This was my last day before a hard freeze so any last plants I wanted to keep had to be dealt with today. Some are in the garage tonight and the school desk is covered – I ran out of steam. If it freezes, it freezes.
Everybody played outside today in the nice weather so they’re all exhausted tonight. Here’s everybody –
While watching the games yesterday I bound a kids quilt and will take its picture tomorrow. My main objective is to use up my fabric. I need to make a blue project soon – I came across two full tubs of blue half yard pieces – just gorgeous really.
Reader photos
From our first book, Oh Behalf of Chickens, comes Folksy Chickens which will soon be available as a $5.00 pattern. A $5.00 pattern needs an explanation – any pattern I make available for the small amount of money – $5.00 – is a simple one sheet pattern of minimal instructions with measurements. It’s a no-frill pattern – it also requires a SASE which keeps my cost down. There will never be a color photo included – the picture I post here on the blog is the only photo I’m posting so it’s up to you to copy it for your own use.
Does anyone have any questions about this? Remember our online store is no longer is available. I’ll try to make this the next best thing.
Hi Mary, love the 5 dogs together, and all the other pet photos. I have spent time this morning looking for a tube of glue l just bought and used once, and sparkly pink nail polish for Luna. Another mystery to solve! Off to the dentist tomorrow, hope it goes well! Take care everyone, best wishes from Sandy
What great pictures today!! Loved the 5 dogs all together and the readers pets too and the cats. The junior choir is so cute! It’s definitely fall here…it was in the 90s this weekend and 69 today.
That’s hilarious that the cats are lounging on the dog quilt! Especially on top of the “Woof Woof!” =:)
Mary, you can’t make it any simpler than that. $5 is a very, very reasonable price for a treasured pattern no longer available. Your photos of your quilts are great and should provide anyone with enough inspiration to create their own version. Thank you for all your continued efforts on behalf of quilters!
Love your pet pictures and the smiles they bring.
Greta is quite the Greta Garbo poser. I get a chuckle when I see her photos. She seems very personable though, unlike Garbo.
All of the pet photos are great today. Love them all.
We are supposed to get a big storm tomorrow complete with thunder and lightning. We will see….
My pets (my hens) just hate thunder. They have a large, dry, comfy house though, so they will be okay.
Sue – Hazel is terrified of thunder and Telly has started being afraid – Keeper would stay out in the storm if I’d let him. Do you lock your hens up every night so you don’t have to round them up if the weather gets bad? I hate when a storm comes up in the daytime because my hens don’t want to make a run for the barn!
We have been keeping them in their pen lately because of hawks. And now I hear we have Bob Cats around here. They have a huge yard which is covered by netting and a large house, so they actually feel safer than they do outside of their digs. I miss seeing them wander around the place though. I love to watch them.
Great and Gracie are two peas in a pod.
The children’s choir is pulling the heart strings. I am a softy for kids preforming.
I love everything about today’s post.
Thanks Mary for giving us a bright spot in the day.
Jo – this post was a bit of this and a bit of that – you are easy to please!!!
I want to be out in your yard with all the dogs! I love the picture. Hugs,
I feel so lucky to have On Behalf of Chickens!!!! It is a very special book. That quilt is really nice, too.
Our weather has cooled down to 60’s daytime and 40’s night. Sounds like a hard freeze on Thursday night, especially in the higher elevations. And maybe rain/snow. Whatever.
If we have a storm it is always entertaining to watch the traffic going up/down the hill. Especially when I’m safe inside watching out the window.
Thank you, everybody, for sending pictures of your quilts. We always love show and tell and they are so inspiring with ideas, patterns and colors. How could we ever feel sad with such beautiful colors and patterns? I’m getting the urge to make a red/white log cabin……. Who knows?
Take care. Betty in Rapid City
Betty – log cabin is working its way to the top of my list, too
I have the book ‘On Behalf of Chickens’. It is one of my absolute favorites and I just put away one of the quilts I made from it at the end of summer. Thank you both for so many fun patterns.
Sandy – which quilt did you put away? Just curious.
Love all these furrrrrrbaby photos today! Finn in the car, the girls on the dog quilt, the kids playing in the yard. Love them all!
This Folksy Chicken quilt is a cutie. Making my list of patterns to order from ya.
Thanks for sending Sunshine on this sad day.
Sherri – are you referring to the unrest in the Middle East or something personal?
Middle East… so sad.
The Winnie-the-Pooh quilt is too darn cute. It’s nice to see all the pet pictures. I love to read everyone’s comments.
Mary, I watched your online Sunday church service. Loved hearing you play the piano and some of the hymns I grew up with. And the children’s choir was delightful!
Your church is blessed to have all the young families.
Hope you sleep well after all the outside work! Stay warm and thanks for another great post!
Vicki – thanks for watching! I think our church is the envy of Garner and maybe North Iowa because of our young congregation- even tho they have an old pianist! Ha!
I noticed all those children, too. Our congregation is aging and trying to come up with ideas to attract the young families.
We have a frost advisory tonight in SW Ohio. I went out and picked the remaining tomatoes We had a frost advisory last night which didn’t happen. Tonight looks more likely.
Chicken quilt looks fun. I saved the picture.
Vicki – Finn and Ivy belong to our pastor’s family
My daughter-in-law wants that chicken pattern made for her, Mary.
Chris – Christmas is coming and you have time to make that quilt for her!
great post. love the pet pictures. the pooh quilt is wonderful. the little dog on the two quilts (i first thought one was hot air balloons but realized it was pumpkins), the green brown rows quilt and of course, your chicken quilt is wonderful. hope you don’t have a freeze. you’ve had good weather, this seems like a surprise but maybe not to those of you who live there. always enjoy your news. hugs to all, patti in FL
Mary – I had a couple of errands to run today and one of them was going to Verizon about a cracked screen protector! Simply put – I won’t be going to that Verizon store again! I got it fixed, but it was a 4-hour ordeal that was totally unnecessary. Ugh!
The other errand was to Les Schwab. They got a hubcap replacement for me. In August I had new tires put on my pickup and on the way home a hubcap came off. I called Les Schwab when I got home and they had me come back so they could get a photo of one of the other hubcaps. Fast forward to today, I now have 4 hubcaps.
The difference in dealing with Les Schwab and Verizon was day and night!
Love the dogs and cats and quilts today.
Thank you for sharing.
Take care everyone.
Great photos today. The quilts are all amazing and well done. We have a cat but I always wanted a dog. Probably not going to happen though. So I love all the pictures of the pets. Mary you are so lucky to have such a large group of children in your church. Off this morning for my first cataract surgery.
Rita – good luck on your cataract surgery – I thought it was a piece of cake!
Rita – good luck with your surgery! Have you thought about fostering a senior dog who needs some love and comfort towards the end of his/her life?
I loved seeing all the puppies together and Gretta and Gracie. I love the harmony between animals. My Miles is getting old and a bit grumpy and just wants Sammie and Nelson to leave him alone, which they have a hard time doing. Those two are full of energy and love to wrestle.
I have a beautiful cat shut in my husbands workshop, Because our house is !/4 of a mile back off the road I have never had cats visit but Sammie found this baby Sunday afternoon when I was getting the ranger out to load garbage to the road for Monday’s pick-up. This beautiful baby was hiding in one of our huge decorative grasses by Sammie’s hunting skills found it. I was able to rescue the cat from Sammie and the only place to put it was in Don’s workshop. I have only had glimpses of kitty since, he/she is beautiful, long haired white, gray and ORANGE! I love orange cats and haven’t had one since I was a kid. It is eating, drinking and using the litter box I made for it but won’t come out of hiding for me at all. I need to visit neighbors to see if anyone knows this kitty and I need it to warm up to me so I can see if it is male or female and guess an age. I would love to keep it but someone maybe missing this beauty. Wish me luck!
Linda – if the cat is multicolor it’s likely female. This is exactly how I ended up with Gracie – the 5 big dogs had her cornered in the woodpile! She’s come a long way but still very timid and afraid of her own shadow. Sounds like Nelson is doing ok – he and Sammie sound like Keeper and Finn who love to “rassle” by the hour-is rassle a word? Be patient with your new kitty. Gracie has been here since February and still not 100% comfortable.
Hi Linda, Good luck with your new kitty, she sounds beautiful. When I sat on the porch with Buddy for 8 months, I just fed him, then talked softly and let my hand dangle down. At first he was afraid, but eventually, he started butting my hand, then let me pet him, and finally he got on my lap. Now he is my shadow!!
Two kitties on a Woofy quilt! Cute! You got 5 “woofs” in one photo – what an accomplishment!!
The bright greens in Jeannie’s quilt make a statement. I have a few of those, so have to ruminate over how to use them. Great reader quilts, as well as pet pictures today.
p.s. The chicken quilt is dear.
I think the pup at the bus stop has to be the cutest pic I’ve seen in quite a while. Love it!!!!
Finally getting some cooler weather and no humidity here. It’s been a brutal summer and we are all welcoming it. Nice to open some windows and get fresh air into the house. Don’t laugh — almost needed a quilt last night!
Wonderful pictures to put smiles on our faces. Thank you Mary for capturing ordinary days but you know we love feeling part of your life with pets and quilting. And the children’s choir is amazing. We don’t have that many so I hope it’s been a good experience for them. I went into the dollar and a quarter store here yesterday and had to share with our manager as she was stocking shelves about your store. She was shocked and said it doesn’t happen in their store as they all pitch in. I overheard her go to an aisle next to where I was and gave the girl stocking there extra hours as the worker had asked for them. The worker thanked her and I smiled feeling such cooperation.
Wonderful pictures today!! Warmed my heart!
I’m busy sewing bias binding on a curved edge queen quilt and find it very challenging to say the least!!
Tomorrow will be a difficult day for me as we remember the loss of my son Ron two years ago. He was an amazing man with everything to live for but God had another plan for him. We all miss him dearly.
Love and Peace
Sally J.
Sally – oh, we are all so sorry that tomorrow is a day of sadness for you. I’m sure you’ll remember the good times with your son as well.
Love the little girl and her pal going to school. And Finn. Its amazing how they know where they’re going!
Its so wonderful that you have that many young people in your church and in your choir. So many churches are struggling these days to maintain membership especially among younger folks. Hope any straggler plants survived the freeze. Only down into the 40s so far here in Maryland, but I still have a hummingbird coming to my feeder and I went and got new ones yesterday that are supposed to be more resistant to bees because they flock to the feeders as the only source of nectar left. My zinnias are still blooming but apparently not appetizing to the bees. Thanks again, Mary, for keeping us all connected and inspired by your quilts and those of others. Your posts always make my day.
Karen Cyr
Karen – just a note about the junior choir – these are the kids who are 3-4 to 9-10 which means there’s all those babies and toddlers plus middle school and high school kids, too. We are blessed!!
Mary,
Your post made me smile and laugh out loud. I just opened it this morning. Cute hen quilt!! You are so creative!
Loved the picture of Finn’s head on the dashboard. It reminded me of my childhood dog who was not a fan of a ride in the car UNTIL he realized where he was going about two blocks away from my aunt and uncle’s house. Then we couldn’t get there fast enough for him to see my uncle. What a good memory to recall. 🙂
I’m busy working on my October Red challenge.
A hard freeze? – We’ll be “lucky” if we see one at all this winter.
Happy Tuesday!
Jan
Mary, l want to thank you so much for all your posts. They are always such a pleasure to read. Even though you say it’s a blog about nothing … to the eye of your readers, that is not true. I so enjoy reading every blog you write and the pictures you share. Again, l thank you.
Ann – thank you so much but I still think it’s pretty much about nothing – 😉
We had heavy frost last Saturday and again this morning! My geranium came in the garage. It may be in for the winter!
The guys have been harvesting but I guess there is a break down. Waiting to serve them lunch/dinner. I call it dinner.
I haven’t been sewing lately, making greeting cards instead as I was out of birthday and sympathy.
Yesterday was a holiday for my daughter so I was able to have coffee with her! That was a real treat!
Here is rain in the forecast…..they are predicting lots of it! We will see.
Growing up in Iowa. Dinner was at noon and Supper was at night! Lunch was between Breakfast and Noon, noon and supper and supper and bed!!! And if it was harvest time, you took everything to the field.
Betty in Rapid City
Betty – yup, you’re right! We still call it dinner and supper.
Joy – there was frost this morning but I have all my plants in so guess I was ready . Never really ready but we do live in North Iowa and we know what’s coming. Corn west of me is still in the field
Mary, 60 years ago they were hardly in the bean field on that first weekend.
The chicken quilt makes me smile, remembering all the Country Thread quilts with them. Made up a few myself. Enjoy seeing the dogs, they can be so much fun. Finn’s photo lets me recall my mini schnauzer in the car: if we turned right at the corner, we were going to Granma’s, a left turn and he would start trembling. We’re going to the vet! Had to pry him out of the car on arrival.
Thanks for the break in my days when I check in on your blog!
This blog is NOT about nothing. It is about our lives. Our every day lives. The tears, laughter, kids, pets, work, picking corn or combining beans. What are we going to fix for supper. To some people this is probably nothing, but I wouldn’t trade places with them for anything. It is good people, living every day, taking care of the family, helping others, making quilts or other handiwork. Maybe there are probably so many others that would be happier if they had our
lives.
When I watch the news, I am so thankful we live in the United States. We feel safe to go to bed at night and don’t wake up to being kidnapped or killed. I can’t imagine hating somebody so much to kill them or their families.
Take care. Betty in Rapid City
Oh, Betty, you are so right! I was thinking all of those same things as I was reading the blog and comments! The blog sends smiles and laughs to so many of us. I love reading about the church people and those choir kids are adorable! As a quilter, I love seeing what other people are making, what Mary is working on, and seeing the patters come to life. I have to check for the chicken book. Since I don’t have a dog, but I feed the dogs on my walking route, it is fun to see Telly and Hazel and their friends. I have also Learned many things from this blog. For example, window washing recipe, new and old patterns to try, recipes, ideas for using and separating scraps etc etc! This will never be a blog about nothing! I just finished a 3 yard OSU top, a 3 yard Christmas top, and I am binding a black,silver, and red winter quilt. It is getting warmer here in the daytime, but cool in the AM. . Buddy and Squeak are our kitty buds so it is fun to see Greta and Grace and all of the kitties😺