December

My favorite month, December in the north woods, is upon me. In all it's darkness and brightness, I love each day.  Christmas is of course, a big part of it, but instead of falling into the  shopping and celebrating mania, I enjoy the real beauty and peace that December is.

December has inspired a new quilt project.  The photo above is a layout design from my EQ program with some basic color plans.  I've changed the design and colors several times, but I think this is it.  The center stars will be my own snowflake designs (each different of course!) and the snowflakes will be made up of leaves, flowers, branches etc.  The dark green circle segments represent the color of dark winter pines. All the colors will be rather dark, with gray tones.  The snowflakes will stand out in whites and very light grays, and I'll add some blue maybe at the center snowflakes to represent the brilliant blue sky when it does pop out.  

Winter is my favorite time to be outside walking or snowshoeing in the woods.  Nature never disappoints.  Trumpeter swans made a brief appearance on Echo Lake the other morning.  The sun was shining brilliantly.  

This morning the weather is snowy, gray and very windy; the lake looks completely different.  An otter takes the place of the swans in this next photo (black blob).  Earlier, an osprey like huge bird was in the same spot, soon to be chased away by an eagle.  

I've finished the hand applique on my Crimson Tweed wall hanging and now it's on to the borders.