Happy New Year!

I know that I am behind all the other bloggers out there in wishing people a Happy New Year, but as the year is still less than a week old I think I can get away with it.

To mark the new year I have a brand sparkling new logo for the blog, which I've been keeping secret for a month or so.  I thought a new year appearance would be nice.  I have a ladybird in the logo because they are special and important to me.  In Germany ladybirds represent luck, prosperity and success and we could all do with a bit of that in our lives.  I hope you approve of the new logo.

I have a short list of goals for the year, but I am not being overambitious so as not to feel deflated by December.  Here we go...

1.  I want to reduce my stash and get some of the lovely quilts in mind out into the real world.  I have started to follow a blog Project Leasa who is running Sew My Stash 2015 on her blog and on Instagram.  I want to join with her and other participants on ideas on how to get down the stash and to use up as much fabric as possible.

I need to add here, this does not mean I am going to stop buying fabric, but I am going to be more cautious and choosy about what I buy.  I already know of two fabric ranges I want to purchase this year, (the Liberty Alice in Wonderland range and Lighthearted by Kokka) but I am not going to go overboard and make impulse purchases because I have so many lovely fabrics which I need to fall back in love with.  (What a disclaimer!)

2.  I joined Instagram last year but couldn't get on with it.  I am determined to change this as I know that it is really useful for connecting with others and seeing what is happening in the sewing and quilting world.  My aim is to post a photo each day, and more times than not it needs to be sewing related.  I'm @stitchandpieces if you are interested in following me.

3.  As I am going to post a photo each day, I need to do some sewing each day.  This might be something small, but it should be achievable.

4.  I want to be tidier and better organised.  Over Christmas my craft room has moved from a box room at the front of the house to a big room at the back.  (It's great and I am so lucky!)  My husband has painted it, put lots of shelves and storage in there and I have promised him that I will keep all the craft stuff in there and keep on top of the mess.  I am not naturally tidy, but I am coming to accept that being tidy will make my life easier and reduce the number of times I say "have you seen...?" and "do you know where... is?"  When the craft room is completely finished (i.e. when Ikea gets the shelves back in stock that I want) I will post a photo and compare my progress over the year.

5.  I need to learn how to sew curves.  Until I can do this I will feel like an amateur.  I had a go a few months ago, but it wasn't a success.  I really want to make a Drunkard's Path quilt this year.

I think all of these things are manageable and will also be very satisfying.

In the meantime I have already been working on reducing the stash.  I am making a quilt for our house, using my husband's favourite colours.  He loves autumnal colours, which is he also calls "earthy".  Brown is not a colour I am fond of, but it goes well with these other colours and we have a brown leather sofa, so it is acceptable.  I'm just piecing lots of 2½" squares together and then going to add some sashing to make this a nice big quilt.  

Some of these fabrics are the last bits I have of them and some are brand new fabrics I've never touched before, but which have been feeling a little neglected,  What I like about this quilt is that it will have an "I spy" element about it because, like many of my fabrics, it has novelty images and not just pattern.  There are also elements about it which really mean something to us.  My favourite fruit, for instance, is an orange.  We have chickens and they have also made it on to here.  There are strawberries, which we grow each year and Ezzie loves elephants.  There are also cats to be find and we love all things feline.  I have found a little ladybird fabric today which is also going to feature.

I am sure 2015 is going to keep me busy.  Thanks for visiting.