Where did the month go? I posted for Scrap Happy and suddenly here it is Scrap Happy time again! Honestly, I have been busy, but I did take a moment upon receipt of Kate’s email reminder early this week to make my next extreme mini block.

And here it is:

Oops!

That’s not right! Take it apart and fix it…

OK, the blocks are in order but it is now a bit too small. 😯

To be honest it is just microns short of the 2 inches it was supposed to be and one of the stitched in rows is a bit too narrow (probably causing the sizing error). It is taking all my resolve not to tear it apart to fix or better to remake the whole block.

Silly?

Probably.

Working with very tiny blocks produces very tiny quilts which are suitable for doll quilts, card making, wall hangings, mug rugs, and the list could go on. However, it is the challenge of producing such minutia that is the draw, well, for me at any rate. I also think of it as a skill building challenge, and it is this challenge that has me entered into a new quilt along based on Mini quilts! (*More on that later. Yes. Really.)

Want to see some really lovely Scrap Happy work? Then please visit these fine ladies:

Kate ), Gun, Titti, Heléne, Eva, Sue, Nanette, Lynn, Norma,
Birthe, Turid, Cathy, Debbierose, Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan, Karen,
Moira, Sandra, Linda, Chris, and Nancy!

And as always, thank you Kate for pulling us all together to share our creativity and thriftiness in the use of the scraps we generate with each quilt!

**~~~*~**

*PLEASE NOTE: I have also been hot on the job to build furnishings for my new quilting studio and to repurpose our well house for all the bantams I’ve been raising .

And trust me when I tell you I have outgrown this one I built and finished in December of 2011!

SO, reprising and revising the old saw, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” I query:

Q: How do you tell about eating an elephant?

A: One post at a time.

I will tell you all about everything. I just have to stop building furniture and refurbishing chicken digs long enough to find the time…

and the space to blog and quilt again!

The Crazy Chicken Lady Gazette Vol. 1, No 2

October 13, 2015October 14, 201518 Comments

Bringing you all the chicken poop that’s fit to print, and some as what ain’t.

Wherein the Noodle Dog Learns He Cain’t FLY

Fall has come creeping up in dribs-n-drabs and the weather has cooled enough for us to get some things done about the place. This means me prepping chicken for the freezer… and convincing Bob that I need that back deck done! The temporary steps we got (mummmbbble) ~~months~~ years back to replace the deteriorated ones are now themselves rotting and rickety. I must confess that when we bought the wood for the job we had no idea that illness would settle in like an unwanted relative and stay with us for so long. However we are now, relatively speaking, fit and ready for getting the job done.

And so it was, that while Bob worked at laying on and screwing down the planking, the Noodle needed to potty from time to time. Having become used to the deck being there (albeit not screwed down) he has taken to flying off the steps and then right back up when he’s done his business. Yesterday when he had to go I would pass him through the door to Bob and he would set him down to ‘go’. However, at the end of the day when he went out, he did his business and then instead of coming to Bob for a lift into the mudroom, he raced up the steps and, for all intents and purposes, tried to fly!

I give him credit for form and gumption. The deck is 12 ft long and he made it just past center before he began losing altitude and crashed into a cross beam, tangled his legs in it, rolled, and then fell to the ground in a ~~swan~~ nose dive. Had there been a diving pool below he would have won on that swan dive alone. As it was, he jumped up and looked at us with a most confused expression, then shook himself off as if to say: “I’m OK!” <— (Click, it’s funny I promise.)

Thankfully, today finds him totally fine and full of spunk.

Regarding Miss Dixie

Dixie wanted you to know that she is no longer being incarcerated by the neighbors. The lady of the house lamented as how sad she was to let out all her chickens to play in the grass and bask in the sun, and then listen to Miss Dixie complain all day…

Hm… ya think?

I cheerfully suggested that since their garden was done for the summer and that Miss Dixie preferred to sleep in our tree each night, that she just leave her to run free. I am so happy to say that she has done just that. I rarely see Dixie over the fence, as she has begun hanging out in the temporary quarters with the *Stay Puft Gang and the three Little Red Hens. Apparently, she thinks they have the best eats. I even spied her visitin’ with the Cornish just this morning, well, until Crow started giving her unwanted attention. 😉

On the Business Front

I have been working feverishly to complete a long overdue project for a friend and I’m happy to say it is done, mailed and has been received. I am now going to apply the same efforts and steam to make new items for my Etsy shop. The crickets have taken over and it is well past time to add some new fall and winter items. I will post these as they are completed and added.

See y’all next time!

~*~

*Stay Puft Gang: My euphemism for the meat chickens out back. For the uninitiated Stay Puft is a fictional Marshmallow character from the movie, Ghostbusters.

It begins.

January 5, 2015January 5, 201510 Comments

Bob returned to work this morning; a new job for the new year. It was strange to see him so nervous and agitated yesterday. Not like him, but I get it. It is hard to imagine, but after years of having no trouble at all in locating his next job, and having never been let go in the way he was, ever, I understand his trepidation/excitement about the first day of work.

We spent the time off doing more around here than we anticipated, which is not to say we did nothing up on the mountain. However, we realize that there will be time enough with his new schedule to get up there and accomplish something, and there will be less pressure to leave so early and rush back home.

Our plans, for the mountain are to finish the bedroom, reroute/replace the plumbing, and hook up the hot water heater. The latter is of utmost importance if we are to be able to stay overnight and work the next morning. It is cold up there.

We have begun with patching and painting first.

This bedroom, inside wall is the old outside wall composed of board and batten hardwoods.

Our plan is to remove the wood, and save it of course! We will then put up a vapor barrier and wallboard to match the rest of the walls. This will close up all the gaps that let in the cold, and let out the heat in winter. And vice versa for the summer months.