Cabbage Head

I just have to say that today I feel like... I don't know.  Maybe like a cabbage head!  This is me yesterday posing with one of Husband's prize cabbages. Weighing in at a whopping 6.5 pounds, these are the most beautiful cabbages we have EVER grown.  If a cabbage could be a thing of beauty, these cabbages are beautiful!  Prize winning.

The plants came from my friend Patti.  (And Husband says whenever he says "Patti,"  I smile. I think it means something good.)  Anyway... back to the cabbages.  Patti got the baby plants from her neighbour.  They were extras and evidence of generous garden sharing.  Too many for the neighbour, but enough for Patti to share with us.  Today they are all grown up.  8 gorgeous cabbages.  Getting bigger by the day.  Sometimes gardens just do amazing things.

And speaking of amazing things.  The squirrels in our yard have actually worn a path in the lawn, from the forest to the grandmother nut tree!  You can see a line across the lawn from little busy squirrel feet!  That is crazy!!!!!

Farmer's Wife Check-in Week 18!!!!

My laptop is back.  Apparently it had a major boo boo so it is like starting from scratch.  I lost all my bookmarks.  Major pout.  My pictures are backed up on the other computer and in gmail and some of them survived the disaster with the system crash.  Blah!  It actually seems way faster than ever so I am starting to think it always had the problem and was slowly dying from day one.

I had a fantastic drive to work today.  It is usually awesome and takes less than 5 minutes on a beautiful country road but today I had to drive slowly behind a great big black bear!!  OH MY!!  And I couldn't reach my purse in the backseat to get my cell phone to take a picture!!!!!  The bear trotted down the road in front of me for a bit until it decided to head off into the woods.  I could see how shiny its coat was and its summer flubber was rippling as he trotted along the road.  It was just so wonderful.

And these pictures are not of a bear. I think you can tell that.  I went outside a few minutes ago to take pictures of my Farmer's Wife blocks and I was having trouble finding a spot because of the angle of the sun.  I went over to the grandmother of all of our nut trees and I startled this little sweetie. It was right in front of my face at first.  I took the pictures of my blocks and it settled a bit higher in the tree for these pictures.  It is a Douglas Squirrel and we think they are just the best little guys.  I think it looks a little crazy.  Maybe a little nuts even.  (he he he)

Block #60 noon and light

Block # 58 Maple Leaf

I am totally in love with both of these blocks!  I had to make the maple leaf block to celebrate fall and I love the noon and light block!!  I used scraps as usual.  This time some Basic Grey bits and pieces in the one block and who knows what in the other!

We ran for Terry Fox today.  My school blew their fundraising goal out of the water.  I am so proud of their efforts!

I Spy Redux...

Okay, here is version 2.  Jan-Maree suggested plopping the I Spy letters in the middle.  I never thought of that but I like it!  Husband said, "Ya, that makes more sense since it will be hanging on a wall." What planet have I been living on that I never even thought of that.  Thanks, Jan-Maree!!!! Great idea.

Tomorrow is the Terry Fox National School Run Day for cancer research in Canada.  My school will be out in full force tomorrow afternoon, walking and running to support Terry's legacy.  We have been running for Terry for such a long time now (31 years I think!) and so much money has been raised for cancer research in Terry's name.  It is amazing to see what an ordinary person fighting an extraordinary battle can do when they set their mind to it.  Several people asked if we would put the run off if it is raining.  This is one thing that we will do no matter what the weather.  Rain or shine.  That's what Terry did.  My school has set a donation goal and I am thinking that we are going to blow the goal out of the water by tomorrow.  And that is a good thing.

"Dreams are made possible if you try."
                                          Terry Fox

Have a super rest of your Tuesday!

Design Wall Monday (actually I threw it all on the spare bed)

Here it is on the design bed!  My "I Spy Wall Quilt" for my office.  I am really tickled with it.  It is a mixture of 4.5" squares for some larger prints, some 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles and then a whole pile of 2.5" squares.  I paper pieced the words I Spy for the top.  So much fun!  My plan is for the little people sent to my office (I am an elementary school principal) to have something interesting to look at.  Now I just have to sew all the wee blocks together.  Finished, it will measure about 32" x 36".

I was lucky enough to receive a pile of I Spy fabrics from Riel who blogs at the Q and the U and some from Jan-Maree who blogs at the Cherry Red Quilter.  They both sent me some great school prints too!

And I am going to link up to Judy's Design Wall Monday!

Windy, windy Sunday!

Hang on to your hats folks because we are having a wind storm.  It is the first day where the leaves are really blowing around and it is looking a lot like fall!  Husband is popping some pumpkin pudding in the oven and that has got to be a sure sign that autumn is upon us when he starts pumpkin baking!

I have to show off one of my birthday gifts.  Clever son and his lovely girlfriend were out for dinner on Friday and look what they brought for me!  Husband says they are enabling my hobbies!  You bet they are!  Clever son's lovely girlfriend found this at the crazy fabric store in downtown Vancouver, Dressew.  And if you have not been there before, it is an experience!  Here it is!  My doll dress form!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!

On the sewing front, I am still sorting/folding fabric from my estate sale bonanza!  Oh my word, what a lot of fabric.  I also spent a good part of the morning fussy cutting little bits and pieces of I spy fabrics for the wall quilt that I am making.  That project will be ready for Design Wall Monday tomorrow.

And my 2 month old laptop is not functioning.  I am MOST annoyed.  I am using my trusty 7 year old iBook, that has never had an issue in 7 years,  instead of my brand new, not working PC laptop that I have to have for work.

Flea Market Finds on a Saturday...

We were busy being farmers today.  We added a few more pullets to our chickens and had to drive out to pick them up. We brought home some lovely little chickies.  Once we got them home, I had to run out for a few errands and just happened to stop at a thrift shop that I have not been to in a long time. I found a fantastic pile of vintage sheets in really great shape!  Clever son and his lovely girlfriend were wondering why I had not made them a vintage sheet camping/picnic quilt so I will have no excuses now!

... a nice length of quilting cotton and some lovely snaps and buttons.

...a 50 cent basket with a bunch of odd bits of yarn for 75 cents.

Finally, a pair of lovely teacups.  They are really pretty and are just wanting saucers.  I have quite a stack of saucers without cups so will find some that go nicely and then they are all set for tea.  $1 for the pair.  Total bargain.

And those are my flea market finds for the week.  I will be linking up with Sophie's flea market finds later today and Apron Girl's Thrift Share Monday.  Have a super weekend and don't forget to check out all the other lovely finds.

And we have a winner!!!!

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:26Powered by RANDOM.ORG

I am delighted to announce that the winner of the cat fat quarters is.... Stray Stitches!  And if you have not checked out Linda's blog, you absolutely should because it is just wonderful.  I love the little tidbits of information that start each blog post.  Totally lovely.  I have sent off an email and will pop the fabric in the mail asap.

Have a super rest of your day!  We just finished a lovely dinner with clever son and his lovely girlfriend.  More on that later!

Rainy Day Thursday...

It was super rainy today.  The first really rainy day since we have been back to school.  I, however, was prepared!  I have the most lovely rain boots that will not be tromping around the farm and getting all muddy.  Nope!  These boots are FANCY gumboots!  And they work.  I was a happy principal today with dry feet!

On the sewing front, I have been tackling something different.  Turning this stack of batiks from the "by the pound sale"

into this...

I need 176 of these blocks so I can turn them all in to a bento box quilt.  I have never used batiks before but I had a specific idea in mind and they are working for it.  The fabrics have a different texture. I love the way the blocks are made factory style.  I can churn out a whack of these blocks all in a string quickly.  So cool!

One more day left on my giveaway.
Have a super rest of your Thursday!!!!

Farmer's Wife Check In: Week 17

block #48 Homeward Bound

block #46 Hill & Valley

 I am thoroughly enjoying the routine of this quilt along.  The blocks are always interesting and the size of the pile of blocks is getting significant.  I have a routine of making my weekly blocks before I tackle any other sewing each weekend.  It is most satisfying.  Again these blocks are scrappy with various bits and pieces.  So much fun!

Last yellow roses of summer

Fall is almost here.  The trees will be turning and the garden will need to be put to sleep.  The roses are putting on their last big display.  I adore the glossy green-ness of the leaves on this particular rose which climbs to over 8 feet in height.


The Giveaway is open until Friday evening.  Enter if you like!

I Spy Fabric all the way from Australia!

Today I recieved some fabulous mail all the way from Australia.  The lovely and generous Jan-Maree who blogs at the Cherry Red Quilter sent me I Spy fabric!!!!   Jan-Maree knew I was planning to make an I Spy Wall quilt for my office at school.  I thought it would be something for the children who get sent to my office to look at.  Jan-Maree's father was a school principal so she could relate to my plan.  I was just so tickled to see what a great assortment she included in the package.

Thank you so much, Jan-Maree!  Look at it all...

Jan-Maree even inlcuded some fabulous fabrics with Aussie animals and some New Zealand kiwi birds too!  So cute!  I lived in NZ for a year so the kiwis are near and dear to my heart and I would never be able to find this fabric here in Canada!  Awesome!!!!!  Now I have no excuses not to get busy with my wall quilt project!  Fun, fun, fun!

Check out Jan-Maree's blog!  She is always up to something.  She is always stitching something up for all sorts of charities and she bakes up a storm!

Have a lovely Tuesday and don't forget to enter my giveway!!!!

A new ironing board cover...

My ironing board cover looked like this.  Ewwww.  Apparently you should put a towel on your ironing board before using Best Press or other spray starches.  Who knew?  Today was the day, however, when I got really grossed out by the ironing board cover and I made a new one.  I feel incredibly clever.  Husband was most impressed.

Before Picture:  Ewww, yucky!

It took me awhile to select a fabric for this project.  Some prints can make me feel a little dizzy when looking at them close up so I made sure to test drive a few before making the final choice.  Test drive in this sense means, flinging the fabric on the ironing board and then staring intently at the resulting effect.  I finally selected a large gingham style print that I picked up at the thrift store a bit ago.   Make sure the fabric you select is 100% cotton.  It would be a disaster if you picked a fabric that went all melty when you started pressing.  

Throw your fabric on the ironing board right side down.  Make sure it is nice and straight and that there is enough to overhang at each end and on the sides.   I took some standard chalkboard chalk in a lovely rose and outlined the edge of the board.  I then threw the whole works on the floor and cut out the cover, leaving a good 4 inches.  I also put a layer of plain white flannelette on the board as extra padding and I did leave the old cover and padding there too just because I wanted a good base for the snazzy new cover.

Now you need to pick some bias tape.  You could make your own, or use leftovers but I happen to have a LARGE stash of bias binding tape.  Why you ask?  It is often in thrift stores and I buy it when I see it.  I often use it when making daughter scrub tops.    I used the wide double fold bias tape for this. I picked a rather icky colour.  It is not going to show and I thought I would use up something that might linger in the tin because of it's nasty colour.  

Open up one fold of the tape and pin it all around the cover.  Pin to the wrong side.  Stretching it around the curves.  I LOVE the way bias tape goes around corners!  Magic!  Once you get the one side down, turn it over and fold to the right side.  Stitch close to the edge.  Can you see that I used white thread on the icky brown bias tape.  That is because I was too lazy to change the thread and I knew this would not show on the finished project.  You might not be so lazy.

One new package of icky brown bias tape was not enough to go all the way around.  Luckily, I had a slightly less icky brown bit of bias tape in the tin that was just the right length to finish the whole thing.  

Snazzy.  Make sure you leave an opening to thread either elastic or string into the casing formed by the bias tape.  I used elastic.  Once I had the elastic threaded, I placed the lovely new cover on the ironing board.  Made it look all pretty, then I pulled the elastic tight and tied it off in a super strong granny knot.  

Voila!  Happiness is a new ironing board cover on a rainy Sunday morning!!  I am most pleased.  

After Picture:  so pretty and fresh!

Don't forget my fabric giveway!!!!  It is open until next Friday evening.  Have a super rest of your day!


And I will link this up with Sew Modern Monday!

Sunday Stash... and the garden

some roll ends from my fabulous local quilt shop yesterday... buy one get one free!

French Journal Collection by London Portfolio for Michael Miller

The French Journal fabric is so gorgeous!  It was a birthday gift from a dear friend.  She bought it for me this summer when in Oregon!  I LOVE IT!!!!!

I was just out in the garden beating back the flowers.  We have had quite a bit of rain in the past week and the rain beats the dahlias down.  I dead headed the wet soggy spent flowers.  The plants are taller than I am and I kept getting hit in the face with soggy wet kleenex-like flowers that hold an amazing quantity of water!  The garden continues to produce great quantities of vegetables. Husband picked a 5.5 pound cabbage yesterday.  It is incredible!  And the birds of fall have returned.  They are gobbling up the nuts, gleaning in the blueberries and filling the trees and they gobble up the fruit and seeds from the native wild apples and cascara trees.  What a wonderful time of the year!  Harvest time for everyone.

Lots of sewing done this weekend.  I feel most productive!

Don't forget my fabric giveway!!!!  It is open until next Friday evening.  Have a super rest of your day!

Saturday and Flea Market Finds!

Taking stuff to the thrift store is always a great excuse to go and have a look see!  I had a few garbage bags of various bits and pieces still from the quilter's estate sale.  This was stuff that was not quilting fabric and other bits and pieces that I had no interest in.


So what did I find?  I love it when the thrift store bags up a bunch of doilies and sells them for a flat fee for crafts they say!  Look at all the pretties!!!!!

I took some close ups of some of the goodies, including these new sachets,

a very fine knitted lace doily,

a beautiful old bit of loveliness,

and these.  I love the colour of the dark faded doily and the embroidery on the little one is really lovely.

I found this book from 1959.  It has all sorts of great information.  The colour plates and even the black and white plates are wonderful and the author's name is just great.  Roscoe A. Fillmore.  Sounds like a great name for a very fuzzy cat with a dignified expression!

Husband has actually said this past week that he does not think I have too much fabric.  I found this metre length at the thrift store for $2.  It is quite nice.

And finally.  Daughter found this at a garage sale and tucked it in my birthday gifts.  An asparagus plate!!!!!  She was quite proud of this find!

I will be linking up with Sophie's flea market finds later today.  I will also link up with Apron Thrift Girl's thirft share Monday if the link goes up.

Don't forget my fabric giveway!!!!  It is open until next Friday evening.  Have a super rest of your day!

It's my birthday and I have a giveaway!

crazy cat fabric giveaway

Here it is folks!  51 years young!  I had a great day and feel very spoiled with the wishes and gifts from friends and family!  I have some lovely fabric to share with you in a giveaway!  This is some of the fabric from the fabric bounty.  I maybe getting older but I never want to be known as a crazy cat lady!  With that in mind, I have some cat fabric to giveaway.  Spreading the love!

5 fat quarters.  3 of the fat quarters are vintage Moda from several years ago.  Cosmic Cats by Fun Factory for Moda.  How crazy is that?  And along with it, a fat quarter by Laurel Burch "felines and canines" for Clothworks.  Just for fun to go along with it all, some BRIGHT pink dots!

How to enter?  Leave me a comment!  Any old comment.  For a second chance, blog or share the word about the giveaway and leave the link.  That's all.  2 chances.  This is open to everyone, wherever you are!

I will leave the giveaway open until next Friday, September 23, 2011 and Husband's birthday.  I will pick a winner at 7 pm PST!

Good luck everyone!

Farmer's Wife Check In: Week 16

Here it is... week 16!

 I love this one!  Block #55 Linoleum

And I think it does look like an old linoleum tile pattern.  With that in mind, I selected fabrics that I thought might have been linoleum colours way back when.  I am totally pleased with the way this turned out.  It was a fun little block to put together too! If you haven't read the letter that goes along with this block and you have the book, check out the letter.  The farmer's wife who wrote the letter was very much about equality in the relationship between the farmer and his wife.  I think she may been ahead of her time in that regard!  She also lists the need to have modern conveniences.  One of which is linoleum.  I would never have thought to list linoleum as a modern convenience!  How far we have come.

 Block #109 Windows

And how appropriate that I took the picture in front of an old window, without even thinking about it!

The stash... or at least some of it.

Some of you have wondered if I gave away 597 metres of fabric, what did I keep?  I kept a lot.  Some of it is now inter-mingled with my existing fabric but I have taken some photos to show some of the new additions. I intermingled the solids.  There were LOTS of solids.  And lots of basic fillers.  Dots, stripes, etc. etc.   I had to make some room on the shelves in the storage area. 

And then there is the drawer of Christmas fabric along with some autumnal fabric.  Yep.

So I ended up keeping a lot.  Certainly not as much as I gave away but definitely several hundred metres.  I feel most fortunate.

So there.  My fabric bounty.  Now I just need to get sewing.