bird-a-month: january

Oh, birdy... my old friend! I was flipping through an old children's book the other day and those waves popped out at me: lovely, artful, and just a touch of menacing. I knew they'd find their way into one of my stitchies some day... and today was it! I'm contemplating a year-long project with these birdies - I'm planning one per month (that I can maybe turn into a calendar for next year?). Without further ado, meet January: dark, cold, and with storms looming.

For more in this series, check out: February, March, April (coming soon!)

doodle stitch purplework!

So...I couldn't resist temptation: I'm officially joining Aimee Ray's doodle stitch along. I needed an easy, low-commitment project for the start of the year... and I'm dedicated to getting comfortable using purple on a more regular basis. Good thing I happen to know lots of little ladies being born right around this time! (Here's a link to our little Flickr group if you'd like to play along!)

This project did get me thinking about some potential new years resolutions in regard to craftiness. I think I'd like to take on some kind of big project but I haven't yet settled on a theme. I've been thinking, too, that I should focus more on the process and the journey rather than the finished project, but that's darn hard to do. Or maybe the most important thing is that I put energy toward being creative on a regular basis...

last & first

Happy new year! Working in publishing is a strange thing... I keep thinking "only 2011?" That's what happens when you work so far in advance. I love this time of year: everyone posts their terrific mosaics of things made in the last year. So good to take a look back (and hard to do for folks who are in the midst of planning the next great quilty!) and to celebrate all that creativity. And with that in mind, here's a mini retrospective: my last creation of 2010 and my first of 2011!

Cheers to you for a happy, healthy, and amazingly creative 2011!