Winter

Winter

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Busy Days

I hope you have all had a nice week. I feel like I have been a day behind all week. In fact, I could hardly believe it was Thursday, which I think is a good thing. As summer tries to keep hanging on, I am having a hard time finding flowers. I am glad we planted morning glories when we did. They do like this weather and are growing by leaps and bounds.

The garden is littered with seeds. The birds are having a feast out in the garden. Every row looks like this.

I love to go out there and sit. The finches talk and chatter and flit from place to place. They really do enjoy sunflowers. The hummingbirds fight but do manage to land on a flower and I imagine they eat lots of bugs.
The ones that make me laugh are the blue jays. They sneak out there and grab seeds and fly away, a lot of times to the top of the roof and I won't tell you how many times I have walked to the door to answer it because I think I hear knocking. Flocks of doves are out in the garden now. They look like flocks of small chickens.

I managed to get this design by Stacy Nash done this week. It is her design she did for Malabar Farm.
Long, long ago when I was living in the city and had my little 10x10 garden I read books about farming. Two of my favorites were Ten Acres Enough and Malabar Farm by Louis Broomfield. I read them over and over and dreamed of barns and restoring the soil and loving the farm of my dreams the way these men wrote so lovingly about theirs. It took twenty years, but along the way I have learned and learned and that is why I love my Field of Dreams so much. I think farming is like loving the land and taking care of it as you would a much loved lady. She must be cared for and taken care of and she will take care of you. We never moved here for the house, though it is a beautiful house, we moved here for the soil. It still amazes me.

The next thing I finished. I started this early in the summer and it took this long to get finished.

I decided when I was making this quilt, I will never be a quilter. As much as I love quilts, I don't love it enough to be really good at it. I love rug hooking and with every rug there is within me a desire to get better. Same with counted cross stitch, I love making those little things. I like making quilts to keep people warm, but not enough to ever get really good. So I decided with this one I would just put my efforts in other places. Not to mention I am just so slow. I spend more time ripping out than sitting in front of the machine. Plus working on a quilt I walk and walk. My cutting mat and rotary cutter is in the dining room. My iron is in my bathroom and my sewing machine is in my closet. I walk and walk when I sew.

I am binding the edges of my last rug finally. It is such a big rug that today I will finish it but it has taken  three days. Today I hope to draw out some more rug patterns. I have tried to fit that in all week. Maybe today.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a lovely day,
~Kim~

19 comments:

Nancy said...

Your morning glories are beautiful...I love the way everything is interconnected. We enjoy the sunflowers and then the birds enjoy them and then next year the seeds burst into life and a whole new cycle begins.....I am so glad your dream of a farm has materialized because you can read between the lines of all your posts to know how much you enjoy it....

Your cross stitch is so pretty and I am with you on quilting...I love quilts but just don't have the patience to see one completed..

Debbie said...

nature feeding nature, it's a beautiful thing!!

quilts are a lot of work but a labor of love. i have not made one since my boys were little!!

Julia said...

I love your morning glory flowers. it was my neighbour's favorite flower when he lived next door to me. His wife was the gardner but she never grew them. I planted some seeds by the utility pole and they came up and something eat them, maybe earwigs.

I have the same feeling about working the soil, it's like being in a sanctuary when I'm working outdoors in the garden. I just wish I could clone myself and one of us would be a full time gardner. lol....

I've only stitched three cross stitch patterns in my life and you make so many. This one is beautiful like the others you stitched.

Your little quilt is sweet.I love quilting and need to finish my little cat quilt I started long ago. Another UFO.

Cool temps and rain in the forecast here again.
Hugs,
JB

Sarah said...

Thanks for your updates. You have so many cute things! I wonder if the hummingbirds have started migrating, for we haven't seen our "regulars" at our little feeder recently. Your post reminded me to look up a cute cross stitch pattern to make for my mom.

Nellie said...

You have had a very busy week, Kim. I hope this day is going smoothly for you. xo Nellie

TexWisGirl said...

i loved this: we moved here for the soil.

ahhhh...

Velva said...

It is a beautiful thing when the birds flock to your yard because there is so much happening.....Love it. Thanks for sharing.

Velva

Christine said...

It is wonderful to go outdoors in the morning and listen to the birds chattering!
I love your cross stitch and I'm the same when it comes to quilting.
Have a great day!

http://bitsandpieces-sonja.blogspot.com/ said...

Your home must be so filled with your beautiful hand work. Quilts?? I don't think you even need to add one more thing to what you already do. I already feel guilty at what I DON'T do, just hearing about all of your projects! :)

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I am so glad you got your piece of earth- so many do not understand this love of land. Your morning glories are so pretty- I have no flowers left. My rose bush said "I don't think so" and closed up shop. Too hot.

Miss Debbie said...

I understand about the quilt. I'm gonna finish the one I started in the class and I promised to make one for our new grandson due in Dec, But after that, I think my quilting days will be over! Love your projects! Oh and I was so delightfully surprised to win Meg's give away! Can't wait to try it!

Pom Pom said...

I know what you mean about quilting! I love quilts and fabric, but I have no desire to piece and do the quilting part. I like counted cross stitch, too! It's so neat and tidy.
It's raining like crazy here. Good! I hope it cools things off!
Your finished projects are so beautiful, Kim!

Leslie Kimel said...

So neat that you have so many birds in your yard. And I just love your pillow and quilt!

Kessie said...

It's been such a fast week! I'm ready for the heat to be over. We're supposed to have another wave of monsoons start this weekend, and it's supposed to drop to 100. I'm so looking forward to it. I'm tired of living under the air conditioning and watching the electric bill every month.

I'm a farmer--I'm farming children. They're about the only things I an grow well. My tomato plants are sad, dried-out sticks now.

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

I'm always a day behind on weeks with Monday holidays. It's Friday today, which means that I'm "off" (DD doesn't work on Fridays), but it feels like Thursday ... and I'm finding myself panic stricken because I didn't get up and get to DD's ... worried that she's missed work because I didn't show up. ha!

Cathy Kennedy said...

I would love to learn how to quilt, but I fear I'll be like you that no matter how much I love quilts I won't make a good quilter. The morning glories are beautiful and make me think of my in-laws place. BTW, be sure to come by my blog to enter my Diamond Candles giveaway that went live yesterday. Just click on the link: here!

camp and cottage living said...

Kim
I'm not much of a quilter either.
Beulah Land for you, it sounds like your place is.
I can so relate to your love for your land.
Since leaving the lake I'm already planning
a way to get back!

GretchenJoanna said...

My goodness, a Malabar Farm pillow! I loved Louis Bromfield when I read him very young, books my father or grandfather passed down to me. He was such a romantic, I think those men couldn't quite relate to him, but he certainly inspired me. I had three titles on my shelf at one time, but Ten Acres Enough I didn't read. So glad he kept you going!

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

I love your field of dreams and how you describe the soil, and the contentment it brings you. We didn't have many flowers this year. I also enjoy your hand work.
Have a wonderful weekend!