And that's a wrap....

So what DID I do in 2016? Well I did more than I thought!!!  My friends always tell me I get a lot done... but it never seems that way to me. I think because no matter how much I do there is always more I want to do. And while I do knit, cross stitch and sew a lot, I also goof off too. I am hooked on a couple of games I have on my Kindle and I play them every day. I feel a bit guilty that I spend time playing a useless game when I could be accomplishing something... but I do it anyway. Perhaps the problem isn't that I spend time on the games... perhaps I can lay the blame at the feet of the Benedictine nuns who instilled in me a deep sense of guilt and responsibility!  Yep, this is all the fault of Sister Esther and Sister Joanita and Sister Ida (ohhh she was a real psychopath) and Sister Caritas and Sister Lawrence. I won't blame Sister Dorothy as she was the sweetest nun I ever had... loved that woman!!! Yep, my guilt isn't my fault... it is the fault of 12 years of Catholic education...LOL!!!

Now I really don't hold any animus toward the nuns... guilt and responsibility aren't bad things... the world could use a bit more guilt and responsibility IMHO.

So here's a run down of what I accomplished in 2016. I went back and looked at all my posts for 2016 ... there were only 87... but there was a bunch of stuff there I didn't remember...  oh the mind isn't what it use to be... and it probably isn't what its going to be in the future... scary thought for the day!

I've ended 2016 with another sock finish... ta dah!!!!  This is the 2nd pair from my Opal Advent Calendar and astoundingly I knit the entire pair in less than a week!! Never happened before ... and will probably never happen again. A combination of having a nice chunk of holiday free time  and yarn that was egging me on to see what it would knit up like made these socks fly off the needles!!

Overall on the  knitting front I produced 33 or 34 socks...you know math isn't my friend...  about 16 pairs and 2 single socks waiting for their solemate...which is on the needles.  Only 1 sock was a patterned sock... this pair... Sunday Swing done in Regia Colormania.

All the rest were the plain vanilla stockinette kind except they weren't that  plain and vanilla as they were all some variation of scrappy or Frankensock. I knew that this kind of knitting was something I would like but I didn't realize I would become addicted to it. It is a good thing I don't drink, smoke or do drugs... I'd be a goner!!  An addiction to scrappy colorful socks isn't illegal or immoral...LOL... gosh I feel almost virtuous!! Here are a couple of my favorite pairs...

On the cross stitch front I completed 12 different projects... some big.... some small... a couple framed and a bunch that still need framing or finishing.  My favorite pieces this year were Sampler Hill from With Thy Needle and Thread (which needs framing)...

and  Fragments by Summer House Stitche Works...

I saw last week that there is going to be another Fragments this year... the sneak peek showed a really pretty bird in yellow and blue... you can check is out here... as I'm sure it will turn up on this blog in 2017.

And onto the quilting front...  a bit of a mixed bag ...  I consider a quilt finished when it has the binding on it and with that requirement met I finished 13 pieces of various sizes from this little square piece that is hanging on my back door...

ain't he cute? I saw him on IG and found the pattern here on Craftsy.

On the other extreme I did  a very large quilt... 104" square... that I gifted to my son and daughter in law and forgot to photograph. You can see it here before I sent it off to the long arm gal.

And here is my latest finish that is hanging on the back of my couch this Christmas season. The pattern is Diamond Dash from Missouri Star which you can see here....

the fabrics are Christmas Tole by Gina Martin. I really love the ornaments and that white poinsettia in the border.

But my favorite quilt this year is this one... Avant Garden Vintage Stars...

I LOVE EVERYTHING about this quilt...the colors, the quirky prints, all the yummy butterscotch Grunge background. It is on my bed right now as it goes so well with the butterscotch buffalo check drapes and the blue walls. I'm really having quite an affair with Momo fabrics... and it is going to continue into 2017 as I'm doing a QAL where I'm going to use my stash of Momo to do Tula Pink's City Sampler: 100 Modern Quilt Blocks. I started another QAL on Instagram with this book and these fabrics back in November but I jumped  in around Block 77 but fell off the wagon around Block 99. Doing a block at day was a bit too fast a pace for me... this QAL is doing 2 blocks a week. I think I can handle that.

That was the positive side of my quilting ... and on the dark side I started at least 12 projects... maybe more... that are UFOs... now I'm not totally bummed by the 12 or more UFO's  as I believe that UFO's are a vitally important part of quilting. When I return to these projects I will already have a nice start... in some cases almost a finish... and that can motivate me ... sometimes...so we shall see what 2017 brings! I have confidence in me... that I will finish some stuff ...and I will start more than I finish... that ain't gonna change.. LOL!

Oh,  the count of 12  UFO's is only what I "created" this year... there are many more than that from previous years languishing in plastic bins waiting oh so patiently for me to pop the lid on them... they are such good little UFO's... its a good thing fabric doesn't spoil!!


And as 2106 comes to a close,  I want to take a moment and thank all of you who read this crazy blog... you have hung in there through dithering about ... petunias and marigolds....  window boxes and shutters... decorating and deer and many many many rantings about the weather... Mother Nature provides me with a lot  of material, doesn't she? This little blog is a diary of my life...as I said yesterday it ain't Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, but it is my life and I'm happy with it!

May 2107 bring all of us the best life has to offer!

Happy New Years!!

carol fun