At 6 am I could stand it no longer the hens were banging the door of the coop, I really am dreading this, Skinny Minnie must be dead they are making such a commotion. I let the dogs out, let the cat out and with great care go and open the coop. Peeping out of the window are two hens, oh get ready for this, so I open the door and they come out, open the lid of the nesting box and .................................. she is aliveeeeeeeeeeeeee and sitting on an egg.....

The relief.

 

Thankfully the day was uneventful.......... sort off. I decided to clear the garden of brambles and cut back the lower branches of shrubs. Three hens and I worked away diligently as I pulled out weeds they turned over the soil. It was all very therapeutic. Until I was pulling one bramble and all of a sudden I hear a rip in my side and feel it at the same time, the pain was excruciating. I was on my knees clutching my side, three hens were looking at me wondering why I had stopped. I may have torn a muscle, I continued but couldn't bend down, or get up. Time to call it a day

 

Went and sewed for a few hours 

then it got worse

chooks were good all day, yes they kept hiding on me and I did find 2 eggs under an ornamental grass. I was going in to check on them and Bailey ( the golden spaniel ). I should add before you read any further both dogs are chasers and I have been very careful about keeping them away from the hens, they can see them from the other side of a lattice fence , they can stick their noses in but thats as far as they can get Until............. he managed to get in before me he ran to the chickens but stopped sniffed and decided they weren't worth bothering about, well that was until I discovered skinny Minnie was out again and had managed to get into the area where the dogs have free access of course saphy was on that side and she took off after skinny Minnie and caught her. Tail feathers everywhere

Skinny Minnie is on the right and Ruby on the left. See no tail feathers.

 

Skinny Minnie managed to escape back into the garden again , the commotion prompted Bailey to chase the other two, pandemonium ruled managed to get Bailey out, now by this time the cat was stalking skinny Minnie who again managed to get in under all the shrubs and nettles, brambles etc. Dogs were barking, chickens were squawking I was shouting.

Managed to get the dogs in the house, went looking for skinny Minnie poor thing has lost all her tail feathers, I picked her up and cuddled her she chattered away, her wattle and comb were quite pale . I just quietly sat with her on my lap holding her and stroking her feathers till she calmed down a little I then, put her in the coop and she settled down. contacted the girl I got the hens from and she said to give her pro biotic yoghurt and to check her for cuts. So had to go into town at 8pm and look for probiotic yogurt, couldn't find any. In all three supermarkets no probiotic yogurts, don't they know this is good for a stressed hen and I had a stressed hen.

Came home and lifted skinny Minnie out of the coop and of course she has cuts all over the place, contact Mama Hen  again and another friend who keeps chickens, mama Hen told me to bathe the wounds and put antiseptic cream and cornflour on the wound  and to separate her from the other hens,( what!!) asked her to clarify, meanwhile my friend suggested covering the wound, so I bathed her wounds with salted water, dried them to stop the other chooks from pecking the wound. Though I must say they are very good they leave her alone. (She is the loner though) stuck an antiseptic wound dressing on it!  My friend also suggested that the chicken could well be dead in the morning as it will have gone into shock.

 Went to bed at 2 am trying to figure out what I can do now to stop her getting through the fence, the other two are two plump, she is thinner.

 

3 am online ordered windbreak wire mesh to cover the fence from Amazon.. 3.30 am put a bid on ebay for a 16 section puppy crate each section is 3 ft x 2 ft .

 

4 am bed

Another sleepless night and dreading the morning.

 

6 am dreading this I really am

 

and then there were chickens

gutted traumatised

Collected 3 chickens yesterday from the chicken rescue place in Moira (The Nut House) came home settled them in gave them the run of the garden , they were eating  everything in site, clematis gone at the roots, rhubarb leaves slugs peck peck chuckle chuckle.

I went online as I was told rhubarb leaves are poisonous to hens, so out I went and deleafed all my rhubarb!!!

At 7 o'clock I made some mash potato and sweetcorn one is a little skittish and isn't so friendly keeps her distance but managed to get her and she had a share as well.

My grand daughter named two of them I named one, so please see three hens disappearing into the shrubs when they were first let out, so Skinny Minnie in front, followed by Ruby and Tiffany

Eight oclock I thought I should be thinking of getting them in and I wonder if anyone has laid an egg yet. went out and Tiffany and Ruby come running to meet me, chuckle chuckle  peck at toes. Looked round no Skinny Minnie at 8.30 I thought this is really strange I don't hear skinny Minnie  so hunted the garden, then hunted the garden for feathers not a feather in sight, (as there are feral cats and foxes around), then hunted the garden for a body. No body. OMG what am I to tell Mama Hen the lady I got the hens from. She will think I am totally irresponsible, that something got one of the chooks!!!

So gathered up the remaining two and put them in the coop for the night. They are really easy to handle , no trouble at all .

Went off into the yard and barns below no Skinny Minnie, hunted the trees incase she was roosting no sound no nothing. Every half hour I was out looking for her. Sent the dogs in to see if they could flush her out, nothing.

Went to bed at 2 o'clock worried sick about this poor hen, feeling useless that I couldn't find her I had thought they were totally safe, garden was enclosed, gates are all shut etc. didn't sleep as by now all I am worrying about is keeping the remaining two safe. 

At  6am let the cat out and dogs out, checked the coop it's still there and locked up and nothing is getting out till later.

At 8 o'clock I let Tiffany and Ruby into their coop that has a small run attached and decide they aren't getting any further until I have walked the dogs as so help me whatever took skinny Minnie will be so dead. Mentally preparing myself to find a dead chicken on the walk I headed off.

Walk out the gate and running up towards me is Skinny Minnie. I throw the dogs back in the yard, and this is where the real pantomime starts, as I run down shouting chook chook chook, towards her,  she changes her mind and runs the other way making an almighty din. So done the road I go making a wide berth and manage to get in front of her and she turns and heads back towards the house, always just out of reach, every time I bend down to pick her up , her pace quickens, all the time chattering away. Bother I forgot the dogs are loose in the front so clever me takes my coat of and decide to throw it over her.

Well the coat flutters in the air she squawks like a demon possessed and takes of zig zagging all over the place back the way we had come. Another attempted coat throw and that idea is aborted as by now she is deep in undergrowth consisting of brambles, nettles and whatever else is in there.

Eventually she gets stuck in tree branches and I get her. She is so grounded. But first I have to find out how and where she got out as I thought it was all chicken proof. such relief  and all for a chicken I have only known a few hours.

My life has just changed dramatically

life cant get any easier

Easy Circle Quilt

 

Nothing can be easier than this. For the quilt shown at the end I used 5 FQ’s for the circles and 1 ½ yds for the back ground

For this quilt I used 8 ½” squares but you can use any size you want. You will need two background squares for each circle fabric

 

Fold your fabrics into quarters and finger press to mark the centre

 

You will need the circle cut ruler and cutter, I got mine at the Missouri Star Quilt Company this is also where this tutorial is from.

Fold your circle fabric in half, line the fold line on the ruler and centre on the fabric, choose the size of circle you wish to cut, I cut at the 4” section. Run your cutter along the groove and you have a positive and negative circle

 

Lay on your background squares, you will need to centre the circle

I used a spot of glue to hold both in place, then take to the sewing machine and stitch ¼” seam allowance, leave the edge raw, no turning in needed!!

Then simply join the squares, I trimmed the background from the square with no centre, to leave just one layer to stitch through. In no time you have a quilt like this. With hindsight I would have cut the squares for the piece with the hole in it smaller to save the trimming.

Now all I have to do is decide if I shall add a border or not. I think it looks fine without I will quilt just the white parts. This reminds me of the bullseye quilt from an online swap I took part in many years ago with the Quilting Sisters group. I am sure its on my blog somewhere.

Looking at this now on the wall I am thinking each block could have been cut in half again and rejoined with an opposite (postitive and negative in the one block). Must try a sample and see what it looks like.

 

How to make real quick scrap 4 patches

Thought Id give this a go and see how quick it really is, and it is!
For this I started with  5" squares.

This is done in pairs so join two squares by stitching along two opposite sides. Repeat this for as many patches as you want, it can be done in two colours or real scrappy like my example.

    

Then take your ruler, measure from the edge of the fabric NOT the stitch line and cut at 2 1/2"



Turn and join ends mixing themup as you join



Flip over one end ontop of the next piece

again using your ruler measure from the fabric ede and cut at 2 1/2 ". Keep the odd piece you will need it for the last piece cut

keep flipping over and cutting (you are flipping over a 2 piece)

Hey presto a pile of four patches in no time .

This can be done any size

u tube tutorials

Found the Missouri Star Quilt Co tutorials and boy have I sewed my heart out here are two almost finishes

The first is a disappearing four patch, so easy to do and makes a lovely cot quilt, Might do this in browns and buttermilk yellow .

This one started of done like a basic rail fence but then you add triangles to the corners, it is so cute

Then nothing was stopping me by this time I pulled out a box and found an old and I mean old pattern from a patchwork and quilting magazine years ago and using my acuquilt rustled up this little Suffolk puff topiary tree in no time.

Out came the acuquilt again and this is the result of that.

Now I am off to try a couple of more tutorials from the Missouri star quilt co , my onlu problem is I am finishing nothing I have a pile of quilts to now quilt!

Great day had by all

Last Saturday a group of ladies from my class in Swatragh went on a 'shop hop'. We left Magehra at 8 am on a bus and headed for Quilters Quest in Belfast. Here Yvonne had laid on tea/ coffee and scones when we arrived. we were show some beautiful quilts including a cuyrved rail fence, I must try this. Some ladies had a go on the long armer and I collected this quilt which Yvonne quilted for me. and yes we all bought fabric! we left with purchases goodie bags and much chattering. Next stop was lunch, soup and sandwiches in Carrick and there we went to Craft Womans World it was slightly disappointing as they charge more for cut pieces than what is on the roll. Won't go back there again. Then back in the bus and off to Ballyclare to Karen in Fiddlesticks. Here more tea coffee and cup cakes and shortbread to die for.
Yes we spent more money and another goodie bag. Here Karen demonstrated her Acquilt and many ladies purchased fabric that Karen then cut into various pieces for them.

Would you beleive it by this time it was tea time and we all headed back into the bus and ff for an evening meal in Templepatrick.

Arriving home at 9 pm I just about managed to unpack the purchases walk the dogs and fall into bed.

This quilt is one that can be seen in many magazines, really easy to do, great beginners quilt

I really love this wall hanging

I attended a work shop by Melinda Bula, her work is absolutely stunning, I nearly passed out when she showed us what we were going to do. Undeterred head down transferred pattern, cut out bits, screwed up eyes to check values and would you believe the top was created in a day.

It was meant to be a two day workshop the second day was quilting it, but I was so terrified of messing it up and I could never do it justice, Robyn Fahy offered to take the wall hanging and quilt it for me and it is to die for. Robyn's quilting is very distinctive she free machines on her long arm, now it takes me all my time to free machine a quilt as you go block on a regular machine and about as far as I go for adventure is meandering. The feathering on this is all done free hand!! I tried it..... on my own machine on a wee bit, and there is no way I could ever do this, even with a pattern to follow..

If anyone has a chance to do a workshop with Melinda I strongly recommend it, it must have been the most enjoyable one and the first one where I have actually finished something!

another day

 

I think this would make a real nice bed quilt with 24 different blocks this pattern came from Angela Maddens Quilted baskets CD. There are so many variations from filling in background to trapunto / Italian quilting or heavily quilted as a whole cloth block. the basket could be done in Christmas colours and filled with poinsettias or little Suffolk puffs or indeed any appliqued flower

If these two would sit still I might get a decent photgraph

 

yeah another finish

During a patchwork exhibition I saw a bag something like this over someones shoulder. Needles to say i stopped and asked how she had made it and she said she had bought it.. MMM I could make one of those, so I asked if I could take a few measurements. This is the result from memory hers was smaller and didn't have the piece sewn up at the side. By the time I had it done and couldn't remember if it was quilted etc, it is far removed from the one I saw. Mine was too big and floppy hence bringing the corners up. But I am pleased with it.

I am sure it is well over a year since I bought the upgrade EQ7and probably 2 years since I bought the acquilt go. Both have sat in their boxes , every so often they would moan pleadingly. But I appeased both by buying dies etc every so often. along the way I bought the dog and cat die and found the rather nice dog quilt on the acquilt site. So starting with the blocks in the centre I started to change a few things and started designing my version on eq7. 

I really do struggle with EQ7 and I should sign up for a class I can never seem to save anything, I hit save and it disappears! Now I print and hit save and if nothing else I have a printed version of what I want to do. However, I did this with the dog quilt it was so long ago I now have forgotten what size some of it was meant to be!!

Rooting in boxes a few months ago I also found 90, it could even be more 4 patches and some HST (1 1/2 ) ones, I remember these were meant to be a mystery quilt of Bonnie Hunters many years ago, But I gave up at the time, I now have these to use up, so have designed a quilt again on EQ7 and printed. Did quite a few versions, I found this very useful and was able to decide much quicker what I am going to do. This will take time to do as I have a lot more cutting to do!

It has been a while

As per the last post seems ages since i was here thought I had better get myself back in gear.

I haven't been idle!
This has come from the book Lil Twister and is so easy to do, I have managed to do a Xmas one as well with place mats, it still needs quilted. Years ago I did a quilt similar to this and had to make a template, you can now buy rulers and it is so easy to do.

I love the colours in this I am not really a red person when it comes to fabric it was a bit of a challenge getting the right reds!

Then  this started off as a sampler quilt, but I wanted to do something different and decided to box the blocks, could also have turned the box round and it could have been an attic window effect. My grandsons got a kitten and then the cats evolved on it. the quilt became a wall hanging.

I didn't buy any fabric for this, its a real nice feeling when you can make something for nothing. But you wouldn't see a dent in the stash/

 

This is taken from the book simple stained glass quilts by Daphne Craig and Susan Purney Mark. Really simple and effective and has encouraged me to try something more complex, about this time my trusty old pfaff started to protest and sounded like a tractor. I fought with it till I could bear it no more and gave in and bought a new machine a Pfaff creative performance. I am still learning on it and went back to sewing on the old one again but today I am determined to master the new one.

This bag was so easy, the base uses the crinkle fabric. its three layers top wadding and then crinkle fabric, do a meander and then take to the ironing board and hold the iron over the crinkle fabric . Do not let it touch the iron . As you hold the iron over it it crinkles up and gives the puckered effect. really fun to use and a nice effect.

 

just the binding to do

I love this quilt, a friend and I both decided that we wanted time for us to sew as opposed to sewing for class teaching. We get together every Wednesday evening at my house and we sew to our hearts content.

We find a pattern and look at each other and say shall we and invariably we do, this is one of these quilts it came I believe from a Fons and Porter magazine probably well over a year ago. I was goingt o hand quilt it but is way to big to handle and I really wanted it finished to take with me at our Quilters Guild of Ireland conference/retreat in March.

I left it with Yvonne McKee in Quilters Quest in Belfast, with the only instruction that I didn't want flowers. I am delighted and over the moon. just the binding to do.

I think Poppy is looking for any mistakes!

time flies

it really is time to post again and catch up on things I have been doing, this is a layer quilt pattern finished at the Quilter Guilod of Ireland conference in 2010. It still has to be quilted and as usual I am undecided on how to do it. It requires more thought!!

I really need to reorganise my sewing studio, it became a dumping ground when family were over early in the New Year, it is a case of taking everything out and putting it all back in again.

I bought a couple of 4 drawer storage plastic affairs to hold quilts that need wadded and backed as opposed to totally sewn together. I filled all 8 drawers! now i need a couple more sets to hold stuf f I am working on and then as I still seem to have 5 boxes of scraps I should really buy anoter 2 sets for those.

I am contemplating buying a die cutter, yes I am convinced it will solve everything!! we will see.

shamed

I rejoined the fabricholics yahoo group to take part in their NYE mystery and there was chat about all those dreaded UFO's. Up for a challenge I started to drag out what i could lay my hands on without looking for and guess what 27 projects now all on the dining room table. I still have a quilt on the quilting frame to be hand quilted only a couple of rows to go, and I have a quilt in bits on the design wall. Plus heaven knows how many leaders and enders.

I then decided maybe i should actually clear up the piles of mess now scattered all over the floor and came across many orphan blocks, all different sizes all different backgrounds and styles. Those i just popped into another box, maybe I will do something with those at some time.

This purge also found some Japanese quilt magazines I want to sell on eBay, some magazines that I had kept and have marked with quilts I want to make, patterns downloaded from the net and some bought. I found fabric I didn't know I had and it really is too nice to use!

Earlier in the year i catalogued all my books and numbered them, and organised strips into boxes.

So now my computer desk is covered with papers and patterns with barely enough room for a keyboard, and there is a heap of everything else that was lying in a corner now in the middle of the floor.

I suppose I'd better go and do something about it I dread finding more UFO's Happy New Year to all

another finish

This quilt is a basic churn dash ... but with a difference as you see its curved. This is for my grand daughter of 14 hence the mad colours and as you can see another inspection

Finally at last

This is the quilt that has been on my little Grace 11 for almost 2 years. The cat has used it as a hammock all that time !! The had shredded the wadding into holes and I neded up taking it off the frame and leaving it with Susan Taylor a local long armer. As you can see the cat is still inspecting it. this was a 9 patch swap originally using 30's fabrics with an online yahoo group quilting sisters

Short break and doings

I was doing some leaders and enders and turned them into 4 patches, put them up on the design wall and they looked pretty boring, being just all 4 patches. decided to try some HST (half square triangles) made a few up my way!. Really easy cut a strip of fabric in light and one in a contrast, decide the size of finished triangle you want remember to add on the 7/8th ( i cut 4" strips, I don't fiddle about with an !/8th of an inch i'd rather trim)) with a pencil mark of vertical lines every 4" then draw diagonal lines from corner to corner, making where you ended the start of the next diagonal marking so that it zig zags, then stitch 1/4 " either side of your marked line in a continuous line then turn and stitch the other side of the marked line 1/4 " in. With your rotatry cutter cut along all the pencil marks hey presto HSt's quick and easy. Time to play and make a load more 4patches and HST's

I managed to get my Orange Crush quilt back from the long armer ( Susan Taylor) photographs show the finished top and the back of the quilt it is now safely transported to New Zealand. Really pleased with this.

Also completed a disappearing nine patch for my niece to give to her best friend, this is one i was playing around with and didn't finish at the time..

I see Bonnie has another mystery on for Labour weekend , unfortunately I can't start this one with everyone else, I'll be over in England visiting family.

The dogs have been groomed and all ready for the kennels, found a few lumps under baileys 'arm pits' so he wll have to go to the vet when i get back. they don't look like spaniels at the minute. Oh I have blocked the washing machine I had put all the dogs soft toys in the machine to wash and hadn't realised some of them were coming apart, the washing machine was full of little bits of foam ( just shows these child safe toys have filling in them that shouldn't be there) yes the foam has blocked the machine now i need to get someone out to get rid of it all, can't you just there the guy!!

I am really getting tired looking at rain everyday. If the grass gets any longer I'll need to invest in a goat!

Another month

Why does life hurtle by like a rate of knots. All the plans seem to fall by the wayside, I am settling in to the new job well , could do without the long travel to work over an hour is ok in the summer but its gonna be deadly in the winter. Finished the Orange crush quilt .. finally.. I was late starting it with the new job and only settled down to do it this month . I choose a grey for the background , it looks better in real life the colour seems much brighter in this photo.

As soon as i get it back from the longarmer It is going off to Alan in New Zealand, the first quilt I have made him!

Managed a few real nice days this summer and got the work finished round the pond really pleased now with the way the garden has turned out, just the piece behind decking and the dogs to fill out next summer and it will done as far as done goes in a garden.

I need to sort out some of my UFO's most just need quilted, really must knuckle down and put one together this evening, maybe choose one that can be hand quilted i can always take it into work and do it at lunch time, providing it isn't too big.

Want to start the friendship star for Spain as well, but more about that later.

I bid and won 100 x 2" squares on eBay, its only afterwards and u work out that it is really only a FQ's worth, it was real bad value. i paid double what I normally pay for a FQ, only plus is that the squares are all different. Wont do that again. I haven't even done anything with them yet , which makes it even more stupid to buy!!