Happy New Year Wishes!

Close up from my January block.

I have to say, I am SO thankful for the many friends I have made through this blog. I am incredibly blessed. I wish each and every one of you an amazing 2016 full of good health and happy memories.

There are a few last projects I finished for the holidays I thought I would share before the new year creeps in.

In October, I sewed the topiary I created as part of Kathy Shaw's ICQC #102 course into a tissue cover. My mom received it with her Christmas gifts, as she loves pink.

Earlier this month, I used my March CQJP 2013 block to create a tote bag for the gift exchange we held with the friends we play Pinochle with every month. 

We filled it with "Snow" soap, a santa towel, a matching tissue-pack cover and a peeking snowman tissue-pack cover. The recipient loved it.

This block has always been dear to me. Our first house was yellow with a tree out in front and we did plant a circle of flowers around it. And the "sidewalk" fabric was created with stretchy fabric that was once the cuffs around the legs of the first pair of jeans my eldest son received. They were a gift from his aunt. His grandparents gave him a tiny red wagon, too.

I sewed this tote together using my CQJP 2013 April block, but cannot count it as a finish yet. After I turned it right-side-out and stitched the lining shut, I realized I sewed the handles on wrong. After my seam ripper and I have a long date, I will share it again...

My CQJP 2014 April block was made into the pocket on a tote bag for my niece. Blue and yellow are two of her favorite colors. It has a matching tissue-pack cover. She also received a fluffy white infinity scarf and fingerless blue gloves with her tote for Christmas.

This block incorporated several stitches from TAST 2013.

For fun, I made the inside pocket blue.

The tote bags were made with some adaptations to this pattern. And the tissue-pack covers were made with adaptations to this pattern.

I did have one more small finish in 2015, but I submitted the photos to Pamela Kellogg for the Spring 2016 edition of the Crazy Quilt Quarterly Magazine. So, it shall remain a secret for a while longer. 

Happy New Year! 
Renee

Note: Edited December 21, 2019 to correct link to tissue cover pattern on Pinterest.