Happy New Year

I hope all of you woke up today feeling hopeful and confident about the year to come.  I had a lovely evening, a New Year's Day family dinner at my sister's house.  Seven of us were there - Manda and Andrew, Sarah and Nick, Lex, Doug and I - the first time we've gotten together in a few weeks.  It was so good to see the girls and hear about what's been going on in their lives.  After a dinner of cheesy pork burritos, I gave the girls and Doug the calendar I had made from my photos over the course of the year.  They had very nice things to say about it, which was a relief.

Manda and Lex have been working on another baby quilt, their 7th so far.  They design them together, then Manda does all the applique and embroidery.  Lex finishes the quilt, adding backing, binding and actually quilt stitching.  All of Manda's friends are having babies now - some are on their second - and she hopes to make a quilt for each one.  I wish I could have gotten a better shot of this one, which has penguins, cardinals, polar bears, clouds, snow and a wonderful embroidered owl on the upper left.  They feel it is their best so far, and I agree.