the pedal tractor

This pedal tractor is about 30 years old. We aren’t sure when we bought it, we only know the boys were little at the time. The steering wheel wasn’t working. The back tires were cracked and the chain was a frozen mess. With grandsons around now, it seemed like a good time to fix it up. 

A fresh coat of paint! It’s was already looking better...

New...

back wheels 

hubcaps 

bolt to hold seat on

chain and guard 

pin to hold on the steering wheel

decals 

The decals are my favorite part. Luke came over to try it. His legs are still too short. He sat on, we pushed it around some too. In the end he climbed on to the plastic airplane and pushed himself around on that. Zander is at his dad’s this week. So, this weekend he will get to try it out. 

Baby quilt blocks from the temperature quilt leftovers. Next time I blog, I hope it’s about Long Time Gone as a top. I’m sewing the sections together now. 

May is moving right along...

Finished quilt pictures!

I didn’t count the blocks correctly when I laid these out on the floor. I thought I had enough for 8 by 8 house blocks. But when I started sewing the rows I discovered only 7 rows. To make the quilt longer I used progressively wider sashing between the rows. That worked and quilt has been delivered. 

Bonus triangles put together for table topper. 

Moonstruck. My nephew who grew up raising cattle will be getting married in August. They haven’t changed any plans yet. Wait and see.

This is a free Bonnie Hunter pattern. Bricks and Stepping Stones. It is this size because that is how many black and white checks I could make with my left over Moonstruck fabric. 

New project...

I have two quilting cousins. Gwen in New Mexico and Max in Minnesota. We are making a cousins quilt. We picked a barn from Farm Girl Vintage. 

We picked colors for the barn several weeks ago. Each of us will make three blocks using  our colors and any 6 inch block to fill it. My barn colors are brown, green, and pink. 

I picked the flower block for my cone flowers, the John Deere for our mowers, and the birds for the crows I need to chase away from the garbage bag when we put it out. Today is garbage day so I will be on crow patrol. My blocks came from the Farm Girl Vintage 2 book.

The bowl and spoon are Gwen’s. She makes a lot of bread. Max hasn’t had a chance to start any blocks yet. 

This will be the third summer working on Long Time Gone. It’s time to get it done. After breakfast I will look at the book and put some more pieces together. 

Or go pick rhubarb and make something. 

Farmers market table runner...

My cousin gave me that row by row pattern from The Calico Hutch in Hayward, Minnesota. I liked the font on the pattern better than the font for the pattern. So I put the pattern underneath my paper and recreated it. Changing the lines just so, making it look like what wanted, but not really changing the size. The jelly roll is this years fabric challenge. All warm colors. At that point I was thinking I would use the picture as inspiration. I’ve since changed my mind. Going for something that doesn’t require any HSTs. 

Back to farmers market. So far so good. I used heat-n-bond for all the appliqué pieces. I didn’t sew around any of them. I used a narrow straight stitch for the quilting. I’m hoping that will be enough. 

The finished runner. 

The temperature quilt...

This isn’t the temperature quilt, but I have 56 mini house blocks done. They need trimming. There are several triangles yet. I’m sewing flying geese with them. Not sure how it will all go together yet. Luke is here this week, while Zander is at his dads. Yesterday Luke got hold of my little plastic container that held all the dog ears from these blocks. They ended up all over the floor. We, or I should say, I cleaned that up. Luke watched. He seemed excited when I gave him the empty container to play with. 

I bought a bunch of solids. The white isn’t solid, it is just a nice size chunk I had here. It is the 30-34 degree color. Blues go cooler the warm colors are the warmer temperatures. This is the first six days of January. I wrote the names of the colors and temperature ranges. I don’t know if there is enough, that should make it easier to order more if I do run out. The months will be in columns. I was caught up in June.

More paper and fabric that didn't get in previous post

A few weeks ago we had 9 inches of snow. Before it was all blown off the driveway by the snowblower, I stuck a yardstick in for a final measure.

This wouldn't be so bad, but Karen had a granddaughter born and she couldn't get down to the hospital to see her right away. 

I busied myself on the baby quilt I was making. It is made from blocks I won at block lotto last summer.

It's my very first attempt at quilting in a circle on my sewing machine. Except for the starting point with the tight small circles it went well going round and round. In addition to watching the previous sewn line, I had to concentrate on keeping my neck and shoulders relaxed. They were getting sore. It took a big afternoon and then some to finish the quilting. 

It still doesn't have the binding and this should surprise no one. 

And my sister's tree, doctored up in a photo app!

Lets go back to October....

 I went on my first retreat ever in October.

It was pretty nice for sewing. I got a lot done.

There was lots of room to spread out for cutting and sewing and pressing. I worked on my row by rows. I haven't worked on these since. I pulled them out one Saturday, looked everything over, but was overwhelmed by it all. I didn't know where to start back up. It sat out all day and I ended up packing it all back up.

There were 10 of us. Some were sewing, some were scrap booking and my mom was knitting.

She was making mittens. But she kept telling everyone that came down to the kitchen that she was making warmers for a certain male body part!

Really Mom?!

Fast forward.....

I sew at a machine behind the sofa. It is a 1948 Singer. I like sewing here, right next to the kitchen. I can easily go back and forth when cooking. Not that I cook that much, but it is handy.

I was finally putting on some binding for a Christmas gift. There was pressure to get it done and close up the machine. A lot of work was going on behind that wall.

We are taking out the door in the kitchen so a new "front" door was needed. The door in the kitchen was rarely used and this one will probably get the same amount of traffic.

I closed up the machine and they started cutting out the wall. And then they hauled the cut section outside through the.....

new front door! The space! The light! It was all so wonderful!

I asked them to put an outlet in there.

Because....

Well, you never know.

But just in case....

I wanted to put the ironing board in there if I am sewing a lot.

Tractor joe just shook his head. 

I made this some time ago. I'm not sure I have ever shown it.

The strips are 1 1/4 cut.

I wanted to show the quilt that was getting its binding at the last minute, but now I can't find it.

I found this one and can say.....

Merry Christmas to all of you!

My pictures are all so disorganized. I'm going to go see what else I can blog about!

quilt show and tula.....

First a link to Smilebox that will show all the quilts.

Challenge Quilts

This is old stuff now! Last month was the BEVQ

(Blue Earth Valley Quilters)

And the woodcarvers too.

The challenge quilts were made from the same fabric packets bought the year before. You can do as you please. Any size, any style and add fabric if you want. But you must use all the fabrics.

I don't remember how I found this, but I thought it was pretty cool.

lorrie.cranor.org/blog/2014/01/19/how-to-make-an-interleave-quilt/

I did this in an afternoon. I didn't mark my batting. I used the straight edge of the next strip as my guide and that worked for me. I also pressed each strip as I sewed them on. I failed to curve both sides, so I have some straight edges in there too. I wasn't happy about this, but I had used all ten fabrics and called it done.

I was very surprised with a ribbon. 2nd place. Wow.

It shows that you shouldn't judge your own work.

While you may not be that impressed with what you did....someone else might be.

There was the jelly roll derby race on Friday night. 

Here is mine. I think it will make a wonderful throw on the floor baby quilt. I had high hopes of quilting it myself right away. But it it still just a top in the closet.

This is Karen's finished top.

We were the ONLY TWO contestants! 

She won by about 15 inches.

The event has been cancelled for next year due to lack of participation.

Dang. How can I try and beat her? She won last year too.

The Tula Pink 100 quilt blocks continues.

We are over half way now. 

We are in a new school year. Sewing is pretty sporadic. I did pick up a finished quilt last week,

or was it two weeks ago....

Anyway, I still want to get the binding on that soon. 

It is the gift for the wedding that was last May. 

tea towel challenge.....

I am calling it finished. My Iowa tea towel became a bag. A nice big bag.

It will be my quilt show bag. Lots of stuff will fit in there. I said to Karen that if i fill it, it could get to heavy to carry. She told me that we can always walk back to the car and unload.

Of course, why didn't I think of that?

I wavy stitched over everything. Nothing fancy or new there.

I was worried that doing that would obscure the towel, but it didn't. I was relieved about that. I used things I had on hand, like the little house blocks. Nothing new there.

So what thing would be new to me in putting this bag together?

Using selvage edges. 

I have never used them. I didn't even start saving them until recently. Most of mine have come from fat quarters. They were 18 inches. I needed to make them wider, so a column of the house blocks was added.

I stamped the words, Hey! Is this heaven? No it Iowa on some of the blank sections.

Then last night....

At the quilt guild meeting, a gal from New Ulm Minnesota came down to show us the buttons she makes. I bought the Minnesota themed button package and picked out the house one to use as a closure on the Iowa bag. Then I thought the house (kind of) went with the package and grabbed a flower instead.

My niece Amanda gave me her t-shirts over the weekend. I cut yesterday and have today yet to work on it. I have my doubts about it getting quilted before her graduation. But at least the top can be put on display at her party. Then sent off to be quilted.

slow but sure.....

I finally cut the towel and sewed the flag sections to it.

Not sure when I did this, but I have been looking at it for awhile now.

I have thought about using selvages. Laid out what I had and thought it looked pretty cool.

Then I added some words to some of the plain strips....

And then everything just sat there with no real plan. More indecision.

My poor dog, Ozzy, got my attention one day. The winter has been so cold and long.

We never brought him in for a grooming. It was put off, thinking it would warm up a little AND THEN we could bring him in. It never ever warmed up. 

But enough was enough....we could stand it no longer.

He went in looking pretty shaggy and came out a new dog!

[kevin the quilter] is having a block drive for Quilts of Valor.

The blocks make an awesome and striking quilt.

(the colors used are gold, red, white, and blue)

I sewed up my five rather quickly and then packaged them up without even taking a photo of them. I want to make more. Maybe I will get a picture of those.

Yesterday I pulled out some of my tiny houses. 

I fell in love with the way these looked with the quilt so far. 

Nothing is sewn yet. It may sit a bit more until I decide what to do exactly.

The house blocks are based on the house pattern here.

Christmas and the Celtic Solstice Mystery......

The paper piecing project...

Tractor joe calls our niece Amanda Panda. So, just days before Christmas, I was paper piecing. As I worked on it, I was absolutely sure I would NEVER do it again.

It is confusing.

And messy. But I kept going. 

Here is the finished mug rug. I think it is about 8 by 10 inches.

(the free pattern is here)

It is supposed to be a 6 inch block, but when I printed it....

it was more like 8 inches square. This was okay, some of the sections are so small!

Amanda loved her panda, and as the pain of this subsides....

I may even make another one someday.

The Money Tree....

I wanted a tree to dispense dollar bills that I had taped together into a roll. Only I had no idea how to make one. I opened up a box of never used Christmas decorations...

Found an angel to use instead.

This was for a 20 something nephew. He had the biggest frown of confusion as he followed the directions on his gift.

Just in case he only lifted the tag, I wrote "the dress, not the tag"

I cut a slit in the tube so the rolled money would pull out. He pulled about 10 bills out right away. I told him that I should have added "as needed"  so he re-rolled them and put them back in place.

I think he liked it. 

The mystery continues....

(intro to the Mystery quilt)

We are at step 5 with Bonnie's mystery. I am still sewing that step together.

I had a few done, so I played with all the sections.

This could go in a lot of different directions. I'll just wait for the reveal now.

And hopefully finish up Step 5 today.