Archives for February 2020

Beginning Quilting: Supplies

February 19, 2020 Quilting, Thoughts about Quilting

So, you want to start quilting. Congratulations! Welcome to a very addicting…I mean rewarding past time. You will learn what it means to sew with love. It is an art form, as well as, a way of providing warmth to our loved ones or adding that personal homey feel to our homes or even remembering someone far away. We see quilts on beds in a lot of movies and mass produced quilts in stores – but they are not like the quilts you make at home. Nothing can compare to a nice, well-made quilt.

For this guide, I will introduce you to machine piecing and quilting. Hand piecing and quilting requires a slightly different set of tools. You can machine piece and hand quilt. Yes, piecing and quilting are just 2 of 7 different phases to making your own quilts. The 7 phases in quilting are: (1) quilt design/pattern selection, (2) fabric selection, (3) cutting, (4) piecing, (5) layering and basting, (6) quilting and (7) binding.

Phase 1: Picking the overall quilt pattern.

You can plan a trip to any quilt store and find patterns for quilts. Also, you can grab some grid paper and a writing utensil (or in my case, a whole hand full of colored markers of pencils). For this series I will provide you with 2 traditional quilt blocks and we will make pot holders! First quilts should be small. Understand the process first then branch out with complexity.

Quilt pattern (I will provide this for this series.)

Phase 2: Selecting the fabric.

Squeals!!!! Fabric shopping!!! Ok, now that we got that out of the way. When you go to select fabric be sure to stick to the quilting cottons, for now.

100% Cotton Fabric

Phase 3: Cutting the fabric

Cutting the fabric requires accuracy that scissors do not provide.

Rotary cutter (45mm or 60mm with retractable, locking blade for safety)
Gridded self-healing cutting mat 24″ x 36″ or 36″ x 48″
Ruler (6.5″ x 24.5″ to start with – eventually you will add more as your skill and desire for complexity grows.)

Phase 4: Piecing the quilt top

Piecing the quilt top is when everything begins to come together. Quilting is the art of cutting fabric to put it all back together into a beautiful masterpiece. When you are done with this phase, you will have a completed quilt top.

Sewing machine
100% cotton thread (Most quilters stick to a basic neutral grey. It hides well with both light and dark fabrics.)

Phase 5: Layering and basting

Layering and basting is when all the parts except the binding come together.

Curved safety pins
Batting (For this project I recommend using Insul-Bright or 100% cotton. Normally, I do not baste pot holders – but this is beginning quilting. 🙂 )
Basting tool (optional – saves the fingers on larger quilts)

Phase 6: Quilting

Quilting is the final design step to quilting.

Cotton thread that matches (does not have to blend) with you quilt top and quilt backing.
Sewing machine

Phase 7: Binding

Binding is the final step. It applies a finished edge to the quilt. You will learn the traditional double-fold method for binding.

Cotton thread
Quilting Needle
Thimble (optional but saves the fingers ?)

Barn Cats: Love Them, Hate Them, Need Them

February 19, 2020 Homesteading

Do you see what I see?

I see a small impression in the hay, where a little barn cat found warmth for the night. (Only animal around here that is about that size.)

And then there is this:

The baby goats wanted their share of the camera, too. Anyway, I digress, but they are so cute. (You can read about the adventure of their kidding here.)

When you live in the middle of nowhere, barn cats are a necessity. You might hate cats, or you might love them. Regardless, they help to keep the rodent population under control. Rodents that carry diseases, etc. Rodents that find their way into feed storage containers and contaminate them, as well as, eating their fare share.

When we moved to the farm we had quite a chore to deal with. There were 5 known unaltered cats on the farm. That number exponentially grew within a year. The 3 females I knew about all had a litter of about 4-8 kittens. By the following spring we had a total of 35 cats and kittens. We were busy trapping, spaying/neutering, and vaccinating them. The locals in the area were surprised but cats do carry their own share of diseases, as well as, over population can attract predators – neither of which I wanted. Also, there is the matter of stewardship, I didn’t create the problem, but I did inherit it. After about 1.5 years, we are down to a stable 11 cats – one that I enjoy allowing in the house to keep my lap warm.

Strangely enough, I befriended this little kitty using a grasshopper. And now, while I am on the homestead, she follows me everywhere. She stills prefers the outdoors, but comes inside in the evenings to cuddle.

All the other cats have straw to nestle in the barn and in my garden shed. (I like to make sure they all have a nice warm, dry place to hunker down in.)

For the Denver Metro area, Metro Denver Cat is a great organization to help with trapping and fixing our not-so-friendly feline neighbors. They were a life-saver for me!

First Kidding on the Homestead

February 17, 2020 Homesteading

I’m not kidding! Our goats kidded!!! We welcome 3 new baby goats the end of 2018! First kidding season done!

I have read all the jokes from other farmers and homesteaders. Livestock select the coldest time to kid – they were not kidding! (Yea, sorry about all the puns!!)

We had family visiting for the weekend and we were all hoping that my goats would deliver about that time. They waited until our guests left and the weather tanked down to the single digits. I was freaking out. Yes, giving birth is a part of nature but these babies were coming out wet with below freezing temperatures. Grabbed towels and a the burn barrel. The barrel in hopes to create a fire closer to where they were kidding and the towels to dry the babies off – fast.

Everything went smoothly. Despite my worry. (Thankfully!) We introduced 3 new babies that one week.

Oh, the cute, fluffies! Look at that face – you can’t help but fall in love with that face! (Our dog in the background doesn’t quite know what to think about our little house guests.)

I did not need to use much in our kidding kit – just the dip for the umbilical chord and the floss to tie off the chord. I was prepared for anything – the selenium, gloves, scissors, bandages, towels, wee wee pads (more absorbent than towels) – everything was in that kidding kit!

We brought them into the house to help keep them warm until we got a place set up in the garage where we could get some heat going for them – and for me because I was there to make sure my girl was doing good.

First kidding season done successfully!