January has been a busy month

Month 1 of the Lynette Anderson BOM is done! Well, almost, there is some more embroidery to finish this piece. What a lot of work for one month; it kept me busy that's for sure. Lots of fits and starts and seam ripping and plotting and planning! 

Lynette's quilt calls for nine patches made of nine different fabrics. These blocks finish at 3 inches so I was sewing 1 1/2 inch squares together and I was not happy with the results. The Quilt Show forum I joined suggested using Billie Lauder's method for making nine patches. I got much better results with this method and think I have sufficient variety in my blocks to make an interesting border. 

Have you tried Billie Lauder's way of making nine patches before? The video is from 2011, so this has been around awhile. Sometimes a reminder is good, don't you think?

Had some wooly thread from an embroidery shop and couched it around the outline of sheep. Aren't they cute? I like their little legs, too. 

Can't wait for the February instructions to arrive; I'm ready!

I've been making bags like crazy, too. This one features a cowgirl that I printed on fabric then embellished with beads and embroidery. Vintage lace, buttons, and patchwork for extra goodness.

Another bag, this one with hand embroidery of my own design. 

One wintry afternoon I sat in front of the kitchen fire and embroidered and dreamed of summer. I love pink, coral, and green together.

A few more totebags. No embellishments, the fabrics are enough. These bags are great for toting projects around. They easily hold sock knitting, embroidery, or applique projects.

My great-nephew Max came to visit over Christmas vacation and we had a wonderful day together. This is a pizza we made. Max enjoys baking so we made the dough ourselves. Let me know if you would like the recipe. This is the best dough and sauce I've ever made. Oh, it makes me drool just to think of it!

Max also made white bread that day. Luckily, the recipe made two loaves so he got to take one home to his family.

While waiting for the dough to rise we played board games. What a fun day, thanks Max!