This quilt block shows a duck from the side facing left. The duck has a green head, a white collar, and a brown body. The duck bill is a small orange piece of fabric, the head a dark green piece of fabric, the body a small white piece, and the body is made up of three brown pieces (two for the wings). The feet are the same fabric as the bill. The wings are in mid-flap and are coming out of each side of the duck. Every piece of fabric is outlined by a black and white salt-and-pepper-like stitch. This is against a light blue salmon-patterned background.

Block-A-Day 325 – The Silver Appleyard Duck

Tina November 21, 2021Block-A-Day Leave a Comment

I’m going to call this duck a Silver Appleyard duck. They are a nice dual breed duck, producing tender meat and plentiful eggs. Here are 8 reasons to keep ducks:

This quilt block, much like the last one, shows a donkey or mule against a light blue background. The mule is made up of a polkadotted duotone gray-yellow fabric. It is outlined by a black tight stitching. You can see the mule's large ears and much broader and longer head. The mule also stands shorter than a regular horse with stocky back legs. It also has a long thing tail with a little bush at the end.

Block-A-Day 324 – The Pack Mule

Tina November 20, 2021Block-A-Day Leave a Comment

The mule generally has a more independent nature than other equines. However, they have superior stamina and strength. While many people enjoy riding their mules, they are thought most useful in the pack animal department.

This quilt block shows the outline of a horse in black against a light blue salmon-patterned background. The silhouette has one pen marking on it to show an eye in white. It is outlined by a light brown stitch. You can see the neck, the head, the ears, the tail, and the legs in detail throughout the silhouette.

Block-A-Day 323 – The Majesty Of The Horse

Tina November 19, 2021Block-A-Day Leave a Comment

I was dreadfully allergic when I was a girl and the drugs we have now we didn’t have then so it wasn’t meant to be. However, I have some fun facts for you about horses:

This quilt block shows a horse in a stable. The stable is a yellow building with vertical slats delineated by red stitching. In the middle of the building is a brown gate split into an upper window and a lower door. The upper window is open, and out from the black fabric inside is an orange fabric in the shape of a horse. The horse has extra details drawn in with pen, like an eye and mane. The roof of the stable is a dark red and flat.

Block-A-Day 322 – Buck The Horse

Tina November 18, 2021Block-A-Day Leave a Comment

A gelding is a castrated male horse. Once after a vet had been to our place to castrate a couple of colts, I asked my father why the vet had been there. He replied, “Well, Sis, those young studs just had their minds changed for them.”

This quilt block is also a corner block. The corner is on the bottom right and is a large swatch of green fabric stretching from the bottom left corner to the upper right corner. On the curved surface of the grass is a mother hen, a cut out of brown fabric with pen marking and stitching on it to indicate the feathers and wing. Next to the mother hen are three small bright yellow patches of fabric shaped like baby chicks. Each baby chick has a little beak and eye in pen, and two tiny feet.

Block-A-Day 321 – The Chicks

Tina November 17, 2021Block-A-Day Leave a Comment

They have had nothing to eat or drink since hatching so for the first thing they are gently taken out of the box and their beaks are put in water so they have to take a little. All the farmhands help with this part and even Farmhand 4 is gentle enough.

This quilt block is a corner block. There is a patch of grass in the bottom right corner, stretching from the bottom left corner to the top right corner. It has a green bold stitching across its top. There are two chickens on the grass, one a brown patch of fabric, and one a black patch of fabric. The black patch is larger than the brown patch, and is the rooster. There are pen markings on each patch to indicate feathers and a wing. The brown patch is a hen that is looking back at the rooster.

Block-A-Day 320 – The Rooster

Tina November 16, 2021Block-A-Day Leave a Comment

I think roosters can be beautiful creatures. They can also be mean, aggressive, and hard on the hens. We don’t have roosters at Sisu Farm. That means, of course, that we don’t have fertilized eggs.

This quilt block shows a very dark, practically black, pentagon shaped shed on the lower half. It has a lighter grey frame on the outside and around the door. It is against a salmon-patterned blue background.

Block-A-Day 319 – The Dandy Shed

Tina November 15, 2021Block-A-Day Leave a Comment

I am thinking this would be a very useful shed for storing chicken feed, dog food, and small off season equipment like a snowblower or lawnmower.

This quilt block shows a very large green tractor on top of a light blue salmon-patterned background. The tractor itself is made up of a splotchy dark green with a black fabric for the carriage window, the big tire, and the small front tire. There are yellow accents on the tractor, including its roof, a stripe on its chassis, and two yellow circles in the wells of the wheels. On the sripe in green it reads,

Block-A-Day 318 – The Tractor

Tina November 14, 2021Block-A-Day Leave a Comment

The leaping deer trademark has represented John Deere for 140 years. The slogan “Nothing Runs Like A Deere” was created for a snowmobile and has been running ever since.

This quilt block shows a hen house against a blue salmon-patterned background. The hen house is up off the ground, held up by a light brown arch. The front of the hen house is green, and the ladder/stair going up into the house is a dark green. Inside the hen house, on the black arch of the entrance is a white chicken made of white fabric. There is a red markings for the head. The stitching outlining each part of the hen house is a golden yellow color.

Block-A-Day 317 – The Hen House

Tina November 13, 2021Block-A-Day Leave a Comment

A trip into town for flour, sugar, and coffee and they will want for very little. A sound I always enjoyed when I had a backyard flock was the pleasant clucking of the hens as they “hunt a little, scratch a little, peck a little” about the farmyard.

This quilt block shows several large metallic cans against a light blue salmon-patterned background. The canisters themselves are gray fabric that looks metallic. The canisters have little handles near the top. The top is smaller than the bottom, forming a very wide flute, and have a cross handle on top. These details are made clear with light gray stitching lines. On the front two canisters are little yellow-orange signs with the words, "Milk" and "Cream" written in black pen.

Block-A-Day 316 – The Cream Of The Crop

Tina November 12, 2021Block-A-Day Leave a Comment

On a family farm, some of the cream might be skimmed off and used for whipping, butter, or mixing with whole milk for coffee. Commercial dairy operations use a separator.