Works in Progress...

Hopefully everyone has enjoyed their holiday events this past month and is looking forward to a new year and all the opportunities that come with it.  My two Block of the Month quilt tops I participated in this year are almost finished.  For those of you who don't know what that is... each calendar month a new block is pieced and at years end there are 12 finished blocks which are enough for a lap or bed sized quilt depending on how you sew it together.  I'd never done BOM's before so I enrolled for two colorways of the same project at a local quilt shop. If I didn't make a concerted effort to complete them this month  I knew they would sit in a drawer half done for heaven knows how long.

Next I'll put the blocks together on my friend Kathy's king sized Yellow Brick Road quilt top so I can clear the studio of that project.  I'm also committed to make a doll sized quilt for our guilds annual Teddy Bear Tea in February.   Those quilts are matched with Teddy's and other stuffed animals, then divided among five or six child related social networks for children in need, homeless, abuse etc.  My final commitment is creating a recycled art piece for the Salvation Army's Trash to Treasure silent auction which benefits several community non-profit organizations locally.  I've not previously participated in this event but it falls right in line with my recycling and charity donations so I'm looking forward to it.  More later.

An unexpected but welcomed surprise arrived in the mail recently from Friends of Pets.  This was my first time participating in their annual fund raising silent auction.  My cat quilt was the last entry for this year but took First Place People's Choice Award for Favorite Cat Theme.  In addition I received a $50. gift card from Seams Like Home - the local quilt shop I just finished my two BOM quilts from.  Best of all, I was able to combine my gift card and a quilt shop coupon for 25% off my entire purchase, to get some wonderful gifts for myself.  Ha!  Finally I have a Walking Foot for my Bernina sewing machine among other goodies.

Photos of all these projects to follow.  Just wanted to let everyone know I'm still here and happily getting acquainted with my new computer more each day.  Be back soon.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!