Rainy days and Mondays

More rain overnight, which was predicted!  We started fertilizing the spring crop ground on Saturday and finished late last night, beating the rain.   Sun is forecast for Wednesday so we're hoping we can start seeding that afternoon.  We've never started this late.  It is tempting to complain about the delay, but after a few years of drought, we don't dare.  All this rain is re-charging the aquifers up and down the west coast which is welcome indeed.

.30 of an inch over night.  Reynald worked until midnight last night to finish before the rain.  He said just as he was making his final pass, the first rain drop fell.  

This image is supposed to show just how dark and damp the soil in my garden is!  

Drip, drip, drip little April showers.  

There is a strong wind blowing this morning, moving the clouds along.  Though more rain is predicted for tomorrow.

So, what's a farm girl to do when she can't be on a tractor.  Pull out another quilt to work on of course!  This is going to sound crazy, but I've been having this debate in my head about which quilt to do next.  I have this seasonal quilt goal that I started a few years ago.  So, do I finish quilts according to season or do I complete a four season set per room?  Seriously, I have gone back and forth and back and forth on this.  Obviously there are much larger issues in the world to contemplate, but this is something that I have direct control over.

This morning a decision had to be made and I reached for a fall quilt!  That's not to say that a spring quilt can't sneak in after this one is buttoned up and before the final fall quilt is started.  I'm leaving my options open.

I really, really love this design though, and it will be an easy one to pick up when there are long periods of time between sewing, when the weather finally warms up and dries out a bit and I am spending time on my tractor instead of with my sewing machine.

This is what the finished product will look like.

This is my test block.  Beth says you always want to make a test block, to make sure the cutting instructions are correct, before you jump in and cut everything.

The cutting instructions were correct.  Everything is cut, ziplocked, and marked.

This morning I started sewing the 1 1/2'" strips together.

There are more strip sets to sew as well, but I'm focusing on the 1 1/2" strips for now.

Once the strips are sewn, you press them then sub-cut to 1 1/2" units.

These units make up the 9 patch block and the 4 patch blocks.  For the nine patch blocks another strip needs to be sewn on.  I'm working on the 4 patch blocks right now.  

I don't have the luxury of sewing all day, though wouldn't that be fun? There are a few other things that can be done during a rain delay, like work on the vintage Christmas ornaments!  This is the reason a person needs to have more than one project going at once.  That way you are never without something important and valid to be working on!