culling the herd

I thought of this today as I was in the sewing room...

an oldie that still makes me chuckle:

A city lady and her traveling companion 

were riding the train through the countryside 

when she noticed some sheep. 

"What a nice bunch of sheep!" she remarked. 

"Not a bunch, herd", her friend replied.

"Heard of what?"

"Herd of sheep."

"Of course I've heard of sheep." 

"No, a sheep herd." 

"What do I care what a sheep heard. 

           I have no secrets to keep from a sheep!"

Hee hee.

So back to the culling of the herd -

Culling the herd is a farm girl reference
to thinning the number of the animals in a herd.
Or in the case of this quilting, farm gal - 

culling my Wooly Stash Animal.

aka:  'downsizing of the wool stash' ,
to help make my sewing room easier to access.

All of this started when I saw that a friend 
posted on facebook that she was looking for a place to find 
wool scraps.
I have wool scraps.  

 Bushels (yes plural) of wooly scraps.

Though this friend lives in another country,
I decided that I could surely help her out. 
I piled, cut, folded, 

squished, packed, and shipped.

Boy do I feel better.  
I've culled the wooly herd! 

(I know she reads my blog, but I'm sure she'll love this when it arrives in a few weeks time.)

just under the wire - again!

My finish for June in Quilt Doodle Doodles blocks of the month:

mylifeisastitch
My 'pint-sized*' version of Northern Hockey Skates
 

Aren't those skates just the cutest blocks???
And done before the end of the month - YAY!
Well, almost done.
I still need to do some hand-stitching and get
those woolen skate blades appliqued down.
But I'm counting it!!
The pattern is from Cindy at Quilt Doodle Doodles,
in her free Block of the Month Sew Along.
*Cindy's design uses 2 1/2 in squares, but I'm using 1 1/4 inch squares.

Thank you again, Cindy!  It's a fun sew-along.


 
 
 

Summertime fun

 Somehow, I've gotten myself into another stitch-along.
Does that statement ring a bell with you, too?

Memorial Day has passed,
and though not officially Summertime yet,
I've found some Summertime fun to get into!
Another quilt to start...
yes, I said START!

Just like you,
I have all this extra time, you know,

so I'm joining in on 

Lisa's  10th anniversary stitch along.

(click on the link above to take you to the block pattern)

It's only a new applique block every couple of weeks. :)

I figure I'll do them when I can,
& save the patterns when I can't get to it.
I really can't resist,
since it's a free pattern and
I can use up more of my cotton and wool plenitude!

Are YOU also going to join in on this Summertime fun??

Happy Stitching!
Debra

p.s.
Congratulations, Lisa on your 10th anniversary!
Thank You So Much
for the great, new, free design,
& for letting us help you celebrate!!

Wallflowers

This is the quilt that I recently worked on...

after there was a B&E, Robbery and Grand-Theft-Auto.

But that's a story for another day...

(after the court date in mid August)

I had this quilt top layered and ready to quilt.

It was just sittin' on a shelf,

lookin' at me.  Probably thinking:

"what's up with this chick?"

"Does she ever finish anything?"

I knew there was going to be a perfect time

for this hand-quilting project!

I pulled it out and took it with me

after the B&E/R/GTA.

It immediately calmed me.

Made my mind stop whirling.

I just stitched away.

And do you know what?

Done before you know it!!!

Here's a close-up of one of the blocks:

 I paper-pieced the blocks themselves-kind of a wonky log cabin.  Then hand-appliqued (with silk thread) the wool onto the cotton block.  Machine piecing and sashing.  Then after layering the top/batting/back, I sashiko-d the blocks.  That's when the Utility Quilt Stitch came in handy.  I used Valdani #12 (in cream) to do the big-stitch around each of the wool appliques.  And besides the calming effect, I really love the look!!!!  I guess I usually do the Utility Stitch in straight lines.  But in this project, I did the Utility Stitch AROUND each petal and bloom!

So, to all of my unfinished quilt-tops

sitting back on the shelf -

I just want to say -

"This chick does occasionally finish something!"

And for those who asked about the Hasselback Potatoes:

Yes, they were great!
Wait, you wanted the recipe, didn't you?
Tomorrow!!! Promise!!!