A New Year of Work In Progress

Ahhh the New Year has brought a whirlwind of activity for me!!   I can't believe it's already the middle of the month.  I thought I'd share a sampling of the multitude of things capturing my attention and "spare" time.

Preparing new wool designs / samples for an upcoming Fiber Fest!

Trying out my hand at free motion feathers... a few tweaks ARE necessary!  Thanks for the feedback my friend  ;)

Creating the TearDrops of Love Tutorial (Part 4 is prepped and nearly ready to be published)

Sewing and documenting an upcoming Moda Bake Shop Recipe (keep an eye out - currently scheduled for Jan 24th)

 Needle turning my Quilting the Garden Block 3 (Loving this Herb basket -shhh I"m behind)

Choosing fabrics for this months' QTG Block 4 (Ohh  I really love this block) - wait till you see it!!

Making a couple of fantastic short trips scouting for, observing and photographing a Snowy Owl.  So very blessed - and I shared one of these trips with my sister - how special is that ?

Oh and did I mention that I decided to participate in the most fantastic new (free) Block of the Month?  "Benjamin Biggs" is an 1848 Wedding Quilt.  The very talented ladies, Brenda and Gay, at Dear Jane-Just Takes 2 and Sentimental Stitches have reproduced the pattern and offer a block a month for free!  

The first block is available until the end of the month of January, 2014 -- so if you're interested you should jump on the download - click the Dear Jane-Just Takes 2 link above.

Although Brenda did a fantastic job of mimicking the original first block "Apple Pie Ridge Star" (see it in the upper left corner of the quilt picture above), I wasn't happy with the chunky style.  Several ladies did investigative work and found various versions of the block online -- so I decided to put my own twist on it.  The pattern is free for the taking -- but to stay true to the rules of the game - I will leave it available until the end of the month.  The pattern has been uploaded to the Just Takes 2 Facebook page and well as the Just Takes 2 Yahoo Group page.  If you don't have access to either and would like this block -- leave me a message (be sure you are not a NO-REPLY blogger) and I'll send you the PDF - but only until the end of January, 2014.

These are the fabrics I'll use to complete my version of the Ben Biggs Wedding Quilt.  I've decided to use a bit of French General, Jo Morton, Laundry Basket, Primitive Gatherings and other fabrics.  So excited to give it a go!!

The finished quilt measure 100 inches square !  Woohoo !!  Don't you just LOVE the scalloped border ?

Oh and the snowstorms brought many opportunities to watch the beautiful birds that frequent our yard.

Northern Cardinals  (Male and Female)

 White Breasted Nuthatch

 Purple Finch

 More Northern Cardinals (Male and Female)

Thanks for stopping by today -- It's a tough week here on the farm as we mark the Anniversary week of loosing two of my forever horse friends -- Chief and Nuisance.  They passed a year apart from one another during this week 2 and 3 years ago.   I miss them both terribly -- they were so important to me.  You can see their pictures and read more here:  Chief was shown on my first ever blog post -  gosh I miss him. I leave you with the sunrise that greeted me this morning - a reminder of their beauty!

Take care now,
Hugs,
Karen