A new year.....

For the new year.....

"Walk with the dreamer, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground.  Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when we found it." 

-Wilfred Peterson

I wish for all of you an especially hopeful, happy and healthy New Year.  I think being hopeful is especially important.  It seems many feel hopeless, and I believe it is important to be optimistic and to help those around us to feel the same way.  Nothing is accomplished without hope and optimism.  Now that I've shared my thoughts with you, I want to tell you all how much your kind messages mean to me, and how they warm my heart, keep hope alive, place a smile on my face, and reconfirm that there are amazing people of goodwill everywhere.  Thank you for this immeasurable gift.

First things first......Someone emailed me asking for some of this fabric.  Unfortunately I lost the email and have been unable to find it to answer back.  If you read my blog, I have fabric to share with you.  Please contact me again with your address so that I might share with you what you need.

During this past week, a few of like minded quilters and friends gathered for our annual dinner celebration.  On the drive to the restaurant, Leslie took me to see a gorgeously decorated tree in a nearby cemetery.  Isn't it magnificent?  The cemetery is a quaint off the beaten trail, and I didn't know of it's existence.  This is something we never discuss, but as we get older think about.... what do we envision at the end of our life.  I think I'd like to be wrapped in a quilt and placed in a wooden box built by my son and son in laws.  If not spread my ashes in nature.  Now that I've got that out in the open, it is time to move on!  :-)

I so much enjoyed my holiday week.  Bruce had extra time at home and we enjoyed our time together.  Plus I found time to create and that always in soul nurturing.  I made this little notebook cover for a friend.  And I've designed a cover for a journal which I hope to teach in a class while in France.

Just the right size to tuck away in a purse.

I completed this new quilt top and it is ready to be dropped off at the quilters.  It was too large for Bruce to hold up by himself, so there is no picture of the completed top.  It will have to wait until the quilting is complete.  It will look much lovelier after the quilting has been added.

I finished this little quilt which will be a wall hanging.  This pattern will not be available until it is taught at the retreat where it will be offered.

Presently I'm happily stitching away on this table mat. 

This is Vinnie at the fabulous restaurant called Sicilia Mia where we met for are dinner celebration of our friendship which has remained firm and strong over the years.  I love that we may only see each other once a month when we meet, but we are able to take over where we left off! :-)  By the way he is finishing off the carbanara pasta dish which we ordered, table side in this Parmesan cheese rind.  It was yummy!

"Always remember to fall asleep with a dream and wake up with a purpose."  -unknown

Happy New Year!