Home makeover

      Stripping off the old wood siding to replace it with vinyl siding was going to be our first home improvement two years ago.  We bought the siding and had it sitting in the back shed, thinking we would find a week or two of good weather to get it done.  Well it proved hard to find that nice weather that wasn't already filled up with planting, putting up hay, harvesting, or some other farming task.

         This spring we decided we better bite the bullet and hire someone to help us out. Otherwise pretty soon the mice will have chewed up and destroy the new siding.  On Thursday a local contractor and his son came to get started. 

        We plan on removing the square entry way and porch to make a single front porch.   

        After they removed the wood siding, there was a layer of felt paper.  I guess you could say it's an older version of house wrap. 

        Once the contractors went home that first evening, we tore off the felt paper and loaded up the wood siding to disposed of it. 

        I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture, but the windows facing the north used to be a lot longer.  When my husband's grandfather purchased the farm in the 1950's, the house was a two-story home with longer windows.  

         My sister-in-law just found a picture from right before they purchased the farm.  This is the same view from above.  In 1951 my husband's grandfather remodeled it. The front entry way was converted into a bathroom.  So that door became a window.  Then the front parlor, which I believe was on the right, and the dining room, which I believe was on the left, were converted into two bedrooms. 



        This is a west-facing view with his grandfather and great uncle on the tractor.  They squared up the back portion of the house.  The west-side became a living room and dining room/kitchen while the east side became a third bedroom and back entry way with a half-bath.  You might notice a whole in the back roof.  At the time of the picture they had already knocked down the old kitchen chimney.

       Here is what the west looks like today with a trench dug through the driveway and yard.  There is little comparison between the farmhouse before the 1950's and our home today. 

        By the way the trench my husband dug is for an underground electrical service for the house.  Before electricity came into the house on overhead wires attached to the south-side of the house.  We are going to put it underground and bring it into the west basement wall.  It should make it much safer during storms and instead of two 60 amp services, we will have one service with ample room to grow with today's modern-day electricity demands. 

        Meaning we have another project to do.  Slowly we will be switching all the old wiring out and changing the electrical outlets so they are grounded.  Then running them to a breaker box instead of two over filled fuse boxes.  Luckily when we remodeled the kitchen last year we already had this project in mind.  Besides for the lights, one room down, five to go.  

All things baby!!

        With 6 weeks to go, a rainy week provided the perfect weather to make progress for all things baby.  I was able to finish a crib skirt, teething cover, and baby boy quilt.  

         Project #1 Using a pinterest tutorial with my own modifications, I created this crib skirt that should coordinate well with baby girl or baby boy things.  At first the skirt was going to just be the gray/white striped fabric, but when there was a little bit of extra solid gray from baby boy quilt I could resist the extra touch.   

       Project # 2 Crib rail protector for future teething baby.  I know we are a little ahead of the game here, but I couldn't resist especially since soon my sewing room will be turned completely into the baby's room. 

      Project # 3 Baby boy quilt is a chevron quilt complete with red barns on the front and a variety of tractors on the back. I will post pictures soon of the finished project. Just waiting for a sunny day to snap a few pictures of it.  Above is a preview of the fabric choices, though.
     If you are wondering about baby girl quilt look closely at the first couple pictures.  I'm still in the piecing stages, but the crib is providing a nice table to lay it all out on. 

A Gift From the Past

        My sister-in-law found these quilt squares in her grandmother's scrap box.  They were pieces made by her great-grandmother or maybe even great-great-grandmother.  Since her grandmother's vision isn't as great as it once was, Christina wanted to make a quilt out of them for Mother's Day and give it back to her. 

        Late this winter she asked if I would help her out.  Between work, school, and family she wasn't going to get it finished in time. 

       It was so neat to be able to work with these squares and think about how things were in times gone by.  All the stars were hand-sewn.  It's hard to believe the amount of time it would have taken to sew them together. Probably many cold winter days when there wasn't much else you could do. 

        Also, you can tell that this was made in a decade when you wasted nothing.  I'm assuming all these squares were made from scraps left over after she would have made clothes for the family or maybe even cut from the good part of clothes that were worn out.  Finally, by looking at each star closely you can see not all pieces match. (If you look at the photo below in the far right square, The black is accented with red, but the red pieces include red plaid, solid red, and even a few are tan pieces.  Together they finish one star.)  

 

         After laying it out all the stars, I noticed it would be too small to make a decent sized throw quilt.  That is when I decided to frame each piece with the four rectangular cream pieces and navy blue square in the corners. 
         In all there were 55 stars, one short of a 7 by 8 square quilt.  At first we left it as a solid cream square, while we tossed around ideas of how to spice it up.

 
        Christina then found the perfect quote to have embroidered on it.  "Families are quilts, pieced with memories, bound with love."

        Piecing the squares together to make the quilt top was the easy part.  Quilting it together was a little more challenging.  All the star squares weren't all the same size ranging from 7 inches to 7 1/2 inches.  In the end I hope I was able to quilt it with minimal puckers and have each piece lay flat.  

       The finished product is a unique quilt filled with different shades of blues and reds with some black and browns mixed in.  No two squares are the same even though some are very similar.  

 

Planting 2014

 

        After a long, cold, and snowy winter, God reminds us that he hasn't and wont forsake us.  Spring is here and it's time begin planting.  My husband worked all morning field cultivating last year's bean field to prepare it for corn this year.  Then after Good Friday services I followed him to the field to get the planter ready. 

          My husband is anxious to get in the field to try out his uncle's planter.  Last fall his uncle purchased a newer planter.  We then purchases his 2003 Kinze 3600, which is basically identical to what we had but 10 years newer and in much better shape. 

       Since my lifting abilities are limited this year, I had plenty of time to snap a few shots while my husband did all the heavy lifting. First he unloads two Channel bags behind each planter box while I open both bags.  Then he will dump one bag in, add graphite powder, add the second bag, and a little more graphite powder.  Meanwhile I help gather all the empty bags up and put them back in the truck.  

 



        Even though the boxes are full now they will be empty before the field in done.  Time to close the lids and try out the planter. 









        Today the conditions are just about perfect.  The top of the soil has grayed off, but the soil just underneath the surface has moisture present.  You can tell by the dark line left by the marker wheel.  The marker tells a farmer where to drive on the next round so your corn rows have even spacing. 

 

 

       Once a few yards are planted, my husband likes to stop and check the seed depth, an inch and a half.  Guess that means all systems are a go. 

        Well I better go. It is now dark and he will be wanting a ride home.  The rest of the 80 acres will have to wait until tomorrow to be planted.  

 





Ocean Breeze

         A good friend of mine and her husband are having their first baby in August.  They recently moved to California and I thought this color combination was perfect for them.  The turquoise, orange, and gray triangles give off the feel of cool ocean breezes and brilliant sunsets. 

             Last winter I stumbled upon the owl print and fell in love with it.  After finding coordinating fabrics I started piecing it together.  Cutting and piecing all the small triangles became tedious and I found myself packing it away.  Then when I found out they were expecting, I dug it back out to finish it before the baby shower this weekend.  Seems I always need a deadline to complete a project.

         Upon completing the front I discovered there wasn't enough of the white with gray polka-dot fabric for the backing.  Since its been sitting in my closet for over a year, there wasn't a chance to get 1/2 a yard more.  That's when I decided to piece together strips of extra fabric from the front.  At first I wasn't sure how it would look, but I really love the interest it adds.

         Here's a close-up of the quilting. 
        

Our Gift From Above

For this child we prayed and the Lord answered our prayer.  1 Samuel 1:27

 

 

        With joyful heart we anticipate the birth of our first child in July.  We are 24 weeks along and interestingly enough baby is the size of an ear of corn.  Hopefully we will be enjoying some fresh corn on the cob around the time of baby's arrival.

Madelyn

 

       Last night Madelyn Idel was welcomed into this world. She took her sweet time in making her appearance.  Poor Mom was due on February 13 and had been told weeks ago that she would go early.  She is the first daughter of a good childhood family friend.  Congrats Mary Ann & Jason!

 



         I fell in love with these fabrics last winter when they went on clearance prices.  They are from the Marmalade collection of my favorite designers Bonnie & Camille.  Of course I couldn't pass up that opportunity.  I ended up purchasing a half yard of all three front colors and the red/white striped binding.  Then I also purchased a yard of the red floral backing.  Luckily it was just enough fabric.  I think there might have been two-three inch strips leftover. 

        When I found out last July they were expecting, I knew this would make the best baby quilt for them. Mary Ann's just loves the color red from her high school prom dress to their wedding colors and even included in her home decor.  I started sewing it right away.  It's been done and stored away since the end of summer. 
        I did get a little scared a month ago when she had the baby shower.  They wanted to be surprised with what the baby was at birth, but she was almost for sure it was a boy.  So there is now a warm and cozy boy blanket stored away.