March 2014 Roundup!

Did you notice that I included the word *Roundup* in the title of this blog post? Those of you who have been faithful followers of PrairiePonderingsMT for a while have probably noticed that a *Roundup* post typically follows a long drought of posts and allows me to briefly update readers on some of what's been going on lately, why I've been busy and haven't written much. I have heard through the grapevine that one or two of you have been going through withdrawal (KenmoreJim!). Thanks for sticking with me! Enjoy the March 2104 Roundup!

Calving
Calving is actually nearing its end at this point. We're probably about 80% finished and definitely tapering off. Overall, it's gone very well so far. We had one still-born, but had a set of twins to match one up with the baby-less mama so as of yet we're still 100% for calves. Now the calves are mostly out in the large pen where they have room to romp around and hop and play. They're pretty cute. I'll try to get some photos soon. As of now, Jeff and I are still staying over at his folks' place but I think we're nearing the time when we'll be able to stay at home again.

Hoop!
Another reason I love this time of year is that NCAA basketball heats up with tournament play and there tends to be time during calving to spend watching a lot of games in between checks. This year was no different and has been especially thrilling as my hometown Iowa State Cyclones are advancing to the Sweet Sixteen! We have been following them all year and I have definitely converted Jeff and his family into Cyclone fans (works out well because the Bobcats are not exactly a basketball power). We watched Iowa State beat Kansas State, Kansas (Somebody got their Chalk Rocked!), and then Baylor to win the Big 12 Tournament for the first time in many years. Then we watched the Cyclones defeat North Carolina Central and University of North Carolina in the first few matchups of the Big Dance. This Friday they're headed to Madison Square Garden in NYC to take on UConn. I am ecstatic! We have also been following and cheering for Stanford because Josh Huestis has a local connection. Cheer with us! :)

Jet Setting
As part of our FUE leadership training, we were fortunate to travel to Santa Fe, NM for several days to attend the National Farmers Union Convention. The Convention was really interesting and informative and I learned a lot about the organization as a whole. It truly is a grassroots organization, and a good example of democracy in action. Each time I attend a conference or convention I am affirmed that this is a group I want to be in and this was no different. There was a lot of talk about the Farm Bill, how Farmers Union played a role in passing it, and what it means for farmers. We were also very privileged to see U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack as the keynote speaker of the convention. He is a great advocate for rural america and agriculture- his speech was very good. The best part of the convention was getting together with the other FUE couples that are in our group. We have a great group of friends that I know we will keep for many years to come, thanks to this experience!

Track&Field
Track season is underway as we are in our second week of practices. I am an Assistant Coach again this year, working specifically on the hurdle and high jump events again. Our team is returning a lot of leadership and talent this year so I think we will again have a good chance to do well in post-season meets on both the boys and girls squads. Right now, we are practicing indoors and mainly working on good running form mechanics, flexibility, quickness, etc. I can't wait for practice to begin moving outdoors and to begin to dig in to some of our event work. I think it's going to be a really great season!

SUM
We have all been staying busy with Shape Up Montana activities. No more weird green smoothies lately, but we are having fun, getting healthy, and working together. Last week we had a challenge to make a vegetable soup. I have to say it was much tastier than the smoothie.  This week we are competing in a "virtual 5k." Our team is ranked 9 out of 25 teams, so we're doing pretty good!

Seamstress For Hire
With March also comes Prom Season. I have kept very busy with Prom dress alterations this year. Each of the previous two years I had only one dress to alter, but this year I have had three dresses plus a few other projects thrown in, all for friends and neighbors on the hi-line.  It's fun to see the styles of dresses the girls are picking out and I have had some unique problem-solving opportunities in a few cases with some of the dresses. Bejeweled, brightly-hewed poofy princess dresses have been strewn about my house for several weeks now. It looks like an exploded bag of sparkly Skittles in my living room sewing area. Nice to keep up my sewing skills!

So there you have it! Brief blasts about a variety of goings-on in our world right now! Spring will be here before you know it. Well, Calendar Spring has begun, but it's still snowy and wintry around here. We're waiting for days to warm up a bit and I know Jeff is anxious to get out in the field when they dry out. For now, I'm actually thankful for an extended spring skiing season. With record snowfall this year at our nearest ski hill and Jeff starting to get into skiing, we have had a lot of fun and I don't want it to end! All the same, that's all for now, folks! Thanks for reading, everyone!

Bobcat T-Shirt Quilt

A few posts ago, I had mentioned that I was enjoying some much needed time at home after a very busy fall and had used my time to catch up on some projects around the house.  One such project being a quilt.

And... this is where I've just lost most of my male readers. This post probably won't have anything to do with farming, sports, or anything manly at all. There's my disclaimer.  If you don't want to read about the first quilt I ever completed, that's fine with me-- Go ahead and leave. I'm sure there's a Bowl Game on TV.  ;)

As I was saying... Yes, this quilt was the first quilt I have ever completed start to finish. I do have a quilt top that is complete that I pieced back when I was living in Jackson (several years ago). It just needs to be backed, quilted, and bound.  I also have another quilt top in progress that I have been working on off-and-on for several years as well.  But this recent project makes me feel good because for once I actually FINISHED a quilt. And, it took me less than six months to do it!

This quilt is a T-Shirt quilt. Many of you have probably seen one of these before-- they're quite popular. The idea is nothing new.  The inspiration and theme for this quilt came about when Jeff informed me that our beloved Montana State Bobcats (Ok, you caught me-- there IS a Sports mention in this post!) would be updating their logo marketing.  We decided it would be a really cool gift idea to gather a bunch of shirts together with the old logo and work them into a quilt.  We also decided the best recipient of the quilt would be Carol, Jeff's mom, as she is possibly the biggest Bobcat fan we know. Or at least the most unabashed.

The idea came about in mid-July. Given my track record of, well, incomplete quilts, I decided that a deadline of Christmas would hopefully give me enough time.  The fact that I was sharing the plan and timeline with others gave me some much-needed accountability, too, which I think was absolutely critical to not only finishing the project but getting it done on time.

Favorite Moment #1: This woolen pennant, an idea taken from a quilt my Mom gave me, was appliqued onto the quilt front. Right above is a t-shirt piece featuring the MSU Fight Song.

 After the decision on who would receive the quilt was made, it was time to start gathering t-shirts. This had to be done with some secrecy since Carol can be hard to fool. I found a few shirts in my drawer and convinced Jeff to part with a few of his.  Josh and Katie (Jeff's sister and her husband) rounded up many several of their shirts and gave them to me over a football weekend this past fall. Tom had the trickiest time of all of us, and had to wait for a weekend when Carol was out of town to go through his drawers. He said he had to find some that he knew she wouldn't notice being gone.  It must have worked because as far as I know, she never mentioned any missing t-shirts.

Favorite Moment #2: The small piece in the lower center of this image is a wonderful vintage graphic from one of Tom's shirts.

The main guide and inspiration for this quilt was a very similar quilt my Mom made for me out of a stack of old Iowa State T-shirts.  She had mentioned to me that she stabilized the t-shirt material with fusible interlining on the back. A brilliant idea because then the t-shirts don't stretch and they can be worked and manipulated just like any woven quilting fabric.  I also borrowed her idea of stitching a large team flag on the reverse of the quilt.  My Mom was the person who first taught me to sew and first encouraged me to be creative with sewing-- one of the best gifts I have ever received. :)

Favorite Moment #3: I just liked this corner, with the log-cabin look of the way the strips ended up layering. Also shows the binding.

I wish I could say that I was really organized and followed some excellent instructions and executed brilliant planning sessions followed by diligent hard work. In reality, I made the whole thing up as I went along. I'm nothing if not resourceful. Most of the fabric used to supplement the t-shirt pieces was leftover scraps in my bin. I did supplement a bit with store-bought stuff, but not much. There's material from several other projects-- pot-holders, aprons, even some fabric from our wedding favors.  There was a lot of re-cutting pieces and trueing up edges to make straight seams.  Next time I will cut my t-shirt pieces much bigger- leaving room to chop off edges. You can see in some of the blocks that the logo got trimmed a bit in places. Oh well. Live and learn.

Favorite Moment #4: Mimicking the fadeout of the word Bobcats in the T-shirt graphic with gradiations of blue and gold fabrics.

I also had a bit of difficulty quilting the layers. I have never actually done any quilting of any kind before and tried a few different methods before ultimately deciding to use my sewing machine to strategically tack through all the layers. This was actually another trick I took from the quilt my Mom gave me.  In the end, I think it turned out great and saved a lot of time and hand-stitching.  I also opted to machine stitch the binding to save time and followed the instructions off an excellent sewing and quilting blog Cluck Cluck Sew.

Favorite Moment #5: Another delightful vintage graphic from Tom, met with a log-cabin style treatment around it.

Overall, I'm pleased with the final product. I love the colors-- it reminds me of stained glass. I'm really proud of myself for finishing a project. Most of all, the recipient was very pleased and touched.  Now, I already have plans to complete the other two quilts I've got started.  Perhaps I've caught the quilting bug... Just got to stick with it!

Finished quilt front

Finished Quilt Back

Overall, I think I used 25 t-shirts, 1 pair of gym shorts, a golf towel, a pennant, a team flag, and lots of time and hard work. Can't wait for the next project!

Early Spring Roundup!

Yeehaw, buckaroos! Spring is in full fling!  We have had a lot going on around here, much more than the dearth of blog posts may suggest.  Here's a compilation of blurbs and photos-- the Early Spring Roundup, if you will-- of the goings-on.

Seeding Has Begun

Using the air drill for the first time to seed yellow peas.

Jeff recently planted yellow peas on our rented farmland. Jeff had been stewing the idea of peas and other legumes around in his mind for some time and was recently encouraged by another young couple we met and got to know at the Young Ag Couples Conference back in January, and also by personal research (never stop learning, people!).  Peas help restore nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil and are a nice rotation crop.  Any time we can naturally augment the land, I am happy.  Seeding of barley and spring wheat will follow within the next few weeks.  Our winter wheat (planted last fall) is filling in nicely, as well.

Sewing Projects
Speaking of dearth of activity, my sewing corner had been feeling neglected until this past weekend.  I finished a set of curtains and completed a prom dress alteration.  For the dress, the task was to take out the zipper and convert to a lace-up corset style back.  Upcoming projects include a commissioned project to create some apron and pot-holder sets for Mothers Day gifts, some fabric collage notecards, and re-stocking SweetGrassSewing.

Prom Dress!!

A close up on the curtains.  

Two of the more recent pairs.

Calving
The last heifer calved on Easter, right as Jeff and I were preparing to sit down to our Easter Dinner.  We ate rushedly and hurried back to the corral to check on her.  When we got there, she was cleaning her newborn, TINY calf as if she were an old pro. At this point, there are less than ten cows who are still preparing to calve-- just the stragglers.  It has been a great calving season of warm weather and relatively few issues thus far.

And What About the Men?
The bulls Jeff and I purchased at the BULL AUCTION back in February were scheduled to arrive this past Tuesday evening.  They ended up arriving a little after 10:00pm.  We unloaded them and the new young bulls joined their more experienced brethren, bringing the bull count back up to six.  Soon, the time will come for them to join the cows out in the pasture and the birds and the bees shall run their course.

A recent sunset.

One Hundred Photos
Thank you to everyone who checked out my 100th post slide show.  It was a pleasure to create and share with all of you.  Many have shared comments of appreciation.  Thanks for taking a look!

Tree Skirt is FINISHED!

It's finally finished.  At 2:00pm this afternoon, I finally finished the Christmas Tree Skirt I have been working on for a while now! Woohoo!

I had originally though this would be one of those easy projects I could finish in an afternoon or so.  I had purchased some fabric at the quilt store in Bozeman on one of our Bobcat weekends, and matched it with a few more remnants I had in my stash. I sat down one afternoon about a month ago thinking I could do the whole thing from scratch and be done in a day or two at most.

I had only done minimal research on Christmas Tree Skirts. I never made more than a vague outline of a plan for this one and didn't follow a pattern. From the start, this was a "make-it-up-as-you-go" project.  It was a project that continued to evolve with every seam sewn.  Even now that it is "done".... I still feel like there is more I could do to make it better!  Furthermore, if you look closely, you can see improvisations made where my lack of advanced planning got the better of me.

As I think about my process in completing this project, I think it is a great parallel for how I live my life.  I often don't make plans, and just see where my thoughts and feelings take me, trusting that the process can be just as exciting as the end result.  I believe that the plan will evolve as I go along. This is in great contrast to my husband, who often has a well-conceived plan in his mind even before an idea has occurred in my own.  Maybe that's another reason why we work.