Well, I thought my only New Year's resolution was going to be to drop 10 pounds, but my friend, Sharon has encouraged me to add blogging to my list. She recently twittered about my Fussycutter blog, which is embarrassing since I haven't written anything for 6 months! So here I am, ready to add in the new creations I have been working on during this holiday season. The first creation pales next to its recipient-the amazingly gorgeous Evelyn DiNicola! Welcome to the world little girl! Wrapped in Heather Ross is a great beginning to a magical childhood! 
I have been working on a quilt this Christmas break for my amazing intern, Sam. Sam has been with me for three years and I think I learn more from her than she learns from me. She has the gift of youth and sees everything with fresh eyes. She sees hope in all things and is a great balance for me when I am swayed by the despair of others around me. She recently asked me how she could get one of my quilts and I told her that she had to get married or at least engaged, or have a baby-in any order for I am a liberated thinker. But I have changed my mind and think that for being my intern all these years, she has earned a quilt which means I have added a new category for quilt recipients! For Sam, the design had to be edgy and sophisticated to match her Brooklyn roots. And had to have the color black because she likes black. And I liked that this fabric has punctuation since we have to write to many darn reports! 
I also decided this holiday season that I wanted to try my hand at something a bit more intricate, inspired by my friend, Rhea. Rhea owns Alewives Fabrics in Maine. Her fabulous staff are my first choice for quilt finishing with their long arm when the chore is too large for me. She always comes up with a really cool quilt for the annual Maine Quilt Show. One year she made Jazz Hands or Erika's Honesty-both have the same design in the main hexagons. I have been thinking about this quilt every since she talked to me about how she tried to create movement in the quilt by designing the block as though it were a kaleidoscope. My former husband, Ben loves kaleidoscopes and had a very big fancy one that captivated me many years ago. So I thought I would try to work a little magic myself. I have made one square and I am not so creative that I can stray from one collection. I had lots of scraps from my Anyway You Slice It quilts by Denyse Schmidt with her Chicopee line. So I made my first block with greens and yellows. I am moving on to some pinks and oranges next. One block at a time!
I have also been going through my left overs and have been thinking I should whip up another strip quilt given how cute Evelyn looks in hers.
Ok and here is the last project (making up for not blogging all year). I lost the lovely Ally and the resilient Josie has had many health issues this year and my friend Lynn was there for me in so many ways with her lovely assistant Melissa. I made Melissa a scrub with fun dogs to thank her. Ok must stop writing now so that I can get to work on some of my new projects! Happy New Year!
Thanks for the kick in the pants, Sharon!
