Gnome Sweet Gnome

I made this little quilt last week just for fun and because I haven't been in the sewing room very much lately.   I think I'll hand quilt this one.

the mushrooms were really fun and easy to make.  Here they are before I fused them.

As a surprise for Mr. Fun, I got tickets to see Manheim Steamroller.  It was wonderful and put me in a festive mood.  If you get a chance to see them, I highly recommend it.

This year I'm displaying my Hot Flash quilt in the kitchen.  It's not a Christmas quilt, but I love the bright colors during these darker days.

Every year I set up my Dickens Village.  I always dread it and put it off but I also always love it and leave it up for a couple of months.

My goal is create a realistic village.

The set up is different every year.

This year I made two "town" areas

The Post Office is one of my favorite buildings.

The Church sits in the highest position.  There is Charles and his wife, Elizabeth.

I positioned the homes of Tiny Tim and Betsy Trotwood and others up behind the town square.

I love the little lights on the tree and the street lights.  Can you believe I have six different kinds of snow?  I also recycle it every year.

Here is an aerial view.   I posted a video with music on my Instagram.

Here are a few behind the scenes photos.  I start by unpacking all the buildings, lights, and people.  Nutmeg was vey intrigued.

I use styrofoam to construct different levels.  I learned this on Pinterest and it really makes a big difference!

I do a practise set up.  I also use that little string of lights under the batting to light it up.

It takes several hours, but it is magical to me.

I hope you are having a nice December.  It can often be stressful and full of commitments.

Be kind and gentle with yourself.  A few quiet minutes of meditation can be a blessing.

Domesticity

Happy Wednesday!

I changed the quilt in my sewing room to "Friends and Neighbors" 2004.

This was exchange with my Illinois friend, Mary Pat W when I moved to NJ. Some of the liberated houses are mine and some are hers.  I still love this quit and remember it being very fun to make.

The back is all household related print fabrics.

I'm finally marking my big star quilt.  Great News!!  I'm having 2 versions of my over sized baptist fan stencil manufactured and I'll be offering it here on the blog for purchase.  They are also manufacturing another one of my designs for their catalog. (my room is a mess - again)  At least the dolls are behaving.

On other domestic fronts:

I turned these

Into this

a Food and Wine recipe for Tortilla soup.  click here for the link.

I did a little "fake baking".  I added vanilla and some oatmeal and viola'

I inherited Jill's extensive collection of doilies, aren't these pretty?  Warm fake bake is better than no cookies, right?

The hummingbirds area gone, but the winter birds are here at the kitchen window.

This year I moved the whole feeding station up to the deck where I can see them.

I don't know if this is a red-headed sparrow or a purple finch, but he's handsome.

First cardinal of the season.  He's a handsome fellow too!

I've planted an amaryllis and paper whites.

I'm uploading lots of reading for my ipod.

I finished my first block of the Alice Payne quilt.

I found my name tag collection.  I'm off to my second meeting with my new guild tonight.

If I'm not back, have a Blessed Thanksgiving next week to my US friends.  Hope you are staying warm and find time to stitch, read, bake, cook or watch the birds.