Overcast But Doable

So far we've had at least 5 inches of rain be for the past couple of days my cousin James and I were able to do a bit of fence clearing. What you're looking at is years of berry vines that have woven themselves into a line of fence near my house.

James used his chain saw to cut through the "arm" thick vines, I kid you not, while I pulled and dragged them away from the fence. This was the perfect time to clear fence because it's cool here so no wasp or yellow jackets are nesting in the vines and no snakes either. I did have my shotgun ready and wasp spray, of course......wink!!

Wow, I can see clearly now.....LOL!!

This is the back of James' trailer with one load of vines. He made five trips to the burn pile. I'm so glad that's over. Now, back to moving bales of hay......sigh!!

Mini Wednesday, Finally!

Greetings everyone!!!

 It's been awhile since I've posted anything with sewing ideas but today I finally get to show what I had a bit of time to accomplish between baling hay and cooking for Mr. Cowboy and his hands.
Warning.....this post is photo heavy.
Imagine me with a skillet in one hand and fabrics in another and an idea in my head. It was madness, I tell you. I'd been surfing the Net the other day and daydreaming about my new book, Landscaping Art Quilts, Step-by-Step" by Ann Loveless.

 For some reason, I've been into old trucks. I found a clipart truck that caught my eye and my head nearly exploded with a notion.

I'm using a brown grunge fabric and some old landscaping fabrics from my stash.

As always, I love to take photos when developing a project.

Watching the progress inspires me to do the best I can.

Mr. Cowboy came in from the fields and caught me playing....oh dear. He just laughed and told me to continue after I fed me, of course.

Back from feeding the masses, now I get to play with the background.

I'm not certain about that brown strip or the dotted green fabric.

I'm still not happy with the church area. Time for some sort of change.

Better!!

I decided to add my signature "fence" to the scene.

I've added and blended the wild flowers around the truck. Believe it or not, Mr. Cowboy had that idea.

Close-up of the church roof. I used a black marker along with a silver one.

I don't know if you can see the head-lights but I used a fine marker to draw in the cracks.

Of course I'll have to find the time to get this all stitched down and quilted one of these days but I was so glad to get to create something.

Mini Wednesday

Sorry, this photo is a bit fuzzy.

I decided to do something for Mr. Cowboy. I've gone with the Circle S which is our little piece of the country.  I love the sky fabric but the roadway was not working out. When I consulted Mr. Cowboy, he mentioned that when we are roaming the pasture, there is no road but a trail with ruts. A lightbulb flashed in my little brain.

So, off to the drawing board I went and did the rut thingy. Cowboy was pleased with that effort but then I noticed that the skyline was lacking depth. Trees were the next process.

Much better. Now pressing it all down, I'm happy. I've named this one "Little Piece of Heaven!" 

I haven't stitched anything down but am planning to do so in the next few weeks.

Mini Wednesday

"Greener Grass" is the title of this mini. It is a type of doorway that I've gotten locked on. (see last week's mini "The Monk's Door) This one measures 9" by 11 1/2." Sorry the photo is blurry. My camera skills need work.

I started with a circle of blue sky fabric then chose dark fabrics to enclose the circle. As you can see I also added green fabric for grass and brown for the fence rails.

I then auditioned several fabrics for the foreground & background.

This looks good to me so I went with it.

I placed a red flower in the circle but didn't like the look of it.

Finally went with a distant bird.

Mini Wednesday

"No Fence Can Stop Me" is my next mini.

As I've said several times, choosing fabrics for a project is for me the funnn-est part. My granddaughter uses that word when she plays in my sewing room. 

I also take a lot of photos using my cell phone to view contrasts, depth, color choices, etc. For me it's a quick way to eliminate or choose what's best for a project. 

I'm not very good at distance but am working on it. The fence needs work.

I know there's too much brown but Mr. Cowboy said that deer are camouflaged with the background so I went with it.

All done and quilted measuring eight inches square.

Mini Wednesday

I've decided to delve into the mini quilt world & post about the experience on any given Wednesday.

As most of you know I have a wide selection of background, textural, landscape & grass type fabrics. I really need to use them but find it hard to cut into the stash. It's easier to make use of them in small portions.

I started with the above fabrics trying my hand with mountains & distant trees.

A little foreground activity here using uneven lines.

Fence parts are my favorite thing to add.

Here is the results of my first mini. 

It measures 13" by 14 1/2".