Chaos to Contentment - 2025 Theme

I don't know about anyone else, but I have lost my way lately.  No drive, no ambition, no love of what I'm doing.  I "think" it has to do with being in a constant state of OVERWHELM!  I have not managed time well and wind up with crunch projects -which are never fun.  I've packed my list of "want to accomplish this month" so full that when surprises pop up that are either fun or an emotional wipeout - there is no chance of completion and then a sense of failure sets in.  Ugh.  After much thought on this and a great deal of chatting with the lady in the mirror - I've come up with this theme for 2025.

I am worthy of experiencing peace and contentment in my life.  I am capable of making that happen - it's time to set the stage.

The next question is how to go about it.  Each month I will focus on one way to change things up in a positive light.  It may be a small item for the month but I could also tackle a larger one.  We'll see where the monthly idea takes me.  If you wish to join me on this crazy trek, feel free.  I'll share how it goes and hopefully feel the load lighten as I go.

Deer Country Quilts Spotlight - Seeley Lake, MT

We are on the road today and as we go through Seeley, MT, Mister and I spot a quilt shop that is just about to open.  With a bakery stand right across the parking lot, we decide to wait and check it out.  Welcome to Deer Country Quilts.

Theme for 2024 - Joy!!!

Every year I try to come up with a theme to help fill the months and add some cohesiveness to my life.  So many people do the "one word" thing --- so, that's where I am going this year.  I am choosing JOY.  What a great word!  There are no possible ways to take it incorrectly for each person finds joy in their own unique way.  What works for one, doesn't always work for another.  However, we can all work towards the emotion itself.  Find your own joy!  What is it?  Is it in everything around us if we look. Each month we will focus on a place or way in which to bring joy to the surface in our own lives and see if the world's multiple problems take a back stage to our own happiness.  We can't fix anything else until we fix ourselves.  

AnnaLouisa's Quilt Shop Spotlight - Navarre, Ohio

 While in Berlin, we stopped at Zinck's Fabric Outlet and a gentleman there recommended AnnaLouisa's to us, saying that it was, in his opinion, the best shop within an hour drive.  You don't have to give me more than that.  From Millersburg, it was about 45 minutes, but a really pretty drive.  

Even the grounds are beautiful.  This shop sits right on a lake.  How lovely is this?

Theme for 2023 --- Binding Us Together

 Binding Us Together

This year I want to focus on the many ways we are bound together through our love of each other and the craft we have in common.  It seems fitting as binding is the final touch on a quilt which has seen hours and hours of love put into it.  So, it seems, our friendships work the same way.

My hope is that we will all look around at those who impact our lives and take time to create memories with one another.  

Find the joy in love and know that it is so much bigger than we give it a chance to be sometimes.  Reach out --- let it grow within all of us this year.  Each month we will focus on ways to make this more a part of who we are.  I know that words are just not enough to seep through sometimes -- so, let's add some actions throughout the next 12 months.  I can't wait.

Have I started you thinking?  Awesome!  Hold on tight - January will bring our first of many ways to create or strengthen those ties that bind us together.  Hugs and Love to all.

December Color Your World - Red

 

December means RED to me.  I know, I know - for many it holds other colors in mind - green for fir trees, white for snow, etc.  However, my house turns RED.  My whole Christmas decor is red and white and I love it so much.  In the book, The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair, I found this statement:  ". . . the human affinity for the color red.  Most anthropologists and archaeologists believe that, as the color of blood, red is associated with lie - celebration, sex, joy - danger, and death."  I don't know about all of that and, as a redhead, it wasn't a color I loved or wore EVER - but I do enjoy it so much around the holidays.  I guess one can never truly understand oneself.  With that, let's move into red and all that it does indeed have to offer.  Further down the post is the monthly project AND your BINGO card for December.  It is the VERY LAST one for the year and some time to come.  Don't forget that cuppa.

November Color Your World - Brown

November and brown -- they do seem to go hand in hand, right?  As the leaves begin to wear out their fall color and fall from the trees, they leave brown on the land and, with nothing but branches left, the view upwards is also brown.  Brown is our earth and in the fall, it brings forth so many delightful foods for us to enjoy.  It brings hunting season for many and, again, brown plays a role.  The many deer, elk, ducks, etc. that are harvested each year wear this color proudly.  I feel a warmth from brown that many do not.  They see it as ugly, but I find the comfort in the rich hues and shades.  Perhaps it all stems from being a redhead.  With that, let's move into brown and all that it does indeed have to offer.  Further down the post is the monthly project AND your BINGO card for November.  Time to get started and don't forget that cuppa.

October Color Your World - Black

 

October has arrived and it is my most favorite month of the year.  With that, it does seem odd that the Color Your World color for this month is Black.  Well, truth be told, for many years I wore a LOT of black and absolutely still have a great deal of it in my wardrobe.  I like it.  I also like the contrast it offers when placed with other colors.  Think Amish quilts.  At any rate, enjoy black and all that it offers - you'll be amazed at how many places it shows up in your life.  Further down the post is the monthly project AND your BINGO card for October.  Let's get started and don't forget to grab that cuppa.

September Color Your World - Orange

 

I'm a northern girl.  Yep, I live in Texas, but the northern girl comes out every now and then.  Fall is one of those times and, for me, fall starts in September.  I LOVE the colors, the feel of the air, even the mood of everyone around.  It's harvest time and the abundance is real in so many ways.  So, as you can see, it makes perfect sense for the Color Your World color of the month to be orange.  As a redhead, I've always been drawn to the earthy tones and this one just makes my heart happy.  Further down in this post is the monthly project and you BINGO card for September.  Grab that cuppa and let's get started.

August Color Your World - Purple

 

August has arrived and that means summer is drawing down.  I have upcoming adventures that are creating excitement and I'll be watching for those purple sunrise and sunsets as I spend some time on the beach this fall.  The Color Your World color for the month is Purple and I have to admit that I have totally fallen in love with this color more and more as I age.  Yep, old ladies love purple apparently.  Further down the post is the monthly project AND your BINGO card for August.  Let's get started and don't forget to grab that cuppa.

July Color Your World - Yellow

 

Oh there's sunshine in the world today.  Hello July!!!  Here in Texas there is a TON of sun this time of year.  Hot, intense sun that brings the color of yellow into our lives constantly.  It's a joyous color and much missed on cloudy or rainy days.  However, through the reading of The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair, it was not always so for this bright member of the color wheel.  Before we get into that, remember that our monthly project will be featured here along with a BINGO card for those who wish to play.  Now, let's see what yellow has to say.

June - Color Your World - Blue

 

June has arrived and we are ending out the first half of the year with BLUE.  This year's theme is full of thought provoking information and I'm loving the chance to Color Your World along with everyone else.  Why blue in June?  I really don't have a good reason, except that, for me, June begins our summer season and I associate that with rivers, lakes, and oceans.  Add in some blue sky and I'm ready to just lay and watch the clouds.  Our monthly project is featured here along with a BINGO card for those who wish to play.  I'll also have several BLUE blocks in Pat Sloan's sew-a-long, but she's on a different color, purple and that one is still ahead for us.  Here is June, in all her glory, so enjoy and don't forget that cuppa.

May - Color Your World - Turquoise

Welcome to May and the beginning of the second third of the year.  Yep, we're already there and loving the change of seasons around us.  The Color Your World fun for this month is Turquoise and is the second and last time we will play outside the book.  We are going to have some fun with turquoise and I absolutely love it.  Further down the post is the monthly project AND your BINGO card for the month.  So, let's get started and - don't forget to grab that cuppa.

April Color Your World - Lavender

It's April and I'm sure y'all have noticed how late this post is.  Procrastination happened and life sealed my fate.  Usually, I'm a great pressure player and can do magic before a deadline, but not this go round.  Family came first and it is what it is.  At any rate, our Color Your World fun for this month is Lavender.  The Secret Lives of Color book only has 10 categories and I wanted this to last the whole year so I've divided purple into two months.  This is our adventure with the gorgeous happiness that can be had with lavender.  I can almost smell the previous picture.  Can you?  Further down the post is the monthly project AND your BINGO card for the month.  So, let's get started and - don't forget to grab that cuppa.

March Color Your World - Green

Welcome to March 2022 AND Color Your World!  This new theme is just so fun and I cannot believe how much I've learned already.  This month we are going to explore GREEN - makes sense right?  After all - St. Patrick's Day keeps everyone in tune with the color during March.  Additionally, the world is starting to enjoy Spring - and that means green as well.  Our monthly project is featured here along with a BINGO card for those who wish to play.  I'll also have several GREEN blocks in Pat Sloan's sew-a-long, but she'll be using orange and we'll get to that in another month.  So, here ya go and enjoy -- oh yeah, grab that cuppa. 

February Color Your World - Pink

 

Welcome to February of 2022 AND Color Your World!!  I am loving this new theme so very much and am ready to move to our next color.  This month we are going to explore PINK - go figure, it's February, right?   Our monthly project is featured here along with a BINGO card for those who wish to play.  I'll also have several PINK blocks in Pat Sloan's sew-a-long, but she'll be using yellow and we'll get that in another month.  Mine will be the pinks this month.  So, here ya go and enjoy --- oh yeah, grab that cuppa.

January Color Your World - White

 

Welcome to January AND 2022 AND Color Your World!!  I am so excited about this new theme and cannot wait to share all the fun ideas I have for it.  I've made a few changes with the monthly theme posts and this is the first of the new format.  I want to really delve into our colors and a little blurb in the Facebook group page isn't going to be enough.  I want you to be able to apply it in your quilting projects and designs and stash.  Let's embrace it all and see where it takes us.  Our monthly project will be featured here along with a BINGO card for those who wish to play.  So, here ya go and enjoy --- oh yeah, grab that cuppa.

Theme for 2022 --- Color Your World

 COLOR YOUR WORLD

We all spend a large part of our day with color.  We are either using color in a project or happily enjoying it with our eyes.  It can determine our mood.  Did you know that?  Do you understand colors?  In preparing for this theme, my eyes have been opened wider.  I LOVE color and the ways to implement it in my life will even have me out of bed before light just to enjoy the sky's magnificent display.  That's devotion.

With that in mind, for 2022, I think Our Quilt World Facebook group will focus on color and I will most certainly do all I can to bring it into my own life as well.

We'll take a good look at how nature provides both beauty and inspiration for us along with how colors work with our emotions and why we respond to certain ones the way we do.  

I'm also going to do a table runner each month that will allow me to work with the color of the month and also try out new techniques and have a finished project each month.  Some will be free patterns on the internet, others I've come up with on my own and will be happy to share if you wish to sew along with me.  We'll tackle traditional piecing, foundation piecing, paper piecing, modern, low volume, QAYG, and applique.  There will even be BINGO cards occasionally - focusing on the color of the month.  Please play along --- and let's brighten our world together.

The "Roaring Twenties" are Back - Our New Theme

Hello everyone and Good Morning!  This past year we have embraced chaos and hopefully found fun in the insanity.  I did.  I made HUGE dents in the stash and limited my purchasing to what I needed or truly loved.  Things were organized and I can find things again.  My life is chaos at all times, however I am more able to enjoy being in it.  I hope you were able to do the same.

Now, let's move on!!!  The 20's are Roaring Again.   Shall we join in?  What would that mean?  Well, for one thing, it was a time of great changes.  Let's start there.  Make some changes.  How about tackling a project that has intimidated you -- change and intimidate it?  How about changing your sewing room around?  How about changing some of your habits --- step outside the box -- join a group, a bee, a retreat?  Each month I will make a change and ask you to join in on either your own change or with me.  NO - they are not resolutions.  They are changes.  There IS a difference. A resolution usually involves stopping something.  I don't want to stop ANYTHING.  I want to add to my life --- through learning new things and creating beauty.

Fiber of all Types -- Ya Gotta See This to Believe It!!

Okay Y'all - you really need to meet Vicky Polve from Henderson, TX.  She does the most magnificent work with pine needles and I am completely dumbfounded.  Literally jaw dropping.

I spot her work at a festival and wander up for a closer look.  No one is around her booth but I am carrying on rather loudly and soon draw a crowd.  Goodness --- bow down to the woman.  Her works is not only incredibly beautiful, but oh so intricate.