Watching this little guy grow up so fast is an inspiration to make more of the time I have for making. So far this year, I have finished stitching the West End sampler I designed awhile ago. Once I dug in, it was pretty quick and I had such fun using the felt pieces for those shutters!

That's Vince in the upstairs window on the left. (Mo is the baby up top and her sisters, Erin and Maggie as little girls are in the downstairs window.) I love the squirrel and the stork. And the roof, so in love with the colors and texture of the roof! Done!

Then I got busy with this new design I call Into the Wild. I colored it two ways, blue and pink and also left it uncolored for those who prefer making those choices. I think it would be pretty in redwork. But the colored version is awesome because it lets you off the hook of having to stitch everything. I'm just adding texture here and there with stitches that sometimes fill the space and sometimes just accent it. I wanted to create a sampler that could be dedicated to a baby or feature a personal message. On the bottom of the panel, I added an alphabet that can be traced to make the words of your choice. I think that's a great way to make a special gift for someone - it could say welcome or thank you or onward or .... well, you get it.

Can you believe he's almost one?!

In between, I got out that beautiful indigo wool from Vermont. (Truth is, I can binge watch Fixer Upper or Broadchurch and knit at the same time if it's a cowl.)

And I used every last lick of it! The ball wasn't very big and I can assure you, I've wasted as much good time as usual. Plenty here to finish that hasn't even made the list yet. But it was a good start.

Wishing everyone a very happy new year full of many good things, new dreams, beginnings and a few finished projects too! xoxo