The amazing Natalia

Head on over to Piece N Quilt, Natalia has my quilt on her blog.  YIPPEE!

 We received a bunch of snow last night.  I think the last big storm of the year.  Since it has been a pretty dry winter, it was nice to get some snow, knowing it will melt in a few days instead of stick around all winter!  I love a good March snow!

 When the girls got home from school, a bunch of it had already melted, but there was still enough of the wet stuff to make a snowman or two.  Emmitt had been waiting all day to play with the girls in the snow!

So since my yardwork has been put on hold for a bit, I get to sew.  I should be working on this project:  new cushions for this poor old chair that is falling apart.  I bought some fabric to do so two weeks ago and still haven't done anything with it yet. 

I haven't done too much yet because I am consumed with quilting a blue and gray quilt, and with another project - a new civil war dress.  This is the fabric I am using this time around.  I saw this cotton plaid last summer and bought all they had - 13 yards of it.  I love clearance fabric!  I have wanted a plaid dress for awhile, so I figure now is the time to make it.  I am not under a deadline, since it won't fit me for another 5 months or so anyway!  I have the bodice finished and I am going to spend the next few cold days making 9 yards of ruched trim to attach to it somehow!  I am so excited!  Maybe I will get to that chair too.

coop de ville

 Emmitt and I have been looking at chicken coop pictures online. 

 These are a few of the ones we found, that we like.

 I want to get chickens this spring, not sure why, just do.
I also want to plant my garden area with trees, not sure why,
just do, and I will, because I can!

 So I have been talking to my dad the for the past month about
chickens.  I think he is going to make me a coop.

 I sent him all these pictures.  My kids are so excited.
Pretty sure my dad is not, hee hee hee.  He is a good dad.

 My dad thinks all these coops are so small, and they are,
when you compare them to the chicken coop we
grew up with!

Just a picture I took of the chicken coop's door at my grandma's house.  It was a nice coop in the day, but I bet a chicken has not been in there in almost 30 years.  This was such a fun and mysterious place when I was growing up.  I loved to go collect the eggs with my grandma.

 So yesterday Emmitt and I started getting ready for our new coop.  Earlier in the week we went to the feed store and looked at the baby chicks they had in that day.  So darn cute!  Emmitt loved them.

 So Emmitt played in the sandbox while I thinned the monster out of control raspberry bushes.  By the way, any local folks, I have a ton of Heritage raspberry starts if you are interested.  I already gave away about 30 of them, and will have that many more next week.  My aching back and the cold weather today kept me from doing the other planter box of berries!

I also have two boxes of white and purple irises.  I failed quite a bit in my fall yard cleanup, so that means I get to do it this spring, while 7 months pregnant!  Smart girl Rachel!  So here goes to the cleanup!

A bit better afterwards.  After this I took the boards apart from one box.  As soon as I get the irises divided and on their way to someone else's yard, this is where part of the coop will be built.  I think it will work out nicely. 

So that brings me to this - if anyone wants irises, let me know.  These are the exact plants in this box.  They all need to go and they ship nicely!

Have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day folks!  Eat some steamed cabbage and corned beef, and smile!

Feathers all over!

 I have been busy this winter finishing up a few quilting projects I started years ago.  In December, I took 2 quilt tops I finished up to a long arm quilter friend, and then I took another one to another quilter friend in January.  They are not finished yet, and I can't wait to see them!  Last week I took the pomegranate quilt to yet another long arm quilter friend - and I got it back the other day!  I love it!

 Natalia of Piece n Quilt quilted my Rebekah's Pomegranates quilt for me and did an all over feathers pattern.  It looks so great.  The applique pomegranates or love apples turned out looking pretty darn nice.

 This is a quilt I made with the purpose of using at our civil war events.  I can already imagine my sweet little ones having a picnic under a shade tree all dressed up like its 1862.  I can't wait!

I have been busy otherwise as well.  Today I met two deadlines I have been working towards.  I finished and mailed of Matt's business taxes and I submitted a grant proposal with the Utah Division of Arts and Museums for the Heber Valley Civil War Weekend Quilt Show; both of which were due March 15th.  A day early - WHEW!  (Cross your fingers for me about the grant, better yet, send up a little prayer!)  I also bought a new (to me) car today.  I let my car slide into a hefty concrete barrier a few weeks ago on a slick road on our way to our civil war Ladies Tea and Social.  Our insurance company decided to 'total it' so I have been driving Matt's big truck around.  Not too much fun.  Anyway, I found a nice and fun car at a local dealership and bought it.  I think it will be nice for my family.  It has been a busy day!  Now for the sunshine - mmmm, yard work! 

Matt's parents are living in Missouri for a year and a half, so every now and then, Matt and the kids Skype them and chat for a bit.  The kids get so excited to see and talk to their grandparents, they just about knock over Matt's laptop.  Well, they all Skyped again the other night while Kelsey was practicing her violin.  Grandpa of course heard it and had her play a few songs for him.  He thought it was so fun, he got out his banjo in Missouri and the two of them attempted to play a few songs together over the computer.

Kendal and Emmitt were feeling a bit left out right before bed, and a bit awestruck at Grandpa's banjo playing, so they got their plastic ukuleles and played with Grandpa too.  Here they are, on a chair so the webcam can see them, playing right along with Grandpa and his banjo in Missouri.  I think they thought they were making some of that fun sound that Grandpa was making!  They crack me up. 

State Chess, again

 Saturday was spent at the Utah State Elementary Chess Tournament in Salt Lake City.  This is the 4th time Kelsey has played in this tournament, and every year it gets bigger and bigger.  They said over 600 students were there on Saturday from Kindergarten through 6th grade.  There were 103 4th graders that Kelsey played with, and only a handful of 4th grade girls.  Here she is, in pink getting ready for her first of 6 matches.

 Matt took Kendal and Emmitt south to the farm so I wouldn't have to worry about keeping them busy and not losing them while we were at the University of Utah for the tournament.  It started at 8:15 and she finished up her 6th match around 3:00.  We had to wait until about 5:00 for the awards ceremony, but it was a good day.  Kelsey is a smart girl and has an amazing mind.  I am glad she uses it and enjoys making that mind of hers work hard.  She ended up somewhere around 32nd place with 3 wins, 2 loses, and 1 draw.  We had a great day together, just she and I, and I am so proud of her.

So long Malibu!

2 weeks ago I wrecked my car.  My insurance company decided the other day that it was 'a total loss.'  So I had to go to the auto shop and clean out the sweet Malibu.  I took off the license plates and took a picture of my bizarreness.  I have done this on every car I have owned - when I register the car every year with the county, and they give me a colorful little sticker to put on my plate to mark the year, and I always add it in a rainbow.
We bought this car in 2002, so that first sticker was green.  You can barely see it.  Then all the consecutive years' stickers  are on top of each other, with just a little colorful sliver showing.  Weird, I know.  So, I am saying goodbye to 11 years of colorful stickers.  Wish me luck on finding a replacement for the Malibu, so I get to start another rainbow. 

Modern, cute, and trendy quilting suggestions needed

Okay, I need some help in a big big way!  This is the center block I brought home from quilt guild last week for our Round Robin exchange.  That means I need to add a border onto it.  I am in love with traditional quilts and much more boring fabric than this sort of fun fabric, so this is way out of my comfort zone.  When I first began quilting, I loved the new and trendy fabric and patterns, but my heart has been drawn to the traditional patterns and fabric.  Any ideas on what the border should be that I need to add?  This block is a 9 1/2" block. 

Also, I saw these cute little critters on my friend Deonn's blog today.  They are the most adorable pin cushions.  The sweet little lion has stolen my heart.  Click HERE for a link to her blog.  She has kits to make the cute little woolie guys. 

I am ready to sew up my civil war blue and gray quilt.  We are sewing tonight at the church.  That guarantees a good time for all!  This quilt is a multi-purpose quilt - it has many reasons for its existence.

1st - The Heber Valley Quilt Guild's 2012 Design Challenge is a two-block challenge.  I need to make a quilt/tablerunner that uses only 2 quilt blocks that I haven't seen paired together before.  This quilt needs to be quilted, bound, and labeled by our April meeting.
2nd - I always make a special quilt for my babies, and this one will be finished before this babe gets here in June.
3rd - I can enter it into the 2012 Heber Valley Civil War Weekend Quilt Show!  I am currently writing for another grant for this FREE and amazing quilt show in September that is due March 15th.  Send happy thoughts my way!
4th- I can actually use it while at reenacting events.  Wow, wouldn't that be nice?  To not only have my babe dressed perfectly period, but to have a quilt that fits the bill too!  That means I need to get making a few more civil war infant gowns . . . mmmm.

candlelight dinner for Matt

 We had our first ever candlelight dinner at our house tonight.  We celebrated Matt.  Kelsey made him a crown to wear, and when he got home from work, we were all sitting at the table waiting for him to eat dinner with us.  The kids loved the candlelight, and I must admit, it was pretty fun.  We celebrated Matt's 'still alive day.'  That sounds morbid right?

Last year on this day, Matt was trich testing bulls near Nephi, when a bull came out of the chute and hammered him against the fence for a bit until he and the fellas could get him out.  He broke 11 ribs, most in multiple places, fractured his breastbone in 2 places, deflated a lung, messed up his heart a bit, and broke his shoulder joint.  So, we celebrated today because he is still here with us, and because he is almost perfect.  His shoulder still bothers him sometimes at night, and his ribs hurt if I hug him too hard, but other than that, he is great.  (easy for me to say!)  It is sort of crazy to feel his ribs because you can feel the spots that were broken and have repaired themselves with a big bony callus.

He had a few rough weeks in the ICU, and a few rough months at home recuperating, but he came along just great, and so did I!  We are blessed in so many ways concerning this accident, but mostly because that darn bull didn't have any horns.  About a month ago, Matt went back down to Nephi to trich test bulls again for the same good old cowboy on the same ranch.  I was a little ansy about it, but Matt was cool as a cucumber.  He is a great rural veterinarian and trich tests about 150 bulls every spring, and that one was just an onery old boy that didn't want to be messed with that day.  He loves working with large animals - horses and cattle, but he definitely loves the cattle.  It is in his farm boy blood!