I is for Irresistible.
No explanation necessary.

H is for hexagons. Oh . . . . you knew that was coming.
It has been almost three years since I started Martha Washington's Flower Garden. Three years, four addresses, over 6,000 miles on the roads across country and back, and I don't know how many yards of thread or individual pieces in the quilt. Quite a journey.
The stated goal remains for this quilt to be on my bed this winter. With just over 24 diamonds left to be quilted and the remaining edges to be finished, this is a goal this is attainable. And I am EXCITED!
But that will not be the end of the hexagon journey. If you have been with me for a l-o-n-g time, you may remember this project.
Last shared in 2009, I began this quilt in early 2006. Not only has it traveled to all the places that Martha Washington has visited, it has been to Arizona, NYC, Europe and up and down the California coast more times than I can remember. A well traveled quilt, to be sure. I had planned on adding two more rows (14) stars. A more realistic assessment is to call it good, make the filler pieces to finish the edges and gitterdun.
Instead of being a lap quilt for my dotage, I think it will be just delightful on our dining room table.

G is for German chocolate cake.
It has always been my favorite. Hubby made this one for me - from scratch, once you've had it this way the box mix just won't do.

F is for Forgetful. I pulled out the BIG box of scraps last week while working on the next section of Folk Art Gathering. Now it's true that I haven't gone through that box for over a year now - well prior to our move. While I expected to be delighted at the sight of some old fabric friends, I did not expect to find this:
A nearly complete little quilt top. A design by Cheri offered on her blog during the holidays in 2010. It lacks only the embroidery embellishment (see E for Embroidery and you'll better understand.)
What I don't understand is this:
To be perfectly honest, I don't even remember making it. Though I know I must have. Everyone of the fabrics is from my stash. Another design by Cheri, it lacks only a quick wool applique on the wide black border before quilting.
These finds really brought home to me what a fog I was living in for all of 2010. I'm so thankful that the only fog in my life now is the marine layer that comes in from the coast. That's my kinda fog.

E is for Embroidery -
the very first hand-crafting technique that I learned. I used to watch my grandma make 'day of the week' dishtowels and chicken scratch cross stitch aprons for sales at her church fund-raiser. The pot holder is one of the first things I stitched probably at about six years of age (causing it nearly to qualify as an antique.)
Over the years, I have taken on crewel embroidery, needlepoint, counted cross stitch - all of which have gone by the wayside in favor of quilting. Now days I usually only pull out the DMC floss and embroidery needles for embellishing quilt blocks.
The most current project (Folk Art Gathering) has a lot of that embellishment. What I have learned is to do those stitches as I go along rather than saving them to the end, when I am VERY likely to just not do them at all.

D is for Disneyland as in: I'm Going To Disneyland!
For sure I will rub Pluto's nose for good luck . . . I always do.

C is for Christmas. First up - Christmas past, the one that just passed.
For several months, I teased pictures of the progress of this quilt. It has been pieced, quilted, bound and even labeled for some time. And on Christmas morning it went to its new owner The Intended (formerly known as Boyfriend) While I don't honestly believe that he spends his free time reading my blog, I didn't want him to happen on a revealing post over The Princess' shoulder. On Christmas morning I happily gifted him the quilt and then IMMEDIATELY asked for it back so I could use it for show and tell . . . . welcome to the family!
Now for Christmas present,
which came in the form of a little package from Cathi of Shakerwood Quilts. She very sweetly sent me a kit of her hand dyed wools and one of the new Christmas designs by Cheri Payne. Want to pick up some delicious hand dyed wool of your very own? Check out Cathi's webstore.
As a bonus, when I walked into Fat Quarters Quilt Shop last week, one of the very first things my eyes landed on was a kit of the cottons for the very same design.
Now for Christmas Future,
I plan to join Cathi this month (as as many months as it takes) on Rudy Day to work on this project with a hope of having a new Christmas quilt for 2012. What a fun way to keep Christmas all year long.

B is for Birthday Girl.
Daisy is celebrating being 2 today! We are about to head out on a trip to the pet store but not before she enjoys a gnaw on a favorite treat in the backyard.
What difference two years makes.
She was such a tiny little poop when she first came home.
B is also for Binding.
This morning I put the last stitches in the binding of 12 Days of Christmas block of the day project from Temecula Quilt Co. It was a fun project that was easy to keep up with and provided the first finish of the new year. If you haven't started, it's not too late. All of the instructions are on their blog.

A is for Applique.
With some record setting warm temperatures for January this week, I decided to unearth my long neglected Folk Art Gathering project and head outside to stitch. I am very close to finishing Block 2. Let's keep fingers crossed that it doesn't take so long to finish Block 3!