Happy New Year!

Hello Friends, and Happy New Year to you!  I hope you and yours had a restful and enjoyable break over Christmas and New Year.  WOW — I can’t believe we are already into the 6th day of the new year!  I hope we will have fun with each other as quilting buddies this new year.  Venturing into the New Year is like stepping through a door… and finding out what awaits on the other side.

Things are already shaping up for me this New Year.  The following samples of what’s to come in the new year… so, you can see I have been working, haha!  But then if you have known me for any length of time, I make a point to not ever complain about work.

Here are a few Miss Baby’s sayings that I thought were cute from last year…

#1.  “Mom, I would still be grateful if all I got were a few cough drops in my stocking!”

#2.  “Do I really get everything you have after you are gone, including ALL the quilts? …. Oh, you mean I could pick a few of my favorites and then maybe give the rest away?  Phiew!  Don’t be offended… I would keep ALL the quilts if you only made a few.  But you have so many of them!” [#2 made me laugh!]

Miss Baby did manage a last minute quick stitching finish before 2017.  So, this will be the first ornament she hangs up on our Christmas tree this year.

So, here are a couple of New Year-ish quilts!

Making New Friends in Fons & Porter’s Quilting Quickly (November/December 2016), using Windham’s Grace charm pack.  You can watch a tutorial on how to make this quilt here.

Day Break is a design using Hoffman fabrics, and exclusive kits are available from Keepsake Quilting.  Click here to purchase quilt kits.  I was asked if the construction of this quilt top involves Y-seams — no Y-seams, just the good ol’ half-square-triangles!  You know me, I avoid complicated piecing for the most part, hehe.

SEW-ALONG – who wants to join?  Besides the usual, this year, I have a goal to make my Spring on Bleecker Street quilt for myself!  You see, I didn’t get to keep the original quilt displayed at Quilt Market last fall.  And I am looking for sewing buddies on this project.  I will be hosting a sew-along starting in Feb.  I would love for you to join along.  If you haven’t already, you may download the instructions for this collage quilt here.  Please email me with the subject tilte “Sew Along” to let me know you would be interested to join in the fun.  The fabric kits (fabric and floss) are available from http://thimblemouseandspouse.com.  I know that for a fact, because Lynn announced that she had ordered the fabrics and floss.  Give her a call or email her!!!  I will share more about the schedule for sew-along next week, and how it’s going to work next week.

Meanwhile, Christmas isn’t quite over in my little corner of the world. I will be working on these fabrics!!!  One thing I can promise you for 2017 is that I have MANY Christmas projects in the works.

MYSTERY QUILT-ALONG, anyone? There will also be a mystery quilt-along being planned for this summer.  I am trying to see which you prefer — would you prefer a mystery quilt-along using scraps or a specific fabric line?

Alrightie, Friends…. God’s  blessings to all of you for a fanta-bulous year!  And have a wonderful weekend.

p.s.  I am still trying to catch up on emails you had sent me over Christmas break.  We were gone for a bit, and I am just now working on replying my email inbox and cleaning it out.