Well, it’s almost March… how do we feel about that? I’ve had one of the most productive winters in recent memory. I looked at some old photos from March since we moved here, and learned that spring won’t be here for another good while… so let the sewing continue!

February’s “A Year on Sugar Meadow” block is born! I’m testing the limits of what can be done with thread blending and I’m pleased with it. These designs need multiple stitch outs, because the appearance on screen is not all all what you get. With each month, I learn a little more, so I’m hoping it gets more intuitive.

A couple of customers thought, based on the first block– this was a “bird” series. It is not. That was “The Cloud Club.” If you love birds, take a look at it– it is already a complete set with the finishing kit and everything!

I would characterize “A Year on Sugar Meadow” as more of a nature series. It’s a journal of what is out there each month. I planned to do three winter, three spring, three summer, and three winter designs, but with my current location, I’m realizing it may be five winter, one mud season, and two each of spring, summer, and fall! Don’t you hate when reality clashes with the neat view of life we have in our minds? Let’s celebrate the unexpected though– you would not believe what appeared on the meadow this week!

I was standing in the kitchen, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a kitty cat’s tail through our big windows. In two+ years here, we have only been visited by a neighbor’s dog once, so this was interesting! Mr. SFO was standing closer to the windows, and he started pointing and saying, “Look! Look! Look! Look! Look! Look!”

I guess I wasn’t looking fast enough… but it was a kitty alright– right outside the window! We looked it up later on– it was a Canada Lynx. It looked to me like a juvenile, but the ears and tail (mostly I saw the backend– haha) were unmistakable. So right away, I’m trying to get my camera– couldn’t find it. (I later discovered it in my pocket.) Kitty ran straight across the meadow, and this is all I got.

So I’m considering using a lynx in March’s design– I looked up what flowers I can expect, and daffodils, which we have many of, are not even coming until April. Witch hazel, forsythia, and crocus may make an appearance in the next four weeks– all of which we have. So let’s just be patient and see what March says about it.

I started playing with a final layout– I’ve been thinking of a medallion type setting this year. Wouldn’t a spectacular quilt block centerpiece be incredible? So I found this book from Amazon…

And then I photoshopped this up– the embroidery blocks are repeated obviously, because that’s what we have so far. But I like the idea of the circle– where the December block would just melt back into January, you know, like the Circle of Life. A mariner’s compass block might be a little too much, and I once tried making one– IT. WAS. HARD. So that’s just a first thought– let’s see what the year brings.

Great progress on my other sewing, too! Look! Look! Look! Look! Look! Look! (heehee)

I am one left-facing dragon away from a completed “Moonbeams” top! I’m making that my first priority this week– I’d love a February finish.

My Tilda background fabric came in for the Brio Frivols project. I am quite satisfied it will be more amenable to BBQ sauce spills than the white background shown for the project.

I even started making the HSTs– there’s a lot of them and they all need to be trimmed down! It’s actually my preferred method of making them and I have the Bloc Loc rulers to trim them perfectly. So this may just be one of those things I dibble, dabble away at for a couple of weeks. Brio was my small project for Mar-Apr– I’m way ahead on ONE thing!

I finished up my Fruit Cocktail table runner on the longarm. If you remember, I had come up with a fantastic, amazing quilting design for the inside of those oranges and apples, whatever they are. This design was lightyears beyond dusty old feather quilting– challenging all of past history and moving us into a new era, a new way of thinking about the way we quilt. So after four weeks, I didn’t do it, and I just took it off the longarm.

Oh, well!

I may have accomplished more if it just encourages you to do your own quilting! This is all just straight lines, and a nice small piece to do on a regular sewing machine. I’m really excited to put this on my dining room table to brighten things up. And– did you notice I even got it bound this week?

And, the next piece is all loaded on the longarm and started. I’m doing daisies in the border, outlining the butterflies and flowers– I’ll probably put swirls in them. Then the background is going to be loops– it reminds me of how a butterfly flies. I drew this all on a photo in my favorite ProCreate app you’ve heard me talking about.

Those daisies are far from perfect, but who would know with a distracting background and a matching thread color?

I’m hoping to close out this one in the next couple of weeks– again, I’ll just dibble dabble my way through.

Along with my Brio background fabric, these two things were in my Fat Quarter Shop box! I’m a sucker for a pickup truck– because of my son. And the pattern was on their Flash Sale– just a couple of dollars– always check out the Flash Sale before you checkout at Fat Quarter Shop. I love Sandy Gervais patterns and I love cake. Wouldn’t this make a great little wall hanging for birthdays? Since Mr. SFO’s birthday is Valentine’s Day, it’s especially appropriate– except all that pink needs rethinking. He loves chocolate– browns would be perfect.

On the other hand, I didn’t buy this! But for how long? This is Joanna Figueroa’s new Christmas cross stitch and there’s a quilt kit coming out. Both are gorgeous. I just keep trying to think of all the dear things I already have that won’t get finished if I click the BUY button. A second to order– YEARS to make. 😦

On the hand stitch front, enthusiasm on the appalling cross stitch may finally be waning. I finished the snowman row at the bottom, and white is the bane of any cross stitcher’s existence– it’s so hard to make it look neat. So that last block I did on the bottom left was a killer.

I was going to stop at three more on the top row, but I took a look at the pattern, and there’s still a lot of cute ones left over, so now I think I will complete another column of five on the right. I circled the ones I still want to do. I’m not sure how long I will keep this up as Christmas is pretty far in the rear view mirror at this point. But I would pick it back up again in the fall.

Did I mention I also want a little cross stitch sashing design and a border on it? We should still be talking about this for the next five years.

So that’s about it! Today, I have to work on TAXES– it’s what I’m supposed to be doing right now! I am sorting through all those receipts. Every year I tell myself that once a month I will go through and add all the new receipts to my spreadsheet. Never happens.

A sincere thank you to my readers who get this far, and to reward you, I am now going to reveal an extremely personal piece of information, that not even my family knows, that I discovered in the aforementioned process.

I spent 2,384 dollars and 87 cents at Fat Quarter Shop last year…

You won’t tell on me, will you?

xox
Carol