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!

FFFF - February Fun For Friday

Happy Friday!

My miscellaneous "fun" file is overflowing so here is a bunch of very random stuff for February.

I received this Edger Allan Poe mug for Christmas.  Thank you, Margaret, I love it.

What a FUN surprise on the bottom.  I wonder how many have noticed it.....

I got a great Johnny Cash T-shirt on sale.  Check out this little label.

 No purpose, just free cuteness.   Thanks Lucky.  I really get you.

What to do with it?  When in doubt, it goes into the thread shelf with other weird trinkets and toys I've picked up.

Couldn't pass up trying these.  I give them a thumbs up.

New from Pillsbury.   From the mall, to the airport to a grocery store near you.

Thanks, Mary, for these wonderful socks~  I love your graphic gift tape too!

I received a hostess gift  (and I didn't even hostess last weekend).   Thanks Kayte, these place mats are perfect for Buck Hill Road.

A guild friend asked me to share her Custom Fashions for the American Girl and other 18" dolls.   Pat's kits come with pre-printed panels, notions and instructions to make these special custom designed outfits.  To see all the designs visit her  Etsy Store and Facebook  page.   Pat has developed very unique and creative designs for all seasons and occasions.

I received this lovely surprise pin cushion from Mary Beth.  We became friends through Jill.  Thanks you MB I'll treasure this!  I love the ribbon detail.

And for those in the coco fan club - here's my baby sitting in the snow.  I suppose she is wondering what happened to all the soft green grass.

Happy Friday!  Have a fun weekend~

Stars in a Time Warp

Are you participating in Barbara Brackman's Stars in a Time Warp 2015 Sew Along?   Last week one of my quilts made an unexpected appearance in a post.  You can see it here.  Today her block features double pink star blocks - they are wonderful!

The simple star is one of my favorite blocks.  (I say that about a lot of blocks, don't I?).

Today I'm sharing a few of my quilts that feature this wonderful block.

My version of the antique "Evening Star" quilt.

 Here is the original quilt from Summit New Jersey.

 Close up of some of the stars.  You can see the original expanded post here.

I made a smaller version for a life long friend who is avid gardener.

A small quilt from the NJ Heritage quilt book.

I used this block for 2 of the borders on my Remember Abe quilt.  The small ones finish at 3 inches.

So, are you doing the Sewing Along?  Do you think I should jump in?  Maybe you can't have too many Star quilts!

Guess Who's Coming For Dinner?

NO ONE!

Mr. Fun and I were planning to have a little dinner party tonight.....but NOoooo.   The Winter Warlock has struck us down - again.  We're expecting another horrid storm late tonight into tomorrow.

I brought in my outdoor urns to decorate.  I don't know if/when they will ever be able to be back outside where they belong.

Vintage Valentine postcards among the china.

Children's valentines from the 50s.

Two of these are signed by my mother.  I found them among my grandmothers things after she passed away.

My dear friend, Jill, made me this lovely Valentine.  We were both married on February 14, 1987.   I've missed her so much this week.

These are chocolate box shadow boxes I made years ago.

Today marks our 28th Wedding Anniversary.  What children we were!  We were married during a horrid winter storm in Chicago.  You can see another bad Valentines storm On this post here from 2013.

My friend, Rachael, of Blue Mountain Daisy shared her incredibly beautiful and touching wedding in her post today.  A perfect Valentines Story.

Of course I always have this goof for a chocolate valentine too -

Happy Valentines Day! (sort of) from the winter storm capitol.
xoxo

What the Buck?

Yesterday I finally finished my mystery craft with the deer antlers!

Introducing:  Uncle Buck

I saw this in a vendor booth last September at a quilt show.   I just fell in love with the idea of having one here on Buck Hill Road.

The pattern is by Amanda Herring.

I skipped the flower - it's not a cow, after all.    I gave up a few times and put it aside, but tenacity paid off!

In January I sewed the pieces together.  I'm not skilled at construction and it was a real challenge for me.   I made several mistakes.  But it came out okay.

After finishing the back, I hung it temporarily in the Dining Room (on a pre-hung hook for a painting). I just to see how it looked.  I'm so thrilled with it!

In other sewing news-

I'm working on piecing the modern nine patch together.  It is amazing how much smaller it is after piecing.  It is slow going with that lettering!

Here are the two Alice Payne blocks I'm working on.

Here is a long view of Uncle Buck surveying the Dining Room.  I intend to have in mounted in the front hall but need help from Mr. Fun.

Snow Report:
Still have it....got more....getting more tomorrow...and Sunday.....   Good News?  We have taken matters into our own hands with this baby:

Woop Woop - I think I'll call this monster Orange Crush.

There's NO Business like SNOW Business

Happy Tuesday.  I don't know what to say......Still....or Again??  Here was the scene yesterday.  We got an additional 9 inches.

We've been busy keeping our bird friends fed.  I love this little finch hiding from the snow and wind in the window feeder.

 I also really love this little House Wren.    How cute and fluffy is he?

Yesterday I got out my modern nine patches from the swap and put them up on the design wall.  Still love this setting.

As a special challenge to myself, I organized the typeface vertically and horizontally instead of going every which way.

Easy you may think, but there are actually 4 different half square triangle blocks.

spin them, spin them, spin them....you need the right one to make it work.

New Sewing Gadget:

For Christmas I got this neat tiny light for my sewing machine.  I had an electrical short years ago and the bulbs on my machine don't work.

Here it is with the machine on-

Now with my "mighty light" left of my needle-

Now with my new super tiny SewLite LED lights-

They have several different models.  They are pricey but work great!!  Here is a link.

I decided it was high time to take down the snowy Dicken's Village today.  The snow scene is just not as "cute" as it was in December.

This is the ugly down side to all that mood lighting....what a nightmare.

If only all of life's little challenges could be solved with zip locks and a rubber tote.

My villagers look funny all huddled waiting for their boxes.

I've restocked the large fan stencils in my Etsy store.  I've been overwhelmed by how many people have ordered them.  Thank You.

See you next time!