Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone,

Here is a short update on my computer. It's still broke. :( It needs a new hard drive so for now I will blog on this dinosaur (and I mean dinosaur) until I can afford a new hard drive.
I am excited about this new year. Having completed 4 quilts on my own last year. I now have 36 to be completed in order to reach my goal of 40 finished quilts.

Of the four that were finished only one was quilted by someone else. The rest I free motion quilted on my home machine. YAY!! I feel like I finally broke through a huge barrier and the possibilities are limitless.
One of the quilts is a doll quilt that I made for my GD. Today I am pinning a matching throw top for her and getting it ready to be quilted. I also finished a top that I had started in 2008 for my Dad. The quilting turned out nice. I used mono filament on the top so the mistakes don't show. :)
Also in the finished line up is a baby blanket that I made for our GS Max and the quilt I made for my daughter in November that was quilted by a lady at the Conrad General store in Conrad, Iowa. Great store with lots of great fabric choices!

I have tops that are ready to be sandwiched and quilted, 2 in fact and then several in various stages of completion and many more on the drawing board.

One thing I have realized this past year in the journey of working on my 40 quilts goal is I tend to let my fears slow me down or hold me back. After finishing these 4 quilts , which won't win any awards at the county fair but will keep my loved ones warm and happy, I have realized that I could have done more had I only taken that step of faith sooner. My fears of failing were holding me back from blessing my family and friends with the wonderful gift of a hand made quilt from this budding quilter.

Things I am grateful for from 2009:

1. My husband, who never criticises or complains even when times are very difficult as they have been this past year.
2. My daughters, Kelley and Casey and my son Joe. They are my greatest support and critics.
They encourage me when I am down and love me no matter what. They keep me real when sometimes my world seems so unreal. Thank You my little loves.
3. My Mom. She is an inspiration of strength and following your dreams, no matter how old you are. I love you Mom. I want to include my Dad here too for helping my Mom achieve those dreams.
4. My Grandchildren. I love being a grandma. You can love them, spoil them, take care of them, encourage them and when you get to tired from playing with them, you can send them home to Mom and Dad. I love you Areigna, Grant and Leo.
5. I am so thankful that God blessed my children with loving and supportive spouses to make it in this crazy world. Thank you Lord for Scott, Kevin and Meagan.
6. Quilting classes at the DM quilt show. I learned so much. YAY!!
7. There are many more blessings, to numerous to mention here, from 2009. It was a very hard year financially, emotionally and spiritually and through those difficult times were blessings revealed.
I know that I couldn't have gotten through it all without Jesus. I know to some of you that may sound trite but it is true. Prayer sustained me when times were really difficult. There were many times when I wanted to give up and the Lord would send something my way to remind me that He was still in control. He would bring a scripture to my mind, or a friend would call with words of encouragement. He has shown me that His grace truly is sufficient and I will continue to trust Him.


I look forward to this new year with all it's changes. I look forward to blogging and sharing with you my journey on making 40 quilts.




May the Lord richly bless your 2010 and may you never forget that He loves you.