My first finish for 2017

Here we are well into the New Year and I am only now getting around to posting . Life can be busy at times . I trust you all had a lovely Christmas and a Happy New year,  we enjoyed a wonderful visit from our son and family which makes any holiday that much more special .
 I have been busy sewing , some I can't share as it is secret and some I simply haven't taken photos of but I can share this finish with you . In 2015 Kaaren Johnston of the Painted Quilt challenged us to QAL with her in a mystery quilt . The first set of blocks was all I needed to see , they were house blocks and I love house blocks so I decided to take on this challenge and I am so glad I did . My plan was to only use what I had on hand and I did manage to do that quite nicely,  you see I own a lot of scraps and I figured this was a great way to use some of those up . Well I can't honestly say it made much of a dent but every little bit helps and I have a nice quilt as a result.

I finished sewing on the binding on Sunday during a snow storm . I prepared it on Saturday incase we lost power I would have some handwork to do . Well we didn't loose power thankfully but I enjoyed being wrapped up in this quilt as I stitched away . Lynda Campbell in Mabou machine quilted this for me in the fall but I never got around to sewing the binding on until now . Thanks Kaaren for a great pattern , I really enjoyed making it .
 I have so many projects on the go right now,  I am not sure if I am coming or going.  Our guild is doing a BOM which I have been coordinating so I have to stay on top of the blocks each month.  Well this week I decided I would finish off all 20 blocks so I can concentrate on getting them hand quilted . You see I am doing a quilt as you go method I have never tried before . I hate using a hoop so am basting then quilting each one . We shall see how this all turns out.  Here is a block I just prepped , pinned and basted for extra security 😉

This is Martha Washington Star from Quilters Cache,  a lovely block.  Sorry the photo is not the best , it is dark here right now.
I am also finishing off a challenge I undertook with Darlene of Needle Pulling Thread quilt shop in Digby , this was a star a week for 52 weeks . I loved making these little 6"blocks , I usually hate repeating things but for some reason this was never a problem with the Stars.  So now that I have 52 stars the biggest challenge came with how to make the best use of them . I have a plan and I started working on that plan today but won't be showing you until I get a little further along .
 I will let you go for now and I thank you for taking the time to stop by , I promise it won't be as long before I post again . Let's make 2017 the best most creative year ever!
Hugs Sheila