2014 is here ... now what?

It feels like 2014 will be wonderful. Maybe it's because the sun is shining brightly and people are out and about in shirt sleeves or light jackets.  I have so many ideas rattling around in my head, that though I planned to blog something today, I'm not sure where to start.  So, how about a New Year's Day brain dump?

2014 arrived as I was stitching down the binding of my first finish of the year–a small quilt for Kate's Another Small Quilt Swap.

This is the eighth round of the swap–I always want to participate but never managed it, so this time, I was determined to get a little quilt made.  I''ll be able to share in a couple months when the swap is over and all the quilts have landed in their new homes. In the meantime, I'll be wondering if anyone will like it as much as I do ;-)

The deadline to send photos of your completed little quilt is January 20 has been extended to February 3, so there's still time to join me.  Complete details can be found on the Another Little Quilt Swap blog.

Today on her blog, Quilts and Dogs, Glen mentioned on her blog her New Years food tradition of

... black eyed peas for prosperity, ham for health and cabbage for money in the new year.

My own tradition is less specific, but also includes black eyed peas and greens.  I had  planned to make my usual vegetarian Hoppin' John ... then something on the Homesick Texan's blog caught my eye.

It will be New Year's Day Migas with Black-Eyed Pea Salsa and Bacon for lunch for me today.
(photo from the Homesick Texan blog)

The Block Lotto has kicked off another year.  This year the block designs are mostly geometric shapes, in three sizes: 7-inch squares, 14-inch squares, and 7 x 14 inch rectangles like January's Double Chevron blocks.

A week or so ago, I accidentally blew away my block patterns page–or was it Blogger's fault? What happened still isn't clear, but when I re-build it, the block pattern for this Double Chevron block will be added.  (In the meantime, you can find it on the Block Lotto site).

Along with this year's Block Lotto patterns, I'll be sharing directions for using them in a quilt for anyone who would like to try the blocks and play along (whether they are part of the Block Lotto or not). I'll be starting with this set of fabrics, recently won in a Blog Giveaway, for my quilt, and adding to it from my stash.

The  Blogiverse is filled with offers of Quilt-Alongs and I am reticent to suggest another, but ... details for the Mod-Mod (Modern Modular) Quilt-Along will be published mid-month each month in 2014. There will be options for making something as small as a 42-inch square or as large as a king-sized 105 inch square (with other sizes in between).

I am not one to make a list of resolutions, but I like the idea of choosing a word as a touchpoint for the year. and have chosen one: Dare. I also have challenged (dared?) myself with a specific quilt-related goal. More on that later.

It isn't just the beginning of the year, it's the beginning of a month and time to declare goals for the first month of another year of Lovely Finishes and the NewFO challenge. This year I really want to re-visit some of my golden oldie UFOs–many of which were put aside because I wasn't confident in the skill needed to take the next step.  I now feel ready to take on the challenge in some of those projects.

After my New Year's Day lunch, I'll be pulling out my project for January's lovely finish ... or I may head out for a walk in the sunshine ... you never know when Winter will return with a vengeance.