New Year approacheth!

Happy almost New Year!  We don't do anything special on New Year's Eve although I usually make something special for dinner.  It really is an ordinary day/night for us.   On New Year's Day, however, we invite friends and neighbors over for "First Footing" in the afternoon.  Before then, I'll bake cookies and maybe a cake for the event.  Last year we almost ran out of chairs, and it was incredibly fun.  Attendance will depend on the weather, of course.  Neighbors will come in any case, but some friends will wait to see how the roads are.  One neighbor may even bring his guitar.

Meanwhile, I'm still clearing out UFOs.  I finished another small (57" x 57") rail fence top made of blocks I won at the fall state guild meeting.  For most guild meetings, state or local, I usually make the raffle block but don't put my name in to win all the blocks.  

This time I really liked the blocks, so I did and was happy to win all 16 blocks.  Actually, it was 14 blocks with a bunch of additional strips.   The quilter who put them in said they were DIY blocks which I didn't mind.  Yesterday, I finished the piano keys border and pieced the back so that next week I can take it to be quilted. 
 

That leaves just one sampler waiting to be finished and quilted.  I hope to get to that soon.  In the afternoon, I worked on some hand applique on a small quilt for the guild round robin and started making some string log cabin blocks.  I plan to make those following the rainbow scrap challenge in 2026.  

The January RSC color will be blue, so I chose red for December since my red string bag is overflowing.   If red comes up soon, I'll change my blocks to burgundy or pink.  I have plenty of strings in all colors to keep me busy.  I square them up after every round and am making them all 8" finished.  Last year I made triangles out of strings and have quite a few with no real plans for them.  Maybe I'll use them as a border for the log cabin blocks.  

Meanwhile, we have been planning a bunch of trips for 2026, realizing that we had better take some before we get too old to go anywhere.  We both have high school reunions this year (60!) and want to take a cruise on the Mississippi River.  We also plan to go south for a few weeks this winter and to visit my mom in Colorado.  May your 2026 be full of fun, too!