OUT WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE NEW AND FAVORITES TO BOOT!

Don't you just love the New Year? I love the thought of a clean slate..a new beginning..possiblities galore! On New Years Eve I always finish something that has been sitting around waiting... Yesterday I finished a quilt top that had been sitting there for just a short while actually. Two star blocks were done and the other two waiting to be put together. So I finished them and made 5 alternate blocks and added a border and it's done. The blocks are big (14 1/2")so it worked up fast and I had my finished project to end 2010. Now I would have quilted it too, but my longarm is out in another building and it takes too long to heat it up so I can quilt comfortably so the quilting won't happen till it warms up.



So now on January 1st I start a completely new project. This one is one I have had sitting on the shelf for several years and this year it is going to get finished. So today I will cut out Block # 1 of the "Joseph the Prophet Tribute Quilt". This quilt kit is at least 5 years old and needs to be done. I will be making 8 (9") log cabin blocks for Block 1.




Can I just tell you of my new favorite things??? A few months back I was stopped in Costco by this really nice guy who wanted me to see his books. Now I am the biggest sucker in the world when it comes to things like this. Demo it, show me, tell me, let me touch it and you have me...hook line and sinker. Anyway, he told me about his books and I thought "what the heck I need a new read" and bought them both. Well I didn't start reading them for a while, but one Sunday afternoon I picked up the first volume, snuggled down on the bed and set to read. Remembering Isaac the Wise and Joyful Potter of Niederbipp
Well I couldn't put it down. I read all afternoon and into the night. I finished it in two days. The story is wonderful, but the messages that are told are what we all need to hear and remember. It reminds us to live the kind of life we are suppoed to be living..full of gratitude, love and caring. So then I started the second volume and finished that post haste. But were was the third? It didn't come out until a while ago and as soon as it did I bought that one too. I have now finished all 3 and have my husband reading them(he's on #2). We gave them to our kids for Christmas, sent them to friends and I am starting over with a higlighter to mark my favorite spots.

But the best part of all is I went to his blog http://www.rememberingisaac.blogspot.com/
and discovered he was having an open house in SLC in December. I told Leon I wanted to go. We headed up there on Dec 11th and what fun we had. Ben Behunin is a potter and we went to his studio and I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. All the pots, mugs, trays and bowls that he writes about in his books are here. Now remember what I said before about demos, touching seeing.... well we came away that day with trays, plaques, a mug, a bowl, more books. We drank the special peppermint tea, had molasse cookies and candy that was incredibly delicous and totally enjoyed ourselves. What a fun atmosphere. He is such an artist and so kind and humble. I wanted a mug so I picked one out. I like big mugs. Nothing I like better than a mug of steaming herbal tea. So I buy this big mug, but when I get it home I realize that it is too big and I have to hold it with both hands when I drink it. But I love it.
Well come to find out on Christmas morning, Leon had already gone to the pottery shop and bought me a mug and christmas ornament. The mug he bought me is the one that in the book Jake made for Amy on their wedding day. It's the perfect size(the one in the picture with the flower). Leon amazes me!




Anyway I totally recommend that you pick up these books and enjoy the potter and his life in Niederbipp. It will make you laugh, cry and appreciate the world around you! The books are full of wonderful thoughts, one of my favorite being:

"Art is the healing ointment that oozes from our hearts and minds and heals our aching world." Fred Babb

I don't know about you, but that's how quilting is for me.

Enjoy your journey though 2011. Maybe it be all you want it to be!
Claudia