january so far

i figured it would probably be a good idea to do an update post of sorts mid month, since i don't have any finished projects to share yet... and that some of my plans have already changed a bit!  nothing too drastic, just that things have switched around here and there.
we had our first smqg meeting this past weekend, and got off to a great start for the new year!  talked a lot about what we might want to hear about and played an ice breaker game where we asked someone a question in relation to quilting.  someone asked me how my stash is organized, and i was glad i was able to say that it actually is at the moment!  a week or so, i would have been saying that there was fabric in piles all over my floor by color.  which was 100% true.  there was NO floor to be seen on 2/3 of the floor around my bed because of fabric.
speaking of smqg, we also had our first block party this past wednesday!  darryl (who is also on the guild board) hosted at his home, made us soup & salad and we chatted a lot and made him some half square triangles for his project.  a solid 3 hours of sewing and chatting was a wonderful way to spend a wednesday evening.
my fussy cut block of the month is coming along quite well, and i currently have 3/4 of the blocks for the chapter done.  i find myself buying more fabric that fits my theme quicker than i actually use it.  oops.  but with my colors being blues, greens & yellows, i know they'll get used at some point in my quilting life.  i did the makelight year of colour analysis for my instagram account, and the biggest dot on my "map" was of course, a shade of blue.  i'll probably be working on my 4th block next saturday, since that seems to be when things fall in to place for working on fussy cutting.
now my stashbusting and sew alongs currently go hand in hand.
i had thought about joining the elizabeth hartman all the animals sew along with gnome angel, but it slipped to not being my first priority.  some other things came up that i cannot quite share just yet (good secrets, i promise) and so the fancy foxes weren't on my list of must do right now.  instead, i've (crazily) jumped in to schnitzel & boo's candy cats quilt along on instagram.  she's using the candy cat pattern by unicornharts for this super fun sew along.  there are prizes, which also perked my ears!  how am i stashbusting for this, you ask?  all my cat parts i already had.  the only thing i've purchased is the background fabric, because i wanted that to be consistent.  my plan is to make 16 of these cats and have a 4x4 grid.  it has an intended home, but i don't want that secret to get out until it is time :)  here's a peek at my first 3 kitties!
i'm using greens, oranges, reds & yellows for the cats with this denim-ish blue looking fabric for the surrounding.  hopefully, none of my colors will repeat (if my method of the ear color becomes the next cat's body color works)  my mom suggested pete the cat fabric for the back of the quilt, which the more i look at these cats, the more i think it is a great fit!
want to join in the fun?
you can get the pattern here: candy cat on craftsy
p.s. it's FREE
so far, i feel pretty confident in what i've gotten done so far (i also have a quilt basted to be quilted... i really need to get on that...) and what i have yet to come.  so far, no over sized queen size quilt projects on the brain for this year, which is a good feeling!  but then again, there wasn't one for last year either, then my cousin moved his wedding date up.
i'll check in again soon with my fussy cut blocks before month 2's class begins, so stay tuned!