THE TALE OF THE RUSSIAN QUILT........

Well, I mailed the package to my son......AND IT DIDN'T GET THERE IN TIME.... Perhaps that was a good thing!! His luggage got "lost" in Moscow....and eventhough he is on the way home.....he dosen't know where his luggage is. So ... he will just have to mail the quilt, and other little gifties when he gets home.....Sometimes....a plan just dosen't work.....and sometimes...PLAN B is better than PLAN A.

We are doing well here, misplaced my camera....(grrrrr !!!) so no photos at this time....
It's too hot and steamy to work in my "clubhouse". MANY THANKS....to hubby for putting in new subfloor. As I mentioned earlier, my "clubhouse" is an old 65' x 14' house trailer. We took out the bathroom, now storage, and washed all the walls, installed new kitchen floor and carpeting in the front room. Last weekend, we went to the "MAN STORE" and got carpeting (yeah, the cheap stuff...but soooo pretty) and put it in the HUGE back bedroom. I moved 5 book shelves and fabric in.....and OH Goodness !!!! the floors started creaking and sagging.....SO...yesterday, we moved the fabric out, took up the carpeting, laid the subfloor, carpet back in, AND TA DA !!! Now, I just need a cooler, less humid day to move fabric back in. I also have a Grace quilting frame and machine that I will set up near the huge back window....it overlooks a CORNFIELD (DA !!!) and I'll move a CD player in there too!!! Soon, I'll be able to quilt and listen to Stephen King at the same time!!!
Well, Buddies, stay cool and have fun..... I'll add more when I find that darned camera!!!

GARDENING DOGS......

WHATEVER WE DO ON THE FARM........the dogs want to help......We just put in 24 shrubs along the front of the house.....and our two helpers were right there. Yes, they dug holes, .....Yes, the drank water from the hose, and Yes.....they took a break, to admire their fine work.... GOOD JOB, DOGS......GOOD JOB !!!

TO RUSSIA.....WITH LOVE.....

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.............................................................I've been busy making flannel baby quilts.......I make 25 fabric sandwiches..called...."Sammies"......and stitch them together to make a quick, soft, warm quilt. I wash them once, and throw them in the dryer, on low...to start the ragging process. The first quilt is one that has not been washed and dried yet...you can see the difference......Which quilt is your favorite????

The first one is made from a great quality flannel print, and matching marbalized solids..... This quilt will travel to Russia next month.....to be given to a sweet baby girl.....we call her "Shasha".....Her mother, "Tata" posts comments on my blog....I hope she enjoys this quilt.....

WELCOME TO GREAT NEPHEW.....FORREST !!!

our newest member of the Clan. He and his Mom and Dad live in Ca. on FAT BEAR RANCH. Grandma and Great Grandma live near by. With a river, and fish, forests and blue sky.....he is ONE LUCK BABY.... I made this flannel raggy quilt for him....it's covered with FAT BEARS...and should keep him warm!!!

"VINTAGE" CHENILLE....AND WHAT TO DO WITH IT...

ANYMORE........ anything over 20 years old is considered "vintage." (That means you and I must be vintage !!!) I realized this when I saw a set of Melmac dishes on Etsy, listed as Vintage....and realized they were the same set Richard and I got as a wedding gift......OUCH !!!

I have quite a stash of beautiful cotton "vintage" chenille. I got the print fabric on ebay, and it just went so well with some of the chenille.....So....I drew a QUILT PLAN...in my notebook...and cut just enough for the squares....I layered the chenille with two layers of softest flannel....sewed a "SWIRL" in the center, then cut them to size on my Accucut machine. SUCH A GREAT MACHINE...it cuts the fringe too, so you don't have to snip it by hand....

I really love this soft baby quilt....and just may tuck it away for now....You never know when you'll need a gift....

BUDDYS BIRTHDAY QUILT

SOMETIMES....the back of the quilt is as sweet as the front....and.....sometimes..........it suprizes me altogether!!

.................................................................................................................................................................. Here is a raggy quilt that I made for my sweet grandson, Buddy, for his first birthday.... The more you wash and dry them..(the quilts...not the babys..)..the softer and fluffier they get......He's all boy......and his big sister, Elizabeth, has a great collection of John Deere tractors and toys.....I hope she shares !!!

Made from three layers of soft flannel. The squares were also cut with the Accucut machine......

ELEPHANT QUILT UPDATE

I am thrilled to report that my ELEPHANT QUILT drew $250. at the auction. It went for a good cause..... ('cause my son asked me to make it!!!)

Here are some sweet photos of a quilt made by my quilting and sewing friend, Barbara. The quilt is all made from MODA CHARM SQUARES. This is what has inspired me to have a Charm Square Swap. Barbara used two layers of light blue flannel and many, many 5" charm squares. You can read about it on her BLOG.... http://grandma-barbara.blogspot.com/ Don't you just want to snuggle under it on a cold winter night?? It is currently for sale on ebay...check out the sales of grandma-barbara for wonderful handmade items.

PIGS LOVE QUILTS ....TOO!

Angus likes his morning coffee.... actually its oats!



Here is a photo of Angelina, with a piece of an old quilt.
She snuggled down into the straw, and pulled it around her.......ahhhh now for a pig nap.

The Elephant quilt

My son, Jon, asked me to make an elephant quilt as a door prize at a Republican dinner he is going to.....An elephant quilt.....???? well why not???? So, I ordered an elephant die from accucut and here is the result......

ELEPHANT QUILT UPDATE....the quilt raised $250 at auction.....WHO KNEW?????

CUT, SEW, SMILE

The take five die, from Accucut is quite a wonder.....THIS photo shows how the die cuts the fabric. I have switched out several of my frog fabrics to preview it before sewing. In this block there are no seams to match....and the whole quilt top went together in two afternoons.

TAKE FIVE....easy quilt top

Here is a quilt top that I made using my Accucut machine. It cuts the fabric into squares and rectangles...and you sew them into blocks...NO SEAMS TO MATCH....YEAH!!

I have been collecting frog fabric for a long time, many beautiful pieces came from my sewing sisters in my ebay quilting groups. THANKS GIRLIES!! Now you can see where all those frog fabrics went to!

PLEASE PASS THE 'POSSUM.....

Wasn't it Granny Clampet who used to say..."There's one thing about 'Possum...it's just as good the second time around!" Well, I don't know how to cook a opossum, don't think I want to...but we sure have had a lot of them around here lately. They chew into the feed bags, eat all the animal food, and perhaps the eggs, but most importantly,,,,,,,,,the scare the crap out of me! I found one sleeping in the big bin that we keep the day old bread in. At first I thought it was a small cat, but since I could not see it's head....I got the pitch fork to poke it with....YIKES!!! I reared it's ugly head up, and HISSED at me....so I poked it several times..... I carried it to the burning barrel and left it there, stuck on the pitch fork...to show hubby. After a while, I thought I'd go check it out....those little "human-like" hands had me curious....so I bent down and stroked one of them....just to see what it felt like......OH GOODNESS....that critter was not dead....IT HISSED AT ME AGAIN AND showed me its razor sharp, pointy teeth.....

So here are the photos...what do you think? Send me your recipes!!! (kidding, just kidding!)

WOOD BURNERS...

Here are a couple of photos of our new external wood burner... It is called a HOTTI.
In the morning, we heat the house with our regular propane furnace. Then we start a good fire in this thing and a blower motor kicks in and heats the house very well. We throw another armload of wood in at supper time, and it carries us thru to evening....We had lots of trees blown down, and some taken down by us, so we have lots of firewood. We really do need a log splitter, but it's not in the budget right now.
We have electric blanket throws, to use for watching TV....(thank you Rebecca and Brian and Kids!!!) So as you see...we are comfy warm! Now....going outside is another thing.

I always think of one of my sister Lindas sayings...."Did you get dressed at the Clown College today?"..... With thermal long johns, big fuzzy socks, jeans, sweat shirt, hoodie, scarf, hat and gloves...(none matching)...and topped off with big ol' farm boots....it really does look like I got dressed at the Clown College...winter semester!!

It was a cold and blustery day...at Frog Hill Farm

It's finally here....Ol' Man Winter.....we have about 4" of snow and the roads and driveways are covered with a thick layer of ice. Fred and Shadow are pretty much house and back porch dogs now, it's too cold for them to be out for long. Shadow is soooo sweet...she let me try those "jammies" on her before throwing them into the rag bag. She didn't like the headband, but I thought it would keep her ears warm....

It was so nice to hear from my high school friend David, he was sitting on his patio in shorts this morning....Well, there is something to say about life in Arizona!!

"Happy Chicken Day..."

Fred is all dressed up in his new bandana...sent to him from our wonderful Sewing Sister, Marilyn...Thank you! He is ready to celibrate HAPPY CHICKEN DAY.... OK..so I know it's not a real holiday...but when we gave the chickens a whole watermelon....it just seemed like a fest.The Goldies were the first out the door of the henhouse....and they were so happy to see their treat..One of the hens even brought a chunk of watermelon over and passed it thru the fence to Thor, the thunder rooster....He is kept in his own yard...because he is so powerful and mean to the hens.

A good time was had by all.....When they were done...only a very thin green rind was left...and there were some "stuffed chickens" .so to speak!

"There's a bucket of something new on the back porch."

...thats what my husband said to me Saturday morning.
...and this is what I found on the back porch. Mama kitty, also known as Popeye had delivered her kittens in my scrub bucket. This cat LOVES me, and knows that I saved her life once. She has always shared her kittens with us, this is her third litter, and her last litter. All the "gal" cats will be going to the vet ....we have enough kittens and cats...three generations...

HAVE YOU STARTED YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING YET?

I started my Christmas shopping last week...OH...I'll still have a tough time buying for some people....but thought this year, I'd get everyone on my list a little box of goodie....stuff to support their hobbies, or handmade items or photos.

You can shop right now at my shop...just visit me at www.FABRICFROG.etsy.com

Here is a sample of what you will see.....



If you have any requests....just send me a message.....

MORE QUILTS,DAY LILYS AND KITTY CATS

Here's a photo of my three "GRANDKIDS" who live in Arizona. JACOB, ALEX ANN, AND SAM..... OH..yeah..I know, quilts are kind of a strange gift for kids who live in Arizona, but it does get "cooler" in the fall and winter.









My granddaughter, Elizabeth loves to come to the farm. I took her picture here, in front of the flower bed that my daughter Rebecca and grandson Jacob planted the first week we owned the farm.... Hey Rebecca, are these spectacular????

ANGUS AND ANGELINA WERE SO WORRIED....

This is Angelina, she is very shy, and only goes outside when Angus gets behind her and pushes her out. The pigs and the sheep share a meadow and sleep in the quonset hut. Yesterday our Amish neighbor came over and sheared the sheep. The pigs were so upset, squeeling and barking. Angus stayed right next to my husband and Angelina stayed right outside the door.

This is Angus, he is a sweet fella, loves to "talk" to us, and loves chocolate donuts.

After all was said and done, the shearing tools were packed up and the wool weighed, the pigs and sheep shared a dozen bananas. A good time was had by all.

POOR NAKED SHEEP

Here are before and after photos of our sheep.

Somehow the before and after photos got switched around, but you get the idea.

Together they had 18 pounds of wool removed.

This is what Big Dot looked like before our Amish neighbor sheared her.....Wooly and smelly...

They look cold, wonder if they would wear sweaters?

FABRICFROG

I have a new banner for my etsy shop...what do you think? I think it is more professional. I have listed alot of new things...and hope you visit my shop soon.




My shop is listed under LOVE THESE LINKS on the left side of my blog...check it out!!

MY NEW FRIEND.....

I'd like to say "HELLO" to my new friend, TATTA in Russia.

I hope to hear from you soon.

KING FREDDY OF FROG HILL FARM

We went to a farm auction last week, and got 28 bales of hay, a nice metal nest for the hens, and ... UM ... this wooden frog. He appears to be looking over his kingdom, here at FROG HILL FARM... well done, frog, well done.

The truck was loaded down, but we made it home without incident.

SOME CHICKS I HAVE KNOW......

WE LOVE OUR CHICKENS.... WELL..MOST OF THEM.......we have two roosters who must be kept in their own area...a kind of BAD BOY FARM FOR CHICKENS....

This is a group of our "goldie girls" don't you love their bloomers!

Some of our chickens are going into their third winter, and some their second. We did not get any new chicks or allow the hens to hatch out any eggs....we have enough for now....Some of our chicks are just called by their type..."The Buttercup", "The Reds" (from Rhode Island, of course!!!)... But some have names, Moonbeam,,the white hen, Sangiah, the two Polish with the crazy black top hats on, Marilyn, the blonde Polish, and Thor, the thunder rooster. Some have nick names, The Rounders, two golden brahmas that ran around and around when you petted them, and my favorites, a group of three, that we just call "Hen", who are Cocco marans, and lay the most beautiful dark brown eggs. We get between two and three dozen eggs a day, and give most of them away, and sell a few...someday..they may earn their keep. Cracked corn is about $8.50 for a 50 pound sack.

AFTER, AND BEFORE......THE CLUBHOUSE....

Just thought I'd give you a peek at my sewing clubhouse. It started out as a "wrecked up" trailer...but after alot of hard work, by us and son Jon and good friend Rosie....it's now every quilters dream...Sewing machines, surger, cutting tables, big ol' ironing board....and lots and lots of fabric. I turn on the air conditioner early in the morning, and after farm chores are done, Shadow and I go to the clubhouse, me to sew, and Shadow to take a nap...
(ummmmm...SORRY...but the before photos were just too awful...couldn't show you those!)

WOULD YOU LIKE A SPOT OF TEA?

Have you ever used a tea cozy? If you love hot tea, and want to keep your tea HOT in your tea pot..you must try a tea cozy. These are listed in my etsy shop, and so are a newer item called TEA WALLETS. Handy little thing to keep in your purse, pocket or backpack, to keep a few sweetner packets, or your favorite tea bags in.
I've also found some wonderful pig fabric....love those pigs...and have made several things out of it....including a super simple pillow case kit....check it out.....at www.FABRICFROG.etsy.com THANKS!

NEW CRITTERS

My friend, Rosie, found an ad in the local newspaper for a "free" pot bellied pig. The ad also stated that they had a miniature horse for sale. Sight unseen, because I was in Arizona, I said, "I love to have them." I am afraid of "big" horses, but thought the mini would be a nice addition. This is a photo of the new piggy girl, "Angelina" with our own fella, Angus. The mini horse is nearly the same size as my sons black lab, Shadow. My daughter and her family were fostering Shadow in Arizona, but there was some fighting with their black lab........and Shadow had a fast trip from AZ. to Illinois! We love her, and she is a sweet girl. Fred, "loves" her too, so we need to keep them apart for a while......
The morning feedings for the animals who live in the quonset hut involve two bunches of ripe bananas, sweet oats, oats, hay, day old bread, and sometimes carrots.