when chickens move in

So, I realized I never shared our family's newest additions.

Chickens! The kids named this one Sunshine.



There's also Mercy, Gretchen, Samantha, Charlotte, & Yoshi.



Poor Sunshine met an unfortunate end by our black lab, Einstein. I feel terrible about it, as I was the one who left them unprotected, and really never thought he would do such a thing.  She was the friendliest chick.  I thought they were safe, because we'd been keeping them in our mudroom and garage. It was really hard to look Einstein in the face for a day or two.

It also meant we had to rethink our coop plans. We were going to do a tractor, which is a portable coop that allows the chicken access to fresh grass and bugs with each new spot. We were going to let them roam the yard during the day. With our dog's blood thirst (not to mention our neighbor's Boxer who comes over to play, and another's bird dog...) we changed our minds about free range.

Mercy is an Americauna. (Sunshine was as well) He was recommended by the nice man helping me at Orschelen's. She will lay pale green and blue eggs. I can't wait for that!

Gretchen & Yoshi are both Plymouth Barred Rocks. They are smaller, and I can tell them apart because Gretchen has a larger black band across her beak.

Samantha & Charlotte are Black Stars. They are the biggest of the five, and it will be interesting to see how their personalities match up to their bodies.



Troy took a few days off work and tried out his new nail guns on this project. (We are planning a remodel and storage shed, so the purchase was the first step) I even used them, and it was very empowering! Look at me, building things!  I have been poring over Ana White's site, planning loft beds...

 

even Sawyer helped!

The coop didn't actually cost us that much to make. We had a lot of the lumber left over from other projects, and so we only had to buy chicken wire and cedar planks, and a few other bits. We reused some old windows from the shed, leftover hinges, and rusty tin for the roof. Pack rat validation!




Our biggest concern was keeping critters out. I knew I would grow attached to these dumb birds, so I don't want them to end up coyote snacks. Troy is more concerned about raccoons - they are crafty and smart. I made a plea for a llama (did you know they will protect your chickens?) but Troy turned me down.



The plan is to have the coop in place this weekend. I am excited to be able to watch them run around - chicken tv! They will be so much happier than in the tank in the garage. And I will be able to show you how much they've grown in such a short time!

I won't bore you with "how to" for chickens - if you're interested though, here's a few links to some things i enjoyed.

reinventing the chicken coop
backyard chickens
when chickens move in
chicken coop 101

peep peep!

Blogger's Quilt Festival!

I love the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side! It's a fun show and tell of beautiful quilts. Plus I usually find lots of new blogs I want to read, and quilts I want to make!

For this time around, I decided to share my Madrona Road challenge quilt in the quilt photographer category. I am by no means a great photographer, but the colors in the quilt were really set off by the sky in these pictures. 

I am still so in love with this quilt! I made it thinking I would give it to my niece, but I already started her another one :)

This quilt was made with Oh, Fransson's Sparkle Punch pattern, although I scaled the blocks down a little. I used Madrona Road prints, as well as some Kona, Cotton Couture, and Grunge. It measures about 40" x 50". I stitched it with Aurifil thread in light gray, and quilted it myself with straight lines.

For the back I used In Color Order's Giant Vintage Star pattern.

Photographing it in the Kansas wind was a challenge - here's one of the blooper shots!

This was a fun quilt to make. Hope you enjoyed it too!

Cucire

I am so excited to tell you about my friend's new fabric shop, Cucire!  Elizabeth and I are both members of the KCMQG, and she is adorable and funny and makes beautiful quilts.

Elizabeth describes her new shop as "a carefully curated collection of high quality threads, fine fabrics, and sewing notions." Cucire (pronouned coo-CHEER-uh) is an Italian word meaning 'to sew'. Italians are known for their fashion and commitment to high quality goods, perfect inspiration for a fabric retail shop!

To help celebrate her grand opening, she has Art Gallery Solids on sale for $8 a yard through June 1st! She has a great selection of voiles, shot cottons, grunge, and solids, with jersey knits coming soon. Don't forget the thread - she has a large variety, including Aurifil, which is my favorite.  Plus a notions section too!

She also has a special giveaway for you guys!

There are 4 fat quarters of Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks Four Square Voile, 1 large spool of 50 wt. white Aurifil thread, and a package of titnium-coated topstitch needles from Superior Threads in size 70/10.

Have you sewed with voile before? It is so soft. Just lovely.

Aurifil 50 weight is perfect for sewing and quilting. You will love it. I promise. :)

OK, the details. Please use the rafflecopter widget to record your entries. Just leaving a blog comment doesn't enter you to win. US shipping only (sorry!) The lucky winner will be drawn in one week, and notified by email.

A big thanks to Elizabeth for such a great giveaway! Be sure to like Cucire on facebook to hear about sales and new fabrics!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

paper piecing

One fun thing about testing blocks for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks is the variety of techniques I get to try. You might paper piece one block, then applique the next.  Lately I've been getting into paper piecing, and I love how precise and crisp points can be!  I signed up for a pp class this summer with Penny Layman (of sew take a hike)! Yay! I also just joined a paper piecing bee on flickr. (because I am insane and think I have way more free time than I actually do.)

This paper pieced block is called Santa Fe Star, for obvious reasons :) Block #615 by Eileen Fowler. I'm going to quilt it and make a pillow for my Nana, who loves this kind of stuff.

another block that used some paper piecing is #621, Point Taken, by Pam McMahon.  I hadn't thought of combining paper piecing with patchwork, but it's an easy way to make those triangle points!

don't forget about the giveaway for a copy of Vol. 7! you can go here to enter, or just scroll down to the next post ;) and be sure to check out all of the other giveaway at sew,mama,sew!

giveaway time!

giveaway is over - thanks!
ah, giveaway day. time to grab a cup of coffee and spend an enjoyable morning visiting lots of new blogs and entering to win amazing prizes.

if you're new here, welcome! my name is tammie, and i try to make something every day. as a busy momma, sewing in bits and pieces is the only way i get anything done. i often host giveaways and fabric swaps, so be sure to follow me so you don't miss out on any of the fun!

today i have a copy of the new Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Vol. 7 for one lucky winner! i'll also include some FQs of vintage sheet fabric from my huge collection. :)

to enter, choose entry options from the rafflecopter widget below. i'd love to know your favorite potluck side dish, we have several BBQs coming up and i need some new ideas! (just leaving a comment doesn't enter you, you still need to use the rafflecopter to record your entry.) US shipping only, giveaway ends may 10 at 5pm PST, and winners will be notified by email. good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

block show & tell

Quiltmaker's blog tour for 100 Blocks Vol. 7 continues all week - don't forget to check in daily and visit the different stops! Here's another block I tested for the issue, this one is called Spinwheel and it's by Cindy Lammon.

 

i also want to share a project i learned about recently. if you have orphan blocks you don't know what to do with, there's a group collecting them to make quilts for people undergoing chemo. you can read more about it at their blog, quilts for chemo.

here's some other blocks i've been working on. april for bee vintage, lattice blocks for emily:

and garden gate blocks for pam:

now to get to the post office...

kona heaven

i can't believe i haven't showed you guys this yet. look what came the other day!

my prize from robert kaufman's facebook page. it is awesome.

i kind of want to dump them in a pile and roll around in them. is that weird?

um, probably a little. never mind.

they also included the book we love color, which has projects from some of my favorite quilters. i actually got to see a few of these quilts in person at spring market last year. i need to finish up a few things so i can start a new quilt!

the color card is going to be so helpful. the day before i found out i won, i had decided to bite the bullet and order one. it was such a funny coincidence! i love rachel's idea of cutting the pieces up so you can see how they look together - but for now i'm leaving it in my binder.

i am super excited about these hexie packs! they sent me a couple different color packs. i would like to say that i will take them along to ball games this summer, and patiently epp while i watch three different ball teams play. but keeping two eyes on a 2 and 5 year old doesn't leave much time for sitting. :) this summer will be the most challenging yet, with emma playing softball, alex playing 8 & under, and zach playing tball. we'll have some traveling to do for some of the games. maybe i can stitch in the car on the way to games. crossing my fingers...

anyways, a huge hug, kiss, and thank you to robert kaufman fabrics for this amazing bundle of fabric heaven. don't be mad if i just pet them for awhile. i promise to use them. someday.

get 'em while they're hot!

quiltmaker's 100 blocks volume 7 is officially available. (although you may not be able to find it in your store until may 7th.)

I've spent the morning sipping coffee from my mug and looking at all the blocks. head over to the quilty pleasures blog for their blog tour and enter to win a big prize bundle! you can also see some of the blocks that are in the issue.

like this one I tested, the pattern is called Pay Day.  I used some Kona, Amy Butler, and DS Quilts fabrics. I'll be sharing some of my other favorites all week long!

and don't forget, sewmamasew's giveaway day starts one week from today! i'll be participating so be sure to stop back then. have a great week and happy sewing!

what can i say, i'm a joiner

so i joined the local pieces and patches quilt guild! i'd been to a couple of their special events, but hadn't attended any meetings. (they meet in the mornings, which requires a baby sitter.)

last month, jenifer was giving a trunk show and applique workshop, so i made arrangements to be there. she's a great speaker and teacher!

it was fun seeing some of jenifer's more traditional quilts, as well as her latest, more modern ones. and then i took her invisible applique workshop (for the 2nd time), and i think i finally have the technique down!

this month's meeting was yesterday, and we had a miniature quilt show from florence milliman. (shout out to my bff stacey for watching the boys!)

she does amazingly teensy paper piecing! seriously, look at these minis. she said there's usually more fabric on the back than the front.

sorry for the blurry pic!

we have a quilt show coming up, for the annual square fair may 11. i'm planning to show a couple of quilts, but i need to add sleeves to them for hanging. i'm going to try to get those done this weekend, plus one of them needs a label! i also promised i'd run a 5K saturday morning, so here's hoping i don't injure myself. have a great weekend everyone!

brr!

another chilly week here in kansas! they are even saying snow, ugh. we haven't started our gardens yet - other than pulling a few weeds and planting my hanging baskets, and troy mowed for the first time. i have a few tulips and daffodils blooming too. so it sort of looks like spring. and our daughter emma had her 1st communion yesterday :)

packages keep rolling in for the denyse schmidt charm swap!

i realized the other day that i'll be sorting 6272 charms.  ok, written down, that sounds insane. if you've never hosted a swap before, i probably just guaranteed that you won't in the future. haha! there are 112 yards of denyse schmidt fabric being cut up into charms. just doing our part to keep fabric makers in business.  if you're in the swap and haven't sent your charms yet, don't forget the deadline is may 1st.

we have a kcmqg swap coming up too. the only requirements are that it can't be a potholder, mug rug, or pincushion (because we've swapped those before) i'm thinking a tote would be fun, but i'm not sure i will have time to get anything done before the next meeting. i suppose i should get to work! i am catching up on bee blocks and working on a super fun secret project. what are you working on this week?

exciting

quiltmaker's 100 blocks vol. 7 is coming out soon! my issue came yesterday, and lookie here:

that's me! i was on one of the block testing teams. ok, it's not as exciting as if my work was in the magazine. but still, fun to see my name in print!

and i will finally be able to share some of the blocks i made over the past few months. it feels weird to have "secret" projects that i can't share yet.  i tell you guys everything ;)

the blog tour starts april 29, and i'll post more about it then.

in other exciting news, i got an email that i still can't believe! robert kaufman fabrics was having a fan appreciation giveaway on their facebook page. and i won! not just any old prize either.

(image borrowed from the RK facebook page)

it includes a giant box of kona, hexagons, the book we love color, a color card...

i'm already planning some quilts. and my husband wants me to buy a lottery ticket.

my trip is almost over

do you ever have a quilt that you just get tired of before you actually finish? my scrappy trip along is one of those. i loved churning out the blocks, but didn't actually like it in the end. so i decided to sash it and break the blocks up a bit.

i used a polka dot sheet i found on clearance, cut 2 1/2" strips, and quickly stitched it together.  i'm going to use the same sheet for the backing, and a scrappy binding.

it's far from perfect, but it will make a homey quilt for the family room. so, top finished. into the "to be quilted" pile, and on to new exciting projects!

this and that

this month is already flying by!  i've had a little time to do some stitching though. a block here, a block there. and i started a quick project.

i began with this stack of FQ from my stash. most of the prints are dear stella petal pushers, but i swapped a girl on flickr for the owls, which are an older alexander henry print.

then i used the colorblock quilt pattern from bijou lovely. this is a great pattern to highlight fabrics you don't want to cut into bits. plus it's fast, which is a bonus for a baby quilt.

it would be finished, except the yellow i chose from my stash for my center strip was cut crooked on both ends. by the time i squared it up, it was a few inches short of what i needed. i have the greens in the picture, they work too, but i'd like to stick with yellow. i'd also like to avoid piecing the center strip. marmalade fabrics will be at our guild meeting tomorrow night, so i'm hoping i can find something there that will work.

and yesterday i started on a tank top for me! yes, you read that right. i am selfishly making something just for me. i'm trying the new look pattern (6026) out on an older robert kaufman kitschy kitchen print. but if it fits well, i have 2 yards of denyse schmidt meadowlark floral, waiting on the sidelines. so far so good, i just need to finish the straps. the pattern is kind of confusing but i'm figuring it out. also, pattern sizing makes me feel quite fat. so thanks, pattern people. :)

and here's a quick share. emma wrote and illustrated a story for the PBS Kids writer's contest! I am mailing it off today(the very last day for submissions, of course) and crossing my fingers for her. they show some of the stories during the after school programs, and i'd be so excited for her to see her story on tv! plus i'm just super proud of her for doing this on her own.

happy easter!

hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! we celebrated as we always do - with a huge potluck lunch, egg hunt, and kick ball game at the church hall.  it was a gorgeous day, full of sunshine, candy, and well behaved children. :)


i have a few bee blocks to share. sawyer took a long nap one afternoon, and it was nice to just stitch.

i worked on bee vintage blocks first. for josie, a scrappy tree! she's making a wall hanging, so raw edges were ok, thank goodness. i'm still pretty new at applique. she mentioned she loves owls. i used wonder under to hold the leaves in place. i'd like to try it again using the freezer paper method...

nikki wanted scrappy triangles.  these are made with film in the fridge's tutorial, and are simple and fun. she let us choose any solids we wanted for the outside, and so her finished quilt will be a rainbow of colors.

for the inspire group, we're doing a sort of framed floral for april's block. i made this one, and still need to do another. i don't know the name of the fabric, but i love how the centers have different prints.

i took an applique class from jenifer last week, and made a sweet little apple. today i finished up the rest of the block.

i started to quilt it but can't find my walking foot anywhere. i gave it a try, but it's puckering.  i'll probably rip out the stitches and try again with the right tool.

i still have a few more blocks to catch up on. plus some UFOs I'd like to knock out. what are you stitching today?