It's already week 3 and past time to kick this year off.
I've had such a lull over the last 4 months--the longest I've
had in many years--that it took just a bit of force to finally
spend a respectable amount of time in the studio last week.
The lovely snow has played a part in getting me into the studio.
Went with a Scottish Highlands theme this year.
and brought no disruptions in power...but I was disappointed
in the mere few inches of snow. However, Thursday a real winter
wonderland began--one of those beautiful snows with big, fluffy
flakes coming down softly, steadily and thickly until the wee
hours of the morning bringing another 8" or more.
Okay, NOW we're talkin'!
The Christmas trees and major decor have been put away but I
left up some greenery & lights because of the warmth it creates
in our home during the cold days. The cheery, whimsical smiles
on the snowmen buy them extended stays after the holidays
along with any other decor that gives a happy take on winter.
Stepping back for a look, though, I feel like my home needs a little
more winter around so that will have to be added to my to-do list:
21) a table runner or two
22) a couple mini quilts.
These will make great one-day projects when I'm wanting
a quick break...tho that's something I rarely do. When you're
working to sell quilts, it's hard to set aside time to play,
especially when it's all fun anyway!
Well now that I have the state of things around here, er, stated,
let's get on to all the quilty and other goals. This is a pretty long
post so I have labeled each section clearly to allow for skipping over,
say, the knitting section if you're not into it, or whatever. I get it.
Grab yourself a cuppa and settle in; this one is pretty chatty. And it
doesn't have to be one-way! Feel free to chat back in the comments.
Quilting
I gave my longarm another go and yep, it's still shifting the E2E
pattern about 1/2" left when it's going right, and shifting the
design right 1/2" when it goes left. I have a whole row to tear
out but after Facetiming with APQS I have a part on the way.
It's just hard to get excited about quilting with something
ugly like that hanging over you, ya know?
So, despite my priority projects, I chose to begin on something
way lower on my list. I needed something more fun than one
of those "have to do's", something to get me excited to go up
to my studio again.
It never ceases to amaze me how one day I just can't get a good
vibe when choosing a project...but then when I try again the
next day, I go right to a pattern, immediately find the fabrics
for it and then I'm off and running faster than I can down
a cup of quilting energy coffee. This happens to me all. the. time.
Ah, the benefit of walking away for the day! 99% effective!
It's a layer cake pattern but with all the snow, I couldn't resist
working with this FQ set (Buttermilk Christmas by Stacy West).
I have another quilt (to be revealed in a future post) in mind for
the remaining fabric so no worries about waste.
I made a couple blocks to get comfortable with how to pair up and
cut out my fabrics so this is where I am at this morning. The santas
are a little busy but I couldn't keep them out of it. They're cute!
The rest will be a little more toned down.
Knitting
At the end of '24, I finished up a UFO. It was a fairly easy cable
but I hadn't chosen the best yarn and so because I wanted to
see it done right and because I just really enjoyed the pattern,
I cast on another. And now that one is done (pic in a later post).
Bringing the needles back into my evenings taught me a few things:
1) I'm not good enough to knit while watching intense football
games or thriller-type movies.
2) My vision is starting to be an issue so dark-colored yarns
should be worked with only in complete daylight.
I have realized that I still love knitting and I think--I hope--it's
back to stay. Next, get organized and bring out any UFOs...
I received this tote for Christmas so getting organized
was a slam dunk. It's now stuffed with my supplies
and my five <cringe> UFOs.
I spend my winter evenings. Certainly that's a huge part of
getting those UFO's finished, right? Having it handy?
But now the hard part, because the UFO's scare me:
most were set aside because I couldn't go on.
(Why did I think this would get easier with time!?)
I plan to go over them all in one of my next posts.
Garden
It's covered in snow!
Reading
A Good Walk Spoiled [golf] (John Feinstein)
Angels & Demons [faith] (Peter Kreeft)
Health
-11.2lbs!
Golf
The courses still covered in snow but I have 2 hours booked
in the simulator tomorrow. Gotta fit a round in somehow!
Alrighty, now that I'm clear on the state of things,
it's time to make some progress! Let's go!
Happy quilting!
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