Where did January go?

I'm feeling a bit ambivalent about January. Sometimes I feel that it was a good month for getting things done and then I'm thinking, 'did I finish anything? Did I put effort in to try and take a walk each day or did I spend my time being a couch potato? I think the best answer is to round up what happened in January.

First it rained a lot here in London UK and was at times very frosty but no snow.  The pond in the park froze and the ducks and swans were very happy when the weather warmed up and it melted. I enjoy taking a walk round the park and pond during my lunch break and the sun really lifts my mood after the rain.

The most exciting event for our family was the birth of our second grandson on the 16th. His older brother adores him and all the family are doing well. They are coming to visit tomorrow and we are looking forward to cuddles. I finished two pieces of baby related knitting, a blanket and a cardigan. Since then I've been knitting another baby blanket, using the basket weave pattern, to use up remainder of the yarns. I've got quite a stash of yarns that I've been given over the last few years and I'd like to use some of them up to make room for other things. The blanket has grown since I took this photo.

My Chookshed challenge for this month should have been starting my brothers quilt but my sewing machine needed to go for a service so I switched my projects around. Instead of starting the quilt for Alex I've been working on the hand stitching for the frog quilt. I finished two more stitcheries.

Currently I am working on one of the two large pieces. I've left this piece till last.

This is the one I'm working on and I should finish it this weekend. I haven't take a photo of my progress yet.

I should have all the stitcheries done and be able to make a start on the pieced blocks in February. I wonder what the number will be for the February Chookshed challenge?

This year I am joining in with the 2026 scrap challenge. I decided I'd try and make a donation quilt as I had a lot of blue scraps. I decided to make it using 9 patch blocks as I already had a lot of blue 2 and half inch square cut. I'd made some earlier in the month but by the end of this afternoon I had 25 of the 27 9 patch blocks I need. I also had some six and a half inch blocks of blue .

The top 9 patch looks green but is blue when seen in person. I need to start sewing the top together .

This afternoon I stopped sewing and went to the kitchen to make a cake, another tray bake, but this time a citrus traybake with glace icing.. I forgot to take a photo of the whole tray but here is a photo of two pieces.  The top should have grated zest of half a lemon and half an orange on it but the zest clumped together and I gave up. However the cake is delicious. So far this year I've made a cake or traybake each week and they have all been different. I think next weekend it's time I made a chocolate cake.

We had planned to go away for a weekend this month but we cancelled as the month was really busy with one thing and another. We were both pleased we cancelled as it gave us a  bit of space to do some jobs we had been putting off. Since we didn't go away we were able to go to an art exhibition and go for a longish hike. I've written about both of these in previous posts. We celebrate Burns Night last weekend with haggis and neeps and the dinner was delicious.

In February we have tickets for the Marie Antoinette exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum.  This is what the write up about the exhibition says. 

'A complex fashion icon, Marie Antoinette's timeless appeal is defined by her style, youth and notoriety. Explore the lasting influence of the most fashionable (and ill-fated) queen in history'

I'm really looking forward to this exhibition.

Also this month there is Chinese New Year. I love Chinese food and China Town in London has some fabulous restaurants. Years ago, back in the late '70 and early '80 one of my friend's family owned a restaurant in China Town and our group of friends were always invited to join the family celebrations. It was a lot of fun.

All in all I'm looking forward to February, it should be fun.

Take care

Lyndsey