Farewell to 2009

I, for one, am glad to see the end of this year. It wasn't my best year. Not my worst either, but still. . . So I'm looking forward to a better year in 2010.

With two major(ish) injuries this year (the tenosyovitis in my right thumb in the spring and then the broken arm in the fall), I didn't even come close to getting as many quilt projects done as I had hoped to. It's been a frustrating year for me. I had high hopes for finishing many of my UFO's. I got a few done, and also created some others. But my overall output was pretty low. I'm thinking that next year has got to be an improvement!

I'm afraid this is kind of a "catch-up" post today. I'm going to show all the stuff I didn't get to yet this month. Or most of it, anyway.

Above is one side of one of the placemats (she made 4) that my sister made for me for my birthday. (My birthday was in November, but that's not a problem for me. We're both notoriously slow at gift-giving - it's a tradition now!) I think these are fantastic! I love them! I couldn't wait to get the Christmas placemats off the table so that I could start using these!

This is the flip-side of the same placemat. They're all two-sided. I usually only have 2 placemats on the table at a time, because it's just DH and me, so I've put his placemat with one side facing up and my placemat with the flip-side facing up, so I can enjoy both sides at the same time. Clever, non?

My sister actually "shopped" in my quilt studio for fabrics for these. We figured that if I had already bought the fabrics, they're probably ones I like. I honestly can't tell which ones were mine and which ones she added. They all work together so well, and they're just what I wanted! Ya just can't beat that, can ya?

Here's my birthday present from my friend Karen. We went to the local quilt shop when I visited her in Oregon earlier this month, and she let me pick out what I wanted. This is the charm square pack of Authentic by Sweet Water for Moda, plus a yard of the black fabric from this line. I just love this line of fabric, which rarely happens for me. I usually only like a few fabrics from a line. I have no idea what I'll be making with this, but I just had to have it.

Here's what else I bought. And it was all on sale! The fat quarters in the front are shot cottons and I'm envisioning a small quilt done with them and the half-yard of blue/purple graphic fabric. And I can't pass up a polka dot that's on sale - heck, I can hardly pass up a polka dot anytime!

Here's a photo of a quilt that was hanging in the health food store we visited. I was glad I remembered the camera! There was no information on who made it, unfortunately.

Here's a closeup shot. You can kind-of see the quilting.

Here's a banner that was in the Unitarian Universalist church that I thought was very clever. Colorful and eye-catching. I like the idea of the "mosaic". Bumble Beans is making some tile blocks that are similar - you can see them here. I think hers are all hand-stitched down, where these appear to be done with fusible.

Here's a closeup so you can see the interesting fabric the maker used.

DH and I are staying home and having a quiet evening tonight. Just the two of us, with beef barley soup and homemade oatmeal bread. Lots of Christmas cookies too. We'll be watching the movie "Up!" for our entertainment. Nothing too exciting here! I'm also doing laundry and finishing up some putting away of Christmas and other chores so tomorrow I can pack my suitcase, as Saturday I'm off to Nevada for two weeks to visit my daughter.

I wish everyone a happy, healthy and creative New Year. And a big Thank You to all my bloggy friends and everyone who visits my blog.

Happy 2010!