Yup, I finished the Kaffe Fassett quilt yesterday and threw it in the washer today. Once again I’m glad it’s finished and can’t wait to work on something else. This one took on a life of its own and ended up bigger than I had intended.
I love getting out all the plant stuff – seems like I’ve been waiting for a year to do this. Last week was so cold – maybe this is the week it will get warm.
This is the LOUDEST quilt I’ve ever made!
The backing is also pieced – I did not have enough of any one bright fabric to fit the back.
That’s Jake in the background. He’s not looking too good – he’s missing Alfalfa and the weight is just dropping off him. But he was 17 years old last March 4 so it’s to be expected.
The geese just insist of sitting on eggs! They even share a nest.
Today I planted so much stuff, moved things, put up fences, and filled pots with our beautiful BLACK dirt!
More tomorrow – I’m just too pooped to write more tonight!
Your days aren’t long enough and the nights are way too short? Give it up for the day. Tomorrow will be another day. The weather has been absolutely beautiful.
Betty Klosterman – good idea – I’m ready for bed! Another nice day tomorrow!
Hi Mary, You are right this Kaffee turned out larger than I had imagined. I need to put the border on, sandwich it and get it quilted. i will send a picture when I get it done. You are right it does make really bright quilt but that is what I wanted as it is going to my sister in law that found out she has breast cancer. WE have had rain off & on all weekend and today with a cool temp. We plan on getting our garden planted this weekend. Everything here in the Shenandoah Valley is lush green and growing like crazy including the weeds. Carolyn B
Those geese are gorgeous! Yep, Kaffe quilt is loud, but where ever you need a pop of color it will be perfect. I love it.
We had Moms Day today, loads of fun. I came home with a wooden chicken called Francis.
Your yard looks great.
Mary, I can’t hear you over your Kaffe quilt! I am teasing….it is lovely….a Kaffe fabric quilt is on my bucket list. The farm will be blooming soon all over full of color just like your quilt!
Stephanie Smith – haha! Didn’t I tell you it was LOUD?
Beautiful quilt! i really like that “slant sided” birdhouse. I hope to plant my window boxes tomorrow–I think it is time for the Christmas greens and red twig dogwood to go. waiting to see what you are working on next.
The quilt is beautiful…but BRIGHT!! I don’t care for brights either but did a table runner for a friend from charm squares that were that bright. It did turn out nice and she loved it, that’s all that counts!I l also did a batik 48″ square…not my thing either, but it too looks fine. I think I will try to sell it . It will make a good table topper. I am “old fashioned” and like 30’s or civil war looking prints. When I started quilting Thimbleberries was very popular, her colors were what I like.
So wish we had black dirt here…we do but it is in bags and costs!! I am really thinking I will get some flowers and get my planters filled. I may wait til next week, though the weather is beautiful this week…days rain is in the near future. I shouldn’t be planting when I don’t have any idea where I will be moving to, but I don’t like the nothing look. My hummingbirds are back so that is a bright side of things! I see your leaves have opened up!! Maybe by the end of the week. Wild flowers are blooming. A couple of little girls picked lots of them and brought them to church yesterday for all of us! So pretty! They even decorated the glass they put them in!
How many eggs are the geese sitting on? That will be fun to see the little ones waddling around!
I am about 1/2 done quilting my quilt for my cousin. May get it done tomorrow, so I can bind it maybe Thursday and then off to them by Friday, we’ll see!
Oh Mary, I love your quilt. I really love bright over the top quilts. When you see them it’s wow, that is bright, beautiful and bold! I have Faffe fabric I’m going to make a stack and wack out of. I just have a few more I have to get done first.
I love your home and property, but I couldn’t do the work you do to keep it up.
All your animals are so sweet and lucky to live at your house. When ever I get a dog that dog is mine for life. I don’t get rid of my pets either. They have a home for life. I have a puppy she will be a year old June 1, she sure try’s me. She chews everything. When ever we leave I wonder what she will tear up while we are gone. Last time she got a ink pen and chewed it on my couch throw. So now it has ink on it. But I love her she reminds me of Hazel always looking for something to get into.
We had a nice week last week but rain is coming for the rest of our week. And only in the 60’s. They say we need the rain for fire dangers so I’m glad we will get some.
My hubby is building me a sewing room for a long arm he bought me then got sick so my son is pitching in with his brother in law to get it wired and sheet rocked. What a blessing that has been. I hope to be able to sew again soon.
Keep the blog going. I so enjoy Reed, the animals, your home the quilts, and you wonderful sense of humor.
Bobby, you might want to think about crating your puppy when you leave her alone so she doesn’t destroy your house and belongings. She will just sleep while you are gone. I wish I had known about crates when I was newly married and we got our first puppy who proceeded to “eat” our kitchen flooring. Did they even have crates forty-seven years ago?
Bobbie woodruff – you and I think alike in terms of keeping pets. When I see that an older dog is taken to the shelter because the family got a puppy, it makes my blood boil! Yes, my animals are pretty lucky and that’s why I can’t get any more at my age. It just wouldn’t be fair, would it? I hope you can sew again very soon. I become very depressed if I miss any sewing days!
❤️ The quilt..those r my Colores..someday I will use his fabrics and make myself one..
💐Katie Hernandez in Gilbert,
AZ.
Mary the quilt is gorgeous love the colors. I have a Kaffe Fassett layer cake so I need to get started. Thank you for your blog I really enjoy it.
Beautiful quilt – I also am not naturally attracted to Kaffe Fasse fabrics – but now I think I am! And you have sunshine! It’s been cold and wet in Toronto.
Gail – the sunshine lasted only one day! This is why I have to work so hard when the day is nice. You’ve heard the old saying “you gotta make hay when the sun shines”? Spring is slow to arrive all over, isn’t it?
Your Kaffe quilt is a vibrant bright spot in your landscape beckoning warmer days and equally brilliant blooms to come!
Love the quilt! Paula in KY
I love your quilt!! I am a big fan of Kaffe. Where do you get all your energy? You are truly an inspiration!! Love reading your blog, thanks!!
Carla – I am collapsing at night! I do get lots done but I really should stop before I’m in pain and exhausted! So – it isn’t all good! I have never understood the concept of “moderation” according to my sister! Haha!
Mary, your quilt is lovely and is going to look beautiful wherever you decide to put it. It’s interesting how we love fabric and their colors, get tired of them while quilting, get the quilt finished, washed, and then love it again! A quilt teacher once told me if you don’t like your quilt after working on it for awhile, finish it, put it away and when you get it out, you’ll like it again. Most often that is true.
Grandson Trice has a pair Toulouse geese. They are beautiful geese and very protective. Especially the male. They won first place in the poultry division of our county fair last summer and it was so fun watching them ‘people watch’. They were in a huge pen and were so tired when they came home because they stayed awake so much to watch all the action! Trice ordered them from a hatchery a little over a year ago and they were just 2 days old when they were flown into Md. from Calif. So, he hand raised them and they love him and he them. He named them Sally and Sam (he has named any two pets he has ever had that since he was very little – he’s now 13 – if he has children they are sure to be Sally and Sam!) Sally laid a pile of eggs but lost interest in the sitting process and Trice says it’s because she is young and doesn’t understand what she is supposed to do. haha Can’t wait to see your little baby geese!
Diane in Maryland – Sam and Sally! At least he can always remember their names – ha! Yes, the geese are beautiful but they have long life spans. 30-40 years sometimes and I’m not going to live that long so really don’t want goslings. I’m sure there’s a pile of eggs in that nest and the sad thing is that one of the geese will claim all the goslings and shove the other out. It’s the saddest thing to watch! Wish I could get them all to Trice! Too bad you live so far away – a road trip maybe?
A road trip would be the most fun and of course I would bring Leslie! I have 2 cats that I adore and they love Mike best..haha and he loves them too. No more for us at our age but our daughter and Trice have said they will take them if it’s ever necessary.
Diane in Maryland – wow! Thank Trice and his mom! Let’s hope it won’t be necessary to drive to Iowa but it would be fun to see all of you!
Your Kaffe quilt is a WOW! I love bright colors and this one is a sure winner! Such a contrast to Reed’s, wonder what he thinks about it? Enjoy your new quilt and the pleasant weather. It felt like winter had returned here but today is supposed to be warmer. I’m ready for some sunshine!
Ellie – Reed has not seen it yet but he’ll think it’s pretty bright! Raining a bit again today – we just can get two nice days strung together! We’re going to move Reed’s chickens this week – we hope!
Love your quilt. I just finished a kaffe facet quilt also. It will go to the quilter soon. I will try to email you a picture of it. Love your geese and animals! I worked outside yesterday also. Hubby was trying to help and was going to stand on my asparagus….he decided to go to town! It rained again overnight so it’s a good thing he tried planting and finished another 55 acres of corn. Every little bit helps. If you wonder when I live….just drive straight west from your house almost to the Iowa-south Dakota border. Yes, we still live on the farm and farm soybeans and corn…and raise cats 😞. The cats are not tame…well, tame enough to sneak in the garage! Grrrr. Have a wonderful day!
Joy – isn’t that just like a man – the biggest feet in the heaviest boots, stepping on the asparagus, the peonies, the chives! Get out! I know about raising cats – sort of. I fixed the stray mama and her 3 remaining kittens only to have 2 of them disappear last summer. Lots of money down the drain there. Now I have a stray black Tom in the barn, too, but he’s pretty tame now.
How much do you farm? Lots so that you need help? Raining again today – we just can’t get two days in a row to work! Maybe that’s God’s way of making us slow down?
Love the Kaffe quilt!
That quilt is BEAUTIFUL!!!!
Mary, when I saw the picture of your quilt folded in the tubs, I thought “Poor Mary, can’t she afford a new washing mahcine?”. Bad joke, I know.
In all my years of quilting I have never bought a piece of Kaffe fabric. I always think the quilts are very pretty, though.
Janet – I have one cupboard, not very big, that I keep Kaffe fabric in and I wouldn’t normally love it —— until I see a quilt at a show made up with his fabrics and then I’m hooked! Now I’m ready to make something normal again – like a red and white quilt possibly!
While I lean toward the Civil War & more muted colors I find myself drawn to Kaffe & some other brights. I just never know what to do with them! love your quilt! You have inspired me once again. My have to pull my brings out & do more than pet them. My trip to Fort Worth & the garden center was successful in my hunt for succulents. Not only did I find the String of Pearls I was looking for, but several others. Even purchased a dis garden that is about 16 inch round planted with an assortment of 9 different succulents & at a good price….just $19.98…hope was a good price .
Mary,
Your large stone wall looks like mine up here in Idaho. Thanks for showing your great cheerful, bright Kaffe quilt! Looks like SPRING has also come there to Iowa! So many Hummingbirds have arrived to eat the biting flying bugs, too.
I LOVE the Kaffe quilt! So bright, bold and full of life. I love the geese sharing a nest. I’m quite envious of your luscious black dirt…we have sand, a bazillion rocks of all sizes and seashells! Everything I plant in the dirt dies because the “dirt” is so poor. Wishing you many more sunshiny warm days!!!
P.S. Chemo was moved to Friday instead of Wednesday….I need to have a cardiac stress test before I can start and can’t get in until Thursday to have it done.
Jessica – oh no! All that anxiety of waiting and now 2 more days. I am so sorry. Rick has had that stress test – you’ll do well, I’m sure. Hang in there – we’re all pulling for you!
I too love the Kaffe quilt. It would brighten any room. We could use some of your black gold dirt. We have to add “stuff” to ours to make it good. We have had a record amount of rain so far in May. Even though we’ve had a few warm days our heat is still on. As a rule it is said not to put out plants till after Mothers Day. It’s over cast and cold so I’ll let it go another couple days.
Martha Engstler- wow! Our heat is still on, too, and I’ve had offers to help move my plants outside but I’m too afraid we’ll get a cold spell again. I’ve always followed the Mothers Day rule for tomato plants, too. Mine are waiting in the garage. Sigh.
When I lived in Cedar Rapids and Cleveland it was Memorial Day to put out plants, now I live North of Dayton, Ohio and the last frost is gone by Mother’s Day. I hate that they bring out plants too early in the stores. I’m looking for lime coleus and they seem to be gone already.
Carolyn Rector – I agree about the plants. I bought some impatiens yesterday and they look rough – because they’ve been for sale for several weeks now. Hope they can snap out of the slump.
The Kaffe quilt is gorgeous!! I love his fabrics. Who’s the lucky recipient? Well, I’m off to mow now, we’ve been gone the last 5 days and the grass looks like it’s on steroids. I’ve got the actual lawn to do and all the fields that surround the house. Have a great day and don’t work too hard.
The Kaffe quilt is very colorful and just beautiful! I’ve never made anything as bright as that but I just might after seeing how it looks in a quilt. Love the geese on the nest. I didn’t know that they would not share the goslings, how sad. It is cold and rainy here today – again. Just sick of this weather and last night on the local news they showed nurseries in the area that are hurting – nothing is growing as it should. There’s standing water in the fields and the ground is compacted so much from the pouring rain that a lot of seeds haven’t sprouted as they should. Very sad. The dirt here in eastern MA has a lot of clay which doesn’t help. But, we have had hummingbirds and orioles and they all seem happy enough. Just hope the weather doesn’t hurt any little baby birds in nests. Can’t wait to see what you will make next! Jan in MA
Your quilt is beautiful!! Bright, yes, but that’s Kaffe Fassette, right? I haven’t gotten on that kick just yet as I love the more muted Country Threads and Thimbleberries palettes, but I am trying diligently to expand my color selections. I intend to start quilts for my two nieces next and they are 31 and 32 (neither is married, so no babies on the horizon to make baby quilts for!) and both like the modern quilt style that has become so popular. I just finished one that one of them oohed and ahhed about, so may choose more fabric to start one like that for her.
Your washtub (that you’ve got the Kaffe quilt draped over) caught my eye and brought back memories!!! My parents had one like that in the basement of the house we lived in from when I was 3 to 9, and my sister and I used to be popped in there for our baths!!
So sad for Jake missing Alfalfa. They do love their companions and miss them when they are gone. Anyone who doesn’t think animals have emotions has simply never been around for a situation like this. Does he have much time for the chickens or the geese? Christa’s chickens are often found wandering around the horse stalls and they all seem to get along just fine.
Uncle Sam arrived in yesterday’s mail (thank you!!!) and I have plans to start cutting and sewing this evening!! I finally took Harvey down so will be looking to hang Uncle Same in his place as soon as I get him finished!
Beautiful bright quilt! I love it! Are the geese sitting on their eggs, will they hatch?
Frances Carter – it remains to be seen if the eggs hatch – I’ll let you know!
I’ve never really cared for Kaffe fabrics they’re just to bright for me but I absolutely love your quilt, it’s the 1st one that I can honestly say that I love. I sure wish I lived close to you just to be able to stroll around your yard and see all the beautiful plants, flowers and wonderful yard animals. I’m a real animal lover myself and like most of your readers my pets are mine for life, they have always been my friends to the end! All my life I wanted to live in the country to be able to have farm animals and gardens and flower beds ect. It’s sad that now that we can afford it we are to old to move and start over not to mention my body is pretty much “broken down” on me. But I love vicariously through you and your wonderful farm! And I thank you for that!
Jeri in TX But once was an Iowa girl
Jeri Niksich – I also wish I were younger so that I could get more animals. I can afford it now and I’m set up so nicely but like you, my body is giving up and pain becomes a part of daily life. I guess it’s the normal cycle of life and I get that but I wish it were different. Are you ever in Iowa? My part of Iowa? I’m extending an invitation to you if you are.
Thank you so much for your invitation! I will surely take you up on it if I ever got to come back to Iowa. I know I will be there some time in the future as my father still lives there, unfortunately it will be for a very sad occasion . My father is a mean stubborn man and has cut me out of his life for many years now but I still love him of course, so I will come to Iowa when he passes.
Jeri
Where could I get the pattern for your Kaffe Fassett quilt? I have one of his books but love this particular layout. Thank you so much!
Lyn Rogers – Kaffe Fassett “Quilts In America”