Happy New Year, Let the Creativity Begin

   Today I am once again enjoying the quiet after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, the long stretch of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year seemed endless with 2014 ended I feel every thing seems to have gone by in a flash.

   Since the Winter Solstice began to lengthen our days and a New Year just beginning, I have been asking myself where does the time go? Is it just me or have you noticed the more years behind us the faster the days seem to pass into the next? This year I plan to make each of those days count just a little more.

    When I celebrated my 59^th birthday last July I decided I would make my year to 60 for me healthier, adding more physical activity to my day, not with my daily fitness routine, but more physical activity for pleasure, like yoga for relaxing, walking through botanical gardens and nature hiking to sketch or collect ideas for some creative endeavor, since I have been quite successful adding more physical activity to my days, this year I plan to add more creativity to my days

    To start my creative journey I have enrolled in a Crazy Quilt workshop held at Crones' Cradle Conserve, its a day long workshop held on January 3^rd.  After the long holiday season I am really looking forward to attending this class and hope to find a few other classes to attend throughout the next few months. 

   The quilt shop, Tomorrow's Treasures, where I attended the hand embroidery class will be holding a beginning quilting class and a beginning sewing class, while I do both well I had mentioned back in the autumn I'd like to take one of the beginning classes to better grasp the use of the rotary cutter and other modern methods of quilt making and sewing, if I do you know I will be posting about here.

    Between Thanksgiving and December 22 I was working nearly non-stop getting out the orders for the online shops only stopping for a bite to eat, a quick bathroom break and a few hours sleep only to start again the next day, even my daily walks were put on hold I was just too busy to take the time.

   It was with a great sigh of relief when I shut down the shops on the 23^rd for a few days to rest, lucky for me the few days before Christmas had slowed to about 50 items to ship so I was able to get in a little reading or stitching before I crawled into bed. Next year I have to plan better or hire a part time staff to get out the orders, it amazes me the amount of shopping people do year round but during the holidays all I can say in wow.

   New Years Eve was spent quietly sipping hot tea and reading a book and stitching the green Celtic knot embroidery piece. 

I was surprised with the four Crab Apple Hill patterns of garden angels for hand embroidery. I suspect someone stumbled upon my wish list.

   My morning walk was finally back on track earlier in the week and today to start the New Year off on a positive note I added an extra half mile to my walk.

   Here is a peek at some of the fabrics I bought yesterday at Joann's while buying muslin to use for my block at the Crazy Quilt workshop. I won't use all of these fabrics on one block but I see other crazy quilt blocks to follow. The solid fabrics are navy and burgundy velvet and the rose printed fabric is cotton.

I love this butterfly fabric my photo does not capture how the butterflies stand out or how colorful they are. I may just cut out a few of the motifs or fussy cut a square to use on the crazy quilt.

This purple paisley makes me swoon, I have a big weakness for paisley prints, I can envision beading around the gold border

This blue floral print just grabbed my eye and wouldn't let go, I have so many ideas floating around my head I can't wait to see what I finally do with it.

These bottom dragonfly fabric is green with gold dragonflies the top piece is gold on gold.

I need to sort through my stash for other fabrics to bring along. I did pick up some charms to add 

and later today I'll raid my beads, bits of lace and embroidery floss so I can check them off the To Bring list.

I completed the stitching on the blue Celtic knot piece on Christmas day.

I am still not sure what I will do with these practice pieces but I enjoyed the things I learned while stitching them, using the same color micron pen as the thread helps to hide the trace lines.  I still need to sharpen my embroidery skills which will happen over time.

Other things I'm planning for 2015 will unfold as the weeks pass and I write my blog. I do have plans to participate in a reading challenge or two and I would love to join a stitch along (SAL) some time. As I said earlier I want this to me a year of creativity for me.  What are some of your plans for the New Year?