Gray skies are gonna clear up!

      I'm happy to report the black cloud over my mind has lifted. A combination of beautiful weather, a big spring clean of the house, and massive sewing time this week has done the trick! Planting bulbs in the fall is a gift to your future self-- and I really appreciate it, this year.  

     I'm starting the blog today with machine embroidery, then quilt-y progress, and then a chicken report-- a long post. If you make it to the end, there will be three things I learned about chickens that will satiate your desire to have them yourselves. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to have a little farm in the middle of nowhere-- this blog is for you!

     First up-- June bowl fillers have been released. Usually at this point of a BOM project, the designing comes easy, and I'm happy to say it has. We have cherries to fill your bowls and a sweet "Cherry Cottage." A big thank you to all who are stitching along with me-- your tables look gorgeous as you've shared them on the Facebook group!

     I tried to do a cute little photo shoot of the house in the meadow. I've always had an eye for a sweet piece of real estate-- full size or miniature. A Halloween cross stitch village is on my list to design! For July bowl fillers, I'm thinking of a shell or parade theme-- comment below if you have an idea. Watermelon? My international customers have me warned-- NO USA theme! We also need the SUMMER bowl fillers to complete the seasonal set.

     I am also well on the way to having the charm pack basket set finished. I LOVE how they came out. I had initially envisioned something with just the baskets and very streamlined. The road took me elsewhere. This is one of the things I love about designing-- it's a fabulous journey from here to there and you never know where you'll end up.

    I picked out five of my favorite charm squares to make the baskets-- they are from Lori Holt's BEE PLAIDS I received in a Sew Sampler box last year. I have 37 left, so I'm making a half square triangles for a border and we'll see where that goes. Working with a charm pack insures all the colors and patterns will play well together! 

     I'm hoping to have a finished top very shortly-- then it's instruction time-- but I should easily have this out this week. Then, I may start Christmas sets-- the spring and summer always quiet down, and it's the perfect time to bank a few sets for the fall and holidays-- that's obviously peak sewing season.

     Next up-- quilting! Lots and lots of quilt-y sewing this week. I can tell, because I went through quite a few bobbins! The 2023 Sew Sampler Challenge is coming along well-- I'm making something out of every box this year. It's not necessarily the pattern included. I designed this crazy thing, I'm calling "Meadow Floor", with the April Fabric. 

     I really wanted to experiment with non-row piecing-- that part of it has gone fabulously! I have a road map on graph paper that I'm following along. I was afraid this would have to be pieced in a certain order, but found out that's not the case and it's going together amazingly. There are no Y seams. I'm just doing partial seams-- if the two fabrics in a seam end the same length-- stitch them together. If they are different lengths, sew to a couple of inches from the end and back tack. As you add pieces in, look for opportunities to complete a seam. It's working! I only have two large corners left to piece in.

     And now for the downside-- this thing is HUGE. It's way too big for any of my tables. I mentioned in other blog posts how I have trouble understanding the scale of things-- they look so different on tiny graph paper and in my head. It would have been much cuter, smaller-- it's kind of like a gawky teenager. I intend to cut it back to an oval when it comes back from quilting-- that may help. Second problem-- I really didn't like the fabric from the beginning. Understand I don't mean any offense to the designer-- it's just not my personal taste-- pastels were never my thing. So I also need to remember not to launch myself into large projects with fabric I don't love. This hobby is too expensive and too time consuming to do that. It's the same with embroidery-- I often have people asking what color to use for a certain design-- well, use colors that you love! Then you will love the outcome. Promising myself not to go crazy on the May box. 

     Along with challenging myself to stitch all twelve Sew Sampler boxes this year, I decided to do the "Pressed Flower" BOM that comes in the box. The first block is a stunner! I've also been admiring the Bunny Hill fabric collections for some time-- the quilt is made of their new collection called "Sugarberry." I'm not pink fan, but it's under control in this collection. And just look at that neutral gingham! This kit sold out very quickly, but I was lucky enough to snag one.

     I always avoid these stitch-a-longs like "Sewcialites" and "Blockheads," but I noticed I usually gravitate toward blocks with many, many pieces. The first Pressed Flowers block is pretty easy to stitch up in a couple of hours with very few pieces. I'm rethinking my attitude toward other stitch-a-longs-- it may not be as hard as I'm making it up in my mind-- most blocks are fairly simple, and you do have a nice extra finish at the end of the year for just an hour or so commitment a week. Does every block I make need 100 pieces? Probably not. (Reminds me that my Barn Star Sampler is still in a vegetative state...)

    My May Sew Sampler box arrives this afternoon-- I'm quite sure those two things will be sewn up before the mailman shows up at 1:00pm, so I'm right up to date! Proud of that.

     In the hand sewing department, I'm almost done with block 8 of Prairie Meadow. Three weeks is just right per block. I tried to do this one in two weeks, but when we cleaned up the house-- it got put away. Out of sight, out of mind. There is something to be said for leaving projects scattered around! I think when I lay out those eight finished blocks for a picture it will be the mental boost I need to now finish. We need to stay motivated and gut through some of these tough parts of a quilt, people! It is so worth it in the end. I picked out some cross stitch projects, also arriving from Fat Quarter Shop today, for "Red, White, and June." I don't have much summer decor-- can you believe it, and I'm looking forward to switching between applique and cross stitch for my handstitching month.

     And now on to farm life. I always thought I would have a farm in the middle of nowhere, and I was right! I'd love a horse, but for now it's chickens. Backyard chickens are a trend right now-- just browse one chicken reel on Instagram--no, dont-- you will be inundated. So here are three of my discoveries about chickens to share with you, so you don't have to buy them and find out for yourself.

   1) Chickens are soft and cuddly. I guess we never really hold birds in life, so who knew. Those feathers are extremely soft and Minky-like. Some chickens do enjoy the interaction, and they also enjoy a little "scritch" just like a cat or dog. They like to be hugged. As you might guess, treats are appreciated for hugs!

    2) There's not much meat on a chicken. I guess my chickens would be a bit more uneasy about me holding them if they knew I was thinking this. But when you "scritch" a chicken, you can feel down inside the feather shell down to all of the quills on the feathers, and then you have to "scritch" down even further to reach flesh. I'm pretty sure Bea, my big, white Brahma, only has a real neck the size of a pipe cleaner. So this is probably why they breed those meat birds with the huge breasts. Thinking on that makes me very sad now that I have first hand experienced these kind little beings. I'm too hypocritical to become a vegetarian-- we have to eat something-- but I will tell you I am cutting way back on all kinds of meat. And planting a huge vegetable garden!

3) And a bit of chicken wisdom... It makes me feel like a million when my little birdies all come running over at the first sight of me. Their little faces look up at me expecting only kind words and good things from my hand. It occurred to me that my family does not come running up to me like this when I arrive back at the house. Well, why don't they? Do they totally trust that only kind words will come from my lips and good things will come out of my hand? Am I the person my friends come running over to, when I enter a room? 

Let's get out there, everyone, and be that person this week!

xoxo
Carol