I'm still here!!

Gosh, I've been fairly mute for over a month!  Very unlike me.  My sister reminded me this week that I was called Parrot as a child (thanks to my Uncle Sean) because I never stopped talking back then.  Not a lot has changed in recent years but I have been fairly low-key this past month.  It can be a strange time around the holidays, whether you join in the celebrations or not, it tends to be a busy month.  Lots of extra traffic everywhere you go, a crazy need to stock the fridge and buy in anything you might possible need or want for weeks on end despite the fact that the shops barely close for a full 24 hours these days!

My panic buying was a last minute trip to The Quilt Shop to stock up on some fabric so I could get my head down and get something accomplished.  Recently I have been finishing up lots of little projects and I was excited to get started on something new.  It took me ages to figure out what I wanted to make but the deal was sealed when I went to the shop and picked up this fab jelly roll of funky black and white prints (along with my other goodies).  The greens and blues were what I went to buy, with a plan already in mind, but when I found the black/white combo I changed my mind, it was just asking me to cut it!

I found a really cute tutorial to follow online to make this super simple pattern which is called "Summer in the Park".  It came together very fast because you effectively make 6 blocks at a time!  I love the black and white contrast - it's very striking and really shows off the design.  I took a few pictures because it's very different from every angle.  You can see an x's and o's pattern as well as boxes or diamonds!

It grew a little after these pictures were taken but I decided to keep it at a generous lap-quilt size.  I'm going to add a small border but I'm generally keeping it simple because I think I've got my sewing mojo back and want to get on to my next project.  Stay tuned....

Ooooh but before I go, check out my bargains from the one day sale at The Quilt Shop..... it was so hard to keep myself reigned in and not go wild in there!  Check out the other jelly roll I got.........it's full of floral prettiness, I need to choose a really cute pattern for that one if anyone has any suggestions!

In the meantime, have you started any of your 2014 projects yet?  Do you have a list as long as your arm?  Are you trying something you've never done before?  Care to share and inspire?  I'd love to hear your plans!