Scrappy Split 9-Patch

I have been busy stitching up split 9 patch blocks the last couple of weeks when I can find a few minutes to sew. Am using all those oldies and uglies I cut up this fall in these blocks. I have 240 half square triangle blocks stitched and trimmed so as you can see I have a little ways to go with 2 used in each block I will have enough to sew 120 blocks. Since I don't have a definite plan for the quilt yet but want to keep working on getting the blocks done.

I am not sure this is the setting I am going to use but wanted to look at the value of the blocks so stuck them up on my flannel board in this diagonal line setting. Not looking too bad but there are a few muddy areas. I don't plan to rip any of the blocks as I think there are enough of the good valued blocks to make any design work.

We are kind of at a stand still here as far as harvest goes right now. We did get the rest of one field done so we can get it fenced for the cattle to graze on the stalks and dropped corn. The moisture was still up to 23% Tuesday afternoon when we finished it. It was a good feeling to finish and it was just in time as it started showering as I was dumping the last load from my grain cart into the truck.

It showered off and on during night and was still drizzling today. Was a very grey, wet day. I took advantage of not being in the field to get my hair cut and get to a dentist apt. Glad I didn't postpone the dentist apt. as it worked out that we were not harvesting today anyway. It may be a few days before it is dry enough in the field to get out there again.

Good thing I can spend the day in the house I need to finish cleaning tomorrow since the guest speaker at our quilt guild meeting tomorrow night will be staying with me. Actually she will be here until Sat. morning since she is teaching a workshop that day for our guild. Will be fun to have her visit as we knew each other in college and have renewed our friendship over the years through the Nebraska State Quilt guild.

Fun time the next few days!
Lynn

No Bull

I had to tell you all about what happened Sunday/Monday as it was amazing. John went down to check on the cows, calves and one bull in a pasture about 3 miles from our house early Sunday morning. To his surprise they were all out and standing in a harvested field of soybeans nearby. They were all spooky and milling around.

He called his cow buddies (they help each other move their cattle) and waited until one guy showed up before he left to come home to get his horse. He was not trusting the animals to take off and with the river only about a mile south he sure didn't want them getting down there and disappearing among the many trees along it.

The crew finally assembled and decided the route to drive them home with only one standing corn field to pass. You might ask why this is important? Well to answer the question, corn plants are about 7" tall and rows close enough that if the cows would get into the field they would be hard to find and would knock down the corn and destroy it. It is almost impossible to chase cattle out of a standing field since they can get away from you and hide since the fields are large. Can you guess what happened next?

They finally got the group headed up the road and the cows and calves trotted right past the cornfield but that pesky old bull decided to make a sharp left and into the cornfield he went. They ended up driving the rest of the group a mile farther along a put them in a neighbors pasture and went back to see if they could find the bull. They tracked him on foot but his tracks disappeared so they had to give up. They did go back and rounded up the rest and loaded them into trailers and hauled them the rest of the way home. They were still spooky and the guys on their horses just couldn't get them to behave so this was the best choice.

John went down several times Sunday afternoon hoping to see the bull but never saw a trace of him. He did find out where the cattle did get out though. They had broken off several posts and escaped from the pasture next the the river but had then turned north and ended up in that field that John found them in, probably escaping during the night. He said from looking at all the signs in the pasture something really scared them as he could see the cattle tracks had been running around down there for a while and were bunched up before they broke out.

We don't know what scared them but it could have been a deer (unlikely as they see them all the time) or maybe a bobcat or mountain lion. Mountain lions have been seen in the area but of course they are not official sightings according to the Game and Parks division. Have heard of another sighting recently fairly close by though.

John went down early the next morning and found some bull tracks in the newly fallen snow and followed them for a mile and a half then lost them. He was relieved the bull was heading away from the river and getting closer to home. John came home and started looking around and low and behold the bull had found his way home and had walked into the south lot and was laying down in the shed. John said they only thing he didn't do was close the gate behind him.

We are still amazed as he started out in the cornfield about 2 miles south of home. We wonder if the cows were bawling and he followed their sound. Guess we will never know but we sure are glad he is here. Didn't know we had a Homing Bull. (Think Homing Pigeons)

Lynn

Beaded Pendant

Found a very few Delica beads at Hobby Lobby last week. Am so glad as I wanted to do some more beading right away. These tiny beads are hard to find here in central Nebraska. Did hear of a place in Hastings that might carry them so will have to check it out.

I used the directions for making a triangle in Diane Fitzgerald's book Shaped Beadwork. A friend made one similar and rolled the tip over and used a larger bead to attach it to the center of the triangle so that is what I did too. That makes a place to run a chain or cord for a necklace.

I was thrilled it turned out so well. When I was beading the triangle I just made it as big as I thought it should be - no planned number of rows.
Now I can't wait to wear it! I have to thank my friend - now I am hooked on another kind of art.

Burr, it is really getting cold here today. I am not sure the temp. got over 45 and dropped all afternoon. We have only had a little spitting rain occasionally but the weather man is predicting snow for the next two days. Yes, I did say snow. It is plenty early for snow here and we sure don't want much if it has to fall.

Harvest has pretty much come to a stand still now. The corn is still really wet and taking a long time to dry down. The drying bin empties automatically into a storage bin when the corn gets to a certain % moisture. Since it is so wet it is taking a long time to reach that optimum dryness. The guys filled the bin last night and it had not even gotten half empty by noon. What we need is a hard freeze. Freezing will help the corn in the field reduce moisture naturally and that is what we want as Mother Nature's drying is a lot cheaper and more efficient!

Tonight is a big football game between the University of Nebraska and the University of Missouri. It is a televised game so we have the TV tuned into ESPN. It has been raining down in Missouri last night and all day today so it might get interesting. John and I, both being alums of the University of Nebraska, are rooting for our team.

Game just started and the rain is coming down...got to post this so I can devote my attention to the game. Go Huskers!

Lynn

Threads Across Nebraska

Yesterday I traveled to Grand Island for the Annual Threads Across Nebraska quilt show and vendor mall, sponsored by the Nebraska State Quilt Guild. The quilts displayed were from quilters across Nebraska plus some from the International Quilt Study Center and Museum. The show was terrific and of course the vendors had lots of things to temp us. It was a great day spent looking, shopping and visiting with quilter friends.

I spent the morning selling raffle tickets for our guild's raffle quilt. There were 8 different raffle quilts there so lots of opportunities to get a chance on a quilt. After I finished my shift I was more than ready to look at the different quilt displays and to shop the vendor's booths.

Before you look at the photos of the quilts I have downloaded I do want you to know the photography is not real good. I sure don't know where my head was before I left home but after I was about 25 miles from home I remembered I did not pick up my camera and at the same time I also realized I didn't put any extra cash in my purse, thank goodness for credit cards and cell phone cameras. The photos I did take were with my cell phone and are amazingly pretty good considering. Because the photos are not so clear I can't read the signage to see who the makers are of these lovely quilts. I usually can read the signs when I take photos with my camera so am not used to taking photos of the signs.

Anyway - enjoy the photos. These were just a few of my favorites.

Get to spend the afternoon here at home as John has the help of two guys today and doesn't need my help. Really enjoy my time alone where I can sew, read, bead or just take a nap on a Sunday afternoon.

Lynn