Where Did January Go?

I’ve always had a special relationship with January.  Not only is January the beginning of the new year, when almost everyone is making New Year’s resolutions, it’s my birthday month.

This year we went on a 5 day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean to celebrate!  We had two ports of call, Progreso, Yucatan and Cozumel, Mexico.

We got to see the Mayan ruins at Dzibilchaltún, white sandy beaches at Cozumel, watched an early morning sunrise from the deck of the ship, danced The Macarena on the catamaran back from the beach, watched the Seahawks beat New Orleans amidst a whole ship full of New Orleans Saints fans (that was exciting!), walked through the City Park in New Orleans, and ate way too much food!

We had a wonderful time and without being at home, where I have too many tasks and projects to work on, it gave me time to think.

I’ve always been a little reflective around my birthday.  Rather than making New Year’s resolutions, I start thinking of what I’ve done in the past year that I like, and what do I want to do differently, so I can grow as a person.  That doesn’t sound much different than most people’s motivation for making New Year’s resolutions, but for me it’s the birthday and not the time of year.  I’ll never truly know, since I can’t change my birthday!

 

1. Work on becoming more mindful
2. Take better care of my health
3. Take more family time
4. Take one weekend a month for “me” time!
   That means sewing on personal projects as well as knitting and spinning.
5. De-clutter!!
   This goes without saying, but all the stuff I’ve accumulated needs to be evaluated for its value in adding, or taking away, from the joy it brings to my life.  Too much stuff clutters up my brain!

Now that I’m back home, and back to reality, I need to deal with my computer crash, my messy sewing room, desk and dining room table.  It’s also a time to spend with friends and be mindful of how I spend my time.

It’s going to be a great year!

White Chocolate Quilt

Now that the holiday fervor has passed, I’m finally posting the photos of the quilt I delivered the day after Christmas.

The moment I saw this quilt top I fell in love with it!  It is SO calming, warm and welcoming and I immediately knew it needed something special.

My customer, Evelyn, made this top, called McCall's Quilting Magazine, August 2007 (Volume 14, Number 4) for herself to go with the new décor of her recently remodeled bedroom.  The pattern itself calls for all neutrals, but she chose to spice it up with some warm tones that matched her headboard, and I think it couldn’t be lovelier.

Evelyn chose Superior Threads King Tut Sands of Time, a variegated oatmeal colored thread which worked pretty well with all of the different colors of the top.

I used So Fine thread in the bobbin that matched the backing and I love the secondary design it created.

Because we wanted some”poof” to show off the quilting I chose Legacy washable wool batting.

I didn’t get quite as much “poof” as I thought I would because it’s so heavily quilted, but when we laid it out on her bed the light from her window showed off all of the texture and I was really pleased to see it.

I used a matching thread color for the feathered border.

I have to say, I think this is my favorite quilt that I’ve done so far.  It’s certainly in the top 5, anyway!

If you’d like to buy the back issue from Amazon and help support my blog, use the provided link to purchase your copy.

New Year’s Day!

What are you doing this New Year’s Day?  Me, I’m spending it with a group of fiber people!

You know, I never gave that description any thought when I started hanging out with spinners and knitters because of the company I was in when I said it, but outside of that community I’ve had lots of funny looks from people and then I realized they thought I meant “fiber” as in dietary fiber!

Today I’m taking not only my spinning wheel and new jumbo flyer so I can finish up the roving I’ve been working on, but I also made the bodies of 3 hats on my Singer HK-100 bulky knitting machine yesterday so now they just need to be sewn up to finish them.  That's the part I dislike the most, but I'll be able to finish them up in no time because I’m going to concentrate on them today, and someone there might even have an easier way to sew them up than I've been able to figure out so far, too.

I'm also going to take those over sized Fuzzy Feet slippers I made with me so I can finish the toes and then get them into the wash to felt them.  I have to say, I’m quite pleased with how they’ve turned out and I’ll be taking a toe-up sock pattern with me today so I can start learning how to do those, too.

I’m also taking a Coca Cola Chocolate Cake.  I’ve never tried it, or made it, before but I’ve never made socks before, either.

So, today it sounds like a lot of "finishing" going on!  That sounds fabulous to me, because they say that whatever you do on New Years Day is what you'll do the rest of the year.   And by "they" I mean the gals I'm getting together with, and who knows who they got it from! :-) 

I’ve really been  looking forward to our get together, I seem to come back calm and centered after spending a day with them.  There’s food, laughter, conversation and lots of creativity and support..

Next weekend, I’ll quilt.

Happy New Year!