Well summer has arrived and soon it will be “baby” time around here! NO not grandbabies, but Deer Babies. Here is a picture of the herd we feed and I do hope that they have the babies before the weather starts off at 100 degrees. Walking is now going to have to be from 6:30 to 7:00. I have decided to not complain about the wind anymore because now we have none! I do like getting my walking in early as it seems I have more time to play in the Studio! (I think it is all a mind game!). The weather will be 100 today, 100 tomorrow, and 104 by Sunday. This is supposed to be a short heatwave! We shall see!
We also have pesky squirrels hanging around eating corn and bird seed on the ground. Clay made a feeder for our birds out of an old cookie sheet and sometimes the squirrels would jump into the feeder and just lay in the pan and eat all day. He fixed that problem with the following. Notice the squirrel who tried to get into the pan today!
I have been working on preparing embroidery and applique projects. Mainly Aunt Bea’s Parlor and Pat Campbell’s Jacobean Holiday. I have all pieces ready to applique for Jacobean and all blocks ready for Bea’s embroidery quilt. I complete another block for the Jacobean.
I have finished the A Merry Christmas To You Sew Along with Susan Marth today. I changed the borders by using a 1/2″ gold border with a 3 1/2″ Red with Gold Border in lieu of the Sawtooth border. I enjoyed the SAL and glad that I have finished it. It was an easy project!
I have made a little progress on French General, at least I have completed the most difficult flower (I think).
When my cousin picked up the Trundle Bed that we no longer needed I had to put my Giant Dahlia on my quilt rack. This is the 3rd quilt I made and quilted on my HQ16 in 2006 and quilted it in 2008. It is too small for our bed! When I realized how I quilted it in 2008 that I must start using my rulers again and do more than just meandering!
I mentioned I signed up for a Sashiko class in SA for last week. I did not attend the 2nd class today! I will not expound on my opinion of how the class was presented, but for $55 I could have done better staying home and watching YouTube or buying another book! For that amount I learned anything I did not already know. I received 2 needles, thread, and a”thimble” that I won’t use EVER as part of the class. I was so disappointed I would love to teach a Sashiko Class but it would not be as this one was presented to me! The ladies were very nice and it was an enjoyable chat time, but nothing gained as far as Sashiko goes. I thought I had learned this lesson when I took my last quilting class from a Guild in 2010! Oh well.
I leave you with this tidbit of information. Did you know when you purchase chicken (packaged) that it comes to the stores ‘frozen’ (probably a chill type) then they lovingly put it out for the consumer to purchase and then the consumer takes the chicken and puts it in the freezer at home to RE-FREEZE. Well, I got a batch that had probably been out too long after defrosting without knowing this. I have to watch code dates carefully and thought I was in the SAFE ZONE. I began having stomach issues earlier in the week and could not figure out what was upsetting my stomach until Saturday night! It was the chicken! I called HEB and spoke with the sweetest Manager and on Sunday we took the bad chicken back and they made it good by not charging me for what was bad. The Manager was so nice and he advised me I could pre-order the chicken and have them keep it frozen so in the future I will do so.
From the 14th through the 17th of June the house will be turned upside down and carpeting will be laid. I do believe the job will be easier than we think. I just hate the thought of cleaning out the Hutch with all the china and crystal! I must keep thinking how nice the new carpet will be and how much I will love the new smell (NOT). I will be glad when this project is over with.
Have a great week-end and for those who are dealing with the flooding and inability to plant crops soon start drying out! In the meantime, stay safe!
Nanette
Linking To: My Quilt Infatuation; Confessions of a Fabric Addict; Finished or Not Friday ; Sew Can She; Em’s Scrap Bag; BOM’s Away; Fiber Tuesday; Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHOW; Sew Fresh Quilts; Crazy Mom Quilts; Oh Scrap; Scrap Happy Saturday; Show and Tell Monday with Bambi; Slow Stitching Sunday Quilt Fabrication Mid Week Makers; Peacock Party
Chopin - A Passionate Quilter From Texas 
The deer picture is beautiful. And the view from your studio is too! As for your quilt, it is another Nan masterpiece!
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Thank you! I think this is Jaydee! I love my deer! Hope you have a great Saturday!
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I love that Jacobean applique block. I don’t envy you the 100 degree days. We would just wilt, and so would our newly transplanted flowers. Mid-70s here this weekend, and we just had a light frost last Tuesday. But we’re most thankful not to have the horrendous weather so many are experiencing.
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Thank you for the Jacobean block. I am adjusting to the heat better this year with the loss of 26 pounds and hoping to lose 10 more, but you how that goes! LOL.
Hugs
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The Merry Christmas quilt is beautiful and your French General redwork is just stunning! I like the colors you used in your Dahlia quilt, too — it feels very autumnal, like mums. I hope your carpeting goes smoothly and that the smell isn’t too bad. We battle squirrel bandits at our bird feeders, too.
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Thank you Rebecca! The Merry was so much fun working with the SAL/QAL with Susan Marth. Before I knew it the quilt was completed! French General is going to be a little easier as the remaining flowers, etc are not as detailed as the first ones. The Dahlia was made in 2003 in a 26 foot travel trailer when we were in Oklahoma. After that, hubby decided we needed a bigger trailer! Too funny! I will be glad when the carpeting is complete because the house and furniture will be moved from here to there! The squirrel was hilarious yesterday trying to climb that pot to get to the feed! Thx for commenting and come back again!
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The Dahlia quilt is beautiful, Nanette! I am looking forward to seeing the French General redwork finished…I really like this one!
I hope you post a pic of your carpet makeover! 🙂
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Thx Laura. I need to focus on it and finish it. Clay will make a frame for it. I will be posting the mess and the new carpeting! Clay did some zero landscaping by the back porch that I need to show – maybe next post! At 75 I do not know how he does the hard work!
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You certainly have a lot going on! The French General needlework is lovely.
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Thank you Mary. I would not be working the Jacobean (started it in 2010) but when I was sorting through my “maybe I won’f finish” drawer, I just could not give it away! So this is my summer applique project!
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I love the Christmas quilt, and the mosaic fabric in your Dahlia quilt is mesmerizing, I couldn’t stop looking at it. I do not envy you that much heat, but if you can still walk early in the morning, that will help you start your day nicely. Sorry to hear the Sashiko class was a bust. 😦 I am still smiling thinking of the squirrel laying in the feeder munching away all day long, what a tubby thing he must be! Enjoy the fawns when they come. No idea when we will have anything. I’ve seen 20 Canada goslings this year, but nothing else, I believe everything is extremely late…the robins are just now laying.
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Thank you Kathy! This is the first time I have really done a QAL based on the pattern I purchased a few years back. It is really a neat way to finish a quilt without stress!
I do believe the “fatty” squirrel has gone to squirrel heaven! A while back there were 15 out there eating deer corn. Guess they got some bad corn! LOL. The weather is really weird, today and tomorrow over 100 with high heat indexes. Monday a cold front (highly unusual for South Texas) and temps will drop about 20 degrees to the 80’s and rain and by Wednesday it will be low 90’s. CRAZY~ Have a great week-end and hopefully your garden will survive and no more hail! I love my morning walk. I come in take a shower and I am done for the day. Of course summer time means 2 showers a day! Hugs
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My goodness, it has heated up where you are. I remember those kinds of temps from raising my family in the CA desert. I have hundreds of squirrels that love bird food too. I hung wind chimes on the posts. (didn’t help) I love the colors you used with the Dahlia quilt – its gorgeous! We had deer this morning walking through. Even though their frequent guest I always get a kick out of seeing them. You’ve had quite a few finishes and they are all fabulous! Everything takes me so long hand stitching, I am on the verge of getting a machine. There’s so much I want to do 🙂 Stay in and as cool as you can. Do you use a swamp cooler down there? or ac?
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We have A/C. We have about 8 tons in the house and about 2 tons in the Studio! Cannot do without it here! When I was young we had swamp coolers! Clay used to put grease on the pole and it was also hilarious to see those Squirrels try to climb the pole then!
I have been preparing applique and that takes so much time! I am now on the last of the Jacobean (blocks that I did was going to do back basting applique but had to shift to regular freezer paper.
Tomorrow I am not sure what I will start on but it will be a piecing project, UNLESS I get with the quilting program and load a quilt and do that. I may just do that since starting Thursday we have to start moving furniture that we can move to one side of the house and be ready for new carpet starting Friday. Probably be best to do some long arm quilting this week and start a new quilt project after the 18th!
I think we have about 6 mama deer and are ready to drop! Oh boy we get to watch babies. They are so much fun. This next week the weather will cool off. I hope it stays in the 80’s/90’s until the babies are born. In this 100 degree it is iffy!
Well, I have written a book, you have a great week-end and thx for the comment on the Dahlia, I would love to make another one using better fabric, but this one has really held up – of course we do not use it!!! LOL!
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Merry Christmas is so lovely, I’m glad you had fun with the SAL. Love the French General Embroidery, simply beautiful! Dahlia is really neat, I especially like the orange peel quilting on the border. Don’t over heat walking in the 100* temps! Happy Stitching!
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Glad you like the Xmas quilt. 🤗
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I love that giant dahlia quilt. Your quilting on it is beautiful. I hope you’re feeling better now. Thank you for linking up to the Peacock Party.
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Your Christmas quilt is fabulous! I love the embroidery, the colours, the pieced blocks, the layout… well, everything about it!
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Thank you Kathy! Have a great day and thank you for the nice comment!
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You feed the deer. Another reason I love you. All I can think of is Derrick. He fancied himself a hunter of deer, but was too kind to actually kill one. He set in the deer stand and mostly watched them. He was too kind of a soul to take one.
And I laughed about the squirrels. My father would spend time designing bird feeders that the squirrels could not get into. He fed them, but they always wanted his bird food. He had them all named.
Love the quilts. The dahlia is soooo pretty.
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A heat wave sounds perfect to me. =} Love that glorious photo of the deer. How wonderful if ‘babies’ are added to the mix. Your Dahlia quilt is a beauty isn’t it. It is always a delight to visit your lovely place to see all your pretty stitching.
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Thx Kim! Today was not bad walking it was 70 with lower humidity, one more day like this one and then back to the lovely 75 and 90+ humidity. I do believe that we will be seeing a few babies soon. I am sure they are born in late May and around this time they start getting away from the nest! This morning I saw one of the deer chasing the cat from across the way! Too funny!
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What a great view you have, So many deer.
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Spoiled is what it is called Karen! Looking for babies to appear soon! They are so cute to watch running and kicking up their heels!
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