A Fresh Start

Happy New Year to all!  You know, with everything happening over the past few months (new puppy, moving to a new home/contractors working, holidays), it occurred to me that I haven't sewn anything since...wait for it...September.  Yikes.  Even before September, there were a few pretty significant family happenings over the summer that curtailed my creativity, the biggest being the passing of my mother-in-law.  All of those are legitimate reasons to put my quilting on hold, but even when I had a little time to sew here and there, I found myself feeling too overwhelmed to start anything new.  I just had too many things going on to allocate brain cells to thinking about one more thing.  I even forgot to enter my Gossip Queen quilt into QuiltCon, which was always my plan for it, and I was so disappointed in myself when I realized I had missed the deadline.

Over time though, what I discovered won't come as a shock to many of you, I'm sure.  I really missed being creative, even if I still didn't really know what I wanted to make.  I finally decided on a simple Greek Cross quilt for our guest bedroom and started cutting and sorting my blocks.  I loved the fabric pull, but even as I began, it was more out of obligation than inspiration.

But you know what?  After a little while, it felt so good to get back into things. That my friends, is three stacks of progress.  I've been missing a sense of normalcy for literally months, and beginning a new quilt is a step in the right direction on restoring order to my life.  Don't get me wrong, I was pretty rusty on the planning part of things.  I made a miscalculation and had to go back into my stash for more fabric, and it took me three days to get everything pressed, cut, and sorted but still, normal.  Now that everything is ready to sew, these blocks should go together pretty quickly.

Thanks to all of you who have stuck by and continued reading/commenting while life was complicated and I couldn't share quite as much.  I am truly looking forward to 2020 being a wonderful year with lots of pretties to show off. (would uneventful be too much to ask?).

Our last party feels like forever ago, but there were some amazing projects linked up, as usual.  Linda at Flourishing Palms showed off this beauty.  I love the optical illusion it creates-

Nancy at Grace and Peace Quilting shared her (third!) Meadowland quilt.  So pretty!

And JanineMarie at Quilts From the Little House linked up this fantastic Chicago skyline quilt.  It's amazing!

Okay, y'all!  It's the first NTT of 2020, so let's make it a good one.  It's time to link up!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)