The Start of Something New

As befits this time of year I've taken to new beginnings. I have been having what my family kindly call "a quilting frenzy" which means I've been enjoying my holiday at home by spending more time that I have in quite a while creating behind my sewing machine.

While I have a number of things I probably "should" be stitching instead, I've been having great fun building a quilt for a friend of mine who is facing more than her fair share of health challenges at the moment. So often I feel there is little that I can really do to help her out so I decided that what she and her five year old daughter really need is a quilt to cuddle under - and that is something that clearly I'm ideally suited to work on.

I'm quick to admit that I have had help - my cat Oscar has been keeping me company and giving me ideas for the quilt. This is the tidy corner of the sewing room!

I decided that I'd include on it all the things she loves and needs right now - friends to give her lots of hugs, the casting of magic spells to speed her full recovery, lots of cups of tea,

someone to help with the more mundane household chores, which don't stop just because you don't feel 100%,

and lots of friends, including a cheerleader to keep her spirits up and a coach to push her on.

There are also going to be lots of gardens that will never need weeding.

It's all coming together nicely - what I really need now is some more dodgy weather so I can stay behind the sewing machine without any guilt or feelings that I just might be missing summer. I hope that wherever you are, you are getting the time and weather to do just what you need to set you up for the new year.

Happy New Year!