I can't believe that it is already the 4th day of this New Year!  Today would have been my mother's 100th birthday.  She has been gone for 5 years this month.......I still think of her almost daily.  I can see her mannerisms and the things she did that were so "her".....I will always miss being able to pick up the phone and share my day with her.  I love you, Mother.

Like most of you, I am trying to feel successful .... getting into my projects full steam ahead.  I am making progress.  Last night, at my monthly hooking group, I was able to pull up the last loops on Hidden Garden  by Crowhill Primitives.  I started this rug at Caraway Rug School in June with teacher
Anita White.  It reminds me of our home and I love the way it turned out.  I now need to block it; I think I will add a braid to finish the outside.

On the quilting front, I pulled out a pack of Moda Turnovers....which are really just 6" squares cut in half on the diagonal....in a Jan Patek line....can't remember which one.  Then I added some triangles, background and border from my stash to create this quilt.  I used a You Tube from Missouri Star Quilt Company for the instructions.  I felt rather righteous pulling the whole quilt from stash!

That being said, I do have some stitching goals for the year.  I want to focus on my projects, not just jump from one thing to the next.  Not to say that I can't have more than one thing going at a time, just that I complete what I am working on.  I would like to buy only things that I need to finish projects that I have on hand........borders, backgrounds....you know what I mean. 

 I would like for my sewing area to look neat and tidy.  That does not mean hauling everything out and straightening it all up again.  I have done that several times recently.  What it means is using things up......those kits and BOMs, etc. that I have stockpiled.  

That will mean that my workspace becomes less cluttered.  I really don't need any more books, patterns or gadgets.  I have plenty of that stuff.  I just want to get the things that I purchased with such high expectations done!  

I do plan to participate in some online challenges, but I will pull the fabrics to do those from stash.  One that I am going to join in on is Just Takes 2.  Yesterday I pulled some fabrics and plan to get started on this project tomorrow.

Frankie

This spring we added two new family members.......they are finches, and we named them Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra.  Frankie is a green singing finch (yes, he is really yellow), and Fred is a Cordon Bleu.  They are quite delightful.  Both are very active and singers, but Frankie sings like a canary.  We are enjoying them.

Fred

Whew!  I guess that is enough rambling for tonight.

Take care,
Jennie