abearsthimble2

April 29…garden update

The flowerbeds are almost finished,if the mulch wouldn’t have ran out it would have been done. The hardest part is finished though. I also got caught up with the mowing,trimming trees,and shrubs up. Hoping to get a little quilting in tomorrow so I can at least say I got a little done. Enjoy the garden photos….

That wheelbarrow is one handy thing to have around,even the grandchildren get pushed around in it.🙂

I love to sit on the porch just as the sun is coming up with a cup of coffee in my hands ,listening to the birds sing, and other nature sounds.

Here is the mower that I use to mow the five acres that need mowing here on the farm.

I love living in the country but at times it can be frustrating when wild animals come into your yard making holes that you have to fill in and level out. Armadillos can be a for real pain!

Living in one of my rose bushes is a nest of little birds , mama bird wasn’t happy with my at all! She gave strict orders for those little things to hunker down,and not move… and that is just what they did!

Have a great weekend!

Apr.13 ….. Gardening…

“..is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas.”

– Elizabeth Murray

Beautiful lines but what it doesn’t tell you of all the back aches ,sore fingers ,ant bites and an endless amount of weeds that come with this art. So why do I have flowerbeds and a little garden? A finished flowerbed and a healthy little garden gives me much satisfaction when completed. Let me show you were I have spent many an hour the last week.

Before tacking the flowerbed,here’s a before….

Weeds and lots of pruning needed to be done. Here is how far I’ve gotten on this flowerbed…

The white stuff is shredded paper I like to put in under the mulch it helps keep the ground cooler in the summer when the days are very warm.

I’m about half way done,the other half still looks like this.

I also have all the limbs and old leaves cleaned up from under the pecan trees so that it can be mowed. There’s also a Pileated woodpecker that visited me out there looking for the last few pecans to be found.

Lots of little piles burning the debris

Then a raised garden was made.. we don’t need a large garden anymore with just a few of us here at home. So my son Mike found some old railroad ties for me,and it work out perfect!

It is now ready to be planted… that’s on next weeks list.🙂

Now for a show and tell of the flowers blooming around me….

Also the azaleas will be ready to prune next week as they are starting to drop their blooms.

So no sewing here for a bit… the weather is just to nice outdoors.

Have a great weekend !

Apr. 1 ….Hand quilt along

I have only worked on the Fire Island Hosta Quilt as I put the others up until spring work and the little house work is done. It does feel good to just sit down and do a few stitches between all the other work. I also put up my other sewing in marked boxes for when the weather turns very warm ,and outside work is at a stand still.

Here is the update from three weeks ago….

To where I am now..

I’m down to the corner, closest leather thimble. There is a little to do in the corner …

Here are some photos of the hand quilting,the grid ,stitch in the ditch and a quarter inch away from seams are what I have been working on so far.

Until next update, Happy Stitching!

And check out there others lovely work,it’s inspiring.😀

Lori: https://quiltingneeds.com

Margaret: https://thecraftycreek.com

Kerry: https://lovethosehandsathome.wordpress.com

Emma: https://emmacraftprojects.wordpress.com

Tracy: https://itsatsweetsday.blog

Deb: https://abearsthimble.wordpress.com

Connie: https://stitchingirlblog.wordpress.com

Deborah: https://adailydoseoffiber.wordpress.com

Susan: https://desertskyquilts.wordpress.com

Jessica: https://myhappycountryfarm.wixsite.com/website

Sherry: https://bookshookssticksetc.blogspot.com

Nannette: https://doitrightquilter.com

Sassy: http://farmquilter.blogspot.com

Edith: http://ediscraftinglife.blogspot.com

Sharon: https://piecinglifetogetheronestitchatatime.wordpress.com

March,26… sketching and vintage fabrics

Two wonderful words to me! I have been practice sketching things that I see ,of course old churches pop out to me. Here are two churches that I’ve done.

Possum Trot Church,built in 1850 with scripture verses written on the inside walls because of a shortage of bibles.

Then the Summertown Methodist church built in 1881 and was in active use until 1995 even though there were no bathrooms or air conditioners.

And I’m still working on old vintage scraps. I had cut a stack of 3 inch blocks out not sure what I was going to do with them until I came across this block photo. Perfect for all my little scraps that I could get triangles cut out of . I did change it up a little.

Here are some of my finished blocks..

I almost gave up on making these for the blocks that have the muslin strip with the triangles corners were not matching up right for nice points,and I was ripping out way too much for my impatient nature.

I had to either come up with a fix or ditch the pattern…. here’s how I fixed it.

I marked the corner lines by butting the block up to the corner lines on the paper then the ruler to the straight line ,marked with a pencil… and it works like a charm.

Now I’m much happier sewing.😀

These are 1930’s to 1950’s fabrics

Have a great week !

March,18….. an old brick house…

This little old house was built in 1965 , it only has three little bedrooms ,one bath, kitchen and a living room. For many years an elderly lady lived in it. Miss Dot was looked out for by all her neighbors from her car to her groceries. We all enjoyed her stories and spunky ways,neighbors got to know each other better for meeting up together at Miss Dot’s .. but Miss Dot made some unwise choices in life causing some family issues . When Miss Dot passed away ,the family then came and totally destroyed the inside of the house looking for who knows what as Miss Dot was as poor as a church mouse.

The house has sat there in this state for several years… as it is just across the road ,we so hated to see this little house growing up in weeds. We offered to buy the place from the owners but there was an issue with title paper work as it had been part of an estate belonging to an aunt. To make a long story short ,the owners came to us saying that the title was clear ,do we still wish to buy! You know it!!! The perfect place for our daughter who wants to go out on her own.

Sooooo… here is what LouAnn and I have been doing… from this to….

Kitchen needs much cleaning ,painting and new cabinets….but trash is out.

Living room…. from this to ….

To this…

Still have two more rooms of trash to go…

And many hrs of cleaning, painting and other repairs,but the little house will be loved again!

It will be good to see lights in the windows at night , instead of weeds growing up .

I did fine Miss Dots old autograph book, the first entry was made in 1948 of Sept.,13 . Here’s how it reads

My last name is Altman

Fort Pierce is my station

I go to school to cut the fool and that’s my education.

Phone no… 977-R4

A few more..

When you get married and have twins don’t come to me for safety pins

When you get married and all out of shape,remember that corsets only cost $1.98

When night draws the curtain and pins them with a star,remember me where ever you are.

When you get old and cannot see,put on your spects and think of me.

There were a lot of roses are red…

And last …police,police,watch your duty for here comes Dorothy the AMERICAN BEAUTY.. ha,ha!😀

Have a great week!

March,13 …. Field burning…

Here in our area field burning is a late fall through spring before the grass turns to green. It has been on this farms to do list for awhile …. now it’s done! The pastures look so much better no scrubby grass ,the grass will come up nice and tender . It also shows that the fire ants are living well out there.

Hubby uses a gas can like container that has a hose like spout that one lights, then you walk along to light the dry grass.

Almost done .. it does burn rather quickly even though it was done in the evening with very little wind.

The next day…

See that ant hill.. don’t step in it!

Starting to green up again.

For all my northern friends who need a little spring in their day… keep warm!

March,11… hand quilt along

Just a few more days to spring! I was able to work on two of my projects this time, as the weather is getting warmer ,the days longer ,a lot of my time has been picking up sticks,limbs,and just general yard and flowerbed cleanup. We also burnt the fields off this spring ,it’s good to see a cleaned up pasture. Now the update…

Last time on the Fire Island Hosta quilt..

I drew a black line as to where I was last time as it is hard to really see. And today’s update…

The red shows where I am now,about half way done on the first roll.

The cathedral windows quilt ,I was able to work on this one a little more as hubby had business meetings in Florida so I rode along, taking this project with me as it was easy to slip in Hand bag,was pleased to get some time slipped in.Last time…