Another Year Almost Gone

What an eventful December!  Dad I am delighted to say is back to his normal self, he no longer has the help of the care team in the mornings and is doing fine.  Our little grandson was a year old last weekend and we all enjoyed his 1st Birthday party, he had a great time, needless to say he soon got the hang of opening parcels, now well practised for the 25th.  I have to say though I think he had more fun playing with the wrapping paper and boxes than the contents!

Sewing has been slow but I did manage to make a little Christmassy something for our class swap.  We had a lovely evening at a local restaurant where we enjoyed a lovely meal followed by the usual chat and camaraderie.  The swap was great fun too - it's always good to see what others enjoy making, there was no fixed theme this year the only stipulation was it had to be Christmassy!  We as a group decided to buy a Christmas Gift for the whole group to use - a Sizzix Big Shot has been purchased with a few dies, I am sure we all look forward to having fun with our new toy next session.

This is what I made - I found it on the wonderful worldwide web and adapted it a little. (What would we do without all these sites to inspire and share ideas)  I hope C can put it to good use.

Sorry K - hijacked your photo - deleted mine by mistake!

In return I got a little parcel wrapped with a fat quarter of Christmas fabric!  Inside these 3 delightful little bears and the pattern too.  They are so cute I will need to make the others for next year.

Spot the 3 Teddies!

As this year comes to a close I feel although I have made a fair number of quilts I haven't challenged myself with new techniques.  I have managed to donate a few to good charitable causes.  Time is so precious and is spread sometimes thinly around so many different areas of life there is not always any spare to do the things you really enjoy.  I found this year I was sewing quickly to get things finished and not spending time on intricate cutting and piecing which I enjoy most.  There will be fewer 'simple' patterns used from now on and I will try and plan better and do some slow sewing.  I have a few plans for next year, techniques and projects I would like to try but who knows what 2016 will bring.  So for now I am signing off my blog until the beginning of next year and wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2015