2022

 

Are you ready for a new year?

~b

south

What do you pack in your travel bag?

A small mindless knitting project, a good book and skittles for me.

Tomorrow we head south in search of warmer weather.

~b

hors d'oervres and charcuterie

 Did you Charcuterie for Christmas?

The granddaughters and I had fun

 putting together this Charcuterie Christmas tree

for our hors d'oeuvres table on Christmas day.

FYI: Charcuterie is a French word

and hors d'oeuvres is Russian.

Maybe next year we should do an around the globe table.

I had better brush up on my kuchen skills.

Actually the best thing on the table was the vegetable pizza.

(Now I need to look up diets!)

~b

So this is Christmas

 ...in a pear tree.

Wood turned pear from Dakota Man.

Merry Christmas from the Dakota's.

Barb and Ken

Pinocchio

 

This Pinocchio has to be one of my favorites 

that Dakota Man has wood turned for me.

I fell in love with a wooden marionette of Pinocchio that my mother had as a girl.

First it got broke then it burned up in a house fire they had.

Today it would be a rare find and very valuable...

but I'm always on the lookout for one.

~b

Not a creature was stirring

What do you do when you are wide awake at 5 in the morning?

When not a creature is stirring and you want to be quiet?

I went to the other end of the house and made more mittens.

~b

Upcycled Sweater Mittens

 Last night when I was supposed to be sleeping 

I was thinking about warm mittens.

I have a tote full of old felted wool sweaters.

You would laugh to see it...I save every last little piece.

Some would say hoarder but I prefer to think of myself as eco-friendly.

I have also made slippers and puppets from these same sweaters.

These are lined with a warm fleece 

and will keep our granddaughters hands warm 

up in North Dakota (10 miles from the Canadian border.)

~b

 Baby gifts are always fun to make and put together.

All those fun prints and soft flannels.

~b

Dakota Man

 Todays post is sponsored by "Dakota Man".

With every project he turns out 

he learns a little more about the woods and finishs he is using.

Right now he is broke down and waiting for a part.

He doesn't have four more as a back-up plan.

I know... strange isn't it?

~b

Friday Post Card

 

Eight inches of new snow called for some molasses sugar cookies.

~b

looking for Christmas

 

My 2021 Christmas sock 

with a few new ornaments from Dakota Man.

I am still looking for Christmas. There is snow in our forecast for tomorrow 

so maybe I will find it before it's too late.

~b

favorite things

 It's officially Christmas at our house when the snack mix has been made.

~b

rules

 Making a quilt for me these days means digging out my scraps and stash.

A baby quilt calls for lots of juvenile novelty fabrics and I definitely have those.

The backing also needs to be from my shelves...a soft flannel.

I want my quilt to look like something grandmother would make.

I think this quilt meets all my requirements.

~b

Friday Post Card

 I don't give this guy nearly enough credit for all that he does for me...

for always going along with my ideas and tweaking them until I'm satisfied.

Yup he's a keeper.

~b is for (Santa) Baby

cats and dogs

 Warning: There may have been some four letter words 

used in the making of these blocks!

Paper dolls need pets too.

This cat and dog really gave me fits but I only have to make one of each.

Next up...a house for all of them to live in.

~b

knit

 Christmas knitting in some unconventional colors.

~b

November

~b

Thanksgiving

 

~b

paper dolls

 The last few days I have been sewing paper dolls.

Did you ever play with paper dolls? My sister and I loved them.

Sew far these dolls have been frustrating 

but I may have finally figured them out today.

With little pieces you have to be precise 

and I am not a very precise person.

I need 26 of these.

It is another scrap project.

~b

weekend warriors

 Dakota Man made an Edison lamp this weekend and it turned out pretty darn unique.

It wasn't difficult at all and went together fast. (His words.)

It photographs well with his steam engine painting.

In fact I think I can honestly say that 

making these herb buns took more work and time.

I served them with my homemade tomato basil soup.

~b

Friday Post Card

 

...all scraps.

~b

bits and pieces

 Time to hand sew the binding on my "Crazy" quilt.

I used the paper piecing method to sew this together.

Meaning all the pieces were sewn together on a piece of paper.

The paper was then sprayed with water to remove it.

All pieces were out of my scrap tote.

It was new to me and there is a few slip ups on it 

making it all the more likely that I will give it away.

~b

apple cake and nanette

I had a few apples that needed to be used 

so I threw them in an apple cake today.

Then I made some caramel sauce. Can you spell C A L O R I E S? 

And what would apple cake with caramel be without vanilla ice cream?

How many times around the block am I up to?

This is Nanette...Norm's other half.

Isn't she cute?

I only have two more blocks to make and I'll be looking for a quilter.

They will go faster if I don't stop to make apple cake.

~b

Friday Post Card

 The winter birds have arrived with our first snow.

Woodpeckers, junkos, nuthatches, blue jays, finches 

and cardinals all at our feeders today. 

The cardinal is a first for us here.

~b is for birds

Norman

 This is Norman

but you can call him Norm if you want to.

He is one of 18 gnomes that I am making for my newest quilt.

He has a crooked smile that makes him unique 

and endearing to all his gnome friends.

Move over chicken quilt...

this could be my new favorite.

~b

Dakota Man

 There's always something going on at our house...

Dakota Man just finished a new paint-by-number 

and these wood turned bowls from a cherry tree limb 

we were lucky enough to find 

when we were in Door County this year.

His first car was a 1957 Chevy like this one only red.

We were both about to be juniors in high school.

They were some good times.

~b

Friday Post Card

 

~b

November scenes

 Outdoors: It is pheasant hunting season here and I am always on team pheasant.

Seeing a bird this time of year is rare.

Indoors: I am working on an intensive quilting project. 

100's of pieces to cut and sew.

But for the time being I am addicted to it and wish I didn't need sleep.

I am thankful to be able to do the things I love to do.

~b

Salt

 It's been awhile since I've made a bag.

I used an old salt bag that was given to me for the side pockets and strap.

The red vegetable fabric was also a freebie.

~b

October

I'm always a little sorry to see October go

but we do get one more month of fall with November.

~b

Friday Post Card

 This is what pumpkin carving looked like at our house this year.

Grandpa started a fire and set us up in his woodshop 

where all the fun carving tools are.

Someday I will miss this.

~b

1 + 2 = 3

Mr. b made me an oak rolling pin 

while he had a turkey breast on the smoker.

I made a sourdough pie crust for a turkey pot pie.

This is just the way we roll around here.

~b

Jack

"Listen up Pumpkins!

Halloween is Nigh and you have a job to do!"

 ~b

Spurtle

I ran across this kitchen utensil while studying sourdough starters.

The spurtle is a wooden Scottish kitchen tool, dating from the fifteenth century, that is used to stir porridge, soups, stews and broths, The rod-like shape means that porridge can be stirred without congealing and forming lumps, unlike a spoon that would have a dragging effect during stirring, and the low surface area reduces the chances of porridge sticking to the instrument.

It looked like the perfect way to stir my sourdough starter...

and I knew Mr. b would be able to turn one out for me.

He made mine out of oak.

It is 14 inches in length and 1 inch wide at the handle.

It's a beautiful addition to my wooden kitchen utensils.

~b

Friday Post Card

Have you carved your pumpkin yet?

~b