A Baby For The Grandbaby

The granddaughter is turning two next month and she LOVES her baby dolls so grandmommy decided to make her a rag doll. I had a pattern back in the 80s for a primitive rag doll like this. The thing I always liked about the pattern was the way the hair was done; strips of fabric either torn or cut with pinking shears, tied in a knot and then sewn or hot glued on. I don't have the patience to sew all those "hairs" on so I opt for the hot glue gun. It's kinda hard on the fingers but it's a lot quicker. ;)

She also loves her books so I made her one of those soft books from a preprinted fabric panel I had picked up at Walmart not long after she was born. I have been waiting until she is old enough to enjoy it and now she is!! :)

What crafty things have you been up to?

Random 5 Friday - 2/14/2014

1.  I finished the chicken applique quilt top this week. Now, I'm all caught up with the Quilt-A-Long and looking forward to the next step! :)

2.  Jerry has been a member of the Tombstone Art Association for about a year now. His watercolor paintings and colored pencil drawings have been doing very well at the Art Gallery, he sells two to four pieces each month! The Tombstone Art Association is having their annual juried art show next month. I decided to enter some of my photography. I also joined the Art Association so that I can offer my photos for sale at the Gallery.

3. My goat, Daphne, is definitely bred so we will be having baby goats on the ground in June. They are always so cute!

4.  The mare, Missy, got out of the pasture yesterday while Jerry was gone riding his gelding, Paco. He had looped the chain over the gate but hadn't latched it. We think the dog got the gate open trying to squeeze through. Anyway, when Jerry got back, Missy was out in the front yard! He thought (ha-ha) that she would just follow him and Paco back into the pasture but noooo. She ended up across the road at the neighbors' place so Jerry latched their gate and then we proceeded to try and catch her. Every time Jerry would get within 10 feet of her she would take off. By the way, the neighbors have eight acres. They also have a very nice roping arena and they have a couple of their horses 'stabled' in it. After about an hour, Missy went down the alley that is used to bring the steers up to the chute. When she finally realized there was nowhere to go, she stood quietly and let Jerry put the halter on her.

5. Today, when I got back from town, I went out to hang the sheets and there was a smell kind of like a skunk but not really. I checked Red Dog and he was okay, so I brought him in the house with me. Within half an hour, he wanted to go back out (just like having a 4-year-old!). When I went to let him back in, he had gotten into whatever that awful smell was! Blech! There were several javelina in the back yard a week or so ago drinking out of the dog dish so I looked up javelina smell on the internet and lo and behold, another name for them is "skunk pig!" A couple of months ago he got into what we thought was skunk but now I think it was javelina. Here is some info I found: And that smell! Strolling through the Arizona high desert, you'll often smell a Javelina before you see one. They have a gland at the base of their tails that they use to mark trees, rocks and even each other with a sharp, musky scent something like that of a skunk, though just a touch less eye-watering. I tell ya' there's never a dull moment around here! ;)

I hope you all have a very happy Valentine's Day!! :)

Linking up with Nancy for Random 5 Friday. 

Quilt Progress

Whew, I have been working diligently on my chicken applique quilt! So far, I have all the blocks and chickens cut out, the chickens fused on and just finished up sewing them all onto the blocks. I used the blanket stitch on my sewing machine for the applique.

Now, I have to cut the strips that will go in between the blocks and rows, cut the border strips and get everything pieced together. That will finish the quilt top and get me caught up with the Quilt-A-Long. :)
Linking up with The Rurality Blog Hop and Farmgirl Friday.

Quilt-A-Long

I'm excited to be joining Melissa at Tilly's Nest in my first ever Quilt-A-Long! Here are the fabrics I picked up today for my quilt top. We are making a chicken applique lap quilt. This is good for me because it won't be so big that I get intimidated about getting it finished. The first five fabrics are for my blocks and chicken appliques, the fabric on the right is for the borders.

I have pieced quilt tops before but have never actually quilted, I have always finished my projects by tying, so this is new for me.

I'm a little late to the party but figure I can catch up easily enough. You can join in too here! My fabrics are in the washing machine and I hope to get everything cut out tomorrow. I hope ya'll don't get too sick of seeing my updates! ;)  

Pink Sock Monkey

I made a pink sock monkey for granddaughter JayCee yesterday. My plan is to send it to her for Valentine's Day.

Jerry says the monkey is kind of "creepy" looking and he hopes it doesn't scare her! Ya' know, I think he may be right! ;)

Farmgirl Quilt

Is this not the cutest Farmgirl quilt?!? I wish I could say I made it but...NOT! LOL!!

I met Marie at the Tucson Quilters Guild annual quilt show yesterday afternoon. Marie is a member of the guild and a very good quilter. It was fun to see all the beautiful quilts and have some insight from a real quilter on design and fabric selelction. I have pieced quilt tops before but have never done any actual 'quilting'. It is something I would like to try now that I'm 'retired'. It was also fun to visit all the vendors! I bought some pink socks to make the granddaughter a pink Sock Monkey, a pattern for quilted, stuffed bears and a pattern for a wool applique wall hanging.

I really liked the 3-D details of the clothes on the line. :)

P.S. Marie was kind enough to take these pictures for me since I neglected to bring my camera. Thanks Marie!