New Year. New Blogging Goals.

I started this blog intending to record my sewing adventures.  I used to share sewing projects on my family blog, but very few of my family member readers are interested in specific Moda lines or pattern names.  :-)  The majority of the blogs I regularly read are specifically quilt blogs, so I thought this would be a fun way to join in that community, but my blogging aspirations proved a tad ambitious.

I've left this space quiet (or stone silent!) for quite some time now.  Blogging is a guilty pleasure for me, and I set it aside to give more time to other things happening in our household.    But truth be told, each time I complete a project, I hear a tiny voice in my head that says I should really revive the quilt blog!

I really have missed spending time here, so I'm stepping up and declaring 2014 as the year of shared projects!  I look forward to joining back in the online fun, and I'm setting two goals for myself:

1.  Don't feel guilty about computer time.

2. Don't let the amount of time I spend on the computer grow into something I need to feel guilty about!  :-)

Ahhhh.....that allusive balance thing!

I actually did a decent amount of sewing for the holidays, which was a first for me.  Also, I kept some of what I made, which is another first!

First up, I used fabric from my stash to make a little runner for my kitchen table.  I love using my wooden bread bowl as a centerpiece because it isn't too high and doesn't get in the way of conversation.  However, I don't want the iron stand it sits in to scratch my tables, so I always keep it on some kind of fabric.  This was made from some old fat quarters I was saving.  The black print has cute elves on it.

The next little runner (more like a big place mat) was an impulse project born of an impulse purchase!  When I was checking out at my LQS on day I happened to pick up a mini charm pack of Moda's Christmas Countdown.  I just sewed 35 of the mini charms together and bordered them with some solid green and red squares cut from my stash.  I bound this one in black solid.

The coffee table in our living room is a massive piece of wood.  It is actually made from an old door from an abandoned building in Mexico.  I love the table, but it is BIG and DARK and needs something soft and colorful to lighten it up a bit.  I hadn't really planned on this project, but it was a happy accident, and I like how it provided a little base for my apothecary jars. 

Lastly, I used up the scraps from another table runner project and made myself a little Christmas purse.  This was so fun to carry during the holidays!  I love how soft it is.  This pattern is called In From the Cold by Kate Spain for Moda, and I'm just crazy about it.  I paired it with a red chevron print for the base and a green print from V&Co.'s Simply Color line for the handles and lining.  That big green button was a dollar on sale at Joann's!  Score!

I based the construction of this purse loosely on a pattern called Mill House Inn Tote Bag from Moda Bake Shop.  However, I changed the sizing to accommodate the size of my patchwork, which was dictated by the number of scraps I had.  It was kind of a figure-as-you-go maneuver!

Recently I find that small projects are extremely gratifying.

I love making quilts, but I have not had as much time to devote to them this past year.

It's sometimes nice to spend an afternoon and end up with a finished project that you can put to use straight away.  And that's just what I did with these three!

Thank you for taking the time to stop in if you are dropping back by after my long absence.  I look forward to posting more of my finished Christmas projects in the coming days!