Grandma Time at the Ranch

I spent a few days with my granddaughters this last week while their parents went on a little trip.  We had a good time and I got to see them work with their 4-H lambs and them teaching the lambs to lead and practicing showing as the fair is coming up soon.  The sheep are pretty tame and are getting the idea of what they need to do when the girls practice with them now.  They will get a bath and be sheared off soon and will look so much better than they do right now.  Love this first picture of D. leading her lamb with the parade following her.  She has Maggie the dog supervising and the two black ducks, Quackers and Olivia, that the girls got at Easter time bringing up the rear of the parade.  Those ducks are so funny as they follow the girls everywhere, quacking as they go.

I am sure the sheep are wondering why they have to walk round and round then stand just so, over and over each day.  They don’t know yet they will get to show off at the fair with how much they know about standing and walking beside their girl in the show ring.  Don’t you love the bright pink boots S. is wearing?  That is a requirement from their parents…they must have boots on when ever they are away from the lawn around the house as there are rattlesnakes around where they live and some have been found on occasion close to the barn and the garage.  The boots won’t protect them 100% but at least it is better than flip flops!  A sheep stepping on your foot with flip flops on is not fun either so another good reason to wear boots.

Until Later,
Lynn

Little Boys Sew Potholders

I have not had much time to sew lately with the family reunion a week ago and then we had our two grandsons visiting this week for several days.  We had a great time but little boys that are 5 years and 8 years have lots of energy.  They love to play outside all around the farm and have great imaginations.  I think they pretended they were Star Wars characters most of the time and they use old croquet mallets as their light sabers and kept us safe from all those bad guys the whole time they were here!

We did do a little sewing while they were here though.  I chose a very easy project for them to work on.  They made 3 pot holders from blue jean fabric and a square of pretty fabric.  The potholders are raw edged and so, so easy, plus they can be very imperfect and still be great potholders.

First we cut 2 squares of denim from old worn out blue jeans.  Two of these potholders were made  7 1/2” and one 8 1/2”.  The seams are all on the outside and will ravel out a bit as they are used and laundered but that is OK as that is what they are supposed to do. 

They chose a fabric they liked for the top of the potholders….two with a western theme with horses and cowboys for them and one with butterflies and flowers for their mother.  This fabric was cut 1” smaller than the denim square.  There is a piece of cotton batting cut about 1/2” smaller than the pretty fabric too.

To make these potholders this is what we did….First we centered the pretty fabric on the batting, pretty side out.  We centered them on one piece of the denim and marked an X and a plus sign on the pretty fabric then stitched the lines with a straight stitch to to hold it all together.  Easy for kids to do so far… right?

The next thing we did was stitch their names on the back of the second piece of denim.  They chose the letters on the machine to program in the name and then stitched it out.  That was really fun for them to see the sewing machine stitch the letters out  one by one.  On the one they made for their mother they stitched “Mommy”.  The 5 yr. old insisted it had to be “Mommy”, not Mom, Mother or Mama.

The last step was to layer the denim square with the stitched names to the outside, then the stitched sandwich with the denim square next to denim square and pretty side up.  I let them choose embroidery stitches to stitch next to and on the outside of the pretty fabric and they each chose to change the stitch on each side.

The squares did not stay exactly lined up and the stitching was not perfect but these will be loved and used for a long time and really are great potholders to protect hands from getting burned.  Both boys were so proud of them and excited to show them to their parents.

The 5 year old told me he loves, loves, loves to sew.  I chuckled at that as he sat between my legs and just ran the foot pedal that was placed on two catalogs to make it high enough for him.  I did slow the speed down as I had a hard time “driving” as he told me I was doing with the fabric since he liked to sew fast.

A great time but this grandma needed a little rest after they went home.  It is amazing how “quiet” is so very nice.

Until Later,
Lynn

Sewing with my Granddaughters

Last week we had our two granddaughters stay most of the week.  They always like to sew something while they are here so last week I helped them make a baby quilt for their aunt.  I cut the pieces before they came so they could start in sewing right away.  Again to protect their privacy I have covered their faces with a flower shape on all the photos I am posting.

I planned out a strip quilt with 5” squares alternating with 2 1/2” strips.  There were 4 rows of these pieces and a three inch strip between and outside the pieced rows.  A simple plan but still lots of sewing for them.  The fabrics I got blend a little too much but they both loved the monkey faces and poke-a-dots and the plan I came up with so we forged ahead.  They are very patient and spent hours working on the quilt and they had it done in 2 1/2 days and that included quilting and binding.  

They have done quite a bit of stitching when they are here so felt comfortable with the machine and S even told me how to lower the speed of my Bernina when I couldn’t remember how or where the control was.  I was going to get out my instruction book to find it when S showed me….she remembered from a year ago when she stitched on it.

Here are a variety of photos of them making the quilt.  I helped pin the pieces together and did the first stitching of the binding but the girls did all the rest, including the quilting that they did with the walking foot.  I had to be on hand to answer questions and to remind them what came next but they really did a good job.  Notice the one photo of D pressing…had to remind her not to press towards her tummy as I didn’t want to have her accidentally burning herself.  (When I helped her when she was making her 4-H skirt she did touch her finger to the iron and did burn it a little so she knows what can happen so moved the iron the other way.)

Baby Quilt In Progress VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

It was a wonderful experience for me as well as the girls.  They were so proud of making the quilt and can’t wait to give it to their aunt.  I wonder what they will want to sew the next time they come?

On a side note I was so tired the day after they left...went to be early and slept late.  Little girls have a lot of energy.

Lynn

Fleece Fun

We had the pleasure of having our granddaughters for the New Year’s weekend.  John and I met their parents at the interstate on New Year’s Eve afternoon.  Our first stop was to go to a fabric shop and choose some fleece that would go well with their winter coats.  We were going to make scarves and hats the next day and I wanted them to choose a fabric they liked.

The rest of the day we just had fun!  We spent a lot of time at the Hastings museum, ate at a fast food joint then went to see the new movie “Gulliver's Travels before we headed home.  It was a great day and the girls were so excited about everything we did.  At 9 and 10 they are easy to take places, are serious and interested in all kinds of stuff and can be silly too.

New Year’s morning I decided to make a prototype of the scarf and hat first to make sure the directions and sizes I had figured out would work.  I did use the pattern from this web page for the basis of our project.  The hat and scarf on the web page were made of two fabrics but we just used one, but made them the same way.

Since I don’t show the grandkids photos on my blog to help protect their privacy you will just see hands and bodies.  They are cute and I would love to show you all how cute but I made a decision when I started my blog they were off limits as far as photos of their faces go.

The girls used the rotary cutter but not quite like the photo here shows….this was just set up for the camera and the guard is still on too.  Actually I had my arm over theirs with my hand on top of theirs when they used the cutter.  I just don’t trust that they will not cut something or themselves and figured I could help guide them and they could still “do it themselves.”

D. wanted her scarf to be about 9” wide but S. wanted hers wider so she cut hers 13” wide.  The length was cut at 1 1/2 yd.  We bought 1 1/2 yards of the fabrics so the scarves could be cut on the length wise grain.  We cut two pieces for each scarf.

The fringe was cut 4” long and made cuts every 1” for the width of each fringe.  I figured that 1” cuts for fringe would be best for little girls to cut but I would probably cut them 1/2” wide myself.  The fringe was cut before they stitched the long sides of the scarf.  Whoops, D. has the cutter open.  Sure didn’t see that when I took the photo.



After the fringe was cut they pinned the right sides of the scarf together then stitched them with a 1/2” seam.  It worked out great for them to use the walking foot on the machine and we moved the needle to the left so they could guide the fabric along the edge of the foot for the 1/2” seam allowance.  The stitching was started and stopped just before the fringe started.  Notice D’s finger nail polish…every other fingernail is painted either pink or blue.  She told me she did it herself and didn’t I think it was pretty, although it was coming off in a few places.




The next step is turning the tube inside out and lightly pressing the seams flat.  Don’t use really high heat as you might melt the fleece.


The last stitching on the scarf was done 1/2” from the long edges and across the top of the fringe (about 1/4” from the top of the fringe.  I didn’t want the girls to draw any lines on their scarf so we used a piece of tape across the top and bottom to make a line they could follow.  Ta-Da….the scarf is done!
The Hat was pretty simple to make too.  I measured the girls heads and they cut the hat 1” bigger than their head.  Cut the fleece with the stretchiest  direction going around the hat.  The length of the hat was figured this way….4” fringe + measurement of center of head to below ears + 3 times the width of the cuff. 

Cut the 4” fringe with 1” cuts across the top then stitch a side seam with right sides together, stopping the stitching just below the fringe.  Fold up 3 times the cuff width and pin then stitch it down with a stretch stitch.  The top is closed this way.  Cut a 1” strip of the fleece and tie it around the hat just below the cut fringe.  Adjust the fullness as you tighten up the tie then pull it very tight then tie in a double knot then trim the ends even with the other fringe and the hat is done.  I didn’t get any progress photos of making the hat but  the girls made them very quickly and I was tired and wanting to sit in my chair with my legs up.

OK – now to see the finished projects…our granddaughters have smiley faces but maybe not quite this smiley.  They were so proud of their sewing project and couldn’t wait to wear them so went with John to water the cows and check for wildlife down by the river.  They didn’t see any deer or turkeys but had a good time and told me the new scarves and hats were really warm.  The temperature was about 10 degrees F about 4 pm so it was cold out.

Until Later,
Lynn

Sitting Listening to the Quiet!

I met our daughter today in Grand Island and the granddaughters left for home with their mother after spending a week with us. We had a wonderful time and kept busy, which with a 9 yr. old and almost 8 yr. old it is just normal for them. While here we sewed, swam, bicycled, played with the farm cats, played in the tree house,watched Anne of Green Gables and the Sound of Music on Videos, put 2 jigsaw puzzles together....and on and on. Tonight I am just sitting with my feet up, watching a little TV and there are no little girls talking, giggling, or asking questions. The quiet is wonderful!

While they were here the farmer that owns the property just west of our yard harvested his wheat. The first photo shows the combine as it is coming toward the end of the field near our house. The second one shows the combine from the side as it passed by. The third photo shows the view I had of the whole process from the back porch of the house - get the same view from my sewing room too.

It is always nice to sit in my sewing room watching the crops grow and mature as the summer progresses. The problem with the wheat field being so close to the house is that the insects, mainly grasshoppers, moved from the wheat to my yard and garden once the wheat started ripening as they prefer green plants over dry ripe wheat. There were/are thousands and thousands of them in the small trees, lawn and garden. I did get some of them sprayed this week but need to do more or I will not have anything left to harvest by the end of the week. They are voracious eaters!

Tomorrow I plan to get the house back in shape and catch up on laundry. I want to get a chance to sew so hope I can fit that in as well.

Lynn

Where Has The Time Gone?

First it was computer problems (twice) then the family reunion, overnight guests and now the visit from the granddaughters. I met them in Grand Island last Thursday and of course we had to shop for birthday gifts before we could come home. S. had to get fabric for a pillow she is making for 4-H too. Was fun to see her walking around the store considering different fabrics before she made her selection. I had to drive the pickup that day as they wanted to bring their bicycles for the week too.

The girls have not woke up yet this morning so have a little quiet for a while anyway. S. has most of her 4-H pillow sewn now and both girls made little bags to hold their MP3 players and head phones. It has been fun to watch them choose the fabric they wanted to use on their bags. They had to look through all my fabrics before deciding on 2. As soon as they got done making the bag they got the player and head phones and stuffed them in and had to carry them around the rest of the day.

We have been busy - S has been working on her pillow, playing with some clay they bought, putting puzzles together (one was easy and we are still working on the other one), played computer, garage sales on Sat., helped clean parsonage for a new minister that arrives today (we took bicycles into to town and they and rode around town with a couple other kids from our church), had a party at daughter S. on Sat. night....as you see we have not had any spare time.

Today's agenda is to have S finish her pillow as much as we can - didn't buy a pillow form so she will have to do the hand stitching at home. The girls want to go swimming so will probably do that this afternoon. I let them stay up last night to finish watching the second Anne of Green Gables movie so it was 10:30 when they went to bed so don't expect them to wake up for at least an hour or more yet. They sure liked those movies and the story and so did I. I downloaded the Anne of Green Gables audio book from Libra Vox yesterday and will burn it to a CD for them to take home to listen to. I want to download one or two of the follow up books too if I have time.

You know, I didn't realize how much I enjoy quiet until it is quiet. The girls are always chatting, giggling, etc. so it has been pretty lively around here lately. They are so much fun to visit with and their views of a situation can be very different than ours. They keep us entertained for sure. They will be here until tomorrow or Thursday so only have a day or two left.

We have been invited to a distant cousin's for July 4th for a pot luck picnic and to watch the fireworks. Should be fun. We usually just stay home so this will be a nice change. We did see some of the fireworks our town had on Saturday night as we were driving home from S. We were probably over 20 miles away from town when we started seeing them. They always have a big display. We watched them all the way home and they just finished about the time we got here. Made the trip home a little faster as we were all looking for the next one to go off.

Quiet over for now - girls just got up. I hope this all makes sense as I have not had a good chance to read it over very well....oh well.

Lynn

Grandma Duty - Miniature Quilt

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth the last couple of weeks. I don't know where the time went last week but this week we have had our two grandson's here for a visit. We had them for 3 days and nights and now this grandma is TIRED! The boys are 2 1/2 and 5 1/2 and very active. Of course I couldn't trust the younger one so I was constantly following him around and had to be outside when he was, plus all the cooking. (Don't cook that much for just John and myself anymore) There are just too many things on the farm that can be dangerous. Anyway they left to go home this morning so it is nice and quiet this evening as I write this. I bet their parents were not used to the quite the last 3 days either and it probably felt like a mini-vacation to them.

I met two friends this morning and we took our quilts to Lincoln to check them in to the State Fair. That didn't take too long so our next adventure was to go to the International Quilt Study Center. One of the gals had never been there and the Nancy Crow exhibit was due to close this weekend and we wanted her to see the fantastic building and the exhibit of the centers quilts plus Nancy's quilts.

We finished off our time in Lincoln by going to Hancock's to have one gals scissors sharpened. We happened to catch a day where there were a lot of items at 50% off. I had looked at the rotating cutting boards before but with the discount I decided to get one. Think it will be really handy sitting beside my sewing machine.

Since I have done no sewing the last two weeks you get to look at another miniature quilt I made a few years ago for one of the doll beds in my collection. This quilt I named "Crazy Ties". The 1" center blocks were designed on the computer and paper pieced from old neck ties. Each piece is outlined with a blanket/buttonhole stitch using gold thread. The center of the quilt is tied and the border is quilted. I had seen a large antique crazy quilt once with gold fringe so decided to try and find some to add to the edges of this quilt. Found some 3" fringe so had to cut it down to 1/2". The pillows are monogrammed with my DH and my initials. That was really an after thought when I was teasing him about it. The more I thought about it, it seamed like a good addition to the pillows. The second photo shows a ruler laying on the top of the quilt.

Maybe next week I will have something new to show.

Lynn

Sewing with Granddaughters

This has been a hectic week as my two granddaughters came for a visit. They wanted to sew pillows for their rooms this year so I helped them make 4 patch pillows. They thought it was fun to use my new sewing machine and did a nice job getting them pieced. I also let them stitch their names on the backs of their pillows and they told me that was the Coolest! Have put a photo of them with their pillows below but blurred their faces. Just don't like to put them on the Internet for anyone to see but you can see the pillows they made.

Besides the girls staying from last Sunday until Saturday afternoon we had a cousin and his 5 yr. old son come on Thursday and leave this morning, the girls parents came Friday and left on Saturday and our other daughter and her sons came on Saturday and left this morning. Whew!!!!

I can say I am tired of company and tired of cooking. Have been wanting to sit down at my own machine and play this week but just couldn't. Seems like when ever I started doing something the girls would run in and call - - - Graaaaa....maaaaa! They brought their bicycles and did a lot of riding around the yard but poor #2 fell so many times on the rocks and scraped her knees 3 or 4 times. She is tough and didn't cry but it sure looked like those bloody knees hurt to me.

We packed in a lot of things this week, went to the library twice to check out books, went swimming, went 4-wheeling, etc., etc. I think I went to bed earlier this week than I have in a long time.

Hopefully in my next post I will have something to say about some project that I am working on but think this afternoon I may take a nap!

Lynn

Bed Turning - Baby Quilt

This has sure been a busy week but I think I am almost ready for the China Luncheon/Bed turning our guild is having on Saturday. Am still working on getting my centerpiece to look the way I want it though.

My original paper stars were too big to hang in the middle of the table so I made a few smaller ones to hang on a smaller branched tree and will use the big ones scattered around the outside. If I would have used the big ones hanging on the long branches no one would have been able to see and visit across the table. Will take a photo of my table on Saturday after I get it all set up. Now I need to get my chocolate stars made for the nut cups this afternoon if possible.

It is a good thing we have a quilt guild meeting on Thursday night to refresh all our memories so we don't forget something for Saturday. My husband John is going down to help set up the stage and tables on Friday as will a couple of other husbands. That really helps a lot as some of those things get a little heavy.

Both of my daughters will come this weekend for the bed turning and will bring the grandchildren along. John will get to baby sit all 4 while we are at the event which could be a challenge so he will have to watch them close, especially the 2 yr. old. The girls are 6 & 7 and the boys are 2 1/2 and 5. They have a great time playing together and don't get to see each other too often so it is a treat for them to be together.

Love having them come and visit but I will not get to spend as much time with them as I like with setting up and tear down of the bed turning and both girls have to leave early Sunday to go home.

I may need that time on Sunday to get organized for the next week since I will be going to Paducah, KY for the AQS show. Yay, Yay!!! I am really excited about the trip as I have never been to the show before. I am meeting one of my sisters in Lincoln and driving to Kansas City to stay with a friend on Tuesday then the 3 of us will drive to Columbia, Mo to pick up my other sister then on to Paducah. I already have a list of things I want to look for at the merchants booths plus am excited to see all the quilts on display.

Didn't have any new photos to show so pulled this from my archives. This is the baby quilt I made for my youngest grandson. Actually, I started calling it a toddler quilt as I didn't get it finished until August of 07 and he was born in November of 05. It is mock hand applique done on the machine and is hand quilted. I didn't use a pattern but drew the designs myself for this quilt. It was fun to pick out all the bright colors as most of the time I choose dulled down colors for my quilts but my daughter wanted brights for this quilt and I admit it is cheery and was fun to work on.

Back to work finishing up those last minute things plus getting ready to conduct the business meeting tomorrow night. Only one more month and I will no longer be the president of the guild.

Lynn