Had to teach Sunday School and cook the extended family Sunday lunch today. (Yummy savoury chops and creamy garlic baked potatoes for those of you who care about the food! It looks after itself beautifully while I am at Church)
DH had to travel about 300 kms to look at a trailer and at the last minute the kids packed up the complete works of Roald Dahl on CD and the portable DVD player and went off with him, so I am family free for at least another 3 and a half hours. The house is screaming for attention, the garden is calling and the sewing room is just playing a haunting, siren like tune. I wonder which I will answer on another perfect, should-be-spring day?
Crazy crumb blocks are well and truly the flavour after Patti's fabulous tutorial. Andrea at Welsh quilter and fiona in England have both posted their progress, I thought I would give you a snippet of mine.
These are all from the shirt scraps that appeared as i made the quilt tops I've been showing you since retreat. I love making them, they only require any precision when you are trimming them to your preferred size at the finish-my kind of blocks! I am thinking a red sashing between them all, they look a little too busy stacked against each other, but i am open to opinions.
I have another lot a size bigger, I can see how Patti has managed to make over 500, they seem to breed!
A few farm pics for you in this beautiful sunshine.
The other side of the "rock feature". Archie trying to access the foxes. I love the old machinery, I wonder if DH would notice some of this come back to my slowly improving garden?
Keeping a close eye on my "accidentally" calving cows at present, I think the bull jumped the electric fence about 9 months ago-men!!!
I haven't been quite happy with this one's mothering, the baby looks hunched up, but I think she is getting the gist.
She should perhaps attend classes with these three, who look like someone to the left has just suggested that there is something wrong with public feeding!
Yeah, that's quite the staredown!
Now, when your kids are this big and still showing up for a feed, then you have something to worry about! (Murray Grey breed)
And here is the proud, "I'll jump an electric fence for the right woman" father! (Angus breed) I actually bought him when my husband was away harvesting once, I'm quite proud of him, doesn't he look noble? And, unlike his predecessor, he never chases me, blows hot steam down my neck as he charges me on the motorbike or injures us in the yards!
Time to go and answer one of those three calls, Tracey
We have Roald Dahl on CD too - even our 15yo loves it - the only thing that keeps them from killing each other in the back of the car really
ReplyDeleteYour mile a minute blocks look great. I enjoyed a look around your place, thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe plaid MAM blocks look great (I knew they would) I like the idea of a red sashing - but then I like sticking them all next to each other as well. How decisive I am!
ReplyDeleteMile a minutes are very popular at present.............see you like the block boys also gotta love Angus........oh and you dodgy calf looks better then mine that went to heaven......don't you just love new calves........ours start tomorrow and we have already had a few and 1 disaser........love going out finding new calves......
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty obvious that he is saving his chasing and blowing of hot steam onto the neck of some other young ladies on the farm, Tracey. You are not his type!
ReplyDeleteI love your blocks. I also love how sashing ties together crumb blocks and red is always a smashing choice. Glad your big boy isn't chasing you down or hurting anyone - always a good thing in a creature that big.
ReplyDeleteI hope you picked sewing! Other things can be done in the midst of family. =)
ReplyDeleteLove your plaid MAM blocks - red sounds good. It would be more work, but you could make strippies with setting triangles and the blocks on point, and then some kind of border fabric in between the stippies. That would have a very traditional look, even though the blocks aren't traditional at all. But more work!
Yes, you picked a very noble looking bull!
I like your idea for red sashing--I think it will show off the blocks nicely! Enjoy your time alone--it is fleeting, as you well know! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI want to thank you for the kind comments about my few quilts.I have taken most of them home...the finished ones to protect from theft.I love your mile a minute blocks...will definitely be making some.Have been very lucky with hand quilter.I bought her a quilt rack,taught her how I wanted to quilt...she is wonderful. But it is only an as she has time to do it.She works as a domestic during the day/sews for a friend making curtains.Hope she can finish another quilt or maybe two before I leave for the States permanently. I am Walker Jen's Mother in law...you are clever at putting us together. Thanks, will be checking back soon to check on quilt updates. Colleen
ReplyDeleteYour MAM blocks look great. The plaids give them a very unique look. I went back to Patti's photo tutorial and printed it out. I'm jumping on the band wagon. Thanks for posting your progress and giving inspiration! Does your very noble looking bull have a name? ;)
ReplyDeleteLove the plaid in your MAM blocks. I make similar blocks and call them crumbs. I have made zillions of quilts using crumbs and used a few million different settings. Once you make a few, you'll start playing and doing all sorts of things with them, I'm guessing. Red sashing is a striking quilt with those, I'm sure. Let me know if you want to see photos of some of my million crumb settings.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Of course Tonya and Bonnie just had a blast doing some wonderful crumb quilts, too. They are always a source of inspiration for settings and other ideas.
ReplyDeleteI know which call I'd answer -- which is why I'm going to have to ignore the siren in favor of dust, junk, and other assorted cleaning soon!
ReplyDeleteLet's hear it for the bull! (actually, I know that unplanned breeding is not a particularly GOOD thing -- but he seems so proud!)
Your blocks are beautiful. Red sashing sounds great. Have you thought of forest green?? Something different...
ReplyDeleteWhat a handsome guy! Our last boys that chased us girls did really well in the freezer. ;)
Your MAM blocks look fab. I set mine with a tiny red sashing as I thought, like you, it would just seperate them a bit. Having said that I like the look of them with no sashing too. Decisions, decisions -lol !
ReplyDeleteLove the MAM blocks. I vote for no sashing. I like them right next to each other. Clutter be darned!!
ReplyDeleteLove hearing about the cows. I hope that baby does all right. Yes, the bull does look pretty self-satisfied.
Love the MAM blocks. I vote for no sashing. I like them right next to each other. Clutter be darned!!
ReplyDeleteLove hearing about the cows. I hope that baby does all right. Yes, the bull does look pretty self-satisfied.
Your blocks look great - you really are going a mile a minute *s*
ReplyDeleteI love the shirting fabrics. I do not know much about cows, but the one did look a little too old to be nursing! Reminds me of a friend who had a 6 year old who use to climb under her shirt and nurse. She had some of the same looks given her as those cows were staring down!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all of the great photos. It's fun to see where our online friends live.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the MAM blocks. They're going to make a wonderful quilt!
I love your mam blocks! Why do yours look so great. Mine always just look like boring log cabins. They are wonderful! And I loved the pics of the cows.
ReplyDeleteYour MAM blocks look great! Little did I know I would cause such a stir in blogland when I posted that tutorial LOL!
ReplyDelete