The long days of Winter

January is one of those months that sometimes, seems to go on forever. Once January is finished, I feel like the rest of the year speeds on by.. This January has been particularly long and I have had my share of being physically under the weather. I am now on the mend.  Hopefully,we are soon going to be past the mid point of the long winter season, for which I am glad.  The snow continues to fall and the temperature dropped down into the frigid area of the thermometer earlier this week. Today it has warmed up some, which will make getting out and about this weekend more pleasant. One way my wonderful spouse brings spring into the house, is with flowers. These lilies were a gorgeous color and opened beautifully.

And what about these lovely purple tulips!!! Tulips are such happy flowers don't you think? They come in so many spectacular colors and this shade of purple is one of my favorites..

 This was a shared project as I did not piece this lovely quilt. It was made by a dear friend who decided that she no longer liked it when it was finished. Have you ever done that-got tired of a UFO project? What have you done with those UFOS? Do you keep them or pass them on to someone else?

Mars certainly approves of this quilt- It is a traditional block- I believe that it is a drunkard's path pattern and has lots of curved piecing it. Do you like to make traditional block designs- Dresden plate, Drunkard's path, Star blocks, Log cabin , Irish chain and other such designs? This past week there has been a fun blog hop called Dare to be Dresden. Sew we quilt  is a link that will take you to Madame Samm's blog hop. There were some wonderful Dresden plate patterned quilts and projects to view- some of them offered giveaways, and all of them shared some terrific blocks and variations of the Dresden plate pattern. You will be able to see some traditional creations as well as  modern intrepretations of the block. Check it out - I am sure you will enjoy the many beautiful projects.  By the way, the Dresden Plate was the first quilt block I ever made.

I love the floral fabric in this quilt. It is definitely a pink quilt with a mint green strip used as an accent in it. I used a polished cotton on the back. It quilted up quite nicely and I am sure it will be well used by its new owner. I still need to bind it and will probably use the mint green fabric for the binding. 

While I have not quilted very much this month, I have knit up a few more of the frilly scarves. They are so fun to make and it is quite interesting to see how the different yarns make up. I really like the nubbly yarn on the right and the soft twist and curly one on the left.

NHL hockey has returned - Wahoooo! For those of you who live in other parts of the world, Hockey is Canada's national sport. Our son played minor hockey growing up- attending games and practises both indoors and outside, was part of the fabric of our lives for about a dozen years. The snowglobe graces our table during the winter season. 

Each morning I start my day with a cup of tea- I love many different kinds, though my new favorite is ginger peach, when I am not drinking chai. This snowman cup is a real day brightener and makes me smile.

Winter and snowmen seem to be everywhere in my world just now. I am looking forward to February with some hearts and flowers to enjoy. Valentine's day is one of my school kids favorite times of year. They love making letters and cards for their friends.  And of course , they love the chocolate treats and candy hearts to read...

 As far as quilting goes, I have some new projects on the horizon and an old one that I want to complete. It is a cube quilt and has been in a bag for well over 5 years- I have made many rows of beautiful batik flag like shapes  but need to piece all those flags together to make cubes. I have had some difficulty getting my head around this project so I am hoping this time I will finally figure out how the pattern works. I am also intending to attend a workshop around the middle of February so do come back and see how I am doing with my quilting goals.

Until next time, stay warm ( or cool if you live in the land down under) ...

Warmest regards,

Anna