Category Archives: Uncategorized

January 2023 Goal Setting

I was privileged to end 2022 by having my 91-year-old Mom come for a visit.  She stayed long enough to see 2023 come in. We watched movies, played games, and simply enjoyed each other’s company.

Mom - 91st Birthday

Time very well spent!

Now that she is safely back to her home, it is time to turn my attention to some goal setting.

I decided to join Karen Brown at Just Get It Done Quilts for her Sewing Room Declutter Challenge. I put a link in my side bar; perhaps you would also like to join.

There are many UFO helps in Blogging Land, but this year, I am joining Cherry Guidry at Cherry Blossoms Quilting. Cherry has created a very nice UFO Tracker and a support Facebook group.

I thought I had my UFOs listed, but I searched my computer and my sewing room and couldn’t find the list. So…I will be writing those projects down as I find them while decluttering this week.

One thing I know for sure. I intend to finish quilting my daughter’s Patriotic quilt. I think this will be first!

Jessica's Patriot

I posted about her quilt here. I did indeed begin quilting, but only got so far as stitching in the ditch. Time to get this done and return the quilt to her!

There are nonrelated sewing goals of course. Organizing my computer should probably be one of them. Heh, heh!

May you all be blessed with a healthy and happy New Year!

December 2022 OMG Update

December ushered in sickness for Hubby and I. I haven’t been this sick in years!

This month, I am truly grateful for the ability to take a full deep breath, and breathe through one’s nose!

I wasn’t so sure that I would reach my 365 Challenge Goal for December, but I worked hard at it, and all the blocks are finished!

365 Challenge

The entire project has been pieced on my little travel Gem Gold! I am so proud of her!

Janome Gem Gold 365 Challenge

365 Challenge

I have pieced all of the blocks together, and I have a 100″ square flimsy!

Some of the fabrics have more green color than the photos show…I cannot seem to get the color just right, but you have the general idea.

365 Challenge

Next up, piecing the backing. The 365 will be marinating in the closet until such a time as I deem ready for quilting.

The flimsy is full of a bazillion seams. I don’t think custom quilting is the way to go, but I need to think on that. Sometimes I can’t help myself!

Then there are all of the scraps to deal with. They have been spread all over the sewing studio for a year. I can’t wait to get the room tidied up!

365 Challenge

Would I recommend this project? Sure!

I gained confidence in my piecing skills. I also learned about contrast and value. I do think it helps to be a self motivated person, but there are Facebook groups to inspire and encourage members.

It also helps to remember that the 365 Challenge Project is not a race. There are people who complete their projects in 2 years instead of one. That’s okay!

Don’t compare your project with someone else’s project. I didn’t follow directions, and added sashing to my variation. I should have planned it better, but I am happy with it! Each project is unique to the maker! Have fun!

January completed blocks.

February completed blocks.

March completed blocks.

April completed blocks.

May completed blocks.

June completed blocks.

July completed blocks.

August completed blocks.

September completed blocks.

October completed blocks.

November completed blocks.

Quilt On!

Merry Christmas!

A Stroll in the Garden

Frost is the greatest artist in our clime – he paints in nature and describes in rime. -Thomas Hood

Winter December 2022

*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!

Winter December 2022

It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it. -John Burroughs

Winter December 2022

“Frost grows on the window glass, forming whorl patterns of lovely translucent geometry.

Breathe on the glass, and you give frost more ammunition.

Now it can build castles and cities and whole ice continents with your breath’s vapor.

In a few blinks you can almost see the winter fairies moving in . . .

But first, you hear the crackle of their wings.”
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Winter December 2022

“Willows bordered the path, like women bent in mourning, their branches shod in ice and brushing the soft white ground like strands of hair. Flowers and shrubs of every variety overflowed their beds, all of them white with frost, a world made of snow and glass, a garden of ghosts.” ― Leigh Bardugo, Rule of Wolves

Winter December 2022

Remember the goodness of God in the frost of adversity. -Charles Spurgeon

Winter December 2022

“I run on a thousand chandeliers, as each blade sparkles with frost; a river of glass underfoot. It is as though the elements are reversed: sky is ground and ground is sky, and I am running on the pinheads of constellations, leaping from star to frosted star.” ― Elizabeth-Jane Burnett, The Grassling

Winter December 2022

“The world looks like something God had just imagined for His own pleasure, doesn’t it? Those trees look as if I could blow them away with a breath–pouf! I’m so glad I live in a world where there are white frosts, aren’t you?” ― Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Winter December 2022

“At the darkest time of year, Lord Yule laid down his beard of snow and cloak of frost and ice to illuminate the gloom.” ― Stewart Stafford

Winter December 2022

It was a black and white day of frost, which crawled along the dark trees and outlined twig and branch. The air was misty, and distant objects assumed a mysterious importance. Slight sounds, too, suggested infinite activities to the mind.

(“A Tribute Of Souls”) ― Robert S. Hichens

Winter December 2022

Stay healthy.

Stay safe.

Keep smiling.

See the world around you!