Mini M

 

Every piece of the universe, even the tiniest little snow crystal, matters somehow.  I have a place in the pattern, and so do you.

T.A. Barron

 

Took a break for the remainder of December to spend some time focusing on family and sewing for therapy.  Letting my place in the pattern be a bit softer and removed from the hustle and bustle of the season. 

 

 

I have always loved monograms!  We have a lot of "M"s around the house.

Adding to the collection just made sense on a gray, wintry day.  Out came some happy, smart polka dot in gray traced off of a wooden "M" on a shelf.  I need to go buy templates somewhere...hmmm.

 

 

There was some thick, double-sided, fusible stabilizer in the "support stash" that helped give this M a nice, stand-out profile on white fabric.  I dug into my neutrals and used scraps gifted to my by KT to give the border a scrappy look and finished it off with a Blanket Stitch outlining the letter.  It's been such a long time since I've this stitch..  Thankfully, there are lots of places to go for a good refresher tutorial.

 

One of my goals for this year is to sew more smaller projects for around the house.  My stack of WIP's and UFO's is piling up.  Ugh!  No self discipline on finishing one project before starting three more!  Starting the New Year with a new door quilt to welcome us home seemed like the right place to start.  This mini is themed for the colors we see a lot around Indiana in January.  Double Ugh! 

 

(pulled out my Scrappy Trip Around the World Quilt to work on again)

 

The Mini "M" measures:  14 1/4" x 13 1/4"

 

 

February's door quilt is inspired by this sweet heart found on Pinterest. 

 

 

This is what the sewing table looked like this morning.  I love hunting through my scraps and choosing my favorites for a project like this!

 

 

KT also gifted me a lot of sweet pink bits.  How many can you identify?  How many are in your stash?  The Granny Square Quilt is still being worked on, just taking a chance to have instant gratification with these smaller projects.

 

 

So thankful we got to have two weeks together in December away from it all.  Chris finished classes and Ben was given time off from homeschooling to travel to Gulf Shores, Alabama.  The weather was beautiful!  Temps not as warm, but we love, love, love being by the Gulf!  We had a sweet condo on the beach and spent time between Ft. Morgan, AL and Pensacola, FL. 

 

No Christmas decorations to mess with, sunny skies and shells, eating out a lot at great places along the way, Naval Aviation Museum, Ft. Morgan, seagulls, and just spending time as a family of four.  After our oldest son's wedding, our lives had to be figured out as a smaller family unit.  We missed Jon, but are so happy he's happy!  And with Chris in college, summer jobs/internships, who knows if this might not be our last family vacation with him?

 

KT's family came down on their own and we had breakfast and a walk on the beach together.  Wish we'd had more time with them there.

 

This week is back to the reality of college classes, high school classes and Tax Season right around the corner.  Indoor soccer.  Volunteering at the library.  And always time for sewing!

 

Happy New Year to all of you!

 

Linking up with:

 

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