since i'm a little late for the 2011 recap and farewell (oops, christmas and a big move across states will do that to you), i thought i might start this new year off with some goals instead. but just for the sake of a little reminiscing, why not share a few polaroids from last year - a year full of new beginnings, exciting family news, struggle and triumph.

goal one is fairly obvious: take time to write in this space more often. share new projects of both the fabric and knitting variety. share gardening experiences as well as family goings on.

goal two is to branch out. begin (and finish) new projects. write more. challenge myself.

goal three could be to keep a clean house, cook a well rounded dinner every night, don't sneak any chocolate, blah-di-blah...instead i will make a goal to adventure. if showing frankie something exciting and new means leaving the dishes in the sink, well, i am just fine with that. if i don't get around to it today, it will still be waiting for me tomorrow, but that quilting inspiration might fly out the window. embrace and adventure.

and now some pictures from the new year - from a new house that is full of light and life, from our very favorite state in the union where we will prepare to grow and flourish in 2012.

remember a little while ago when i shared the news that our family will soon be growing? well, baby is growing and squirming and generally living it up in this mama's not-so-little belly with about 18 more weeks of baking to go. while i am generally a huge fan of surprises (frances mae was a surprise - especially because i could have sworn that she was going to be a he and was so amazed when johnny blubbered out 'its a girl!'), i couldn't help myself from finding out what this little nugget is. i need to be prepared, i need to bond, i need to make little things for this little one - for this little boy.

and so i'll start by making piles of these little pants. i adapted an existing pants pattern that i already had in my stash to have a more narrow leg and a little extra room for a cloth diaper, and i must say, i am super pleased with how they turned out, especially because i can turn out a pair in about forty five minutes - go me!

in anna maria horner little folks flannel and nani iro double gauze

so now i will continue to knit tiny little treasures from my ever growing ravelry library, add to my fabric wish list for this little boy's quilt, and day dream about mobiles, baby moccasins, and moses baskets.

and then it was quiet, again - oops. but i promise, i have a good excuse! i've been working on cutting and sewing and quilting as much as i can in the last few weeks for the few craft fairs that i'm taking part in before the holidays hit. while it is fun to make lots of little things that might catch people's eyes, it is hard to remain inspired when your main motivating factor is sell, sell, sell.

so i indulge myself a bit with little quilts. while the zig zag quilt is still for sale (if it doesn't go at mass market this weekend, it will be listed on etsy), the woven quilt was a gift for a new little friend - due to hit the scene by the end of january. i love making baby quilts. lovelovelove. expect to see many more.

my favorite picture

from a fog and quilt kind of a day.

the challenge with taking photos on this island isn't the lack of scenery or the right lighting. it's the fierce wind that likes to whip across the island - taking hats and quilts with it. although this quilt has been finished for almost a week, i had to wait for a calm day on which to photograph it. and while i did manage to explore the woods with frankie and rosie (my previously mentioned best helpers) on a foggy/windless morning to get some snapshots of it, today might not have been the best day to try to get a picture of the full, finished quilt. but i managed, i guess.

as you can see, rosie is the least helpful of the bunch.

this is a quilt that i have been working on intermittently for (ahem) about five months. i designed it after making my chevron mini quilt, with a calmer color palette in mind. little did i know that sewing, cutting and trimming, and piecing 352 half square triangles would take me so long. i soon grew bored and frustrated with the tedious process and set the few blocks that i had finished aside. but at some point - probably when i cleaned my sewing table and realized that there were unfinished half square triangles everywhere - i decided that it was about time that i finish it. and so i did, and just in time to bring it with me to the local craft fairs that i'll be taking part in in the next month or so. 

see what i mean about the wind?

almost every photo turned out like this, or worse.

details:

measures 60" x 60"

machine pieced and quilted

fabrics used are kona cotton in ash, vintage sheet,

and crazy for dots and stripes in bright blue by rjr fabrics