Working Cattle

It was just too gorgeous and sunny today here in Western Oregon to stay indoors and bind the sunflower quilt...........besides.....my favorite guy had other plans for me....the moo-ing kind...

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We worked cow and calf pairs again. There were about 15 pairs we didn't get to when we worked cattle in May. Today was the perfect sunny day for it. The mama cows and calves are coming into the corral to be sorted. We separate the cows and calves into different pens.

This cow didn't like my camera.....so I had to move so she would come through the gate. She is a pretty cow, but a bit wild.

Here is a gentle giant. We have the nicest bulls on the place this year. They are big, beautiful, calm and easy to work with. This big guy didn't mind the camera at all.

The bull is the next one into the squeeze chute...

He is soooo BIG he hangs out the back end of the chute. He looks like he is wearing the chute! He didn't mind. He stood quiet and patient while we worked on him. I wish the cows and calves were this good in the chute.

My favorite guy is putting fly tags in the bulls ears. They keep the flies off his face during the hot summer weather.

Here is that wild cow getting her fly tags

More cows and calves coming into the sorting pens

Mama cow comes over to check on her calf while it is in the chute.

While the guys were loading up all of the equipment I strolled around with the camera. I spotted some foxgloves growing over by the corral fence. I love the dots up inside the blooms...

Sprinkler heads on the end of the irrigation pipe

On my way home I stopped at the top of the driveway........the cattle looked so pretty grazing through the tall grass on the edge of the road.

Now that I am home I need a good scrubbing before I can even think about getting close to my quilts!

I have taken so many photos during the process of creating the sunflower quilt. I decided to put some of them into a slide show so you can follow along with my Sunflower Quilt Journey... If you want to take a peek at what I have downloaded to the slide show so far CLICK HERE. Open your browser window as big as you can, and the slide show photos will be BIG and you can see all the great detail work. I will continue to add images to this slide show as time allows.

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On My Way To The Shower,

LuAnn

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

To see Tutorials CLICK HERE

Sunflower Quilting All Done...

On Tuesday I ran out of bobbin thread........I ordered more online at midnight and went to bed. Wednesday I went into town........I brought home this beauty from the Goodwill store. Yes, another bed frame/garden fence. I just couldn't pass it up for $5. Now I need to look around for a can of sage green spray paint and some primer.

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Thursday......still waiting on the arrival of the much needed green variegated bobbin thread for the Sunflower Quilt........I threw in some laundry and headed outdoors to weed the flowerbeds.

The Peppermint Lilies are blooming

A climbing rose on the side of the Thread Shed is blooming.

I decided to weed the flowerbed out front. The whiskey barrel is filling in nicely.

The baby chicks were more than happy to see the weeds!

The peeps are 8 weeks old this week.

Oh......did I mention........Henrietta is actually Henry. Yes, one of our pullets has turned out to be a rooster. This is him gulping down a big blade of grass. Notice the big red gobblers hanging under his chin and the big red crown on top of his head and the long tail feathers.........yes, we have a rooster!

Yes......the thread arrived in the mailbox.........barely 36 hours after I ordered it online! Now that is service! It is the green variegated cotton YLI Thread I was using in the bobbin for the Sunflower Quilt. You can see the 3 empty spools already stitched into the quilt. I didn't take any chances.......I ordered a 3,000 yard cone this time.

As long as I was ordering thread I decided to get more of those gorgeous variegated trilobal polyester threads. They are a very subtle change in color, not too distracting.

Click the image to enlarge it if you are interested in seeing just exactly what kind of thread I am using...

I wasn't blogging yet when I was into the applique process of this sunflower quilt. So, I thought I would give you one of my applique tips. During the fusible applique process, sometimes during the repeated handling of the quilt, the fusible comes loose from the quilt top. Rather than take the quilt top over to the ironing board, I pull out my trusty UHU glue stick and glue the applique piece back down onto the quilt. It works like a charm, and this glue does not gum up your needle while stitching the applique work down.

Friday I spent the day in the Thread Shed and completed the machine quilting on the Sunflower Quilt..........this is the very last sunflower I quilted. I used the very bright orange variegated thread.

As I look at this 100 x 100 inch quilt.........I can't believe I fit it all under my domestic Bernina sewing machine. The dense quilting is wonderful and the quilt feels so yummy..........it is a treat for my eyes.

I would like to thank all my quilting friends who cheered me on BEFORE the machine quilting process began.......who gave me the confidence and made me believe that I really could machine quilt something this BIG. Hugs go out to all of you!

Machine Quilting Stats: 4,000 yards of quilting thread, 40 Bobbins filled, 40 hours to machine quilt (I am a very fast machine quilter). This does not include any of the piecing or applique work.......that would add up to hundreds of hours.

Today is Saturday..........I plan to steam block the quilt and get the binding sewn onto the top side. Then the next time we go on a road trip.... I will have a binding to sew down while we motor down the road.

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

To see Tutorials CLICK HERE

Waiting on the Postman...

11 am.......all the flowers, shrubs and trees are watered, raked up grass clippings and fed them to the chicks, skipped the laundry and housework........headed straight for the Thread Shed for a full day of machine quilting on the sunflower quilt. This is my 4th day working on the quilt:

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Everyone seemed to enjoy the BEFORE and AFTER stitching images, so here is the purple sunflower unquilted.

Here is the purple sunflower covered with gorgeous stitching...wow it really comes to life with thread all over it!

I used the orange variegated trilobal polyester I purchased from Patsy Thompson.

It was just perfect on this purple batik fabric.........such texture. The Bernina just loves this thread.

Pale yellow batik sunflower quilted. The quilting in the center of the flowers is circles. I learned this technique watching a Pat Sloan video.......she refers to them as bubbles.

This purple variegated thread, which looks fairly bright, was rather subtle on this flower, which surprised me a bit.

I thought I would show you how I audition threads for my machine quilting: I spool out and hand full of thread and lay it directly on top of the fabric I plan to quilt. This time I auditioned 3 different threads. They all looked rather similar. The dark orange variegate on the top blended too much, so I knew it wouldn't be enough contrast. The bright orange variegate on the left was good.........but I wanted HIGH contrast against this dark pink fabric.......so I went with the lemon yellow variegated thread. Always spool out the thread and lay it on top of the fabric.....that gives you a realistic view of what the thread will look like.........don't just lay the entire spool on the fabric, it will not give you and accurate reading of your thread color.

Here is the dark pink sunflower all quilted with the lemon yellow thread.

9:30 pm......I can't believe it is that late........the day just flew by! Gunnr popped his head up from under the sewing machine to tell me it was past his bedtime. I brought him over to the house, gave him his night time treat and tucked him in bed. Now back to the thread shed....

Another pink sunflower.......this is definitely getting that lemon yellow thread!

Look at all that texture......these sunflowers are so much fun to quilt. I only have a couple more flowers left......I don't want them to end. I think these are the best bubbles in the center of this flower.

This sunflower is made from a gorgeous purple blue batik......yummy!

I auditioned several thread choices, and the blue variegated thread won.

This photo doesn't do it justice.......it is incredible.

Yes, this is another beautiful thread from Patsy Thompson.

11 pm......finished up the 4th chicken........only one left to do.

The long, thin blades of grass are not fun to quilt, but they are needed to camouflage the chickens.

11:30 pm.......sorry to report......I am completely out of bobbin thread! I had 3 rolls (1,500 yards), and it is all gone. Altogether I have stitched 3,000 yards of thread into this sunflower quilt top and bottom. I ordered more thread, it will be shipped tomorrow. In the meantime........I will be up at the mailbox waiting for the mailman.

My Bobbin is NOT Full Tonight,

LuAnn

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

To see Tutorials CLICK HERE

Moving Day...

This time of year I have to split my time between gardening and quilting.......I love them both. The iris were in full bloom last week and really put on a show for us:

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Front Flower bed full of Iris

The pansies also demanded some attention...they are glowing right now!

I plan to enlarge this image and use it in one of my photo transfer quilts.

If you like it too, please feel free to download it.

My favorite guy tilled up the sunflower patch for me last week........4 feet wide and 100 feet long........that's my guy! We covered the newly planted seeds with long sheets of plastic.......to keep the birds out of it. Re-planting seeds is not on my favorites list.

We took the plastic off today and the seeds have sprouted!

It is moving day........the 7 week old baby chicks are moving from the brooder box out back on the patio.......to the hen house. This is Dottie, a little barred rock baby chick.

7 weeks ago she was a little cotton ball with legs.........she is a little mini hen today.

We placed the chicks in cat carriers to transport them through the yard to the hen house.The hen house is located just to the right of the Thread Shed. They are good company for me when I am working.

The baby chicks are checking out their new home.......they immediately began to peck the cedar shavings on the floor. The old hens stayed out in the chicken yard.....I think they are afraid of the chicks?

After awhile the baby chicks ventured out into the chicken yard.......they enjoyed pecking the grass clippings from mowing the yard today.

Gunnr spent most of the day watching over his peeps......he just loves the baby chicks.

This zinnia demanded my attention today........it was overcast this morning......perfect photo weather........it is really this glowing, hot pink color!

I will close this post with a photo of my favorite Bosom Buddies. These quilters are from Idaho. They are a group of caring, loving quilters known as the Bosom Buddies. They create quilts with their hearts and their hands for women with breast cancer. When I am visiting from Oregon, they welcome me with open arms and make me feel a part of their wonderful group. I miss them and just want to say I will see you in September and we will have lots of fun together!

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

To see Tutorials CLICK HERE