In A Bookish, Quilty Mood

  Miss Broody Hen 2026....   What's been going on lately as I returned home from Silicon Valley.... So much to say, but only forty-six minutes to write before I check on Broody Hen. One of the Barnevelder Triplets has decided to go mildly broody; she doesn't try to bite, though she does growl if approached in her nesting box. She has plucked many feathers, but not down to her actual skin. And when removed from her box, placed in the Broody Hen Condo for an hour, then finding a way to escape she doesn't immediately race back to the coop. She hung out with her sisters, scratching through gravel and dirt near the coop as rain softly began to fall. Then the rain came down hard and I went inside and she went back to the coop, dang chicken! This is our first rodeo with a broody hen. She started this instinctual hoo haa on Friday, hanging out in a nesting box all afternoon. And evening. And sleeping there until at some point on Saturday, the day I drove home, she came out of the b...

A top is finished. Photographed a couple of days ago when the sun shone brightly, lol. Now it covers a guest bed as the wall harbors what will be the back. I'm not writing more than these posts, but the sewing is going full tilt! I don't have much more to say about this rainbow quilt top, other than I will add a border because it's a tad smaller than the back, and when using the Kawandi method, both top and back are about the same size. And this way the rainbow perimeter squares won't be smaller than the rest; with Kawandi, you fold in the back and top edges about half an inch, the batting tucked under the back fold, if that makes sense. When I begin that process, I'll include some photos, or maybe in a few days, when the mystery quilt reaches its destination, I'll yammer about it in that post. I truly LOVE not dealing with quilt bindings anymore, and I don't mind at all the slower, hand-stitching manner which Kawandi promotes. Something very old-school and...

Our first All hens laid an egg day! This was a few days ago, on the fifth. Yesterday again all eight chickens laid eggs. Maybe this doesn't seem blog-worthy, especially in the light of current world events. My prayers are with those suffering from abject cruelty all over this planet; strife isn't limited to one nation or continent. Yet much hope and goodness remain! And in my realm, a sliver of that golden sunshine are eight chickens, less than seven months old, laying eggs as well as enjoying free range freedom for much of the day. Camilla leads most of the posse a day or so ago. Photo courtesy of my husband. Well, most of daylight. We're only getting nine-plus hours currently, but in those hours, the hens are foraging without supervision and they are LOVING IT. That system has been the norm since maybe the second of January? Here it is, already the eighth, and I can't even recall what day we said, to ourselves of course, "You know, I don't want to stand out ...

Title emerged as I was *SLOWLY* peeling day-old hard cooked eggs. Then came the ruminations.... Those hard-cooked eggs are now deviled eggs, and pretty tasty too! A New Year's treat that I sampled today, lol. But first! I had to attend to chicken maintenance. Like dumping the dregs from the feeder into the run, hence luring said chickens into the run, as they've been free ranging much of the day, and most of that unsupervised. Oh, you know what, this might be a long post, so heads-up. (It IS a long post, with lots of links to entries from this year about various pastimes.) Anyway, back to sorting out the chicken feed for the rest of the day; the feeder was quite low, and best to let them have the spoils as though an actual treat, HAHA! Into the run went all but one, and upon a quick glance I noticed Owl was missing. What is up with that gal, I wondered, as my husband went to check the coop. Sure enough she was curled in a nesting box, bless her poultry heart. But I digress, y...

Camilla on the far left, a Barnevelder checking out box #2, while another hen inspects box #4; chicken photos from yesterday, courtesy of my husband.   Yes, I KNOW laying eggs is what chickens do. Young, healthy, happy chickens who apparently don't care that tomorrow is the winter solstice. Chickens whose instincts are so deeply embedded that for thousands of years producing eggs ranks right up there with scratching for food, searching the highest spot for sleep, and clucking for no obvious reason. Okay, the last one is my addition; we just made an emergency visit to the run to confirm no predators had infiltrated because one of those ridiculous hens was clucking her dang head off! I kinda know, or assume (for better or worse) I know why she was being so vociferous; they want out of the run. LOLOL! Sorry chickies, not today. The run isn't under water like it was a few days ago, ahem, because 1) It hasn't rained in several hours and 2) My husband extended the trench that lie...

Too many nice photos to simply chat about chickens. Probably a Welsummer egg due to the speckles. But yes, the hens are LAYING like there's no tomorrow! Five of the eight, we think, are acting as if winter doesn't matter, youth has no bearing, and who cares if the solstice is right around the corner! That's what those chickens would be saying, if they could do more than cluck, cluck, cluck. The other Welsummer egg, freshly washed, why it appears so dark. Am I really one of those chicken owners who feel it necessary to display various eggs? I guess so.... I have a lot of pictures to share, of eggs, and the beach, and coasters completed. None of the hens, lol, maybe in the next entry. We're heading into the homestretch of Advent, Christmas preparation, Hanukkah. Heading into what I hope is a quiet time, a time of reflection, thankfulness, peace. A time where I want to embrace my faith in Christ Jesus, revel in grace, eat some eggs. Eggs.... Oh my goodness, how did the Bar...

Fabric with dots is Aerial View. The other is Lands End. I like the colour blue. In lots of shades. And pink. In many hues. And I like the weight of Ruby Star Society fabrics, especially for EPP. Put those together, and tonight I have much of another block for my Eden quilt sorted. I also like making blocks that have a center hexagon, lol! Cornflower blocks , Eden blocks; what I appreciate is simply stitching around a basted shape, not worrying if center points meet up. I realized that while making the Cornflower blocks, and it's reinforced with these little beauties. Earlier today I put fabric on the design wall, but I'm keeping this quilt under wraps until it's gifted, as it's a surprise. Not in time for Christmas, but hopefully before February. Large squares will lend themselves to being quickly turned into a top, but as I plan to hand-quilt this project.... It's going to take a few weeks of evening stitching. Yet having completed the design element freed me to ...

If I did own a Christmas quilt, it would look a lot like the placemat above. Lol. A few mornings ago I took the photos for this post, in part I was thinking how I don't have a Christmas quilt, although I have made several for beloveds. And that I truly love these mats, made from what Katie Pederson calls Magic Numbers sewing. I still have 2.5, 4.5, and 6.5" squares in my Christmas Fabrics bag, and maybe one of these days I'll sew up more placemats, as I only made four when I fashioned these. They won't have bindings, but the layout makes me HAPPY! And small projects are easy finishes, 'nuff said. I wonder if my chickens think of their egg-laying as easy finishes, LOL! One laid an egg in the dustbathing box yesterday; DUDE! That's not cool, chicken. We think it's a Welsummer egg, from the hue and slight speckling, and if that is true, I'd guess Cami laid her first egg because Cami LOVES dustbathing. But I am very sorry, Miss Cami Chicken; eggs are to b...

Title and idea courtesy of my husband. And the hens, lol. Oh, and the Year-End Smashwords Sale! Do chickens have guardian angels? Do humans? I don't know the answer to either of those queries, but I have suspicions, and who is to say chickens or humans don't possess someone assigned to their well-being. I will say that yesterday morning my husband scraped a LOT of nasty poo off the wall, leading us to wonder if said chickens had coccidiosis. Yet, we didn't have the liberty to do much more than pray about it because we were meeting our eldest daughter in Santa Rosa for lunch and to exchange Christmas presents. We fed the chickens, I gave them some bonus straw in which to play, then chased after Nadia who slipped from the coop, that nimble hen! Finally trapping her near the door, I slowly picked her up, then set her where she belonged, wondering if later that night I'd be dosing their water with Corid. Highway 101 yesterday morning, photo courtesy of my husband, as I was ...

Yes, Past Me, there were four blocks remaining. And now the Lucy Boston quilt is completed. WOO HOO! Meanwhile, another hen has joined the Layers Club; my husband found an egg when he removed their feed late this afternoon. I had done some coop cleaning mid-afternoon and had checked all the boxes, and the hubby checked my checking, LOL. It was dark when he removed the egg, but once he brought it inside, we found it was Nadia-coloured, so probably a Barnevelder. I wondered if Cami the Welsummer had laid it because on the field trip this morning, Cami submissively squatted when my husband tried to pet her and she had NEVER squatted for either of us. Cami detests being touched, maybe she'll be the fourth member of the Layers Club in the near future. From left; mystery chicken's egg, Camilla's egg, Nadia's egg. My poor Quilt of Grace, wholly usurped by CHICKENS! Or rather eggs, lol. So, back to the quilt, under which I am cozily seated at this very moment in time. I'll ...

One of the four alleged blocks left to hand-quilt. And one of the four safety pins left to remove.... Last night I did a little hand-sewing on the Quilt of Grace. I'd already made a hexie flower, it was well past my usual time to pick up a new evening project, but something within me said, "You're not that exhausted." Which was true, though I was tired, lol. I ran a lot of errands early that morning, but not before Nadia presented us with her second egg! Nadia's second egg! Which is still thrilling, let me say. And this morning, when my husband was giving them breakfast, Camilla was scoping out the nesting boxes (Update: Camilla laid egg #3 today, bless her!). I'm also pleased they are upping their laying times to a.m. and not p.m. And I'm still gobsmacked they are laying at all! But back to last night and that Lucy Boston/Kawandi mash-up: So I loaded some needles with light blue Coates and Clarks hand-quilting thread, then completed maybe three blocks? It...

Advent is a time of waiting, of preparation for the Christmas miracle. Of being mindful of the great gift God presented humanity in the form of a helpless baby destined to die thirty-some years later on a cross. My husband and I appreciate the season of Advent, and this afternoon I arranged four candles on our coffee table. Then it was time to attend to chicken maintenance; I needed to add sand and wood ash to the dustbathing box, change out the waterers both in the coop and run. And then clean out poop. Because even if today is the first Sunday of Advent, those chickens aren't going to do any of those tasks for me. In letting the hens out of the run, I guided them into the garden. A couple wanted to poke around freely, but I had things to do and fortunately the chickens acquiesced. In counting them, I was down one, and saw no one loitering in the run. My hubby headed to the coop to see who was dithering. Observing the hens, I realized Camilla was missing, which seemed odd; she...