New year plans

The arrival of the new year used to make me feel really apprehensive - a whole year for unexpected things to happen - a huge stretch of time which might be filled with good things but might also be filled with difficult things too. Too long to contemplate and not really a reason to celebrate. My reaction to new year has always surprised me as I am generally very optimistic - but recently I have learned just how to deal with it. Not for me the lists of things that have happened over the past 12 months nor the resolutions. I just take it as another day. So tonight I am not out merry making - in fact I have just spent a couple of hours free motion quilting. Today is simply 31st December - nothing special. There is one bit of new year I love though - the early morning of new year's day  - out in the garden ......so quiet ....when everyone else is still asleep ...

But....I do have one new year plan and this is to finish the quilt you see above on my washing line. And in the not too distant future. I have been trying to get a photo of the quilt top for ages, and between the storms which are chasing through the UK at the moment I caught a moment of the dying light and snapped this. It still doesn't really do the colours justice, but I do love the way they are highlighted by the bricks of our outhouses behind.

This quilt is part of the process of me learning about colour. I bought a pack of Kaffe Fassett squares in yellow, orange and brown knowing I would not usually choose these colours and almost daring myself to use them. This half log cabin quilt is the result. The pattern is inspired by Jane Brocket's Purple Rain Quilt. In a way I have cheated because although I have substantially added to the fabrics in the pack I just chose more of the same from the Kaffe Fassett collective following their yellow, orange and brown grouping. I haven't followed any special pattern for putting the blocks together, or even the strips within the blocks as you can see below

So now I need to get on with some piecing and then decide on a backing fabric. If I go for a Kaffe Fassett backing, which I probably will, I will order it from the US as the price is so much less than the UK ( $10.00 per yard compared to £13 per metre which is a big difference over the 5 or 6 yards I will need, even with customs and postage) so that may be a slight delay. But surely, ... surely I can get it done for Spring?

So that's the plan - definitely not a resolution, but just something nice to look forward to!