Another Year

It's been two weeks since my birthday. I'm an April Fool baby. I think this is the first year in my many that an April Fool joke was not attempted, nor did I play any pranks. Very unusual indeed, but I was busy nursing my daughter following a successful surgery (recovered now, thankfully). She did bless me with this great pincushion. I love that it also hold thread, or whatever I choose, in the center. I immediately retired my old pincushion (that I've had since I was 16). How many years ago was that? I'm not telling! But I really don't mind the birthdays - as a good friend says, "It's better than the alternative!"

I've also been working on finishing up some projects. One was a word challenge that we did in a small quilt group I am privileged to be a part of. I've been wanting to try this method for some time - it is from Vikki Pignatelli's book, Quilting by Improvisation. I did use one of her patterns. My word - Dance. I love to dance and am sneaking up on my husband and I taking dance lessons. This star just seemed perfect. It was a challenge for me, but I really enjoyed it. I also finally used the BSR on my Bernina (my husband has been nagging me to do that since he gave it to me over a year ago). You can see the flame stitch I did in gold. Certainly not perfect, but not bad for a first try. It was fun too - especially once I got a rhythm going. And it feels soooo good to get something finished! I've two more quilts done - I'll post those later.