Inside the chicken house construction AND Grandbaby pics...

It's becoming a reality! The top pic is of waterers and feeders on one end of the HUGE chicken house, which is actually a double house, placed end-to-end. The next two pics show the other end of the chicken house, with the nesting boxes going together...the LONG part of the process. The last pic is the egg room, which is under construction, clearly. The room you see is the refrigerated room. They have a lot of work to do in this room yet! :) That red stuff you see on the floors....that would be red dirt for all of you northerners who have only seen the black stuff or sand...LOL. It was new for me, too!! :)


And now.....Christmas grandbaby pics.....yep, they're adorable!!!! :)








Mr. Robbie (3) and Miss Kayleigh (18 months) were such fun to see at Christmas.... The last pic we call Kayleigh's got his (Robbie's) truck! :) Doesn't she just look charming, too!! :)

When I arrived at my parents home (8+ hour drive!), the first words out of my mouth were "where are my babies?" LOL....well, when Robbie (3) arrived a few minutes later, the first words out of his mouth was, "where's Grandma Sweetheart?" (his pet name for me, which I adore!)....great minds think alike, you know! :) LOL! Anyway, I heard the babies come in (with mommy & daddy, of course)....and ran upstairs to see them....Robbie, as soon as he saw me, squealed, "Grandma Sweetheart!" and ran to give me a BIG bear hug! Did I mention I just adore these children!!??!! LOL!! What a welcome home for the holidays!!


Hope y'all are enjoying the season as much as I am....are snuggly warm with your family and filled to the brim with blessings and thanksgiving....life is so good.....


'Till we chat again,

Quiltingcheri

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas and welcome to our home. This is our tree this year, which was a FUN family project...the guys got to haul everything in for me and move things around so I could put the tree in the front great room window...wasn't that fun! :) Then Cody (my 14 y/o son still at home) helped put the tree together (I'm so glad he's so big and strong now, this tree weighs a TON!).....and he helped me put on lights, garland, decorations, bows and candy canes....it seems so simple, but whew, it took quite a while....

Anyway....we celebrated Christmas today with our sons (Cody & David). David moved to southern Missouri almost 2 months ago now, and we're so glad he's here!! He got a really good job and is enjoying himself, settling in and making friends. So...he came over today and we had our gift exchange, watched a movie...and had some family time. We'll be celebrating with family tomorrow, too....the weather changed our plans just a bit from our "normal" Christmas, but it's all good.....

Hope you are enjoying wonderful time with family and friends...celebrating the wonder of the season...the birth of Jesus!

Merry Christmas!

Until we chat again,

Quiltingcheri

Chicken House Construction, phase 3

The chicken house is really coming along, almost all closed in. The egg room in the middle is going to be really cool. I didn't take a pic, but beside where I was standing to take the photos is the generator shed. We should have chickens as soon as the equipment is all installed, which will still take a while.

As a side note, and a down point, our neighbors are still trying to make us miserable and creating trouble where it isn't......it's hard to believe that anyone has so little to do that they find the ridiculous need to keep making telephone calls and sending officials out to our house for STUPID complaints. At this point, they have sent so many different state agencies to our house, I probably could charge them with harassment, but I hate doing something like that...and it's Christmas! SHESH! Today, we had a state official out because the other day, when the winds were over 40 miles per hour, some plastic was in his pasture. Can you believe it?? One piece of plastic blew into his pasture! I'm appalled at the childishness and ridiculous nature of the behavior of these "supposed" adults...leaves me beyond words frustrated a lot. With so many REAL problems going on in the U.S. today....people who are dying for our country....the economy that has taken a major hit....so many people who are downsized out of their jobs....states running out of unemployment money to pay folks who have been downsized out of their jobs.....children who are hungry and without having their needs met....and the time of year that it is. With the way the neighbors act, one would think we have done something to them.....well, we haven't. Our chicken house isn't in front of their house...it's beside our house with nothing but pasture behind it. We never say anything about what they do with their property...we never complain when he's out making all kinds of noise early on the weekend mornings with his chainsaw or other equipment....we never complain about their dogs who run loose all the time and truly are a nuisance to the neighbors (tearing up trash bags, constantly going into neighbors yards, running up and down the road in front of vehicles, and ganging up on other dogs--they have several loose dogs).... I guess they just don't have happy lives, so they want everyone else to be miserable just like they are.....so sad! Maybe I just need to pray for them!

Okay, enough negativity....the chicken house project has been a LONG time in coming and I am going to savor every moment of the construction. Time to look on the bright side and the blessing: Wes will be producing eggs in no time!! YIPPEE, he will no longer be downsized out of a job and unemployed (since March of this year!!), and this is going to be soooo good for him!! God has richly blessed us, answered our prayers, and we are thankful!!

Hope y'all are snuggled cozy and warm with your families, enjoying the beauty of the season.....sipping on some hot cocoa....and enjoying all of the blessings of the season.

Until we chat again,

Quiltingcheri

Chicken House Construction, phase 2

Isn't it huge!! We are growing so excited watching this amazing crew do their work. It's almost changing from day to day...I feel like a new mom again, noticing all of the subtle changes in my children from day to day. LOL! We are projected to have chickens in this house by the end of December/early January if we are able to stay on our construction schedule. Once the outside is upcompletely, the weather shouldn't really impact any further, which will be just wonderful. The crew is great, hard-working and very attentive to detail. We have been very blessed...and soon, my darling husband will be busy at work again....YIPPEE.

For those who don't know, Wes was downsized out of a job, more or less, in March of this year. He has worked consistently in the past 20 years in middle management at beef/poultry plants....and when this happened, we were in the decision making process for becoming growers for one of the local poultry producers. The rest is history, as they say......

I have a new job that I just LOVE it...the new company is awesome, and I don't remember saying that in the recent past. I have liked jobs OR liked people I worked with....but rarely have positive things to say all the way around...job, people AND employer....that has all changed! The company I am working with not only offers me the VERY best job in the world IMHO, at least for me..... (Worker's Comp nurse case management).....but in a pretty nice location, for a nice salary with great benefits...I am finally happy with employment. When I went to the home office last week for training (near St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN), I also discovered that this company also promotes telecommuting! MY DREAM!!! I am so thrilled to be working at a job I love, for a company that is amazing.....AND potentially having the opportunity to work out of a home office again.... I am feeling very blessed with employment for the first time in a very long time!! :)

So....all is going well in southern Missouri.....we have new puppies that are posted on our website at:

http://www.flyingwaussies.com/

So...we're busy and happy all at the same time....hope everything is wonderful for each of you as the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons approach.

'Till we chat again,

quiltingcheri

Beginning our chicken houses!!

It has been a long time since I've posted any blogs or pics! I decided to get these pics up of our beginning chicken house(s). We're actually only putting up 1 house, although it is equivalent to house what 2 houses previously held. This is my husband, the farmer's, full-time job now...and he couldn't be more thrilled.

Did I mention we're famous? Maybe that should be infamous! :) One of the local papers, The Joplin Globe, decided to cover the "story" of our neighbor's distaste with our choice of what to do with our land...hmm....I won't get into it all, I promise...but if you want to read all about it, just go to The Joplin Globe and search "Church farm" and you'll undoubtedly find out far more than you EVER wanted to know! :(

It's sad that our neighbors are trying so hard to stop our farming enterprise....this is a small farm NOT A CAFO (commerical operation), so there's really no reason....and there are chicken houses literally everywhere here....but to each their own. I believe in freedom of speech, so I guess I'll just have to ignore those comments that make no sense or are ridiculous. By the way, everything the Globe says I said...I did! :) I did find some errors in the article, but they were very few and nothing major as far as I could see....other than the last comment by our neighbor who states that our chicken house will smell worse than his HOUSES...did I mention he has SIX houses and we have 1?????? Well, the information he provided isn't accurate, go figure! When one raises broilers, the goal is to fatten up the birds and ship them out...therefore (logically), if one is trying to put weight on the birds, there will be a hotter litter under those birds than a breeder (egg layer) house....again 1!!!.....since the goal with egg layers is to maintain weight. Yes, they are here longer, but did I mention that broiler houses don't clean their houses out but once a year!!! They change birds a lot, but don't change litter! Can you just say ICK!

Okay, I'm done whining for now....more pics this weekend, I hope.....

Until we chat again,

Quiltingcheri

Juki and a Quilting Frame

Ever been almost afraid to try something new? I get so excited about getting my quilt tops finished and then I go and look at this setup....and I think I'm panicking, does that sound bizarre? It's like I just don't know where to start and I'm afraid of doing something wrong. I really have to get this perfectionist thing put behind me....I am sure I am going to love quilting with this.....

Here's some history....I got this at a fantastic price when we lived in Illinois at Hancock Fabrics; the store had a display model that I fell in love with and just had to have. I saved my pennies (LOL) and bought it finally. I paid $50 for these 2 wonderful college kids to come over and put it together for me, and they did an awesome job....but I didn't know anything about how it went together, how to use it...you know the drill, right! So.....fast forward a couple of months...we get relocated to Missouri (with employment), and the movers take this frame apart....into little bitty pieces....ARRGGGHH!! Well, it took literally forever to move into our house totally (still haven't done that fully), with us both working full time and having less space from the house change (2400 sq ft with a full basement to 2600 square feet with no basement....that's HUGE, trust me!). Anyway, I finally got this stupid (now I'm calling it stupid, not a good thing) frame together a while ago and I just look at it (by the way I would have gladly paid $100 to have it put together again, where are those college kids when you need them??). Have I used it much? Nope!

This is a wonderful setup and I wonder why it intimidates me so much! :) I have used this so little, more for straightening quilts or for displaying quilts...I don't think that's what it's intended for. So today....I have some assignments to do for my online class (went back to school to complete the BSN-MSN degree I've put off for so long)....and then the day is mine. Now I just have to talk myself into getting out there and actually PLAYING with my toys. Maybe if I look at it like that, I'll actually give it a try. Wish me good luck!!

Until we chat again,
Quiltingcheri

Started a new nursing job....and dead on my feet!

Hi everyone out there in blog land. I haven't posted anything in a while, so I thought I would change that today. I started a new job about 2 weeks ago, which is why I've been so quiet. I *thought* I would love to go back to obstetrics as a nurse, working in the well-baby and level II nursery, sometimes on the postpartum floor doing couplet care (mom and new well baby)....and while it sounds really good, whew, I'm beat!! :(

I have quickly discovered that the new job, working 12-hour shifts (something I'm no longer used to doing) is quite an undertaking, and I'm not totally sure that I am up to it! I feel like I work in a baby factory....because of the huge volume of babies delivered and just trying to keep up with all of the work. I have yet to get a break in the 4 days I have been at the hospital in clinical orientation....and without that break to refresh, it's just too hard to keep up. I am hoping I will learn to keep the pace, but I'm not overly optimistic...I think I am too old for this type of schedule/workload, and I didn't think I would EVER hear myself saying that. Truthfully, I have a pretty high energy level and can accomplish an amazing amount in a day, but I feel like a failure at work because I have yet to keep up well.....I get everything done by the end of the shift, but it's like a mad race to the finish line on a daily basis..... I am off today, simply exhausted...too tired to even think about quilting, and that's just TOO tired! :(

Until we chat again,
quiltingcheri

Our Australian shepherd website is updated!

Good news!! Y'all probably won't have to look at many more dog pics...I'll get back to posting quilting stuff now! :) LOL. We raise Australian shepherds, which is pretty obvious by now...and I have been working to update and rebuild our doggie website, so I've been taking all kinds of pictures and transferring pics from the notebook computer (where I download them from my Kodak digital camera) to the mainframe computer...I know, it's complicated, but it works for me...lol! So....here's the link just in case anyone wants to see the furkids. I had a great time, and included some pics just for fun, too..... I'm sure the website isn't done...probably never will be completely finished....but it's such a wonderful relief to have this much done. Next step, you ask? I have to figure out how to put the pedigrees up, now won't that be fun...NOT! :)

Here's the link:

http://www.flyingwaussies.com/

Enjoy browsing and meeting our furkids....make sure to let me know if you have any comments or suggestions....they're always welcome! :)

Until we chat again,
quiltingcheri

Cody's FINISHED planet quilt....

Well, it's done and it's one wacky quilt....very bright and colorful. Cody helped me choose some of the colors for this quilt quite a while ago...hope he doesn't change his mind when he sees the finished product. I just need to get the quilting done on it (and several others)....I was waiting to finish this one up before I started machine quilting the myriad of quilts I have stock-piled....so no more excuses.....Juki machine here I come! :)

Enjoy the pics....and let me know what y'all think....

'Till we chat again,

quiltingcheri

Cody's "planet" themed quilt is STARTED!

This is a quilt I finally got started for my youngest son, Cody. Cody just turned 14 on July 2nd, so this quilt is right up his alley. LOL! It's bright...and in case you can't tell, the fabric in the center is of planets. It is on a king-sized bed right now, so I have to decide how many more rows to add onto the quilt (I'm making ANOTHER of those roosting robin quilts, they are soooo addictive and quick to make!)...... I think the quilt will need some purple added in...and then maybe a big row of the big planet fabric (center square) to finish it off. I have 2 sizes of "planet" fabric prints that coordinate in this quilt, and it's a good thing, I need all of the fabric for this one. I'm a little bit worried about how bright this quilt is turning out, it's not very restful....lol. After I get it done, I'm sure we will be painting his walls because it's going to be way too much with what he has in there...can you say CLASH! :) Oh, well, they needed done anyway.

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend.....it's raining and cool here, we're loving it, especially after our 105-115 heat indexes earlier this week....happy to see those gone! :) I was out getting groceries yesterday and got poured on at least 3 times...and I loved every minute of walking through the rain...it was nice and 80-ish...terrific! Today it's almost cool in the upper 70's...what a blessed relief, our a/c unit is getting a well-deserved rest. Because of the humidity (a rare thing here), our a/c unit was having a terrible time keeping the house above 81 degrees....which is just a few degrees warmer than I usually keep it....I prefer about 75 degrees, so it seemed very hot indoors to me. Did I mention that I'm NOT from the south and don't like the heat?? LOL!

We spent the hot part of the week out and about finishing up the FSA paperwork for our commerical chicken houses that are scheduled to start going up very soon. As far as I know the only thing we need now is a permit.... It's pretty amusing, actually. Here in MO, we apparently don't need a building permit to put up the chicken houses, we need a "land disturbance permit." Strangest thing I have ever heard of....if you own the land and want to build on it, and will be tearing up more than 1 acre, you have to go and get this permit (that costs $300) in order to "disturb" the land. Wild! :)

Have a great rest of the weekend. 'Till we chat again,

Quiltingcheri

Isis

This is Isis. Isis is a blue merle female with brown eyes. She was one of our bred puppies....she is now almost 5. Isis reminds me so much of her mom, Sapphire.....so beautiful with all of her dark spots and perfect merling. She's a total sweetheart, too, which certainly adds to her beauty.

Isis just loves everyone and is a pleasure to be around. She gets along with all of the other dogs...and cats (you can see our male cat's tail in the pic right above this)...... Our dogs and cat(s) have always gotten along pretty well....it doesn't hurt that the cat isn't afraid of anything...lol!

That's it for now....until we chat again,
quiltingcheri

Rodeo Sweetheart

That top pic is an Aussie smile!! Rodeo Sweetheart is a wonderful red tri female Australian shepherd that we have had since she was a puppy....now 5-1/2 years ago. She is a red tri (deep red, copper and a full white collar) with beautiful, loving amber eyes. She's simply beautiful. She is bred out of the #1 Hall of Fame Australian shepherd kennel lines, Las Rocosa, and she looks it. She is the mother of our beloved blue-eyed black bi boy that we bred about 3 years ago...actually she bred 2 black bi/tris with blue eyes in that litter. That may seem like a simple feat, but it was unexpected when we got it, and very highly sought after, so a good thing!

Rodeo is my husband's dog, something you will hear out of me a lot. Our Aussie females, for the most part, all claim Wes as their personal property. Like the other ladies, Rodeo "tolerates" me most of the time, and is my friend whenever Wes isn't available....lol. That's okay, I'm honored to be a part of her life...she's a beauty, so very loyal....a total keeper.

We're taking new pics for our website, so you're all going to see LOTS of pics of our Australian shepherds....and let me tell you in advance, they are all just amazing animals. I know all breeders will tell you that their breed is the best...well, Australian shepherds ARE the best, undoubtedly! :)

'Till we chat again,
Quiltingcheri

Introducing Texas Twister, Australian shepherd

This is our BIG boy Australian shepherd that we just added from a very dear friend and breeder from Kentucky. His name is Texas Twister, call name Tex. He's a complete sweetheart for such a BIG, big guy! He is seen in these pics with our new baby kitty (orange) and his daddy (big orange cat), Garfield. The kitties think Tex is just awesome...and they're right, he is. Texas is technically a blue merle with 2 crystal clear blue eyes.....he is what is known of as a cryptic merle or phantom merle, since he looks almost entirely like a black tri with his merling only around his full, thick furry neck. He's just gorgeous. As he becomes more comfy with us, I'll try to get better pics of him....

Tex is a laid back guy who loves nothing more than hanging around with us....and herding! He herded our horse today, a new experience for her. None of our other Australian shepherds would *dare* attempt to herd the horse. Tex has been here for a matter of days and has already successfully herded the horse! The horse is a pet, too, and was attempting to help Wes clean out the water buckets for the dogs today. We bleach them out everyday to keep fresh water available all the time for the doggies.... Anyway, the horse attempted to come on over to the part of the pasture that Wes was working in when Tex spotted her...he moved her right on back to the other side of the pasture, real quick and in a hurry! :) Wes, I'm sure, about lost it, nearly dying of laughter...lol. I'm sure the horse was SHOCKED! Just another day at the office for Tex! We're thinking he is going to be awesome with the cattle, his instincts are just awesome...

AND...we have a new baby kitty. That's pretty good for a family with only a male cat! :) We're guessing that our Garfield went a-visiting. When he came home this time, it wasn't empty handed...one of his baby kitties followed him right on home. We're assuming it's a little girl...and she's the spitting image of her dad, as you can see in the pics above. We couldn't be more thrilled. She's a tame little munchkin...and typical of kitties, she will choose her own home and family, thank you very much! I've been feeding her moist food over the course of the past 3-4 days, since she looks to be freshly weaned, about 4-5 weeks old. She's sleeping in the garage (attached to the house), and hangs out in the backyard (see pics) during the day..... We've got to come up with a name for her, though...hmmmmm! :)

That's about it for now.....till we chat again!

Quiltingcheri

Australian shepherd puppy is here....His name is Roper!

Roper is a total charmer.....when he is awake, and just as sweet when sleeping. He's only 10 weeks old, so we understand the cycle.....play, eat, drink, pet the puppy, potty the puppy and nap time. He will occasionally pose and show off in the middle of play time, but I haven't yet gotten an action pic. We are very pleased with our new little one. He looks similar to Miss Spy...a black tri (black, copper and white) with two beautiful BLUE eyes..... He again has a wonderful pedigree, and we are feeling quite blessed to have him!!

We also added a BIG boy, his name is Tex, short for Texas Tornado. He's a big boy, full-grown, and just a teddy bear. I didn't take any pics of him just yet, he's still warming up and bonding with us. I'll definitely post pics soon, though, he's postively gorgeous. Tex is technically a blue merle, although he only has merling around his collar...he appears just like a black tri, again with 2 clear BLUE eyes.....and that minimal amount of merling to complete the pic. He's called a cryptic or phantom merle, and we LOVE him!! His pedigree is very impressive...we're thrilled he's here with us forever.

I did start working on Cody's quilt with a "space" theme. I'll post pics soon of that...it's turning out rather bright, but interesting....and Cody loves it, which is all that matters. And I have a new job! I'm so excited!! I interviewed for several jobs, nursing and QA/medical editing.....and have accepted the QA/medical editing job. I think it makes the most sense for now....of course, I may just change my mind tomorrow....lol! I start the new job on Monday, 8/4/08....and this time I work NO weekends and NO holidays, a Monday-Friday, 9 am - 5 pm job. I don't remember the last time I had a job those days/hours that I liked...had several I didn't like that I took for the work schedule, though. LOL!

Hope y'all are having a wonderful weekend......

Until we chat again,
Quiltingcheri

It's FINISHED.....the Cowboy quilt top

Yes, it is finally finished....at least the top of it. I still have to quilt this monster, and I do mean monster, it's just huge. I haven't measured it yet, and I don't think I will until AFTER I have it quilted! :) No sense in depressing myself before I get started.

I had intended to add 2 more rows to it, but just plain ran out of room. The corners touch the floor now, so that's it. I think I will put the chocolate brown dust ruffle on the bed before I add this quit...the creamy one doesn't do anything special for this quilt, but I think the chocolate brown will be perfect.

So....now I have to decide which quilt to start next....decisions, decisions.....hmmm....I think I will start on Cody's quilt. I will probably just go ahead and load this quilt onto the Grace frame and let Miss Juki do her thing...lol..... I really need to get into the actual 'quilting' frame of mind (no pun intended!)....since I've got so many quilt tops here....it would be nice to clear off those "to finish" quilt racks and start refilling them all over again........ Hopefully this one will motivate me to get moving.

Well, this is my 2nd blog for today, so I'm signing off now, before y'all think I'm a novelist...wannabe! :)

Until we chat again,

Quiltingcheri

Our New Aussie addition.....Spy

She's here and we love her. Please join us in welcoming Spy to our little Aussie Ranch! :) Spy is a gorgeous black tri female Australian shepherd with 2 gorgeous blue eyes. Her pedigree takes her back to my all-time favorite Australian shepherd ever, Ghosteyes, "Indy"....who is a solid black Australian shepherd with 2 piercing blue eyes. He was and IS an awesome man. We are adding another puppy, probably next week, directly from the breeder of "Indy"....pet-named Hoss. I'll definitely post more pics of him.

While getting nearly full size, Spy is still most definitely a puppy! No one told her that she's a big girl now, so she constantly tries to climb into my husband, Wes', lap...lol. She sleeps on the floor next to his side of the bed, and she has attached herself to him. Right now, he went to Lowe's to pick up some more parts...and she is sitting at the garage door fussing for him! :) She comes in to see me every now and again for a petting and to let me know that "dad" isn't back yet! :) ROFLOL! She's quite the little comic.

She has been introduced to the cattle and horse....and so far, so good. She loves to work....which translates to helping us do anything we're doing at this point. We're so very happy to have her here.....

'Till we chat again,

quiltingcheri

Cowboy quilt nearly finished!!

This quilt is nearly completion!! YIPPEE! What a feeling. It's getting way too big to mess with much these days, and I'm ready to start a new project, so it's time to get the quilt top finished....then comes the quilting, yee haw! lol...sorry, that just seemed like the right thing to say, since it's a cowboy themed quilt. It is an oversized king quilt right now, and I think I'll add another row or two on to finish it up. I have some lovely blue that I think would look nice, or I can add some more of the border strip between the piano keyboard border and the wide lighter yellow/cowboys....we'll just have to wait and see what tickles my fancy! :)

Otherwise, things are going very well. I think I'll start Cody's quilt next...he's my 14-year-old son. I have some really nice planet themed fabric that I think would make a great quilt for his room. We really need to redecorate/redo his room into more of a "teenager" theme, since he's getting sooo old! :) LOL....... It does really need to be painted, that's for sure. The previous owners had a "Spongebob" color scheme in there, and that's what Cody used when we first moved in....but he's outgrown it now, and we need to update it for him. I am thinking of doing the quilt first and then choosing paint based on the quilt...a bit backwards, I know, but I already have the fabrics!! :) I think a nice, light-colored paint would be awesome, we'll just have to figure out how to cover the paint that's already there......

Well, that's it for now. I need to figure out what I'm making for supper and get moving. Hope y'all are having a wonderful week......

Till we chat again,
quiltingcheri

More Cowboy roostin robin pics....and more! :)

Wow, it's been busy around the farm. This is such a fun time of the year, but woo hoo, we're just swamped. I have managed to find some time to add a couple of borders to my cowboy roosting robin quilt, though. It's on our bed in this pic, so I'm just about maxed out as far as how many borders I can add....boo hoo! :) I have really enjoyed making this quilt, I'm really liking the whole roosting robin quilt approach, so easy, so fun and they really turn out well.

Right now, I'm sewing together more of the piano key borders, like I did earlier in the quilt....all of the colors side by side...I think it will just make the quilt burst (a friend called it "pop" and that's a great term, and a huge compliment from her!)..... I'm thinking at this point I will just add the 2nd piano key border to 3 sides, since the quilt is centered on the bed right now, and I don't have much more space at the top of the quilt before I run out of bed...ha ha ha....who'd have thunk it? lol.....all that bed and I'm outta space for quilt borders.....

I had planned on adding another light cowboy fabrics, surrounded by brown...and I have this gorgeous dark blue fabric that needs to be in this quilt for the furthest outside border...and then I will back and bind it in the chocolate brown "main" fabric....and I think it will be done. That's when the hard part begins, and when I start WHINING.....when it comes time to quilt this monster....lol. I really have to stop making such BIG quilts...either that or start paying someone to quilt them.... naw, I wouldn't do that, couldn't part with the quilt long enough to send it out to a quilter. Besides, I need to be saving up some moolah for that Gammill long arm quilter, can't be spending it when I have a very nice Juki that CAN quilt with my Grace frame..I'm really quite spoiled when it comes to quilting, I know it and I love it! :)

Oh, I have to share a Robbie story today! Robbie is my 3 year old grandson, who I went to see last week. He is the sweetest little boy I have ever seen, sugar sweet...and that's more than just this grandma talking, he's a true sweetheart. Well, go figure, I called him Robbie Sweetheart (like that is his middle name or something) the entire visit....so today he sees a silver Malibu (which is what we drove when we went visiting in Illinois....can't afford to drive the Durango or the big truck anymore!).....anyway, when he sees the silver Malibu, he says in his adorably sweet voice, "Hi Grandma Sweetheart!" My daughter, Amanda, just had to call me to see if I had called Robbie Sweetheart...and to share his story.....I'm so in love with this little guy, he's awesome!! I love all 3 of my grandchildren...and I love sharing stories, I'm sure y'all will hear WAY more stories than you care to hear, but I really need to get these stories down in print, so I can preserve them forever...these are the times I never want to forget!! :)

Well, enjoy your cup of java....and we'll chat later!

quiltingcheri

Cowboy quilt continued...new pics!!

I really have to stop working so late....or is it early? Since I'm in central time, it's officially late! :) lol...it would be 1 am, and I'm just now posting pics of this quilt. I have to admit I am growing very fond of this quilt, and it's a good thing, given that it will be on my bed when it's finished up. Right now, the pics are taken on our king-sized bed...and it covers the entire top of it, and laps over the edges just a little bit.....so I am going to have to figure out which borders/additions I want to add the most. I don't think I'm going to get to add everything I wanted...boo hoo! :)

I have it laying on my bed right now, waiting for my darling Wes to go and look at it...he has to admire my work!! I had to work today, and all I could think of was this quilt all day long. I work out of home, so it took a tremendous amount of concentration and self control to keep working instead of just walking out of the office and heading for the sewing machine! :) While I love working out of home, doing medical editing, this is definitely one of the challenges...lol. Plus, it is Sunday and I really don't like to work week-ends....but I do...had to compromise to get to work out of home again, and let me tell y'all....it's soooo worth it!! :)

My husband is watching Major Payne AGAIN today...lol...and I have to say it is a funny movie, but the most politcally incorrect movie I have seen in forever... I can see why Wes likes it, though...it's a right-up-his-alley tough-guy movie. Gotta love those tough guys.....

Oh, well, back to the quilt. I'm thinking I will add another piano key border as the next step...and then maybe a border of the chocolate brown I am using to pull it all together, since I've been using that consistently, and I have yards and yards of it...I should easily be able to back this quilt in that, also, which is wonderful. I could probably even make some valences for my bedroom to go over the blinds...that'd be cool!! :) Shesh, I'm planning a ton of work for myself!! :) LOL...and I love it.

We're going on a well-deserved visit to see the kiddos and grandbabies tomorrow, and I can hardly wait....probably why I'm still so wide-awake right now. My daughter and son-in-law are moving into a "real" house with a "real" backyard for the kiddos to play in, and we're taking them their puppy we picked up last Tuesday. She's a black and white shih tzu that is almost 8 weeks old now, she's so tiny and such a cutie pie.... It should be a fun trip! :)

Take care and we'll chat again soon....

quiltingcheri

Cowboy quilt for my husband....

The next border is added....and I do believe it is livening up this quilt a little bit...lol. I was struggling just a bit to decide what colors to add that I actually wanted in the master bedroom, since that's where this quilt will go. I have enough fabric to probably do 3 of these, no kidding...and I just might. I also have a bunch of pillow panels to make pillows to put on the bed, that will exactly match the quilt. My poor cowboy husband has to put up with me decorating with pillows and girlie things, the least I can do is decorate with themes he likes...he's a keeper! :)

I have so many ideas that I want to add onto this quilt, I just don't know if I'll get it all in one quilt....it's likely to be more huge than I want even for a king-sized bed..lol. The good news is that I do want it big...lol..... I commented one time to a co-worker when I worked at Tyson that all of my quilts end up huge, at least over-sized queen size....she quickly told me that when it comes to quilts, bigger is definitely better!! I have to say I agree with her reasoning....a quilt that's too small for a bed is not a good thing....is there really too big? Hmmmm, I'll let you know when I actually get to quilting this if it's too big...but I think I will know well ahead of that, while still sewing borders on...lol. When it takes me 1 hour to sew a side on, I'll know it might just be a little bit bigger than I want, what do you think? lol!

Well, that's it for tonight....it's getting late, and while the music is good, I think I'll sign off..... (I have YouTube playing in the background, my C-O-U-N-T-R-Y playlist...I think it has 90 songs or so on it...lol). Have a great day/evening/weekend!

Till we chat again,
quiltingcheri