Happy New Year!

I did a lot of stuff this year. I think I completed 10 quilts. I have two that I have not posted the photos of yet; I need to get them off my camera.  I had surgery on my foot, took a short vacation to Seattle last August, one trip up the river last summer, went wading in Big Rattlesnake Creek, ate watermelon, cleared a few things out of the house, painted the dining room wall, took on a kitty sitting job for six to seven months, took a few barn photos and a couple train photos in the snow.  For Christmas, I got a new sewing chair! I am making a commitment to get at least four UFO's completed in 2015.  Happy New Year!

This one was coming into the Nampa yard last Sunday.

Rustic Crazy Snowmen Wallhanging!

Someone wants to know why I made so many bags in 2014.  Between the big quilt projects, I like to do quick and easy projects to get that instant gratification.  There is no instant gratification in making quilts.  It is exciting to shop for fabric, to choose out of your stash which fabrics go together, getting the top all pieced, and then when it is done, but it takes awhile to get through the entire process.  I think that is what turns a lot of people off to quilting. It takes a lot of time, but the end result is fabulous!  I love it.  I have finished my rustic snowman wallhanging! Yeah.  These can also be rather instant gratification projects, if you get down and stay with it for a week.  This one is 20' X 20' and is hanging on a stick, as described in a post I did last July 25, 2014.  I think I put more red into it than I thought, but I love it!

The one on the upper right's name is Curly Joe.

The Year in Bags

I have mailed out all my Christmas greetings and have everything I need to make some most excellent fudge.  We've cleaned out a few things, rearranged a tad, and bought a couple new things.  This year I made snack bags for a number of folks including all the ladies in the Cloverdale Ladies Society.  Below are photos of all the bags I made this year (and a couple of pillow cases, thrown in for good measure).  I made ten bags. Some of them got a little out of hand on the size for snack bags . . .you could get a full sized bag of Doritos in a couple of these bags!  The second photo down shows both sides of the same bag; the one I made for Elverta.  You can see the Laurel Birch elephants on one side of that bag and Laurel Birch kitties on the other side.  It was an excellent year for making bags!

All the Cute Laurel Birch Elephants

All the cute Laurel Birch elephants are on the back of this baby quilt now.  This view is of the new front, which was formerly the back of the quilt. The new name of the quilt is: Modern Baby Quilt.

The moral is: Always look carefully at your Friction Pen, to make sure it is really a Friction Pen and not a Bic permanent marker, or your elephants and borders will have permanent blue lines on them.