Goat chip reader cover

I'm sure you're all wondering what on earth a goat chip reader is, and why I made a cover for one. Pygmy goats that are registered get a microchip put under their skin, in the tail or in the neck. Then that chip identifies them for shows or when they're sold. Jo and Kylie bought a chip reader, and needed a case for it, so tonight Kylie and I made one. I didn't have a pattern...we just measured and cut and sewed and all things considered, it came out pretty good for a first try. Nothing fancy but it will do the job. :0)

Mouse Pincushion

I've seen some really cute mouse pincushions online. So the other day when I found a free pattern for one, I decided to try to make some. I needed a birthday gift for Kylie (the neighbor girl that I taught to quilt) so I figured this would be perfect. Here is the finished mouse. If you want the pattern or would just like to see how it's supposed to look, you can  go HERE.

Happy Monday! :0)

One of the advantages of being up early in the mornings is seeing the sunrise. This morning was especially nice as there's rain coming and the clouds were reflecting the sun before it came up. 

I did make some progress on my big wonky log cabin blocks this weekend. I have five done now, and three more in progress. I had planned to work on these as leaders and enders, but for now I'm just going to keep focusing on them and see how many I can get made. They're so easy to do. The only problem is my scrap strip tub doesn't seem to be getting any emptier! LOL

I hope you all have a great Monday and a great week! :0)

Cord Holders

I've seen several different ideas on blogs for controlling cell phone and I-Pad cords. But today when I saw this idea, I thought it might be a perfect solution for keeping the few cords that stay on my counter in order. I think I had seen something similar made for wine glass coasters too, but these work great for small cords. The hardest part of the whole project for me was getting the cords all tucked into the holders! LOL Other than that, they each took about 10 minutes to make. If you'd like to make your own, you can find the tutorial HERE.

More wildlife

Emily and I went out to see the butterflies this afternoon, and we saw one that was new to us. After watching it for a while, we looked it up in our butterfly book and it's a Giant Swallowtail. We'd never seen one of these in our yard before. Let me just say I took about 30 pictures to get these two good ones, because this guy never sat still, not even for a few seconds. His wings never stopped moving. He sure was pretty! :0)

And as I came back around the corner to come back onto the deck, I saw a butterfly at the hummingbird feeder. And to my surprise, there was also a hummingbird eating there! The hummingbird is on the right.

Then I was in the right place at the right time and got this picture. It's the best hummingbird picture I've ever gotten! :0)

Two Finishes

I have two finishes to show you today. The first is the little row quilt I bought the fabric for last time I went to Amish Country. This one has been waiting patiently while I worked on other things, and now it's done and laying over the back of the couch.

The second finish is my little Wonky Log Cabin table topper. One thing I'd do differently next time is try to not use the same fabric twice. In a small quilt like this, they really show up no matter how you try to spread them out. This will be fine though once I find a place to put it and sit something in the middle of it.

Granny top done

Today I finally got the borders added to my granny square quilt top. Now I have to decide if I'm quilting it or if I'm sending it off to Joanne. I need to find backing for it too, so that's next on my list.

And here are my 20 small wonky log cabin blocks on the design wall. I can see by looking at the picture that there are a few blocks that need to be rearranged. I hope to get this one sewn together yet today. Then I can get back to work on my big wonky log cabin blocks! :0)

Back to school

I don't know where the years have gone, or how my kids got to be so grown up. I still remember Brian's first day of kindergarten, and here he is a junior in high school, and Emily's a freshman. It's seriously mind boggling! LOL

Big Wonky Log Cabins

Here are the first two of my bigger wonky log cabin blocks. They're 12-1/2 inches unfinished. I think I'll add sashing between the blocks once I have all the blocks made. And I put my little block up with them so you can see the size difference.

I managed to get pictures of a couple of the butterflies in the garden this afternoon. 

 

Using up more scraps

I've been saving scrap strips for a long time, and the tub I keep them in is overflowing. I've wanted to make a scrappy log cabin quilt to use up some of those strips. Well, last night it hit me that I just needed to get started on that. So I pulled out the tub of strips and started sewing. Once I had a few rows sewn on, I wanted to decide how big to make the blocks. So I got out a few of my square rulers. One was too big and one was too small for what I had already sewn together. But the smaller one set on an angle resulted in this cute little wonky log cabin block. The only problem is that it's just 4-1/2 inches square unfinished. I love this little block, but it will take forever making blocks this small to use up my scraps. So I've decided to make myself a little wall quilt out of these smaller blocks, but then I'll work on a larger block to make a larger quilt to use up more of my scraps. I certainly didn't need another project, but it is what it is! LOL

Emily is in the marching band this year at school. It's her first year and she had to go to band camp for three weeks to learn the songs and the marching. Thursday night they had a preseason performance for the parents and they did such a good job. I'm not a big football fan but I think I might just have to go to some of the games this fall to see them march again! :0)

Edenbrooke

I started this book yesterday and finished it today, and I loved it! If you like Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, you'll want to read this one! :0)