My end of year holiday

So very nice to have time off at the end of the year.  All the frogs are thriving, more about them later.  I've been sewing quite a bit, and making soup when I take a break from sewing.  Embracing the craft of sewing has been a total kick this fall, mainly because I've started making quilts.  I started quilting about 15 years ago, and didn't get very far.  Why?  Probably because the fabrics available then didn't really turn my crank.  I still have that first quilting project sitting in my sewing room, and honestly?  Not going to finish it.  Because it's super boring.  I'll re-purpose it into doll quilts or similar, I suppose.

So about a year ago, I broke out my 15-year old $100 Kenmore beauty from Sears.  I made a few things, picked up some nice apparel fabric over the next few months from the ONE non-chain, non-quilting fabric store within driving distance.  Then that lovely fabric store, the late, lamented Threadneedle in Essex, Vermont, closed its doors last summer.  That's when I started exploring some local quilt shops, and the new fabrics blew my mind.  New (or new to me) designers like Heather Ross, Tula Pink, Denyse Schmidt, Erin Michael...holy cow!  Cotton fabric is so much fun now!

And the crafting, sewing, blogging, selling - the sheer volume of artistry happening now is fantastic.  I've been  inspired by blogs like Oh, Fransson!, Film in the Fridge, The Selfish Seamstress, and so many others.  So off I go with my rattly little machine, having a blast.