Baby Boy Quilt

 Off it went today to a new home for a sweet boy named Warren.

It was made with two different swap blocks; the star and the churn dash.  The tutorials for those are still on my blog below the header.  I love how the bright buttercup yellow really set off the blue blocks.

the back - pretty wild, huh?  Sadly I had to piece it, but that's okay.

I included a snowman because he was born in January.

One lesson I have learned using solids with white is that it is always a good idea to grade the seams.  This means I trim back the seam allowance so it won't shadow on the front.

makes a little mess, but worth it!

I used teacher bulletin borders to mark the wavy lines.

Miss mischief was so happy to keep me company. 

She has no regard to being in my way.  

I machine quilted it very slowly - the curve was very curvy.  

I've been doing really well this year watching the movies.   So many are available on streaming platforms.  I do miss going to the theater and will go more in the future.

So far my favorites have been The Power of the Dog and The Lost Daughter.  I haven't filled in my ballot yet.  

If you like films and podcasts these are my two favorites:  

they can be found where ever you get your podcasts.  I use an Apple iphone, so I use Apple.

Coco and I went to the Sound today and she had her first swim of the season.

Tomorrow I'm off to MA to visit the New England Quilt Museum with some friends and to visit my quilts again.  I'm going again on Saturday with my boys.  

Thank you to everyone who sent me a comment or email with concern for  Rich.  He is doing very well and we so appreciated all of your well wishes.

until next time~

xo

Life....You Know what I mean?

It's what happens when you are making other plans. 

I've been away from things for about 2 weeks.  Mr. Fun was in the hospital for almost 5 days with a transient stroke.   It was very scary and it took a little time to determine what was happening, but thankfully he is okay and doing really well.

No permanent health issues.  New diet guidelines and reducing stress is the priority right now.

I'm so grateful for my family and Yale hospital.

While doing laps in the Atrium of  Yale, New Haven Hospital I admired the beautiful artwork.  This sculpture is at the entry of the Children's Wing.

I even found a quilt made with masks. 

I'm grateful for my son, Andrew, who is a nurse in the Yale Health System.  He was there to support me and knew all the right questions to ask.

I'm grateful for Hanna and David who came up from Washington DC to help with food, pets and to take care of everyone here at the house.  (I was starting to take down the angel tree, when the whole thing started, so it had to wait.  It is down now.)

Here is another sculpture that was labeled a quilt at the Hospital.

Thank you as well to all the family members and friends for  their concern and support.  

This is a little dolly quilt that I made for Diane B.  I don't know how many are in her collection now, but it must be over 15 Birthday Doll Quilts.

Do you remember Miss Lollipop from Avon?  I still love the smell of this girly cologne.

I've been having a sore back, so not much quilting going on.  I started a crochet scarf for  NEXT winter.

I picked up this yarn at Joann's.

A doll quilt that I made in 2002.  Hand appliqued and hand quilted.

Hurry Spring!  We need you.

xo

February Fun

New England Quilt Museum!

I had a  day of good weather so I drove up to the NEQM to see the new exhibits and my quilts on display.  Thank you to Pam and all the volunteers who made everything look so beautiful.

Here is my Artist's Statement~ 

Old Abe has never looked so good.  Nice to have it on display for his 213th Birthday.

I don't know who Joan and Lew are, but their little note in the guest book  touched my heart.

There is a bird exhibit on display that I loved.

I'll share one with you.

Laura L. has put together a gorgeous display of Tree Quilts from the museum's collection.

I adore this quilt by Ruth McDowell.

Since the show is still open that's all I'll share for now.  I know several people who are going to attend, so I like to let them discover it all for themselves.   See details on the NEQM Website.

I'll be giving a talk to The Applique' Society this Saturday at 1pm Central Time.

 Here is a link to their website if you are interested in becoming a member.  Membership is $25.  There are many resources and benefits.

I thought I had finished my words quilt.

Then I decided to go back and quilt additional lines.  I'm glad I did. I will say more about that when it is completely finished.

I've also started a baby boy quilt for a friend with two different Fun With Barb swap blocks.

The tutorials to make all the swap blocks are still available, see the tab at the top of the home page.

Stay Warm and Well and let me know if you visit my quiltts!

xo

Year of the Tiger! 🐯

 I was born under the Tiger in 1962.  Yep, I'm turning 60.  Seems like only 10 years ago I was 50.

🐯🐅In the Chinese zodiac, a woman born in the Year of the Tiger is independent, solicitous and a born leader.  She seeks a partner who equally matches her strong qualities, yet still respects her need for freedom and autonomy.  I got blessed with Mr. Fun.

Speaking of  Tigers - the Cincinnati Bengals are in the superbowl for the first time in over 30 years!  woo hoo!!!

My soon to be son in law is from Cincinnati so we are super excited!

Around the house:

My final amaryllis bloomed.  This is Apple Blossom - pretty.

We survived the big snow storm.  I'm so grateful for Mr. Fun who always works hard without complaint.

It was very pretty when it was all over.

On Sunday I made a family favorite:  Toms Pork Chops in the crockpot.  Hearty comfort food.  I'll add the recipe at the end of this post.

I made two more crochet hats with pom poms as gifts.

I've done very well on my Hitchcock viewing thanks to the library.

I have watched 34 so far!  I will give a final top ten report after I see the remaining five I intend to watch. I can not watch the silent ones.

For now the next few weeks, I'll be watching the Beijing Olympics! 

Curling is one of my favorite sports.  I saw the Italy/Norway match last night.  Since I am a quarter Italian I cheered for  Italy who is 3-0 after defeating Norway.

My current wordle stats:

I will leave you with this sweet little photo I took on my way into the house the other day.  This is my little bunny garden figure.   It looks like a groundhog popping up to check things out.

Stay well and warm!

xo

Tom's Pork Chops  (named for the boat cook Tom Jensen)

4-6 pork chops, I like bone in, but I couldn't get them last week.

1 onion

1 lb mushrooms

olive oil

butter

1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used low sodium)

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1/2 cup white wine

• Brown pork chops in olive oil and butter on both sides, add to crock pot.  
• Add more butter if necessary and brown the mushrooms and onions for about 10 minutes and add to pot.
• Mix the soups and wine and pour over the top and toss with chops.
• Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8-10
• I serve them over egg noodles with vegetables and cranberry sauce.