2023 Wrap up

 Some finished quilts in no particular order! 

I had started the first couple of these free embroidery snowmen from Melissa at pinkernpunkin last year and finished them up this year. They also got sewn together and some machine and hand quilting got them to the finish line. This one is hanging in my office since it is winter and I love snowmen!

I finished off these hearts into a little quilt this fall so I could stop moving them from place to place. 

This one was a great finish! I had these civil war diary blocks I had made from a photo in a book back in 2014 and my calculations were greatly lacking on some of them. By changing up the layout with some sashing and border, it turned out pretty well. This is on the dog bed in my office and Bear likes to snuggle on it. He believes all quilts are his... just like the cats think they are all theirs!

This one is a design by Joanne at CanuckQuilter. I love how it came out and this one is hanging in my office but will soon be moved to the kitchen/living room wall for display the month of January. I tend to decorate in blues and snowmen in January... despite living in Florida!

This was RSC 16 patch blocks that were sewn up into a twin size quilt and donated to the Homeless Shelter in Barre Vermont, where I am from. She had over 90 quilts donated this year! One for each resident there in the 3 different homes.

This was another RSC finish that is a donation to the Hands2Help project. I believe it went to Little Lambs.

Another RSC - with the 16 patch blocks. I'm not sure where this one ended up! Oh wait, I gifted this to a girl scout! She is very protective of it too! Glad you liked it Holly. This is a twin size as well.

Table Scrap Challenge:

I used the Hoarfrost blue quilt above for the January challenge. I did miss a few this year but these little toppers do count as finishes! Thank you Joy, for the inspiring sew along! We will see how I do with 2024! I had fun trying a few new techniques/blocks and moving some parts out of the bin and into something useful.

I plan one more finish in this category since it is open all weekend and I have all weekend to sew. I have some cast off hst's from the Christmas Cactus quilt that want to become 'something'. 

Repairs:

Hubby's quilt got the machine quilting that was pulling out and shredding, completely pulled off the quilt and then it was hand quilted outlining the stars. This is a lap size quilt. He was very happy to get it back. 

A pig quilt got fixed for a friend. That black surround was disintegrating so I appliqued something over it.

I mended a few pulls on Emily's quilt on her bed as well in the last month. No photo's, I just put it back on her bed and the dog promptly laid on it!

Dog toys - lots of surgery done on those! The never ending battle!

There was also a bit of travel this year. The kids and I went to Atlanta in March - to the aquarium and the Coca Cola Factory. It was also our first time at a Buc-ees! It was not our last time this year!

Cocoa Beach in June with Grandma and Greg.

Emily and I went to New Orleans with the girl scout troop in June. Most had a great time despite the 110+ temps!

We also meandered up to Vermont in the summer and visited places on the way - Georgia, Washington DC, Pennsylvania - Gettysburg and the Hershey Factory, and then Yankee Candle in MA on the way home. It was great to see these 2 and help secure the doc and boat for them with the flooding right before we left for home.

 I headed back to VT for a wedding in September and got to see a bunch of the nieces and nephews I don't normally get to see. 

We also did a family Fishing charter yesterday out of Crystal River. 

The boys went a couple of years ago, but all 4 of us went this time. It was a chilly day, and the fish were not really biting, but a day out on the water enjoying nature is always a great day. We will probably try again when the kids are on Spring Break in March.

We had a busy fall - with both fathers in the hospitals - mine with a heart attack, then another attack in December and thankfully they were able to put a stint in this time and he is feeling much better with more energy and home for Christmas.  The other (my FIL) had a long hospital stay and rehab with lots of procedures. He is back home and managing well, despite not listening and driving when he should not be! Greg had to get in the mix and put his back out in December but it was better quickly after a trip to the ER and he did ok on the fishing charter yesterday. At least he can move a bit today! 

The kids kept us hopping.... ok, Emily kept me hopping with Marching Band commitments this fall. Lots of driving for late pick up's from practice, Friday night games and Saturday competitions all over the state. They ended up with Superiors across the board for music, performance, and winter guard so all the effort was worth it, and she enjoyed the experience. Thank goodness for audiobooks! I managed to listen to a lot of them while driving this year. Aidan got asked to join the HS Robotics team so he will have an away tournament in April for a few days. His first time away without one of us with him!

I am slowly checking things off the long UFO list (with a quarterly Ravelry Challenge) and trying not to add too many new things to it! 

Wishing you all a Healthy and Happy 2024 in your Sewing Rooms.