January Monthly Report

Happy February! It's time for January's monthly report. See past reports here.


It's hard to believe the first month of the year has already come and gone! I didn't have a super productive month, but there were a few extenuating circumstances. Michael was off on holiday break until the 7th of January, which was amazing. It was so nice to have a full week to just hang out and relax at home. I've also been battling a swollen knee, so that's slowed me down a bit.

I did make progress on my pineapple blocks and finished a couple small things, like a pillow with the block shown above! Will share the finished project soon.


I made a goal this year to make a project from my scraps each month. This month I made a patchwork drawstring bag! The squares are pink and red Minny Muu prints that I cut out of leftovers from my Prism Quilt. I even managed to find a big enough scrap for two accent pieces! This is the project size from my Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern. And here are instructions for a patchwork version: Patchwork Drawstring Bag Tutorial.


I'm slowly plugging away on my hand quilting. I go for long stretches without working on it. I know if I worked on it more often I'd be much further. Hoping to really buckle down and work on it more this coming month. It's going to be so soft and wonderful when it's done!


I finished a knitting project this month! This was actually a one day knit, I started and finished it on New Year's Day. Michael had been asking for a thicker hat, so I picked up this bulky weight yarn when we were in Maryland. I used the free Super Soft Merino Hats for Everyone pattern from Purl Soho. More info on my Ravelry.


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in January:

January Fabric
Used up: 3 yards
Brought in: 4.5 yards
Net: +1.5 yards
Year to date: +1.5 yards

January Yarn
Used up: 78 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: -78 yards
Year to date: -78 yards

I didn't exactly plan on buying any fabric this month, but ended up ordering some fabrics during a Stitch Supply Co sale. A few prints for my Christmas quilt and a low volume print for a quilt background. Hoping to have more in the "used up" column in February! I'm very happy to be down for yarn already this year! Let's hope that's a good sign.


As I was looking through my photos the other day, I found this picture of some beautiful handmade pins I received from Jackie of Viajoy! They sit on the shelves above my machine, so I see them everyday, and they always make me smile! You can find her pin shop here.


We've been making an effort to try new recipes this year, and a few weekends ago we made marshmallows for the first time! It was really fun and they were super tasty. The texture is so different from store bought marshmallows, so much softer! We made the mint chocolate chip marshmallows from the Joy the Baker Cookbook.


George the bunny, always looking so handmade! He loves to sit on this pillow when he runs around! :)

Have a Great Month!