Sometimes its almost as if

all the ideas you have for quilts you want to make just totally disappear from your head and nothing seems to be the right project to start on. I have been in that kind of quilty funk for a few weeks now. Maybe the creative energies that go into doing up Christmas use up every other creative molecule you have?

Anyway, after a couple of weeks of dithering and just puttering around the quilting room, I found something I wanted to do. Remember that link I shared to the Whimsicals page with the perky or murky quilt? I decided I wanted to do a red and green sampler quilt similar to that one. Kind of an un-Christmas Christmas quilt.

I decided to do 8" blocks so went through my books and the internets for blocks. Then I pulled the red and green (and gold and cream) scraps from my big scrap bin. See, here is the pile. Yeah, it's a mess, but I like churning through it with the patterns one at a time. I spent a few evenings churning and cutting. And then yesterday and today I completed the first batch of blocks. Here they are. I am up to 21. This has really been fun. I have found some block patterns I really like and will use again. And some that, well, not so much. I still have a few more cut out and then will probably make a few of my favourites in other colours. I'm not sure why I chose 8" blocks. The math is harder than 6" or 12". Oh, well, that's what they make calculators for! I'm not sure how many blocks I want but I figure I will know when there are enough.

Oh, and I also made a little ballerina bag for a friend's little girl. I had made her new sister a quilt out of left over ballerina fabric from a quilt for my granddaughter. Her mom told me last week how much her older daughter liked the ballerina quilt as she is taking ballet now. So while I was digging in the scrap bin I came across just enough ballerina fabric to make a little bag. In my experience little girls love little bags. I sure have gotten a lot of mileage out of this fabric. And there is still a little bit left! This was a fun little bag pattern. It went together quickly and with a minumum of unsewing. That is not my usual experince with bags. I might even make this one again.

I think I am ready for Christmas now. Hard to believe how quickly the month of December goes by! It sure has been fun to look at everyone in blogland's Christmas decorations. That probably helps make the time go fast. It is amazing, isn't it, how much time can go by visiting everyone!

Oh, and I've tried for the first time to link to a holiday home tour. It may have worked. Whether or not, visit Hooked on Houses for some great holiday decorations -- just in case you have time to fill -- heh, heh.