Inching along!

Welcome 2023!

I heralded the New Year by logging in to Kate's Last Homely House YouTube feed.  

I've been following Kate's lovely YouTube posts for some time, and signed up to be notified of her New Year's Eve chat.  I enjoyed it, but was a bit disappointed to find that (differently from last year) she pre-recorded clips rather than participating live.  It was understandable given that, sadly, she lost her father a few weeks before and naturally that contributed to a bit of down time.  If you haven't heard about Kate before, please check her out.  She is wonderfully warm and friendly and her YouTube posts are very entertaining.  I often have them playing in the background while I am sewing.  

One of the best things about Kate's posts is that she consistently refrains from introducing her politics to her audience which means that I enjoy her chats all the more.  It's an oasis of peace and tranquility - which is what I want more and more of these days.

In blogland we can post whatever we like, of course, but I do wish that other quilt/craft bloggers would show the same kind of restraint.  My mental image of, and warmth towards, several bloggers has been somewhat watered down recently, and I'm probably not going to follow them any more.

Watching Kate's Christmas Box series gave me a few ideas for Christmas presents for my work colleagues.

I work for the government Agency that administers social security benefits and other family, crisis and disaster payments to Australians.  I do this one customer at a time.

The last two years have been very tough.  My colleagues and I are on the front line because we take calls from people who are in dire need of help.  Many of them are traumatised, and it is hard on us as individuals to deal with their problems (poverty, mental health, domestic violence, disabilities, etc) help to resolve them, and at the same time retain our humanity while dealing with our own life situations.

I wanted to make a gift for each team member (20) and decided to use up scraps from my Aboriginal quilt to make everyone a mug rug for their desks.  Each one is a decent 7.5 inches square.

I ended up making 21, and now have a couple of other requests!  

Making these gave me an idea for a quilt I want to start in 2023.  

At work we also created an Advent activity that all colleagues (around 60) participated in.  For this I made two advent gift boxes using a tutorial by Anne at Agile Jack.  Thanks Anne.  The ornaments are unusual.  

I found a YouTube video for the snowflake ornament (can't find it now but you can Google lots of these) and dug out two gorgeous red knitted stockings from my stash to add to the mix.

Everyone enjoyed their gifts.

I also managed to finish the small autumn leaf wall hanging which now hangs in my office.  I thought it needed a bit of hand quilting and had a go at that.  I'm pleased with this little finish.

I was really looking forward to the Christmas break and having my family here.  We had an early celebration as my daughter-in-law has a very large extended family and there was lots to do in Canberra where they live.  They have spent the last three Christmases with me, so it was time to spend 2022 with the rest of the family.

Unfortunately, I caught an infection from the grandchildren and after they left on 24th December, I spent the next 10 days laid up with one of the worst chest infections I've ever had.  Of course, I tested and was Covid-free (I should be, having had four vaccinations, and I wear a mask both in the office and in crowds).

Happily, I'm over it now and was back to work on 3 January.

But lots that needed to get done, didn't get done!

Tidying the sewing room is high on the list.  Then I get to finish Stone Roses, and I'm determined to quilt the butterfly quilt after that.  I've chosen the backing and I just need to get it done as Karen at Just Get it Done quilts says.

I'm not participating in her de-clutter challenge as that would just about do my head in; as would creating a list of goals for 2023.

I already have one squirrel in my lap (a knitted hexagon blanket that's been swirling around in my head and has made it onto the knitting needles) and that's quite enough!  It was just about all I could manage while wasting time being laid up on the sofa.

Happy New Year everyone.