Hello, January

January speaks to me of cozy days, snuggly quilts, old-fashioned crafts and cups of tea (or cocoa) by the fire. Curling up with a good book or magazine, some handwork, and a mug of hearty soup. This month’s banner images on the home page feature many of these things. For more information about the pictures featured, see the following:

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Snow

Even though I live in the Pacific Northwest and almost never have snow, back in 2008 we had the mother of all snowstorms and were completely snowed in for a week. It was amazing!!! I got lots of pictures and look at them every January and dream wistfully of winter wonderlands.

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Quilts

January also speaks to me of cuddly, cozy quilts, and this particular quilt has quite the history. I call it the Make Do Patch and Coin quilt.

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Fiestaware

Ah, Fiestaware!! I have gone through many bouts of collecting and then selling, but I think I have finally settled on the combination of colors that works for me. This particular set is what I use for wintertime.

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Snowflake Mobile

As mentioned, we don’t really get snow here. To compensate, I like to make a paper snowflake mobile in our front window for the winter. You can find a tutorial to do the same here:

How to Make a Paper Snowflake Window Mobile

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Crochet

Some years ago I started a crocheted blanket with squares of double crochet topped by doilies, inspired by a similar one I had seen on the blog of Dottie Angel. I have since frogged it and intended to start again but in the meantime, I love the idea of handwork on a winter’s day.

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Snow

More snowy trees from the great snowstorm of 2008.

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Snowflake Mobile

The snowflake mobile is so magical the way the paper snowflakes are constantly in motion. It’s like a slow dance all the time. You can find a tutorial to do the same here:

How to Make a Paper Snowflake Window Mobile

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Magazines

Nothing like whiling away a snowy, um, I mean RAINY afternoon in January with a stack of cute magazines. Yes, this is an old one. Yes I save and re-read my favorites.

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Baby Quilts

If, by chance, you have all the quilts you could ever possibly want (is that even a thing?) and you want to make more, maybe you want to make some baby quilts! They’re soooo fun and fast and there’s nothing like giving a snuggly gift.

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Paper Snowflakes

So, you don’t HAVE to make a mobile, you could just have a fun afternoon making paper snowflakes. With friends or family or just by yourself. Each one is a surprise and a treat. Warning: they are a little bit addictive.

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Yo-Yos

Some time ago I made a yo-yo pillow for my daughter and it was just so fun to make each little circle. Like assembling a confection from fabric instead of sugar. Plus, like I said above, there’s something just so perfect about handwork in winter.

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Snow

And finally, we can’t leave January’s featured banner images without one last glorious picture of our snow-covered neighborhood. Sigh!! If you have snow where you live, I hope you enjoy it! I can only dream.

I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing more about the January banner images and where they came from! It’s fun to re-visit things each month and share them.

What do you think about when you think of January? Comment below and let me know, or come find me on on Facebook or Instagram!

Love, Angela

 




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