Happy New Year!

So 2013 seems to have sneaked up on me!  I can't believe how fast time flies by.  During December my daughter hit the big SIXTEEN and we had a great relaxing Christmas!

I need to get caught up and show some of my recent projects.

I'll start with the big one!  A quilt for my mom for Christmas. 

This quilt was done to match my mom's quilt collection.  I seem to make one for her every 3 years or so.  This improvisational pattern I got from Craftsy's free Block of The Month class.  It is the block for May, Modern Frame Log Cabin.  I love Craftsy and you can't go wrong with a free class.  Check it out!

The quilting was done on my Bernina 530.  It was my first time free motion quilting and I was nervous but I'm glad I went for it.  I really like the texture it gives this quilt.  If you can't see from the photo, I used a loopy all-over design.  I was on the fence about whether to purchase the BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator) which helps you get even stitching when free-motion quilting.  I finally decided against it because A) It's outrageously expensive and B) I almost never make quilts!  I did fine without it, so it all worked out!

After that was done, I felt the need to do some quick and easy projects.

So naturally I needed a new pincushion.  This is also a free pattern by Anna Maria Horner.  It's available on Better Homes and Gardens.  For some reason I can't link to the page, but if you go to bhg.com and type in "wild flower" you can find it.

Next I made this cute doll for a friend's baby:

Pattern available here: Dot Dolly by Herbst on Etsy

then this Doodle Jump Guy:

For this one I made my own pattern on butcher paper.  

I used fleece from JoAnn's because of the wide range of colors you can find.

I think I can fit one more project into this post,

A skirt for Maura's birthday!

 Maura worked at the snack bar for her brother's basketball game, what a nice helpful teenager!

Exactly the kind of skirt I would have rocked at her age!

It's drafted using panels and bustled using elastic sewn into each seam.  I got the directions from a tutorial I purchased on Etsy, but it's since been removed.

That's it for today.

I hope you all had an excellent Holiday and New Year!