Social/Sewcial

Tomato/tomato....

Happy start of a new year, both exciting and a bit daunting as one looks down the next stretch of 364 days. I hope you spent last night doing just what you pleased. I did. More on that in the second half of this post.

Social

I am super-excited, and pinch-me-I-can't-believe-I'm-doing-this and well, yeah, a wee bit nervous, to announce that I am one of the co-hosts for the 2018 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop.

Don't you just love the button Beth made? I sure do.  Some of you will know what this is all about, and well the title and sub-title pretty much explain it, duh.

However.

It is so sew so much more.  In the coming weeks we will be giving more details, but for now here are a few deets that need mentioning:

• registration opens February 1
• if you are a new or relatively new blogger, which means your blog is under 3 years old, then you are welcome to sign up

Them's the black and white deets.  Here are a few multi-coloured deets:

• this is a super-duper fraga-listic...wait, mixed metaphors/adjectives... okay it's an unbelievably terrific enriching experience in many ways
• meet/talk to/share with/help/get help from/learn from fellow and female quilt bloggers in QBL: Quilt Blogger Land.
• opportunity to make lasting friendships, friendships not necessarily relegated to online only, I'll have you know

Those who read my blog know that Tish of Tish's Adventures in Wonderland and I have been friends since the 2015NQBH, and that we met IRL in 2016, though we'd FaceTimed and iMessaged a ton by then, but again we got together in 2017, and it feels like we are never that far apart. I met Beth IRL in 2016 as well, at a retreat hosted by another blogger on the 2015 NQBH, Julie of Pink Doxies (we've gotten together several times over the past couple of years, both in Ohio and in Florida). I found Cindy of Stitchin At Home on that 2015NQBH, and we got together this past spring, and plan to within the next couple of weeks again.

It's enriching, humbling, rewarding, and downright makes your heart beat rays of sunshine, finding quilter/blogger friends near and far. I have many many more friends, some bloggers, some not, some non-quilters, with whom I iMessage, text, Skype, FaceTime, email, all made through this blog and through that blog-changing experience of the NQBH.

So I hope you may consider joining us. 😊

Sewcial

It went something like this:

Tish:Do you have any New Year's plans?

Wait...I'll just show you the thread!

And so it was...well once we each did our Real Life stuff.  We have wanted to do the Sewcial Bee Sampler QAL from last year with Sharon Holland and Maureen Cracknell since it was on, but too many other commitments and squirrels meant it just was not possible. So! We made blocks 1 and 2 last night, each of us working simultaneously on another quilt project (you know how that goes) and chatted back and forth on iMessage, shared photos and posted to Instagram. This afternoon we made block 3.

Tish had faithfully downloaded each block as it was released; I got behind.  But not to worry; they are all still there and available for download! Don't you just love the generosity of quilters? I know I sure do. I am using one of my fabric club of the month fat quarter sets from 2016, Maureen Cracknell's 'Fleet and Flourish' which is fitting I think. I'm framing the blocks with 'Seasonal' by Judy Neimeyer, a very subtle print as you see, that goes perfectly. I'd considered using 'Paradiso' by Kate Spain which both Tish and I love (she's using her collection of it), but felt guilty compelled to crack open one of the 3 months of fat quarter clubs I received in 2016 as a Christmas gift.  Feel like joining us? Not a problem; we love company! We don't have a set-in-stone plan as to how we are going to work our way through the 25 blocks, just that we sew them at the same basic time. If we come to a more solid plan as to when we make a block, I will post it here and on IG.

Note that Bernie, of Needle and Foot, another blogger friend I met on the 2015NQBH, did do the Sewcial Bee Sampler, and she has a wonderful page of finished quilts you can find here.

I'm sure many of my readers know another special aspect of QBL: the major source of inspiration, guidance, projects and quilt alongs one can join, whether or not you blog. Splash of Colour QAL with Myra at Busy Hands Quilts was a QAL I did join in the last part of the year. I got my flimsy together today!

Outside in the lovely sunshine, crisp snow, cold wind and below average temps, as is most of Canada

Inside, straight-on shot:

Ah how I love this one! It is out of McCall's Quick Quilts June/July 2012 in case you'd like to make one. Squirrel!

Linking up

Main Crush Monday (two crushes within a few days - wow!)