Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Unlike many people, I don't think I posted any goals for the year. Either because of that or for other reasons, I don't feel that this has been a productive year for me. I spent a lot of time on the Hoffman Challenge, and quite a bit at the orchid quilt in the fall. Other than that I made half a dozen baby quilts, for charity or for gifts, and a couple of quilts out of blocks from a block exchange; nothing that was a stretch for me there. The highlight of the year was the class I took with Jane Sassaman at the Indiana Heritage Show in March, and I did finish that project and used her technique on a couple of others, including the orchids. Those did stretch my "artistic" skills, although the technical aspect wasn't particularly difficult.

This year I hope to finish the blue piece I posted about recently and have it be successful enough to enter somewhere. I'd also like to make a large, traditional pieced quilt, using a difficult block. I do like piecing, and I'm pretty good, but I haven't done anything terribly challenging on a large scale. I also signed up for the Take It Further challenge, so we'll see how that goes. I don't think I'll do the Hoffman challenge, which is ironic, because this time I have an idea which is perfectly clear in my mind. It doesn't seem too interesting however, so I think I'll use the time on something else.

Everyone--may you meet all your goals in 2008, and have some pleasant surprises along the way too.

Beaded Jewelry

I'm supposed to be cleaning up some post-Christmas debris, breaking down boxes, doing laundry, etc., but I thought I'd pause a minute for something more enjoyable. My sister gave me a ring for Christmas made by this artist. It's embroidered bead work, beautiful, although my nails will need some work before I can wear it. Rather than show the ring, I'm just posting this link so you beaders out there can admire. Just wait long enough for the pictures to scroll through. Pretty cool, huh?

Merry Christmas

I just realized that my last post looked like my final word on Christmas, and a very Scrooge-like one it was! It wasn't intended to be that, just my way of saying that I had nothing interesting to post about the subject. I still don't, other than to report that my house is as decorated as it will be, my gifts are wrapped, my menus are planned, out-of-town son and family are arriving in a few hours. So a very happy holiday to everyone!

There will be no Christmas news here

The last issue of Quilter's Newsletter gave me an idea of how to translate a design I made a year ago into a quilt. So as a first step I have pieced these blocks in what is supposed to be a nine-step value scale. It was an interesting exercise even if I do nothing else. I learned that even though I think I have a large stash, especially in blue, it isn't as large as it might need to be to do this successfully. There isn't a completely smooth blending. Not too bad though--it actually looks better in the photo than in reality. I think I'll keep going, although it will take lots of little blocks!

Stuff

Today while in the grocery, I saw the new issue of McCall's Quilting (I think--these magazines are easy to confuse). Anyway, a headline caught my eye: Discover Quilting Blogs. Isn't it nice to feel ahead of the curve? Do you think all quilting blogs will see an increase in hits as a result of the article? I didn't recognize the name of the featured blogger/ author, but Quilt Maverick ring was mentioned.

The Ghost Orchid quilt is finished except for the label, and that is printed and ready to sew on. This detail shot shows a bit of the quilting, which I kept understated. Quilting isn't my strongest suit.
The quilting looks simple, but there were many stops and starts, making it slow and laborious. I do like it, however.

My piece of Hoffman Challenge 2008 fabric finally arrived. I didn't take a picture, but you can see it at the Hoffman Challenge website. I find it interesting that the fabric for the last four years has had basically the same color scheme, in different values and intensities. I know this is true, because I have used one piece of fabric as a coordinate three times, and could use it again if I had any left! Are they in a rut, or am I? Don't answer. Other people see other color schemes, but I always seem to focus on the red violet, although I've combined it differently. Hmmm.

And finally, I had a brainstorm concerning a new project. There won't be any details for a while, because I hesitate to talk about possible totally off the wall (for me, that is) ideas. But I like it so far.

Back to on-line shopping. How many more days?