Creative time

 Hi!

This year, my health took a priority.  
My weight has been steadily climbing since we got married in 1994.
Despite many attempts, nothing really worked.
So after a summer of a new fat flushing medication, calorie control and exercise, I enrolled in a program with the Bariatric clinic of Sudbury.  
3 months of only Optifast shakes 4 times a day.
My poor man!  Grumpy is not the only word, but the only one I can use here!
Since February 2021 I have lost 75 pounds. and I hope to keep it off.

The point of this is I spent a LOT of time in my craft room, distracting myself.
So for the next bit I'll show you what I've made...

First up is this cute mermaid wall hanging.

I got the pattern from a sew along I joined. 
It is called Ocean Child by Laura Strickland.

I have been swapping 2.5" strips with the ladies of my guild for the last two years and decided I need to start using some of them.
The background is some of the blue ones I received.

Have a great and safe New Year's Eve!

Hugs!
Cindy

It's Christmas time!

 Hello!

I love Christmas. 
So nice to hear from family and friends, lots of good cheer and secret making, but also SOOO chaotic!
In the past few years though it's been hard to get into the jolly time of year.
So if you too are having a hard time, hang in there!  
There will be a better day!
That's all we can do.  Just keep trying.

I made my mom's Christmas cards in time for her October birthday again this year.  
She like cutesy and Suzy's Zoo by Susy Spafford. 
So I took some wrapping paper I bought last year and fashioned some cards for her and my seester!  (that's not a typo, just the way we call each other)

Then a friend asked me for some cards for her business, so I made her some fun ones.

And finally I finished mine in early December. 
I used the same background paper on all of them and the same greeting inside, but used up all the stray embellishments I had collected over the years.

We sent them out a little later that I prefer, but there you go. 

Just aim for done and not perfection! 
I learned that this year! 
How about you?  What did you learn this year?

Happy Christmas everyone and keep safe!

Hugs!
Cindy

Fabric postcards

Hi!

 I participated in a fabric postcard swap this year.
It took me a while to find the Pellon Peltex 9292F Stabilizer, but once I got into the groove, it was fun!

My first ones are quite plain, but I got to play with the font feature on my sewing machine and spent a happy afternoon playing and adding decorative stitches with gold thread.

That's a paper pieced ornament next to it.  I sent it to my swap partner too.

The second one gets given to someone special.

Next year I understand we may do it again, so I'm gathering ideas to make more elaborate ones!

Hugs!

Cindy