Flying Geese

 The next blocks for the Polaris quilt are curved flying geese units. I started my first one and realized I was doing it entirely wrong, so pulled out Karen Neary's book "Quilting Beauties for a brief review. After an aha experience, I was off a the correct track.

I now have half the geese sewn and the fabric cut for the rest.

I think they are looking pretty good.

I decided that their was something wrong with my purple hat, that I was knotting. I checked the pattern again, and realized I was using the wrong size needles. So the hat was completely frogged and restarted. Looks much better now, though I haven't taken a new picture.

Many of our patio plants spend the winter in the dining room. This morning, I stepped in to see this.

The azalea has decided to brighten my January morning. The bright pop of colour is appreciated, since it is snowing again today. We have had lots of snow lately. This was the bird feeder on Friday, after over 20 cm of snow.

Another snowy week ahead, so more time to sew.

Trust the Process

 The Quilt the North project for the second box is foundation paper piecing. It has been awhile since I did any FPP. So, I started my new year off, trying to remember how I do it. Because the fabric is supplied, I need to be careful not to make a mistake, because I don't have extra. 

Yesterday, I finished the star in the middle. After a bit of a rocky start, I am very pleased with how it turned out.

Karen suggests that you use freezer paper for the foundations, but I don't have any in my stash that fits in my printer, so I used foundation paper, since I did have that.

Our grey, snowy weather has invited knitting by the fire. So my first finish of 2026 is a hat, to match a new coat.

It is my usual Bankhead hat, in my fast dwindling Knit Picks Brava. The colour is Wasabi.

Bear says he just likes modelling baby hats, and I need to find some other way to display my hats.

I started another hat, with purple fingering from my stash.

January seems to be hat month. This is the Martine Hat. I think it will need some blocking.  Winter coats come in such dull colours that a bright hat is an essential accessory to add warmth and a bright splash of contrast to your "Michelin Man" look.

Last April, during the "Great Clear Out", all of the Christmas decoration boxes moved into the living room. They sat there for the rest of the year. When December rolled around, I was able to find a new home for a bunch of the decorations that weren't being used. I am now pleased to report that the rest of the decorations now are back in their refurbished storage area. 

An Eventful Year

 I did not blog as much as I should have in 2025, but there was a lot going on. 

In March we started clearing out the basement, for a major renovation, one that has been in the planning for a long time. This meant that we needed to sort through a lot of years of "stuff". 

We went from this.

To this...

And finally, to this...

This meant a lot of finding new homes for  stuff. I gave away patterns, yarn, and fabric. We sent a bunch of things we didn't need to a charity flea market. We filled the car with ewaste and took it to the recycling event. Everything looks so much more spacious.

My best give away was a Christmas tree, complete with ornaments and lights. It went to a family of new Canadians, with kids who really wanted their first Christmas tree.

I spent a lot of time hiding from the noise and chaos, with the pets. However, I did manage to get a lot of knitting and some sewing done.

So here is my 2025 tally

KNITTING

Mitts                                        5 pairs

Socks                                       9 pairs

Shawls                                     2

Baby Socks                             5 pairs

Hats                                        1

SEWING

Zippered Pouches                    6

Quilt                                        1

Purses                                      5

Shorts                                      1

Tote Bags                                2

I have some work in active progress. My Polaris quilt, a hat, a cowl, a scarf, and a pair of socks.

Despite all my give-aways, I have lots of yarn, fabric and sewing supplies, still. I do have a better idea of what I have, through all the sorting.

I have some ideas of what I want to do in 2026. I am going to try to spend at least 20 minutes a day, sewing. I created 2 bag projects from my own patterns last year, and I hope to do more. I want to do some selfish sewing, making some new stuff for me. I'm going to try to use up more of my beautiful fingering yarn, in ways other than socks. 

Above all, I want to keep learning new things. I think that is an excellent plan for the upcoming year.