Where have I been?

I can't believe that another year has flown by.  I got a lot accomplished and have great hopes for this year.

I made a bunch of gifts this year and they were all appreciated.  This post will have a lot of pictures so grab a drink and sit back and enjoy.

My niece loves anything Paris so when I saw this fabric I knew I had to use it somehow. Then I saw the placemats and I was off (no more than usual!!). I also found the Paris fabric for the pillowcase at Lolly's when we were in Shipshewanna for our annual retreat. You can't see it but the black and white narrow fabric is all french words (don't ask me what they mean)! I also found some Paris cocktail and luncheon napkins at Sur La Table (boy can I get into trouble at that store) to round out the package.

My other niece has a dachshund who is a ton of fun.  I will post two pictures - I made the red one last year for her and this year I made the Halloweenies.  Wait until you see next year's!!!

I have a good friend I travel with to quilt shows and just for fun.  We are both knitters as well as quilters so when I saw this pattern I knew that I had to make it for her.  The best part was when I looked in my stash and found this fabric for the frame.  I couldn't believe how perfect it was.  When I bought it I had no plans for it but now I am very happy that I had it.

I belong to a stitch group that meets every Wednesday.  I really enjoy stitching too so am glad to have that time every week.  One of the gals in the group brought in one of these finished candles and I fell in love with it.  I decided to make one for everyone in my bee as well as my nieces, my travelling friend and my best friend who lives in Houston.  The stitching didn't take long at all and the finishing wasn't too bad.  I am learning a lot about finishing (following "The Twisted Stitcher" blog - great tutorials) and have been doing it with Jen.  I didn't get a picture of all of the candles but these are certainly representative.

I went back to Bath and Body Works the other day to pick up more candles (they are a steal after Christmas) only to find that the candles they had this year did not have lids on them.  It is kind of hard to finish these without the lids so I will just keep my fingers crossed that they will have lids on the jars next year.

I have really started knitting again since I moved from Houston to Indianapolis (it helps that it gets a bit cooler here - it is ~9 degrees today and is going way down in the negative numbers tonight!!).  I made this scarf/shawl for my best friend who lives in Houston.  I know that I can't make her anything too heavy but this one is perfect.  I used circular needles and Araucania Huasco DK yarn which is so soft and worked up wonderfully. It didn't take very long and I was really pleased with the result.  It will definitely stay on my list of potential gifts. I love the detail on the edge and the neck.  It was a different bind off than I had done before but it was fun.

My daughter-in-law likes just about anything I make for her.  The Valentine wall hanging was for her birthday (it was in March and I took it to her when I went at Thanksgiving - she is very patient!!).  We were at a quilt show near their home in Maryland and she saw a great quilt hangar/shelf that she fell in love with.  She ordered it and my son hung it up and now she displays her seasonal quilts on it. This year for Christmas I gave her this cute little winter one.

One thing I finished this year really pleased me.  I made this vase when I made in Houston (we have been in Indiana for 11 1/2 years) but never got around to putting on the final coat of glaze.  I bought the glaze a couple of years ago and it sat on my table gathering dust.  I finally broke down and glazed it and took it in to be fired.  Here is the finished result - as I said I am pleased with it.

Well I think I have taken up enough of your time.  As I was uploading the pictures I saw a few more things that I finished this year but I will save them for another post.  I also have three Pay-It-Forwards to make and hope to get them done soon.

I am off to the Girl Scout cookie rally tonight - I am taking care of the judging.  The principals of the girls' schools are invited to come and taste the creation that the girls make from cookies and then we award ribbons for the top three.  The girls love it and we keep the principals supplied with lots of water.

Happy New Year!  Hoping you have a healthy, happy and productive year.