Hot Muggy Day

This is how it looked all day. Overcast, hot, muggy, and a forecast for the same and for lightning through Sunday. I think we may have a light rain sometime tonight. Maybe? There is a bit of wind also. The lightening bit scares me because I really don't want any forest fires! Especially with the wind and heat. It would be great if it rained! But rain is not in the forecast. 

So, because it feels like it might rain I moved the chicken feeders inside the coop. Poor hens are confused. It was five pm and there was one more egg. That made 11 eggs. I will check again for eggs when I lock up the coop. I shut the windows in the coop too because of the wind.

I made the sandwich with this wall hanging and pinned it together in the lavender areas. Then I went to lower the feed dogs on my Heart Truth Janome and came to find out that I don't have a clue on how to do that even after reading the instruction book. I will have to call the store where I bought the machine tomorrow and talk to one of the repair people or someone. This should not be such a difficult thing to figure out. I can't find the switch. Beats me?

I thought I would try putting some stitching on the trees that would give the illusion of bark. At least I wanted to try it out on some scraps and see what I could come up with. I'll call tomorrow.

I enjoy listening to some of the TED talks and found this talk the other day that just cracked me up. The little girl was too cute and the talk's message is something that should be better known. 

[11 eggs today]

Smiles

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Small Wall Hanging Hung

Yea! I got the small wall hanging up on the wall. It is always rather amazing to me when I actually complete a project. When I am in the midst of sewing it doesn't seem like I will ever get it done. I just keep telling myself to keep at it and it will eventually get done. And this was such a simple little thing, but then it was the first one I had attempted.

The middle photo of the back of the hanging shows the triangle pockets sewn into the corners. I was going to cut some dowel to fit, but I thought I would try out some of those extra large straws that come with

the big, big, drinks. The straw fit perfectly, but was a little bendy from the weight of the hanging. I think the straws would work beautifully for a smaller wall hanging.

So, I went searching around for some long chopsticks and found these wooden ones that fit just great. These are good chopsticks, so tomorrow I will have to go cut some dowel pieces and replace the chopsticks before they are missed.

Today Tom picked up chicken feed and some oyster shell.

Boy, were those hens happy to dig into the oyster shell!

Here is the nest box egg laying score:

Open nest boxes: 1 egg

Closed nest boxes: 11 eggs

Plywood floor: 1 egg - That nutty chicken! 

[13 eggs today]

Smiles

Have a great Day!

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Wall Hanging and Mars Hoax

Well, I'm pretty sure this is not how you are supposed to do applique, but this is my first attempt and this is the way I'm doing it. I drew out the flower and then cut out paper shapes, cut out the fabric, turned the edges, basted it down and now the next step is to sew it to the backing. Pretty simple shapes. I just want to add some color to the wall.

Here is some filler.

Another shot of the view on the way to town.

Today I received two forwarded emails. Both about earth and mars being so close in August that they will look almost the same size to the naked eye. I checked out Snopes and they say it is False.

If you would like to read the Snopes report:

Click here.

Phooey! I was looking forward

to seeing mars look so close.

[Oops! I just read that I do not want to see Mars

that close. Bad things would happen.]

It was in the 90's today

and the chickens took time off.

only 7 eggs today.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Smiles

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Early Birds

I finished the blank vertical flimsy and now need to applique something simple. I hope to have some fun with that tomorrow. I did search around last night for ways to sew on a hanger for the wall hanging and found this site with a method that I like the best. Instead of sewing on a quilt sleeve, triangles are sewn into the corners on the back. Dowels can then be inserted into the corners leaving the middle open for hanging on a nail, etc.

I think I will put triangles on the bottom and top

and use dowels or old curtain rods I have around here somewhere. 

Below is a video of the 10 hens

who like to go to roost early while the other eight

stay out in the pen and spend time eating. 

It was still light out when I took this video.

I like how the hens talk to me.

Nite, nite.

Smiles

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[9 eggs today]

Wall Hanging

Today I sewed up this wall hanging flimsy and managed to make it all the way through without a migraine. I had a little one yesterday, but I pretended it wasn't really there. Denial can be a really good thing at times. (I do try not to write about the migraines because they are such a downer.)

Tomorrow I'm going to make another wall hanging, but a vertical one instead of horizontal. Tonight I need to search up some tutorials on how to make the hanger part of the backing. I know this is a very simple design of tree trunks in the mist, but I figure I can always come back and do applique. But I don't think I will, I like the calm and simplicity.

There is one goofy chicken that lays her egg wherever and whenever the mood strikes her: in the driveway, out in the chicken pen, or in the woods, etc. I had hopes for her to decide to lay in the closed in nest boxes, but today I found another egg by the feeder. She is so strange. I mean she sits by the corn feeder and lays an egg?

So, counting the corn feeder egg (which I had to toss) there were 10 eggs laid today that I could find and they were all laid in the closed in nest boxes. And Kristine said that when she checked the nest boxes this morning that she was very surprised to find the Hen/Roo in the top nest box. We thought/read that when hens take on rooster characteristics that they stop laying. Maybe she is just going through the motions?

[10 eggs today]

Smiles

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