HOLIDAY REFLECTIONS

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve been enjoying the run up to Christmas. I’ve been busy with this that and the other. I seem to be running in circles up to last weekend. The best part of Christmas is that we can go off the clock for a couple of weeks and breathe. We can eat and sleep and be merry as much or as little as we like. I’ll be doing some simple baking, some traditional cooking and generally mooching about.

It’s at this time of year that I look back on the year gone by. I must admit that there have been some trying times, some days that I thought would never end. Well October was the best month of 2017. I have put the past in the past and started looking forward to 2018. I have a lot of work to do to put myself on the right path to a good fulfilling future. Slowly but surely Sarah and I are working our way to the path of a good life.

As I look back over the past year I realise that I have learned to dance in the cold rain. I’ve learned to sing like nobody’s listening. I’ve learned to make delicious lemonade when all life handed me was sour lemons. And best of all, I learned to piece the most beautiful quilts with leftover scraps after the storm of discard. Today I’m smiling because thru the difficult times I found out who really loves me. I found out who my true friends are … they’re the ones who waited for me when I crossed the finish line I thought I’d never reach.

My favourite finish of the year is my Sweet Dresden Lollipop quilt …

This has been a very satisfying project to work on. Seeing something you’ve designed come to fruition is fabulous.

I have another project I started designing about a year ago for which I still have plenty of drawings to complete before it starts coming together. I did make a start on appliqueing some of the blocks …..

I’m still working on my Patchwork of the Crosses but the end is in sight now. I started working on this quilt a little over a year ago. It’s been my go to project, my solace when I needed comfort. I will soon have to find another go to project when this one is finished.

I’ve repurposed furniture, something I would like to do more of. I have the perfect outdated furniture that would suit a splash of chalk paint and glasses handles …..

I’ve spent time with like-minded ladies learning and working on quilts for Quilts for Comfort. It’s quite fulfilling knowing that every stitch you make will go toward bringing a young person comfort at possibly the very worst time of their life.

I found it difficult to find motivation to put up a few Christmas decorations this year. Well I finally did it a few days ago. Here’s a little peek at a few festive things in my living room. And since I put my few decks out the Christmas spirit is filling my soul. The children in my area broke up from school today. I have no doubt they’re overflowing with Christmas spirit.

So now that the children have broken up from school and Christmas is only a couple of days away, it’s time for me to roll up the draw bridge and quietly celebrate. The new year is just around the corner and all my better tomorrows are unfolding one by one.

So, for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be working on the Patchwork of the Crosses quilt some more. My Sarah and I will enjoy the quiet moments and appreciate life as it comes. I hope you all have a super cosy festive evening. Until you read me again,

I wish you all a super holiday.

Happy stitching ♥ ♥

 

 

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UPDATE FROM A WINTRY CORNER OF MY WORLD

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’re all enjoying the run up to the new year. There’s only twenty days left in 2017. Before we hit the new year, I will be celebrating Christmas. I haven’t put any Christmas decks up yet but I have been thinking about it though. I just can’t seem to muster up the energy yet. I am looking forward to the quiet break.

Winter has hit my little corner of the northeast of England. We don’t usually get much snow where I live. And in the twenty-four years I have lived here I can only remember having a white Christmas three times at most. Yesterday, we got a nice dusting of snow. My Sarah and I stood in the front window watching big fluffy flakes falling gently on the ground. It was cold enough that it didn’t melt immediately. We woke to enough snow on the ground which meant that the roads could be treacherous in places, not to mention the black ice in strategic places such as intersections. I stayed home today but Sarah had to make her way to university forty miles away.

Now that winter is finally here I plan on spending more time in my sewing room. So, today I decided to have a little play. I should really have been tidying up but I really wanted to flash up my sewing machine to make something. So, I pressed some fat quarters, layered them up and did some simple quilting …..

I cut the little quilt up and sewed it back together in a different order …..

And turned said quilt into bucket bags …..

It was a pleasure using up some of the fat quarters I purchased a couple of years ago. These prototypes turned out pretty good. Now that I have a better idea of what I’m doing I can make a few more in different sizes. And using up some of my stash is brilliant.

I have been quietly working on my Patchwork of the Crosses. I was hoping to have it all finished by the end of the year but that’s not going to happen. I have joined 36 blocks together so far. This equates to 6 across by 6 down, the blocks measure 11-1/2”, that makes my quilt 69” square at the moment. I plan on adding another 13 blocks making it 7 across by 7 down and should measure 80-1/2” square. And I will finish off with a plain fabric border (not EPP) but keeping the integrity of the EPP shapes. I haven’t decided how I’m going to quilt it yet. One thing I do know is that it will be machine quilted because it will be too big to hand quilt.

I’ve made great progress on my Sweet Dresden Lollipop quilt. All it needs is a bit of embellishment. I plan on adding a few beads, buttons and yo-yos, just enough to give it some texture. I thoroughly enjoyed designing and piecing this latest quilt. I have no idea where I found the inspiration for this one but I think the brighter fabrics on a white background is lovely and fresh. A cheerful finished project to enjoy in the new year.

So, you can see that I’m not just lounging around watching television every day all day. I am always working on something in the background. I realised recently that quite often over the last couple of years I have said things like someday when all this is finished, I’m going to start doing this or that. So, with 2018 just around the corner, I’m going to try to make all those things that I promised myself happen. My promises may have to be altered a little but they should come to fruition in some form or other that suits my way current way of life. All too often life chips away at us and we stop believing in ourselves. It’s important to get up every day and try again and again to make things happen. I have new ideas for projects for the new year. And I certainly will carry on stamping my personality to my home. I think I need to be surrounded by a few more girly things. I can start making that happen by decorating for Christmas.

So, for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be working on piecing more blocks for the excellent Patchwork of the Crosses project. I’m finally getting somewhere. I hope you all have a super cosy evening working on something that makes you happy. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching ♥♥ 

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ANOTHER ANNIVERSARY

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all been enjoying the spring weather. We had a lovely week with plenty of sunshine. It’s been great to spend some time in the garden. I must say that my garden is starting to shape up nicely.

Today is quite a special day for me. It’s the 24^th anniversary of the day that I landed in the UK. From this day forward, I will call it Lucie Landing Day. I posted my little story last year here. The last 24 years have been full of ups and downs. I have experienced quite a lot of loneliness but I’ve also had quite a lot of satisfaction in my role of mother to my one wonderful daughter, Sarah. I have experienced a sense of worth because my lovely friends have treated me with respect and kindness. And thru all the ups and downs my family back in Canada supported me especially during the hard times. I found a quote that struck me last week …

I think I promised that I would post a photo of my funky purple planter when it was planted up and in its’ resting place …..

When I first moved it and the sun was shining brightly, I thought perhaps the colour was over the top. However, now that it’s planted up and the plants are growing, I really like it. It’s cheerful. And I’m really pleased to have been able to breathe new life into something old.

My main hand sewing project over the past month or so has been my Patchwork of the Crosses. I have so far joined 9 blocks together giving me a real sense of what it will look like when it’s finished. I’m so pleased with the look which definitely makes it worth working on. All in all, it’s not difficult work. And I feel the repetitiveness is soothing and brings comfort. Familiar things always bring security.

So, my friends, please tell me what you have been working on. I haven’t been out and about much lately. I crave seeing other projects in progress which may bring me inspiration. I thrive on inspiration.

The last few weeks have been full of something and nothing. I’ve been working hard rebuilding my life. Slowly but surely things are falling into place. The house is feeling great and the garden even better. The university deadlines have been met. What a relief!!! Now it’s time to get out and about and enjoy the upcoming summer.

So, for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be working on the Patchwork of the Crosses project. I hope you have a super cosy evening doing something wonderful. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching ♥ ♥

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