Work In Progress Wednesday

David loves his fleece quilt. He calls it his "Robot Bankie". I wasn't thrilled with this project when I finished the top, but after I quilted it I liked it a little more. The texture of a quilted blanket is just so nice.

I didn't use batting for this blankie because it is made of fleece. It is plenty warm and is just the right size for a little boy. Another roadblock with this quilt was the border. I just couldn't decide what fabric to use. Somehow it hit me - make a scrappy border! That way I can brighten it up a little bit and throw in some reds and more robots.

My wad of scrap strips is turning into a pressed border and I'm so excited to put it on because then this quilt will be FINISHED! Hooray!

I'm still trucking away on the Sister's Ten blocks. I made a mistake on one of the February Blocks (Susannah's) but I'm going to leave it and pretend like I did it like that on purpose. Just because I can.

The chickens were getting too big for their brooder so we moved the coop to it's new home in the cherry orchard. I'm so grateful to my sweet friend Jennifer who gave me this coop. It has a tile floor inside and the blue color is called "Dream I Can Fly" by Benjamin Moore.

The birds are still spending the night inside for the next few days as they continue to feather out and adjust to colder temperatures.

There are doors on either side and in the front (pictured) for easy access to all that lovely chicken manure that will feed the garden! The rhubarb and onion patch will be so happy!

Did you know that goats have rectangular pupils?

I was curious about this so I researched it and discovered that goats have a panoramic view of up to 340 degrees! No wonder I can never sneak up on them.

My three little silkies are allowed to stay inside. They have each other for company and I think they could use a bit more time in the indoor warmth. Plus they can't fly so they aren't escaping and running around pooping everywhere. BONUS.

Phyllis Diller, anyone?

Hope you are all having a great week.

Progress

Somehow I found the inspiration this week to work on my fleece robot quilt.

I finished the top and pinned it to the backing, which is a solid piece of grey fleece.

I managed to quilt it all together with a zig-zag stitch on either side of all the horizontal seams. This was the first time I have machine quilted a large project. I had to roll up the ends and pin them down so that I could deal with the whole blanket at once.

Now it is all quilted and I just need to make a border and sew it on!

The chicks are growing so fast, visibly bigger every day. This is McNugget, so named because the other chicks ganged up on him and were pecking him, forming a little bald spot in his feathers that was even more vulnerable to attack by the other birds.

Because he was being "bullied", McNugget was taken out of the brooder and held more than any of the other birds. He seems to be the most comfortable being held and played with. His beautiful white wings have grown the most, they are so soft!

This chicken shows off a beautiful wingspan as well. Because these chicks are bantam crosses, I expect some of them will be good at flying.

This little ragamuffin is the smallest bird. If it turns out to be a "she" I imagine that her eggs will be really tiny!

I am participating in a yoga challenge for the month of February that is all about inversions. An inversion in yoga indicates a posture where the head is below the heart. These can be gentle, but because this is a "challenge" I am anticipating spending a lot of time being fully upside down.

Inversions are some of my favorite poses. I love the feeling of all the blood rushing downwards towards my brain. Afterwards I feel the fresh oxygen being distributed throughout my body.

Challenging myself to do yoga is very humbling.

There is always a way to deepen a pose and take it one step further.

As always, thank you for reading. I feel like my blog falls through the cracks, as it is not quite a "farm blog" and not 100% "craft blog" either. Nor is it a food blog, a photography, or yoga blog.

When I started this blog I decided to represent myself and all of the things I like to do and wish to improve upon. I am not trying to emulate any one else's story or strictly fit into an online community, for better and for worse. I still have many things I would like to investigate and document and I am glad for the opportunity not only to share my experiences, but to scrapbook them here so I can re-live them later on.

Feel free to leave me a comment or send me an email.

emilyoflasqueti@gmail.com

Raising Baby Chicks

I brought home a dozen day-old chicks of various breeds. They are adorable and I am playing mother hen by keeping hot water bottles hot, providing as much food and water as they want, stroking their downy feathers and washing their butts.

Yes, I am washing chicken butts. Sometimes with baby chicks, their poop sticks to their butt feathers and dries, blocking the exit. This is called "pasting up" and it can kill them. So, I have been routinely picking up all the chicks and giving them some affection while checking their little chicken butts for crusties.

If needed, I try to dissolve the butt blockage with warm water first and then it must be removed - the chicks do not like this but it has to be done!

The chicks are all random breeds and it will be interesting to see what they turn out to be. There are definitely bantams, Silkies, Cochins, some Barred Rock and Red Australorp in the mix. They are also unsexed so I am anticipating about 6 hens and 6 roosters, give or take.

David is having so much fun playing with the little birds.

Stewie is also very interested and keeps a close watch on the brooder. I let him smell some chicks and he tried to lick the birds in my hand. I was a little bit worried that he was confusing them for a tasty treat.Yesterday I heard him give a little "woof!" from over by the box - one baby chick had escaped. Stewie sounded the alarm. That reassured me that Stewie is in fact standing guard and is not just waiting for a chicken-flavored snack!

I took some photos of an amazing crab dinner we had last night. These were locally caught dungeness crabs that were still alive about an hour before we ate them.

I steamed them for about 15 minutes in a pot with an inch of water in the bottom. Halfway through cooking I poured some of my homemade wine on them.

I caramelized some leeks and onions and garlic with kale and Brussels Sprouts. So nice to eat out of the garden in January! I made a dipping sauce for the legs with butter and fresh rosemary.

The crab legs were some of the best meat I have ever had in my life. Every part of the legs are full of succulent crab meat, and the juice was delicious, salt water and wine. 

Keep checking in, I have a lot going on in crafty-land!

Thanks so much for reading.