Letter I

I is for Inspiration

I think I was talking about trying to make some smaller projects to feel more accomplished? So now I'm dreaming of big quilts with big shapes....Women can change her mind, right?

I'm dreaming making lot of big triangles and then just play with them. This would however demand a lot of fabric so why not think big and then make a small version of it? Inspriration from here and here and some other places that I can't remember anymore. I think this would be easier with an ruler, but maybe I can just make a template? I still have some template plastic from my first quilt course that I took in 2010. Still haven't finished that quilt.

I'm also thinking about to make something very minimalistic and then add a very dense and busy free motion quilting. Inspiration came from here.

Sugar Block Club January - Intention

I is for Intention

To make this happen, or even to make some of it happen I really need to be more intentional with my time -which was the team of first Sugar Block Club block. I'm so glad that I participated. I made my blog at the beginning of the month and it does give me an accomplished feeling to know that at least I did that.

My plan for the Sugar Blocks is to use a lot of yellow with some orange and green accents. I have wanted to make a yellowish quilt with traditional blocks for the longes time and it is finally happening, yay!

I'm starting to think that key to planning is not only to decide what you do but also what you don't do. I really look forward to working with my "old fabric quilt" (I need a catchier name for that) but have been very strict with myself - that project is for february. This keeps me from feeling too busy and using less time wondering "what shall I do" when I actually have time to do something. 

Good Things in Life that Begin with Letter S

S is for Socks. 

Woolen socks that is. I don't have any strong feelings about other kind of socks. I asked from Santa sock yarn and look what I got! Will keep my hands busy for a while. I finally decoded the heel and have put together my own sock pattern that I like. I'm testing it now with the purple one and will post it here when I know for sure that it works. It is nothign special, just a easy to remember formula so that I don't have to look for a pattern every time I want to make socks.

We got finally Netflix here in the Netherlands in September and that is now how I spent my evenings when I should be folding laundry  - watch Netflix and knit. Makes for guilt-free TV watching because I'm actually doing something at the same time. 

S is for the Signature of All Things

Love love love loved it! There is so many things in this book that resonated with me. I don't know even where to start. I won't put any spoilers here but I must say that I was happy not to have read anything about the book before I read it myself. So this is not a book review and maybe not about the book at all. It is more a list of thoughts that the book evoke in me and you probably learn more about me than the book.

I loved the book because it reminded me how I loved nature programs on TV, visiting botanical gardens and dreamed of traveling to remote places, to live on an remote island and study whales, explore the world and of course being dissapointed that there where no white spots on the map anymore in 1980s. 

It also reminded me why I stopped dreaming about those things. I got older and realised the horrors of the white mans explorations, stopped believing in the importans of science and felt that nature does not need us to study it and that I certanly did not have the need to do it. I was just looking for an excuse to sit on a boat and watch whales all day. 

And then it reminded me why I don't really want to be on that remote island, how I in the end dreamed "..to live withing humanity's most recent moment, at the cusp of invention and progress". 

And finally I loved the Dutch connection and the fact that in less that an hour I can visit some of the places she talks about in the book.

In Elizabeth's own words the mega success of Eat Pray and Love paid for this book. If you ever get your hands on big amounts of money I could not think of a better way to spend it! 

Linking wiht yarn along

2014

I'm back from the Christmas holiday that was very relaxing even though some of it was wasted on a nasty cold. I was very exited to get back home and make plans for the coming year. I have also chosen a word for the year, and this time it is:

CONNECTION

At first I thought of making some kind of recap of the previous words, but then this one just came to my mind and felt perfect. I will however incorporate the previous words to this one. Connection guided by trust, joy and confidence. 

To more concrete plans for this year I signed up for Follow your arrow mystery kal and that will be my knitting challenge for this year. Otherwise I will continue making socks. I finally tackled the heel ;) More about that on another post. 

What it comes to quilting my first goal is to continue with a quilt that I started in September made of all kind of old fabrics from my childhood home. Can't wait! Secondly I got very inspired by all the hand made gifts during December and I'm hoping to make some small projects like table runners and quilted tote bags. I'm finally able to free motion quilt thanks to my husband who build my machine an extension table and with little projects I can start to play rigth away and don't have to wait for a whole quilt top to be finished. 

I would also like to feel a bit more accomplished this year which makes little projects perfect. Accomplished rather than productive even though I'm always envious to really productive people. What I do not want is to feel busy, so it is a fine balance. Will see how it goes. 

Maybe a bit belated, but Happy New Year!