Surprise Prize

I wasn't expecting a prize from the Block of the Month Challenge,  but the 2nd place finisher received a box of beautiful threads from Aurifil.  These arrived yesterday from Victoria of Bumble Beans Inc.  Thank you so much for selecting my quilt in the challenge.

Glow

I received these beautiful lime green orchids as a gift.  When the late afternoon sun comes through the window, the flowers glow and brighten up the whole room.

Watercolor Journal Class

Yesterday was the first session in Jane LaFazio's "Watercolor Journal" class.  I have decided to make a journal divided by the months of 2012.  I hope to highlight special events, thoughts and adventures that happen to me each month throughout the year.  Since we removed the spirals and are using removable rings, it will be easy to add pages to our journals.  I created my first page in celebration of getting really OLD!

3 Little Birds

A gift from my daughters.

2nd Place

Although I came in a far distance from 1st place, my sampler quilt did finish 2nd in the Block of the Month Challenge from 15 minutes play.  I am honored!

Getting Ready

Next Tuesday, January 24th, I'm enrolled in a new Jane LaFazio 6 week class "Sketching and Watercolor in a Mixed Media Journal".  I have been gathering my materials and am really looking forward to starting on a new creative adventure.

Quilt Deadline

Wednesday, January 18th, is the deadline to present photos of our finished Block of the Month quilt to "15 minutes play".  I have been sewing like crazy since my sister arrives today for a visit and I need to put my sewing machine away.  I am just finishing with the binding and can't believe this sampler quilt is almost done.

EEK!!!!

An Araneus Gemma, or tree spider, is found along the west coast. This one was found in the rose trellis by our front door.  They can measure anywhere from 12 mm to 23 mm, and it is the largest spider I have ever seen in our garden - EEK!!!!!

Stash Swap Arrives

This beautiful, colorful box of fabric arrived yesterday from Teresa of crinkledreams.com  She is my partner for a stash swap organized by "15 minutes play".  I love every one of them, she did a great job in selecting my favorite colors and batiks.  Thank you so much Teresa for being a thoughtful and generous partner.

A New Quilt

These are some of the fabrics for a Christmas gift quilt for my sister.  I hope she doesn't mind waiting a while to receive a late present - so many projects, so little time!

New Swap

Nathalie, at wastelandwallowing.blogspot.com, has organized a "January's Stocking Swap" on her blog.
For the next year, there will be a monthly creative activity and in December we will swap the goodies with a partner.  If you are interested, please look at her January 7th posting for the instructions.  This should be fun!

Surfs Up

This was on the front page of our newspaper this morning.  Yesterday, San Diego's beaches were pounded by huge waves.

Though not the 17' waves from Friday, we saw some high surf on Saturday morning at Boomer Beach in La Jolla.

As my husband and I walked along Coast Boulevard, we enjoyed the beautiful show put on by Mother Nature.

Italian Wedding Soup

Chicken meatballs, orzo pasta, fresh spinach, veggies, grated Parmesean Cheese and a slice of rustic black olive bread.  A great recipe from Ina Garten's "Back to Basics" cookbook.

Revisiting

I shared this little quilt over a year ago and it's still one of my all time favorites.  It's 12" x 21" and I used a pattern by Susan Carlson from  "Quilting Arts Magazine".

I used batiks, gold paint, a lot of hand stitching and finished the background with free motion stitches.  What a happy fish to hang near our front door.

2012

Calendar Girl

I'm not obsessed (well, yes I am) but I can't live without a Suzy's Zoo pocket calendar each year.  These are from the last 17 years.  They are getting harder to find in the shops now, so I ordered this years online.

It took me until 2011 to get the idea of coloring the monthly drawings, so now when I open my calendar I see a pop of happiness on each page.

As we start this new year, I wish you joy, peace, health and love.