Thursday, February 26, 2015

Whatever.....

That's my new attitude about the winter of 2015.   It is all you hear on the news and I'm over it.  Spring will come.

Speaking of house bound...I had a little house swap with (in order by rows) Robyn, me, Susan and Kelly.  We swapped 4 houses and here is our little neighborhood.
Aren't they terrific?  I've picked out some really fun fabrics to set them with.  Maybe it will be a spring project.

I finished sewing the center of the modern 9-patch blocks together.  What is that blue polar bear doing??  Stay tuned.

Wee!  I was the luck jewelry giveaway winner on Julie's Blog.   The pin is so beautiful I hopped right on her website to order some for gift giving.  Thanks Julie.

I jumped in on the Stars in a Time Warp quilt along.  Here is my first block:  Turkey Red.  I'm making 4" blocks, one per week following the color study that Barbara is posting.

Old dogs can be taught new tricks.  Instead having to reinvent it every week,  I've made myself a little worksheet.  It's a quilting miracle.

Here are the first six weeks~ It's not too late to jump in!!

I'll be sharing these on Instagram (#starsinatimewarp).  I have just joined and I'm  not sure how to find ya'll.  My account is Funwithbarb, so you can search for me or hit the button on my side bar.  I'll keep the content different from the blog.

I've added these two finished Alice Payne blocks to my grid.  Thanks again, Aunt Reen, you are the queen of quilt block grids.

I'll finish with this sweet photo.  I saw this outside the sewing room window while sitting at the machine.  At first I thought it was a wasps nest.  I grabbed my camera to zoom in and found these sweet Mourning Doves sleeping in the sun on a VERY cold day.    Such a sweet couple.

That's all for now.  Have a great Day!

34 comments:

Pinkadot Quilts said...

Your house block look great together, I am working on my plan now.
The little pin is so cute and so you, it looks really small. The baby heads fabric is so cute is that an old fabric or new?
Your applique circles are perfect! How did you do that? I need to know!

Diane said...

Curious minds want to know where that polar bear block is going? Hmmmm

sjb said...

I love the house blocks! So much fun!

Can't wait to see what the polar bear does!

Ruth said...

Two really cute quilts to be, lots of lovely blocks. I'm making some 4" star blocks too right now for a custom order request - a doll quilt. I used to have some of the "baby" fabric in green and loved it. But I think it's all gone. Lots of business at your house. Might as well take advantage of the cold weather to hunker down and quilt!

CecileD said...

What a funny swap ! And YES ! Your houses are soooo terrific !
As your 9 patch blocks too...Are you going to add a border with blue bears ? :)
Congrats for your Alice Payne appliqués !! They are awesome !!
I'm making too the stars of BB and I will show them this weekend on my blog !
Have a nice day !

Nancy said...

Love the House quilt, and the Nine Patch is very appealing. You've been busy. The prints in the 4" Star are wonderful, too. We have Mourning Doves who love to hang out in our bird bath. They always look so content and peaceful.

Kyle said...

I think there must be a party going on every day in the house swap neighborhood. I'm joining in the star blocks too as soon as I can. Yours look great. Polar bears and nine patches....hmmmmm.

Karen said...

Pretend those are beach houses and you are sitting in a beach chair on the sand sipping a Bahama Mama being served to you by a muscular and good looking Cabana Boy.

Karen said...

I forgot to tell you how much I like the new Alice Payne blocks.

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

Love those houses - so cute! And I have been enjoying seeing your progress on the Alice Payne quilt. Is it from a book? Love that bullseye block!

Debra said...

So much to love here!... except the weather :-). Love the houses, and was just thinking of house blocks this morning.. and then saw your post. Also love the stars.. I think I need to check them out. thanks!

Lori said...

Your little houses are adorable! Your Alice Payne blocks look so quirky and fun! So happy to see you on Instragram and doing the time warp stars!

Maureen said...

Lots of projects! Those houses are so cool! What a fun swap!
Will the polar bear commemorate this frigid and snowy winter?
The star quilt along is so tempting...
You are progressing quickly with Alice Payne - what a beauty.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Love the houses and the nine patches . . .

CAROL said...

love the stars - I also love the baby head fabric - who makes it?

Judy in Michigan said...

Great post - I have a new method for making flying geese. Very accurate I think...

Cut the sky squares a bit larger (instead of cutting 1.5" squares, cut them 1.75"); mark the rectangles on the wrong side by making a tick mark at 1.5" and 1" and connecting to the opposite corner (you'll have an X marked on the wrong side the crosses at 1/4" from the edge). Place one sky square (rst) so that the extra fabric is on the side that will be folded over. Sew ON the drawn line. Fold over, press, and trim off extra from the wrong side. Then trim off the 2 extra layers as usual. That corner will be perfectly shaped. Repeat with other side of rectangle.

I've found that I get PeRFECT sized geese that I don't need to fudge when making the star block.
It's faster to just mark the 4 rectangles rather than 8 teeny blocks.

What do you think? Is it worth doing a tutorial??

Love your work as you know. And yes, spring is coming. It was -14 this morning at 9am.

Janet O. said...

Look at all you are accomplishing--and all of it looks wonderful. Love the houses. That will be a fun project.
Great stars, and your Alice Payne blocks are beautiful.
You sure caught up on the stars quickly.
Love the cute couple outside your window.
I need to get off the computer and go sew something. I feel like such a slacker.

Janet said...

What a fun little neighbourhood! Each house with its own personality :0) I love your time warp stars. I'm still resisting but it's getting harder and harder. That red bird is wonderful in that Alice Payne block - the quilt grid is pretty cool too!

Thimbleanna said...

Those little houses are adorable -- it will be fun to see how you set them. I'm in a house exchange too -- except one of our 4 dropped out and it's derailed the remaining three -- we REALLY need to get back on it. Your work is always so beautiful and it's so fun to see. Those stars are very tempting ... hmmm.... If these other projects would finish themselves LOL. And thanks for the Dove Love ;-D!

Rachaeldaisy said...

Ohh I love everything in this post, from your houses, to that blue polar bear, I wonder what secret show he has up his furry sleeve. Is that pineapple pin really pieced? Amazing! I've been considering joining in the stars sew along, It would be good for me to use my repro stash, I could combine them with my 9patches. That baby head fabric is so cool! Beautiful Alice Payne blocks!! Thanks for the sweet dove photo.

audrey said...

So fun to come to your blog and see what you're up to. Love those houses and that 9-patch quilt is looking fabulous. Can't wait to see what the polar bears are up to!

Dixie Howard said...

Hi Barb,

You have been busy! So happy to see you are on Instagram - really fun place to be. Love seeing all your projects - the houses and stars are very sweet! Your Alice Payne looks amazing, as does the 9 patch quilt. My hubby is remodeling all of our upstairs rooms, so I don't have a design wall yet - maybe by this summer.

Janet said...

The houses, the nine patches and the stars all look great. I do have to wonder about the polar bear and I love that he's blue.

Amy said...

LOL! Loved the zombie house! I made a baby quilt last December using the entire Zombie Apocalypse line. It was fun! Looking forward to seeing where that bear roams! Have you made Coco tunnels so she can do her business? And thanks for the 4" star measurements. Maybe I'll jump on the bandwagon in April, when I'm freeeeee...

rondiquilts said...

I don't stop often enough to tell you what a delight your posts bring me. Many thanks!
Rondi

Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quilts said...

What great bright houses - a great idea for a swap! Glad you are adding your stars to #starsinatimewarp on Instagram. It's fun to see what everyone is making. I am really enjoying that sew along!

Me and My Stitches said...

Glad you love your new jewelry! I just love your post - so many great projects. Your Alice Payne blocks are fantastic - I wish you would give me an applique lesson - lol! Love your star blocks too - such great fabric choices.

Wendy Caton Reed said...

Love those houses! Glad you are jumping into the Time Warp stars. Love the baby head conversational fabric. Hadn't seen that one before. Wow!

Brenda said...

love the house swap! and the stars in a time warp are great too.

fiberchick said...

Your blocks are all beautiful. I envy your productivity. When do you sleep?!

QuiltSue said...

Your houses are great, and I love your modern 9-patches. I hope to get to mine soon.

pandchintz said...

Goodness! You have been busy! Great projects on the go....surely enough to ignore your horrible Winter.

Carrie P. said...

such fun and colorful neighborhood.
Your 9 patch blocks are also fun and colorful. I really like that top so far.
I thought about joining in on the stars but I just have too many other things I want to get done. Love yours though.
What a rare shot of the doves.

Louise said...

I had a feeling you would be on board with the Time Warp stars. Need to thank you for your inspiring blog. I enjoy it very much.