Farewell 2017

This is my (hopefully brief) wrap up for 2017. First, Charley Brown and Snoopy - I just love the Peanuts gang. The waning year has been a good one - I have no complaints of any sort. The blessings are plentiful, and I am grateful.

I did finish the borders on the last UFO quilt top late last night. I am really pleased that I had the fortitude to stay with my goal of completing a UFO each month all year long. That sort of discipline is not my strongest trait.

Below are some random pics of my Large Tumblers quilt top. It is made with very scrappy Kaffe Fasset fabrics from my stash. The quilt top measures roughly 64"x 80" - a nice long quilt for a single bed. That darkest picture at the bottom was taken last night when lighting was poor.

I have to distinguish between large tumblers and small tumblers because I made two quilts with my template in two sizes - 3 inches and 5 inches. I was mostly just playing around when I made those first few tumblers, but then it seemed like a good idea to turn them into something useful, so now I have two tumbler quilt tops waiting to be quilted. Unplanned, but very much a good thing.

Today, I am looking back not just at the whole of 2017, but specifically December. As I attempt to wrap up both the month and the year, I put together this collage of December highlights.

The first picture is of my nephew Donnie, his wife Elisa and their new son, Elliot, born on the 28th. I was betting she'd deliver early, but nope! He came right on his due date and weighed in at 9.36lbs. A big'n! He is also long at over 21". Next is my very quick and easy table runner, a kit purchased in Holmes County/Amish Country. Then there's me with my wonderful gift - the Tin Lizzie long arm quilting machine.

The second row is of a WIP (work in progress) made with Roman Holiday scraps. I will try to finish it up soon. The train picture in the middle is a reminder of a fun night out we had with our friends the Ludwigs and their son, daughter and spouses; 8 of us in total. The Cincinnati Dinner Train was a true dining experience! The blue and white blocks are a preview of quilts Sharon P. and I are going to make in the new year.

The bottom row shows the really recent stuff. First, Emma finally has her wall hanging. I am so pleased with how it turned out, and I know she loves it. The pillows are a gift I gave my mom. The patchwork fronts are actually pockets and I tucked books into them. Of course, the final picture is the December UFO, Large Tumblers.

I have been mulling over some plans for the new year. We already know I am NOT going to focus so heavily on finishing UFOs, but I may tackle 3 or 4 as the months pass. I am eager to dive into some new fabrics I have acquired, as well as create quilts with the ample stash of old fabrics I treasure so much. Early this new year, I will post some goals and plans. It helps to do that so that I maintain my focus. I am too easily sidetracked, as evidenced by what I worked on this morning.

I have the attention span of a squirrel. This sewing room needs a major clearing out and straightening up. I need to be getting familiar with my long arm machine. I need to get a couple of appetizers made for the New Year's Eve party we are going to tonight. I ought to run a load or two of laundry. What do I do?? I ignore all that (typical Jayne behavior) and pull out a stack of scrappy stash fabrics and make this block. Teaching this dog any new tricks seems futile, at this point.

I will provide details soon on the pattern and how I became distracted - I need to finish up this last post of 2017, and get going on that to-do list!! Happy celebrating, wherever you are! And as always,

Happy Quilting, Friends!