had decided 7x7 to be a good size for this quilt and this was block #49. 

This has been an evening stitching project and I wanted to finish it to make way for other projects.

While I'm satisfied for now to just have the blocks made, I'm quietly playing with sashing ideas. I have in mind a low volume type print so I have to wait and see if it looks as good in real life as it does in my mind.

But I couldn't resist one last block the other night - this will be my label —

A big thankyou to Michelle (Rag Tag-stitchin') for the basket block template and inspiration for this fun project.

Another project I wanted to the 49-blocks-and-done stage was one I haven't even blogged about yet!
This quilt is called Star Pop by Emily Dennis of Quilty Love.

The minute I saw the pattern I wanted to make it, and I have used it as a leader-ender project and also as a scrap-buster. 

The background fabric I have used is a leftover piece of wide backing. It was fabulous quality and even though I did have to buy a little more to complete the blocks, I was happy to do so. 

There's an A and a B block which fit together to form this —

Evidence of 49 blocks sewn —

(Please excuse Nigel's tail - impossible to crop out!)

Flicking through my photos the other day, I came across this one, of a mug rug I made to go with a Christmas gift. A fun design called Snow Globe by The Crafty Nomad.

I would have liked to make more of these but didn't have many fabrics I could fussy cut for the centre. Next Christmas maybe!

'til next time,

happy stitches,

A bit of this, a bit of that —

Well it seems that when I told myself that I would try to blog at least weekly, the message didn't get through!! So here I am a good two three weeks since my last post. 

However it feels like I don't have a huge amount of creating to share. I'll get writing and see what I find to talk about!

A wee look through my photos reminds me that I blinked and the Oak tree was in leaf - all of a sudden it was spring!

Spring and September for us here can be wet, but in between showers there are a few beauties.

I grew Crocus for the first time —

Another first, I planted some Rununculus bulbs and they are flowering too! It was a gorgeous day when I took these photos —

When I planted the bulbs, I also sowed a packet of wildflower seeds in the same barrel so it will be interesting to watch the changes as the year progresses.

On the farm it's easy for the MOML and I to only notice the muddy gateways and and soggy pastures. However our daughter in law sent this fun photo through of the kids (and pets) rolling down the hill - doesn't the farm look great from there?!

Ha! the next photo she sent though brought us back down to earth with a thump - yep, the kids' favourite puddle, apparently!!

September is the month when the kowhai flower and I always look out for the first yellow blooms. I took this photo when feeding calves this morning. These trees in the bush are on the other side of a swamp so this is as close as I got today. 

This is a photo I took another time, such lovely flowers.

Calving has slowed right down and the end is nearly in sight, with approx 20 cows left to calve. The last ones always drag on for ages....70-80% of the cows get in calf on their first mating so we have an almighty rush of calves in the first 4 weeks. Some cows need a second mating, or a third or.... you get the picture. We've sold a bunch of calves, I currently have 103 that I'm feeding. Lots of delicious brown Angus cross in the photo below —

I always love seeing all the different shades of brown —

After being housed in various sheds and so on, most of the older ones are out on grass and getting milk-fed once a day, so that has eased my workload a lot.

Which gives me time to get back to my normal pursuits. 

A little childminding (Odie loves his Gandad's farming magazines!) —

And a little sewing —

I've had a bit of brain fog lately that's upset my apple cart so I've avoided anything that requires too much thinking and decision making.

Evenings has been basket making, with a straightforward design. Just the background fabric and one other —

The pattern was kindly provided by Michelle - she has now finished her Basket-case quilt, it looks lovely.

I didn't realise that I'd amassed such a pile of these - so it's motivating to keep going with them and aim for a decent sized quilt.

I've done a little sewing during the day, enough to keep my hand in!

I have made another one of the Reindeer blocks for Juliet of Tartankiwi's Sleighride sewalong. Details *here*. Again, once I'd decided on the fabrics for this deer, there weren't too many decisions to make, just the foundation piecing process, which I have down pat, to follow. 

(I showed my first blocks *here*)

I think the fog is starting to clear now so I'm hoping for a bit more creativity in the future :-)

And, just right now, there's new calvers to get to the shed and calves to be fed!

'til next time,

happy stitches,

Circles and calves

Spring has sprung!

We've had some lovely days lately; it's so nice to work in the sunshine and the dry :-)

I've been working on my Wings and Pretty Things project again. I didn't have much left to do on the centre block but I'd needed to put it away for a bit.

This weekend I opened the box, and out came the circles —

Circles prepped

And basted

Stitched

Centre block completed :-)

Gosh the colour is different in every photo!! The background fabric is probably most like that in the second photo, sort of creamy.
I've made a bit of a faux pas, thinking I'd signed up with Cheryll and the gals for FNwF the other night. When I went over just now to link her blog to my post, I realised it hadn't connected properly and I wasn't on the linky list!! 

Thank you Cheryll for having us all over on Friday night, it was lovely to stitch with everyone, even if you didn't all know I was stitching with you 😕

(Scroll on down if you're not interested in seeing my beautiful calves!)

Some of you may remember during our Level Four lockdown I tried to climb a hill every day. One of my favourite climbs was to the peak across the river. I've never put calves up there before but, because it is nice and dry, and I can get the bike and feeder up there, I've challenged myself to use those paddocks.

(When it's been raining, it's too greasy to tow the feeder up the tracks and not so safe on these hills.)

It's been great fun - a buzz to get up there and then lovely to have the view. One of my bestest things at this time of the year is to take photos of my calves with a nice backdrop. 

Day One, the first hill paddock.

Day Two, next paddock over. Feeding at the peak I used to
climb to. Hmm not a good place to feed as the ground wasn't
level enough for a feeder (uneven milk flow) but we got there!!

A good run down the hill

Hehe I could have fed them down here but it was more fun up the top!

Day Three, next paddock over, on the other side of the peak.

So happy with how well they've grown.

Then a bit of a stroll down the hill for a graze.

The kiddies helped me feed the younger mob this morning (in a paddock at river level).

Three Goofy Grass Angels!

'til next time,

happy stitches,