Here’s the next door banner that will take you from Memorial Day to Flag Day to Fourth of July! Just like Harvey, Uncle Sam started as a large door banner and now he’s small – about 1/2 size.
Here is the original Big Uncle Sam who measures 22″ x 59″.
And once again we don’t have the original quilt because we thought we were retiring and Uncle Sam was sold at our big sale. Anybody reading this have him at your house?
So Uncle Sam, both big and little will be $10.00.
Little Uncle Sam measures 10-1/2″ x 30″.
Patriotic table mats and banners as well as quilts are very popular at this time of year so why not make an Uncle Sam to enjoy through the upcoming holidays?
It’s also Tulip time and this little 10″ x 12″ quilt will not take you long at all. It’s the same format as Night Star and Frosty and will be only $3.00 for the pattern.
Connie remade Tulip in new bright colors but we always like the darker colors that seem to be a trademark of Country Threads. Here is the original Tulip picture.
And don’t forget Gameboard which we intend to make in seasonal colors throughout the year. Here is Spring Gameboard.
Connie has already finished the middle square section in Halloween colors. I’m hoping to make a red, white and blue square version. Gameboard pattern is $5.00.
When you send us your order, could you please include a mailing label for us to use on the envelope we send to you? It helps so much and saves us making errors when writing addresses.
I’ll bet you’re thinking I should set up an online ordering site BUT that’s never gonna happen because we are not set up for anything except two or three patterns at a time. Harvey is now retired until next year.
We still have Goat Gazettes and books Beyond The Battlefield.
And now a look at what’s happening around the farm.
I thought I was feeding the birds not the chickens!
The feed truck brought me a ton of feed this morning and I meant to take a picture but forgot. He has an auger that goes into the feed room window and dumps the corn and oats mixture in the room that Hazel just goes crazy to get into – thinking she might find a mouse. Haha! The barn cats take care of all the mice.
Someone had suggested I blow out some of my pretty eggs. If you leave eggs alone in a bottom crisper for several months, they dry up inside until they’re hollow with a little marble that you can shake. I’ve had these little eggs for several years and as I was taking them out of the cupboard, I dropped one and you can see how dried up it is.
These little eggs show up occasionally and I always keep them because they’re so darned cute. Sometimes a young hen’s first attempt at laying may produce only this tiny egg. Here’s another picture to show scale.
When I let eggs dry out like this they never smell or turn rotten so that I have to get rid of them. I have a frig in the garage that I use the crisper drawers for drying the eggs. Maybe this is more information than you could possibly want.
Betty comes with Connie when we work in the shop. Today she didn’t want to leave.
Black dogs are hard to see in pictures.
And here is one of the nicest Bullseye Quilts I’ve ever seen. Just look at that border!
And …. I can’t get the picture to load. Grrrr… maybe for another post.
It’s another very gray day in North Iowa with temps only in the low 40’s. I want to mow! I saw something on Facebook that said “Mowing is a sport in Iowa!” Hahahaha! Don’t you love it?
What kind of edging is on the Sam banner? It looks so cool!!
Caryn Goulden – it’s just narrow binding – a Black and Tan reproduction fabric
Ok, now I see it. Finally looked at a larger screen. Old eyes!
Thanks, Mary!
Great information about the eggs. I like the tulip so better get my $3.00 sent. Thank you. Hope to see the bullseye quilt. I have decided to make my larger do it’s a WIP.
Do you prefer cash or a check? I want to order Uncle Sam and the Gameboard
Shirley zsohar – either is fine. Check should be made out to Country Threads
The picture of Betty is adorable! She knows all the fun to be had at your farm, that’s why she doesn’t want to leave!
I didn’t know that about eggs in the crisper. Thanks for the tip.
Glad to know the egg/crisper drawer trick, Thank You for sharing. Got half the yard area mowed before the rains came yesterday. Rain daily for next 10 days predicted. under severe storm alert now. Can do anything outside so what do I do, house work or see? What to do..what to do?!? Kidding No one….sewing it is….
Nikki M in TX – oh, thank God you were kidding! Haha! I’m scheduled to mow at our church tomorrow and it’s supposed to rain again. I was concerned about it but one of the other mowers asked me to trade days with him so I did. He lives in town and can slip over to church on his mower anytime.
Four ads in this post; that makes 9 for today:) I like the idea of eggs in the crisper. That little pullet egg is so cute. Would Hazel catch a mouse? Would she eat it?
I am going to look in my Country Threads patterns for big Uncle Sam. He looks familiar, but I haven’t made him. If I don’t find him, I’ll be ordering. Big Harvey arrived Saturday. Thanks, Mary
PS It’s 80* here in Central Ohio. Yesterday it was cool and a little sprinkly–is that a word? Lol.
Diane, Squeak’s mom – oh, Hazel is a born mouser and yes, she’ll even eat it. JRT are “go to ground” hunters and cannot be dissuaded! Still in the 40’s here – makes me grumpy.
Mary….where do you get a Kramer Strong t-shirt…..is it on Jo’s blog????
Linda – no, go to Facebook and find Kalissa Friedman or Kelli Hanken. If I can figure it out, I’ll put a link on tomorrow.
Oh!! I was hoping there would be something patriotic coming soon!! I can’t wait to get started on Uncle Sam!!! I have friends whose kiddos are deployed or deploying—he will be a great gift for them!
I’d never heard of the egg during trick either. Will have to suggest that to my friend who regularly posts pictures of the colored eggs she gets.
The snow is gone and we are back to no coats—thankfully! Betty is such a fun pup! Love seeing her when she visits!
Diane Bauer – where are the Golden’s?
Mine are still here with me, but the grandpups are on their way to Texas where Justin will begin his Medical Officer training on Saturday. I took Akira to the vet this morning to have a lump re-checked (we’d had it looked at in October, but it has grown). The vet thought it was likely nothing, but when she put the cells under the microscope, there were some she couldn’t identify, so we are having the slide sent to CSU’s vet hospital for a pathologist to take a closer look. And then we got home and Jenica was petting her and she located a bigger lump on her rib on the same side. If you have extra prayers, please keep her in your prayers. She is my heart.
Diane Bauer – have they already returned from their trip overseas???? How can that be? I thought those dogs would still be with you in June – guess I got that mixed up. Oh, another lump – so worrisome for you. I am in a period of great healthy ages of my dogs but after Janey was killed when I had only had her for 18 months and then Faye who at age 4 died of kidney failure, I deserve this healthy period, don’t you think? I will absolutely pray for Akita, poor girl and poor mama!
The binding on Uncle Sam has a 3-D look to it, almost like a crochet edge, until you blow up the photo and look closely.
Whenever I’m working on a quilt, I end up taking lots of photos to see more than my little eye can spy. Any imbalance or over saturation of a color shows up in the photo really well. Also, aspects that look really great show up, too. When I can’t find my iPad I know to look in the quilt room!
I mentioned that I’m working on a game board, quilted, for my son. Today I hit a roadblock, the center Block was, in my opinion, not as nice as it could be (it’s a pattern). So…after a little deliberation, I decided to draft a paper pieced Center Block that has an arrow, and four arrow blocks would fit together to form a square. It worked! I’m quite proud of myself! There’s a first for everything, I guess.
Carol – excellent! You’re a pattern drafter and you didn’t know it!
I just bet the bullseye is going to be my friend Karla’s!
Mary Hawk – YES, it is!!!! I finally got it to load for tomorrow’s blog. Don’t you just love her connector squares and that border! Wowser!
You know….I am going to try your egg drying method. Sometimes the hens lay those tiny ones and they would be so cute to use in a basket. Also have a garage fridge. The young Araucanas lay small blue eggs. Thank you, Mary.
It IS hard to see a black dog on the other side of the gate. HaHa
Love both Tulips…but, sorry Connie. I think I like the original best.
Uncle Sam is Wonderful.
Sue in Oregon – well, the original Tulip looks more like Country Threads but we are enjoying working on colorful projects after sewing two Civil War books.
Mary all of your egg hunting and egg drying and other egg info was a big hit at work with us city folk. Thank you for enlightening us. I have the Uncle Sam pattern. Maybe this year I’ll make it. Ha. Hope the weather gets nice soon.
Moe Baly – I’m so glad I could entertain and teach at the same time!!!!
Ladies, It would also be nice when you fix your self addressed envelope for a pattern to go ahead and put the stamp on it also so Mary does not have to pay the postage. Just a thought…Paula in KY
Paula P – oh, that’s so sweet of you, Paula! We will certainly put the stamp on but it’s always nice when one arrives
Hi, Mary, six ads today. The most I have done in a while. I couldn’t leave a message yesterday, I was having problems at this end. Those chickens make you work for those eggs. The little bird’s egg is espectacular! Have a nice evening, I am a little disappointed with the weather, we just need to wait it out. Right?
Felicia Hamlin – I agree – I am more than a little disappointed in our weather! Makes our summer very short.
Definitely writing you a check today for Sam. My door looks so empty now that Harvey is put away for next year. Those mini eggs are so precious; I love them. Spring is coming, not to worry; she’s a big tease sometimes!
Well, this city girl is asking WHAT are you doing with all your ‘dried’ eggs??? Once you have a basket full, aren’t you done?
Thanks for this amazing blog!
Hugs, ME
Mary E – I haven’t dried any for several years now just because I don’t really need more … unless it’s one of those teeny little eggs!
I love the chicken picture. I can hear them clucking, “It’s a bird feeder and we’re birds!” I always loved finding those tiny starter eggs when I had chickens. And how sweet is Betty, not wanting to leave! And Connie trying to convince her it’s time to go home–priceless!
I can see I’ll have to send in another order. For your offered patterns … Uncle Sam, Tulip, and gameboard! I giggled when I saw Betty at the gate (took me a bit to find her). Was she saying goodbye to Hazel?
I love that egg drying trick. I’m going to try it with eggs from my friends chickens.
When I return home from a week stay in Tucson, (!) I need to see if I have your Uncle Sam pattern. Was it also in a book? It’s so familiar.
I noticed that if I google something I’m interested in, an ad shows up on your site for that item. And there are more ads then. I’ll have to keep looking at stuff because when I don’t for a while, there either aren’t any ads one way fewer of them!
Tina in Oregon
Tina Witherell – Uncle Sam was always sold as an individual pattern, never in a book, if that helps. Good luck with drying the eggs!
I’ve got the big Sam. How much is just the little Sam?
Our snow really came down. It was so pretty with no wind plus it was so wet it stick to everything. Tonight the snow is melted and tomorrow is going to be warm.
Take care everybody.
Betty Klosterman- Same as Little Harvey, Little Uncle Sam is $5.00.
Uncle is very handsome. Love the buttons. Great info about drying eggs. You have great colors.
Mary! I never get tired of all the information. I look forward to all the details. Makes me feel like I’ve been there. Love anything r;w&b My absolute favorite
Thank you
Oh, now I have to order an Uncle Sam. He is very handsome.