Rain, Rain Go Away....

As if the 3' inches of rain was not enough, it decides to rain again today.

We were sooooo close to getting back out in the field.

So finish up on the rain already, Mother Nature!!

So when life pours on your parade.....

It calls for a trip to the City of Regina,Saskatchewan to attend

the Prairie Piecemakers Quilt and TrunkShow tomorrow.

I know it will be a good time.

I have finished stitching my indoor garden to a full bloom.

Now.... what to do with it!

I was thinking a table center piece with some tiny flying geese or half square triangle borders.

Any suggestions? I am open for direction!

Christa

My Room with the View

I was asked for some pictures of what I can see from my 'room with a view'.

I can see Justin's CSA garden grow all year...

My front yard..

I can see my neighbour's crop grow all year....

 

Soon this field will be green......

These are the elevators in our town which is 5 miles from my house!

Pretty much as far as the eye can see.

My back yard....

I have some serious grass to cut today!!

 Tracey,Soon your yard will look green,too!!

My indoor garden is almost in full bloom.

 A few more evenings!!

 I think I am hooked!

 Already asked my girlfeind for her 'Over the river, and through the woods' pattern.

We were also able to get together and quilt yesterday. There were a whole bunch of great quilts to showcase!!

This was CHRISTINE Marcotte's latest - I just love all the fancy stitching and colors!

Great job, Chris!!

Be sure to check out The Block Party Blog as Tracey will have the pictures from our day!!

Now I am out to enjoy the sun and drag through the mud!!

Super sunny skies,

Christa

Spring has Sprung!

My Plum trees are blooming.

And yes... my son already gave me heck 'cause my bike is not on the stand

Another sign of spring...

 is when you leave your tractor sit in the field for 2 days....

the birds mistaken it for a green tree and build a nest!!

Birds are amazing in their talent to weave a home out of sticks and fluff.

As a quilter, I think we can all appreciate the talent of birds to take scraps and make something beautiful and useful!!

Dawson and I spent another day in the tractor yesterday. Dawson thinks we are bunny hunting. We even saw a couple of baby bunnies and 3 legged coyote!!

Then it happened....there was a major oil line break!!!

(I expect breakdowns at all times)

So as I (yes...me)was dismantling the tractor to repair the line and my HUSBAND ran for parts, I had this thought about how most of the time it is the WIFE that runs for the part and the man dismantles.

I thought about how greasy and messy this job is and how I would rather be quilting. So I think that is why I do quilt so much.

 It is the feminine side of my life.

I don't mind mechanical work. It is a challenge to me as I know NOTHING about fixing tractors but what do I have to lose??

It's broke anyways!!

But it is now fixed and I am back in the field today!!

Mechanic Christa

Peck of Purple Petals

I worked on my Moda Garden Party quilt this weekend.

 I managed to get all 240 petals (which look like dresdan fan blades) sewn up.

That is a mess of petals to start arranging!!

This was my sample block but will be getting rearranged.

 I know I have always loved purple but when I was taking this photo, I realized anyone who owns a purple sewing chair really has a LOVE of purple!

And.. my indoor garden is coming right along. This has been an interesting passtime and a huge learning curve. I am NOT that good at embroidery... that is for sure!!

And this little number?

 Justin purchased this old jar of spools at an antique auction for me last week. Said it was an early Mother's Day gift.

Works for me!!

Some moms expect diamonds and flowers while others are happy with a jar of color!!

Sunny days,

Christa

Three Amigos off to Glendive

Just had to show you my bird brained friends who were flying all around me in the field on Thursday.

Since the Rafferty Dam was built there has been a lot of terns around!!

But there was an imposter in the mix......just above the dirty window spot to the left!!

This seagull thought he was a tern!! And yup... I need to clean my 'office' windows soon.

But no fieldwork for awhile as it has been raining for the last couple of days.

So what's better than a road trip to a quilt show in Glendive with two quilting friends.

Our first stop was Quilts and More in Sidney.

Then the Makoshika Quilt Festival in Glendive.

It was another great show. They had a Hoffman TrunkShow that was absolutely spectacular.

To see more, check out The Block Party Blog as Tracey has posted some great pictures of our day there.



Tracey checking out the Cathedral Windows......



My favorite Hoffman Challenge wallhanging called Silver Dollar Log Cabin. I will definately be looking for this pattern!!

My second Hoffman Challenge favorite.

 Amazing workmanship by all the challenge winners.

They also had BigFork Bay Cotton Company exhibit of all their patterns.

This was my favorite.

And last but certainly not least, we had a quick stop at the Enchanted Room Quilt Store in Glendive where Jane found some new friends!!

I asked Jane to stand in the picture so we could get a scale of their size. You know... like they do with a clothespin or quarter so you can judge the print on fabric when you are shopping on the 'net!!

It was a really nice day.

Thanks for all the laughs, Tracey and Jane!!

Hoping for some sunshine...... Christa

Spring?? Not!!!!

These icicles cladding my bird feeder this morning makes me wonder if I really should be out in the field or not!!

Farming and quilting really have alot in common when you think about it.

Can you tell I have had some 'time to think'?

You take a blank canvas(a field or a yard of fabric) and you add some seed(actually or creative thought) and with a little time.. before you know it you have a crop or a quilt.

They both requiring cultivating and planting, and in the end, there is a harvest(grain or a quilt).

 Every now and again, there is a disaster(mother nature or a bad fabric choice)!!

From the front......

I have spent the past week out in the tractor.

This is for Shelby, my city slicker 'sister' who is always asking about farming.

And from the back!!

Nothing exciting... but needs to be done!

The 'Dirt Farming' pays for the 'Fabric Farming'.

I was reading Messy Jesse's blog and she referred to her Farmer's Wife quilt blocks as her 'Farming'.

 Again an interesting choice of fabrics and worth a look!!

I did manage to get a little more stitching done on my Garden Grow-ing.

Justin and I also managed to plant his 1800 gladiolas(yup.. that's no typo!) for Farmer's Market and put some seeds in the ground.

Ready to see

But I think we will hold off till we don't have to wear gloves to open the seed packages!!

Hoping for some rain.... Glendive's quilt show tomorrow!!

Christa

Mr. Zipper

Otherwise known as Gideon Sundback!  

While I was cultivating today, my son texted, saying it was Gideon Sundback's 132nd birthday. You know the guy who invented the zipper!!!

Google always has some theme to their daily image.

Today, when you click on the zipper, it opens up and commemorates the birth of Swedish inventor Gideon Sundback on April 24, 1880.

After being appointed chief designer for the Universal Fastener Company of Hoboken, N.J., in 1909, Sundback went on to develop the fastener with interlocking teeth that revolutionized fashion.

The zipper, initially planned to replace the hook-and-eye fastener on women’s boots, went on to become a standard feature on clothing for women and men by the 1930s.

While the concept of a zipper had been postulated by engineers for at least two decades beforehand, it was Sundback who perfected it by placing a tiny dimple on the underside of each tooth and a nib on the top that would fit snugly with the dimple above it.

Where would be without the zipper?

Still doing button fly jeans I guess.......

Christa