The best part of the day was getting gardening supplies at the local feed store. I love shopping at a feed store. There's all kinds of cool stuff in there. It's a little like a portal into another world. We live in a rural area, but we don't really farm anything other than greenhouse tomatoes. And we don't ranch anything either, unless you count our herd of two head of cats. So when I go into the feed store and see saddles and water troughs and chicken coops, it's always kind of fun to nose around.
Today's thrill were the water troughs being repurposed to hold little chickies. These pictures are weirdly colored because the chicks were under red heat lamps. Squee!
I think that one looking up at me in the lower left corner is trouble, plain and simple. That's how I choose my cats. Pick one that will look you in the eye, and you fall in love instantly. Also, you're ruined.
These ones in the image below are pullets (at least I think that's what the sign said).
And these next ones are turkey chicks. Hard to imagine that chicks so cute turn into such hideous birds.
So after that, I went to the grocery store and stealed myself for the madness inside. They've been remodeling, and I'm telling you, it's a miracle I don't kill someone every time I go in.
Last week the checker asked me how my day was going. I responded, "It'll be a lot better when I get out of here."
That seemed to disappoint her, and so I said, "It's all I could do to avoid killing someone."
And she said, "Oh. No killing."
Ha! I'm not sure she realized I was kidding. I said nothing to reassure her. It would have been fun to tell her to "Make it quick because I don't know how much longer I can hold out."
Anyway...all grocers are safe for another week.
When I came home today I spread some slug bait. The slugs have been eating the iris like there's a famine coming. Yesterday I went out on the back patio and there were half a dozen little slugs sliming their way across the sidewalk. "Enough," I said out loud. I can never spread slug bait without thinking of my father-in-law. He'd walk around sprinkling slug bait and calling, "Candy! Candy! Candy!" to all things slithery. My goodness, he's been gone 20 years as of this summer. He was a dear, dear man.
After asking for your opinion on my Irish chain block yesterday, I spent some time looking at "Irish quilts" on the Google last night. Thank you all for chiming in. You made some good points. I had kind of already decided to go with the green batik, and when the Resident Engineer came home, he said he liked the green best too.
When I looked at quilts last night though, I came across this free table topper tutorial.
As I started looking at it, I realized that those Irish chain blocks are 12.5 inches, which is the size I was shooting for. Now I've decided to use that block. I kind of like it with the larger patch in the center, and the math is already done for me. (Phew!) I'll be doing mine in all one color green, but I think I'm satisfied now with what I want to do.
Some of you mentioned that you thought the shamrock made it look very Irish. I'll be using that shamrock fabric in the borders, and so there will be plenty of shamrocky stuff on both the front and back of the quilt. ("Shamrocky"...a word I just now made up.) Also, I found this pattern for a simple 6-inch Celtic knot.
If I don't get too lazy when I get to that point, I'm going to use that for the cornerstones in the four quilt corners. It's a paper-pieced block, but I think I can piece it without paper, and that has the added advantage of also keeping me from killing someone. (I really dislike paper piecing.)
So I think I have the quilt mapped out in my mind. Now I need to spend some time sewing. That's what I'm going to be doing tomorrow. Friday, I'm going to the Northwest Quilter's Guild quilt show, and I always enjoy that one.
And I think I've filled this post with enough mindless chatter now. How did your day go?
8 comments:
I know you've commented about your dislike of paper piecing before. I don't know if you've tried glue basting yet. I find it makes paper piecing much easier. Here is a video from quilty (they're using it on curved piecing) but the concept is the same. It gives the nice points that paper piecing promises. (just put a pin in one corner and swivel the top section of block put your thin line of glue and iron then you can remove the pin and sew)
Sorry I totally forgot the link in my novel. Here's the link to the quilty video http://www.qnntv.com/videos/512_qty-what-is-glue-basting/
Still laughing as I type this. First at almost telling the grocery store clerk to "hurry cause you don't know how much longer you can hold out". Reminds me of the fun my husband likes to have with the young clerks when we buy eggs and they ask "Did you check your eggs"? Husband almost always answers "Yep, there's 12 of 'em in there". Most of them pause for a few seconds before they get it. Then picturing Mike's dad saying "Candy" for the slugs.
Love that Celtic Knot pattern. And the shamrocky fabric for the borders, too.
Teresa F.
We use shallow bowls of beer to catch snails around here, they die happy, I wonder if that would work with slugs although your slugs can probably swim and party. I've always thought the cashiers are the ones that will start killing people with all they have to put up with.
Do you have a link to the celtic knot patttern. I am looking forward to seeing your finished doors quilt.
senstrings @ yahoo dot com
yes please share the pattern for the celtic knot, I'd love to make one for a friend. Love you mindless chatter, very interesting. You can say what we think, amazing.
I've been working all week - it's nice being busy, but it's reunion weekend coming up. That means not only do we have to try to extract answers from the graduate students (Financial aid for which college? Education. For which university? Ummm...) but now all the alumni are calling too. Grrrr.
The weather is nice, but now HOT - into the 90s. But with the little rainish stuff that fell from the sky on the 25th, I had a new iris bloom & more roses.
I love your description of your trip to the grocery store!! I had to read that to my coworker Bev, and we were both cracking up! Hopefully the remodeling will be done soon so it's back to its regular annoying trip.
My friend Jake Finch, (publisher of Generation Q magazine) has just started teaching a new class. It's called "I CAN Teach You to Paper-Piece without Tears-PROMISE!". Maybe another idea for a future program for guild. Jake's happy to travel. :^) (http://mamamakesquilts.com/what-i-teach/) She's fun & a wonderful teacher.
I like the larger Irish Chain blocks
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