Move Over, Make Room

For the first time in a very long time I sat down yesterday-- and stitched; on my brand-new, inherited, vintage Singer 301.  After lovingly oiling her this past weekend, and adding some motor lubricant to the teeth of the gears, she purrs like a kitten and makes a most impeccable stitch. It took me all of, hmmm... let's see, ten seconds to get used to the sewing posture for this one. There is a knee-lever which controls the (mounted inside the cabinet) foot pedal; for the last twenty-plus years I have been sewing on Berninas where the knee lever controls the presser foot up/down. I adjusted quickly to the change. There is a handy little cross piece along the inside bottom of the cabinet on which to comfortably rest my foot. I adore this machine, I have named her Ruth.  When it was time for me to bring her home to live here my husband innocently asked: "where will this machine go?" I answered, immediately, "in the sewing room, of course." "Is there room?" he continued. "I will make room" was my reply.  And I did. I have two other cabinet machines situated in the center of the room.

This picture is from ten years ago, when Mr. Goodneedle built this three-part table for the machines and storage. It is well used and much loved.

Ruth and her first real project since arriving at Chez Goodneedle, a pillow case for Ryan's Case for Smiles.

Ruth entered this space quietly and graciously, she fits nicely right in front of the window and gives me a wonderful view of the bird feeders just beyond the side porch. My other machines haven't been one bit jealous of Ruth's arrival, they have deferred to her senior status; there's been no pushing or shoving for top-dog status. This relationship is one of harmony and cooperation.

The comings and goings just outside the window, at the finch feeder on the other hand, are the exact opposite. These pretty little birds are quite aggressive with one another vying for a place of their own at the table. They could learn a lesson from Ruth if only they just peeked inside, there's room for everyone to coexist peacefully, if they would only wait their turn.

...and we just keep buying seed...

Life is Good!

Not Too Buggy About It

Birdseed. I use three types: a wild birdseed mix, sunflower seeds and thistle, each for its own specialized feeder, each kept in its own dedicated bin. I have a large bird population outside the sewing studio window who flock in large numbers to partake of the abundant offerings.  This method  of storage has worked wonderfully for many years, the closet where the seed is kept is just inside the exterior side porch door, conveniently located for filling the feeders just a few yards away.  At least it had worked wonderfully well until last weekend!
I was totally unprepared to open the closet one morning and find the walls, floor and ceiling teeming with teeny-tiny crawling black bugs! Apparently some hatching had happened in one of the seed bins. I was totally creeped out and launched into high gear as an exterminator!  I sprayed. I mopped. I vacuumed. I hauled the infested seed-filled bins just outside the door onto the side porch while I worked. After two days of lathering, rinsing and repeating the clean-up effort not a single teeny-tiny bug remained. However, in the meantime, the now protein-enriched seed became all the more attractive to my feathered friends; no need to place it in the bird feeders either, they helped themselves directly! Right now I am rethinking my birdseed storage plans. This time I am buying new bins, ones with lids. I haven't repurchased any birdseed, I'm not too buggy about it. At least, not yet.

Life is Good!

On this, the second day of November,  I am thankful 

for glorious fall days with cloudless sapphire skies.

Long Time, L-O-N-G Quilt

I posted about this quilt a while ago. Already nineteen years old, this top was brought to the flimsy stage and loaded onto Snowbird yesterday. I chose to complete this one as a long twin, it measures 115" X 79.5". Loaded lengthwise onto the rails it is the longest quilt I have quilted-- ever!  I was getting the quilt ready when a glance out the window provided an unexpected, surprise treat.

Look who's back!

I have chosen to use a pantograph on this one: "Jessie's Swirls" with Hawaiian Blue thread. I like it. 

All of the precut colorful triangles are used up now, but look what remains yet: a boxful of background triangles! What to do? Will this project ever be done or simply continue to bear offspring?

Yesterday I sat down and chain pieced a bunch of them into pairs. It was a good chance to give my newest notion a workout. I bought Gypsy Quilter's "Cutting Gizmo" a couple of months ago with the thought that I could talk Mr. Goodneedle into counter-sinking the base into a larger block of wood for stability. He looked it over and was impressed by the weight of the base and the design that allows easy replacement of the upper blade with a standard single edge razor blade. He suggested I use it first and decide if it needed further stabilization. I did and it doesn't. It's proven itself to be a handy assistant; it makes super-quick work of separating miles of chain piecing with no effort whatsoever!

And so... what will become of all those chain pieced triangles? More pinwheels of course. This time they will combine into a low volume, sash-less version and ultimately become a table topper for our kitchen. I can almost guarantee that this will be completed in less than nineteen years; hold me accountable!

Life is Good!

For The Birds

I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Easter. Our weekend began on Saturday morning with an eventful sighting... this spectacular Pileated Woodpecker, in the woods just behind our house! I've heard him for a while, but I had never seen one; my "life list" grows longer by one. He hung around for a while, enough time for me to fire off a few shots; albeit through the window, but they're respectable nonetheless. Just when I was beginning to think that... just maybe... there was a construction worker with a jack hammer working out in our woods, "Woody" came into view!

We've owned this Finch feeder for awhile. We have plenty of Goldfinch at the feeders; but, for some reason, they haven't been frequenting the specialized thistle feeder designated just for them. Up until now they have seemed to prefer sharing the sunflower seed feeder with the Cardinals. For the life of me I couldn't figure out a way to lure them to the thistle feeder. Mr. Goodeedle had a great idea, a stroke of genius really, he painted the "roof" John Deere yellow and hung it back in its original position... that's all it took! Now it's standing room only for the Goldfinch, they queue up on the post and in nearby tree branches; suddenly, the yellow roof feeder is the most popular bird restaurant in town, even with only one, solitary item on the menu.

Life is Good!

Where Are The Hummers?

If you haven't seen many Hummingbirds this summer I might know why;

they're all at my house!  I have gone from filling two of these feeders 

once a week... to every three days (the last couple of weeks)... to every day!

All that humming makes a little bird hungry!

Life is Good!

Frozen Friday

Life is Good!

Living With Wildlife

As we approached our driveway after church this morning we happened upon a family of five turkeys running along the road. We hear them often, down deep in the woods that surround our property, but we don't usually see them. My husband thought them brave to make an appearance with Thanksgiving not that far off! We had other visitors drop by the front yard to pay a visit last week, I guess the change of seasons, and cooler days, encourages more mobility. Although it's not unusual for us to have deer close by, we don't usually see entire families in the front yard grazing in the mid-morning sunshine! I haven't planted my fall pansies yet, so their visit made me smile; but, in another week or so my expression will be entirely different, guaranteed!

Sugar High, Sugar Low!

I make my own Hummingbird Nectar. (Recipe follows...) There's a problem, though. I can't keep the feeders filled. Seriously, I plowed through a 5 pound bag of sugar in just two weeks! The hummingbirds around Chez Goodneedle are jazzed. They're high on sugar and I'm low (as in inventory)! Part of our "getting ready for retirement" regimen is Happy Hour on the side porch every evening watching the birds while sipping a glass of wine. We were treated to the antics of a Downy Woodpecker the other evening. I think he liked it here, he invited his friends on over to join him for a feast of sunflower seeds... a Cardinal and a Chickadee. "C'mon.. there's room around the feeder for everyone. Don't worry, she'll get more"! Looks like I need to get to the grocery store, my fine feathered friends are demanding it counting on me.

Life is Good!

Hummingbird Nectar:
-1 part sugar/4 parts water
-Boil the water first, then measure and add sugar, at the rate of 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water.
-Let cool and store excess in refrigerator until ready to use.
-Do not add food coloring, honey (which ferments), or artificial sweetener, which has no nutritional value.
-You will need to clean your feeder about once a week. According to the National Audubon Society, this should be done by rinsing with one part white vinegar to four parts water. If the feeder is dirty, try adding a few grains of dry rice to the vinegar solution to help scrub it clean. Follow the vinegar wash by rinsing three times with clear, warm water before refilling with sugar solution.

They're Ba-a-a-ck...

... the Rose Breasted Grosbeaks, that is! They won't be here long, I'm not sure where they're off to from here, but this is one of their routine stops along the route to their summer destination. There was a territorial "dispute" between two males at the feeder the other morning. Apparently they decided that there was room for both of them, as long as they didn't have to look at each other!

Life is Good!

Spring Shots

The Hummingbirds are back! My husband and I have always enjoyed sitting on the side porch in the evenings when the weather turns warmer and watching the variety of birds who visit the feeders. Last evening was no exception. I only hung out the nectar feeders on Friday, but it doesn't take the hummers long to find them! The Goldfinches, sporting their brighter plumage for Spring and Summer are plowing through the thistle feed, we can barely keep the feeders full. I saw a pair of Indigo Bunting earlier yesterday but wasn't able to catch a shot of them this time, stay tuned. Warm days, brilliant color and birdsong serenades, Spring is here in all it's glory; celebrate its return!

Life is Good!

29. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).

Surprise Visitors

Some things only last for a short time and are enjoyed expressly because of their fleeting nature: a clean house, a well prepared meal, a bright blue cloudless sky. I had surprise visitors yesterday morning at the feeder, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, a pair of them! Their stay will be oh-so brief. Each spring these birds stop by here along their migration route to the mountains, where they spend the Summer months. Their appearance is magical, they're gone almost as soon as they arrive and I feel privileged to bear witness to their presence. Eat up little ones, stay as long as you can, gather strength for your journey ahead! I'll be eagerly awaiting your return next Spring.

Update: this morning I found four males vying for position at the feeder (one was on a nearby tree branch, just out of frame). I shot this through the window... awesome, huh?Life is Good!

For The Birds

We had to replace our finch feeder last week; the type we have used in the past, with it's rainbow-hued perches, was wildly popular with the birds and what we expected to buy. It's been discontinued, always our luck, the lady in the wild-bird store suggested this one. I was a bit skeptical, the thing that helped to sway me over was the fact that this feeder holds 3.5 lbs. of seed, less trips outside for me to fill it! But, could the birds be convinced? Would they make the switch? It looked so completely different, and I knew they could be finicky. It took a full day, since that time it's been occupied full time. The finches fly in and take a place anywhere on the one-piece spiral perch, then they proceed to align themselves directly in front of a tiny opening to reach the thistle seed, this action typically moves all the birds downward and the bottom bird is then displaced, which sets off a flapping, fluttering commotion! This bird will then fly back up to the top, alight, and initiate yet another 'chain reaction'... this happens over and over, all day long. It would make a better video here than a still photo... you'll have to take my word for that.

This is highly entertaining to watch, all for the price of birdseed, and occurs right outside my sewing room window! What could be better? (Maybe one that holds 5 lbs!)

Life is Good!