Last Post of 2016-What I'm Working On

So another year has come and gone. A tough one, to be sure, but I am trying to keep everything in perspective. Ever the optimist, I have hope for the future. I want 2017 to be a good year for me and for everyone else too. This new year will be bringing big life changes for me.

I will be retiring. I just can't physically handle the work any more after the cancer and the treatments to get rid of it. I am moving...clear across the country! I am leaving my beloved North Carolina behind and going where weather is milder...Southern California. It will be hard to leave, especially since my children and grandchildren are all here, but that's what airplanes are for, right?

I will be able to sew so much more and I want to continue to create. So, that said, in the midst of all the chaos of moving I am doing two things. I signed up for Rachel Hauser's Penny Sampler class. I am taking the 12 month version. I figure if I get behind in the beginning of the year, I can catch up later. I want to push myself and this class looks like it will do that.

The other thing I am doing is working on assembling a new small quilt for the holidays next year.

 I bought this book awhile back and I am not really into buying many books these days, but this is a great basics book. There are 50 blocks in this book. It gets my creative mind working. (Amy is doing a quilt along this next year using this book)

 I fell in love with this block and just had to make it first. I thought about starting at the beginning, but hey, that's not me.

 Next I played with placement. I don't have any fancy programs to do this. I just use my colored pencils and some graph paper. I'm old fashioned like that.

I've been cutting and pressing. I love how these fabrics are coming together. I hope to be able to keep a project going that I can just step in and sew a bit while the chaos goes on in the house.

And these are the first two blocks together. I am only making nine blocks for an approximate 36 inch square quilt. I may add a border, I haven't decided yet.

One more goal I have is to blog more, once I get moved. I love the way Barbara at Cat Patches blogs almost daily. I love stopping by to see what she is up to. So there's that to look forward to later in the year.

For now, I wish you all a safe, happy and healthy new year, filled with hope and promise. See you in 2017!