Staying Warm.....

.......happily stitching away inside while things are frigidly cold and blustery outside. The day before it snowed.....quite a bit. Yesterday the temperatures dropped and the wind picked up (with gusts up to 35 mph), making it bitterly cold out (talking negative numbers with wind chill). Perfect day for staying inside stitching.

Made another pin cushion (or possible warming pad). This is rather large at 7" square.  I probably could have made it smaller but I really love the way it looks. I used a test embroidery for the center.

I spent some time making blocks for the Saltbox Sampler block of the month I'm doing. These are small blocks finishing out at 5" square (5 1/2" with seam allowance). There are 41 (?) blocks in all not including the appliqué border. I've really been enjoying this one. It's been a great way to re-discover the joy of quilting. 

Pictured below are a few of my favorite blocks so far. I put the pattern itself in page protectors in a binder. As I finish a block it goes in the binder with its own page of instructions. (Some pages had instructions for two blocks on the same page.) It's been a wonderful way of keeping all the blocks together and allowing me to see where I am with the quilt. All the photos were taken with things remaining in the binder (in case the photos look a bit funny).