Well, That's Over....

Christmas that is.   It is always a little surprising how fast the whole shabang is over after the weeks of preparation.  Fortunately, there are still lots of cookies, candy and wine to consume :)

Here are a few things that I got for Christmas.  A new sewing chair from Ikea.  I may change the cushion, but for now I like it.

A new Quilt Book.  It is good, more words than photos, but still a good additon to my collection.

Hooray!  Santa brought my custom stencils!  Here is the double baptist fan.

The basic large baptist fan.

And here is one that I designed called "wave length".   The company is adding it to their wholesale on line catalog.

They will not be offering my large fans as they said that quilt shops don't have the room to display them.  No Problem, I will be selling them here at the blog and will add the pricing and order information soon.  I also have to order more as they only sent a sample set.

Not technically a Christmas gift, but I did win an awesome give away from my friend Rachael, at Bluemountaindaisy.  Rachael's blog is always a wonderful place to visit.  Her work and style are a constant inspiration to me.  She makes beautiful things and always has wonderful photos.

I won this delightful group of kittie fabrics.  I plan to make a little Luna memory quilt from them.

She also sent this large piece of bonus fabric~  She remembered that I was really taken by the Shelburne circus exhibit a couple of years ago.  I A-dore this fabric!!  Thank you so much Rachael for a super fun surprise package.

Speaking of Luna, I made this label for my Hot Flash quilt, which included a little tribute to her.  Was a sweet visitor to the sewing room.

 I mentioned in my previous post that I made a wide binding.  It was an after thought.  Here is how I did it:  I cut 4 strips 3 1/2" and pressed it in half.  I  attached the binding in the usual way then I trimmed the backing and batting 1/2" from the edge of the binding/quilt.  It is 3/4" finished on both sides.

I have been using Sharon Schamber's method of gluing the binding down on the back side and drying it with a hot iron.  You must use school glue ONLY so that it washes out completed.  I use a spare amount a bit away from the edge that I'll be stitching.

This makes sewing the binding down a pleasure!

From my home to yours, I hope you had a nice Christmas and have a safe and Happy New Year.

See you in 2015

It's Practically Here!!

Christmas is less than one week away!  Yikes.  Everyone seems to be running late and I am no exception.

I managed to squeeze in some time and finish my "Hot Flash" quilt.  I attached an extra wide binding, which finishes at 3/4" inch.  I love the way it looks.

 The backing is Nancy Drew fabrics.

It's a really fun line and the colors go perfectly with the front.

Last weekend, I rushed to Ohio after Hanna had an emergency appendectomy.    She missed most of her finals in a Percocet haze.....We made do at the hotel with quilts from her school collection, bad TV and my Alice Payne applique'.  Thanks to my FB friends for your support and good wishes while I was there.

A Nor'easter blew through while away resulting in this disaster...

After the initial hysteria and panic....everyone did their bast to get through it.

 We will rebuild!

Connecticut Strong!

My first amaryllis was a disappointment so I bought this beauty a few weeks ago at the grocery store.  The first one is showing promise so I'm nursing it along.

 Could this be the craft I was talking about in my last post?

 No, but it does look festive in the meantime.  It's how I imagine they decorate a hunting lodge.

Thank you Rich for taking photos this week before work and for my family's support of my crazy ideas and projects.  I'm so grateful for you all.

I thank you all too, for your encouragement, comments and enthusiasm.  You really make Fun With Barb fun for me.

If I don't make it back here, Merry Merry Christmas to you all!

What the Dickens?

I hope your pre-holiday plans are coming along, what ever they may be.  I also hope that you take time to enjoy the simple things and small moments that make this time of year special.

This year, I set up my Dickens Village on a banquet table in the Living Room.

On the top of the hill is the "David Copperfield" seaside and below is the "The Christmas Carol" neighborhood.

Rich always sprinkles the "fresh fallen snow" on the roofs.  I have 6 different types of artificial snow, which I think is slightly less the Inuit.

I love this gentleman sitting on a bench.  Maybe his wife is in the quilt shop.

Living on "Buck Hill" has created my appreciation for Deer themed decor.  I found these kitchen towels at TJMaxx.  I received this beautiful card from Sue in England.  She posts a lot of beautiful things on her blog here.

I won the antlers on Ebay and I'm going to use them in a new home decor piece that I'm making.  Intrigued?  Stayed tuned.....

Lastly, Sheila sent me this photo of a completed Alice Payne quilt top.  Neither of my friends in the photo made the top; Kathy S. did.  She stayed true to the original - I love it!  I hoping to get another finished AP quilt photo soon.

ho Ho HO

Happy December!

Soon after my last post, we had a great sadness here at our home.   We lost our sweet Luna very suddenly and very fast.  This is a photo I took of her with Starbuck recently.  They are brother and sister and have always been together.

Thanks to all my Facebook friends for you kind comments.  We are missing her.

Here is a lovely male downy woodpecker at the feeder.

Here I am doing some extreme housecleaning.  I sweep and dust this once a year before we put a tree up.  I hate the 2 story entry, but we might as well use it.

With help from Mr. Fun, I pinned basted my Hot Flash quilt for machine quilting.  

Seems like a lot of pins, right?  My feeling is if you are doing straight line quilting, you had better do it well.  The best way to keep the lines from wobbling is pins, pins and then pins.

By the way, if you're not familiar, drop diamonds are parallel lines with 60 degree lines creating a tilted diamond.

I quilted all the vertical lines first to secure the quilt.  The diagonal lines are on the bias so I wanted to take care.  I'm removing the pins one row at a time as I quilt.  HHmmm, there is a line here that looks a little crooked.  I'll have to check that out.

Randomness:

I know I'm over 50, but why do my vitamins say Century?  I'm not 100......yet.

Sometimes you hit the jean lottery.  Lucky Brand, my size (short), down from $119. to 29.99. Thanks TJ Maxx.  Recovery Stretch?  Again, over 50....

The sewing room was definitely Luna's territory.   Here is a post that features a fun cat showdown at the end.  Starbuck has been coming in for extra love and petting while I've been quilting.  He even jumped onto the sewing table! a first!

I've added a new feature to my sidebar; an email form.  I am happy to receive questions and happy to answer them, but they are often from non-reply commenters.  So if you aren't a blogger, and don't have a google profile, or don't have settings for receiving email......use my new form.

Have a great week everyone!