This year, these are my theme words. I don’t like to make New Year’s Resolutions because they inevitably fail or are are forgotten. A year is a long time, after all. Instead, I like to pick a few words that will be the theme of my year and try to remember these words daily.

Reduction started right away in my sewing space, as donated items had piled up beyond belief. As a coordinator for Project Linus, I receive a lot of handmade blankets for distribution. That is the great part. Depending on how you look at it, fortunately or unfortunately, I also receive many donations of yarn, fabrics, and, this is the fun one…quilt blocks.

These quilt blocks (and cheater panels) come primarily from other quilters and I am never one to turn them down because they are, after all, a blanket in the making for another child in need. The unfortunate part (for me) is that I am the one who then gets to do the making. These unmade quilts have been collecting for a while, so in an effort to stick with my words for the year, I decided to dive in and create them.

As of today, I have 20 bound and another 30-40 to go. This is not a joke. I have been squaring up blocks, adding sashing, longarming, and binding these puppies. Once I have more of the ready to go, I will share a photo with you. If you were one of the folks who donated these blocks and panels to our chapter, Thank you! Even though it is a ton of work for me, the faces of the children when they receive a blanket that they can hold and call their own is priceless.

Today, I decided to take a little break from all the craziness and create (another word from my theme) something for myself. I have been saving these two candy bags for the time when I could create bags from them and so today I took some time for myself and did just that.

They are coated on the outside in iron on vinyl and lined on the inside. They are water resistant because of the vinyl and the zippers were easier than anticipated to install. There are many tutorials out there on how to make these and perhaps when I start doing my live stream again I will do one, too. I can see many more of these and other bags in my future. For now, I leave you with the photos of today’s accomplishments.

Until next time…Fair Winds… ~D