Something New

There was a time last night when I thought we might wash away. Oh my goodness...rain and wind, and what a storm! It made sleeping difficult. But here we are, still alive, and ready to start the first full week of the new year. Let's make it a good year, okay?

For starters, I made another pieced snowflake for the Snowflakes quilt.

The trimming was difficult. I have a new blade in my rotary cutter, but cutting through four layers where the seams come together was difficult. My arm was hurting after doing the trimming, and so I took a good long break...maybe even a nap...while I waited for it to settle down. 

Smitty was my pain monitor cat yesterday. The kitties are doing everything they can to hurry the healing. They don't want to get stuck doing medicinal cat shifts again...not when there's so much other work to do.

He could see the trimming was bothering me, and that was when he put his paw down. 

Purrhaps you should do something else for now. I have a good idea: kitty treats!

Okay, so I started a new project yesterday. Jenny of Elefantz is doing a free block-of-the-month this year called "Posies." I've made quite a few of her quilts, and I wasn't planning to do this one. But it is awfully cute. 

You can see the whole quilt right here, along with the instructions for the first block. They are a combination of fusible applique and hand embroidery. Yesterday, I selected the fabric I wanted to use for January's block, and then went to work fusing and tracing.

This is also in keeping with my small-stitcheries-only-for-the-time-being rule. The whole design fits in this little 3-1/2 inch hoop.

It took about an hour to stitch the whole thing.

Then it was trimmed and I added borders. Now January's block is finished. 

I might decide to use this project as my Rainbow Scrap Project for the year. Since January's color is pink, I'm right on track. I'll link up to the party from yesterday.

Because of our winter travels, I always start out a few months behind on these. Maybe when February's color is posted, and Jennifer Reynolds posts her new block, I'll be able to remember to use the color of the month and kill two birds with one stone.

Oh yes, and I'll also be linking this project to:

And, not for nothing, but I said I'd start this Rise and Shine project yesterday. I did...but just barely. I didn't want anyone to think I was lying when I said I'd start there. This one will all be done in the same variegated green floss.

So here's something. I did a little cooking in the form of making beef stock yesterday. My yield was four quarts. I'm telling you, it's like having soup in the bank. I've been saving the bones from a couple of prime rib dinners, and the cut off bits of vegetables for at least a year. It's always good to make something from stuff that would ordinarily get thrown in the trash.

We had a visit from a masked Matthew last night. He brought me some mineral capsules called "Bone Up" to help heal my broken bones. Also, he'd visited a place (I forget the name) he said was like Goodwill for fabric, and picked up these fabric swatches. Those two brown ones on top will be great in my next yet-to-be-started barn quilt project.

Also, remember Gina? She's Luna's mom, and I made Luna's pawtrait last year.

So Gina, in addition to being a nurse, is also an artist. Matthew brought by this collapsed wine bottle spoon rest she made. Isn't this cool? She has her own kiln. I don't know the process that goes into heating and flattening these bottles, but I love how they look.

Also, she included this bar of soap shaped like a Christmas tree. So pretty.

So it was a fairly productive day. I'm feeling a little more myself each day, and it's good to be able to return to the things I love doing. 

Last night was the first night I didn't have any of the narcotic pain medication to help me settle into sleep comfortably. It was hard getting to sleep, but I slept in a little bit late this morning, and I'm feeling pretty good. I'd like to get an earlier start on the pieced snowflake, and then I might be able to finish two in a day. We'll see. It's not possible to ignore the pain, and so I just listen to what my arm is telling me. That, and some slow stitching are the only things on my agenda for today. 

How's your year going so far?