Sunday, January 3, 2021

A Clamshell Party ❣



A lovely New Year welcome to my little place. Another year has been ushered in, ever-so-quietly. No shebang and fireworks here. No popping of champagne corks, nor the chorusing of Auld Lang Syne. Me and my good husband usually like to stay up till the magical hour and be amazed at the theatre of the night sky with a gazillion scintillating lights twinkling down upon us mere mortals; but as the sky was cloaked in clouds, I am afraid we both went to bed. I know, so, so boring but dreaming the new year in, snuggled under a pretty quilt or two was a close second, it truly, truly was. =)

No New Year Eve's party here.....BUT....there has been a party of sorts...a Clamshell Party. Yes indeedy, I have finished hand stitching all the happy little clamshells together and have evened the sides and bottom edge, in readiness for the border. Oh.....happy day❣  Before I can stitch any further I need to search for a border fabric (I don't have any in my stash) and a backing fabric, then begin the begin of hand quilting.

I have decided to call this quilt Clamshell Party as it is a celebration of little clamshells of every imaginable hue, and floral patterns. Flowers abound. Pansies, roses, daffodils, hydrangeas, daisies, chrysanthemums, orchids; flowers which were conjured up in the happy and clever imaginations of designers. Why, Clamshell Party is a glorious garden blooming beautifully. The scrappy-ness of this quilt gives a joyous, festive air, causing one to party; to clap one's hands, blow up a few balloons, kick up one's high heels and whirl and twirl in a happy dance. Just imagine the dance I will dance when the last quilting stitch has been stitched! =)



Thank you for visiting my little place❣ Hopefully you will find your way to my little place many a time throughout this new year, and each time you do, I hope a little beauty is sprinkled into your day. At the beginning of a fresh new year I always wonder what the year will present to me. I wonder what stories will be inked onto each page of our books entitled 'The Year 2021'?? I wonder what words, sentences, paragraphs; what chapters you and I will write?? I know there will be multifarious stories. Joyful stories, doleful stories, frustrating stories, triumphant stories, exciting stories; stories with many twists and turns as we walk down, or perhaps skip (as I tend to do) down the cobblestone path; many, many stories of the simplicity of the everyday where we notice the beauty and blessings that are sprinkled into the moments of our day. Perhaps there will be stories you and I will never wish to pen, but as is the way with this thing that is called life, we sometimes must.

I am thinking you and I will chronicle many a creative story, punctuated by beautiful illustrations of the pretties we are imagining and fashioning. We will write stories of beautiful quilts, pretty stitcheries, sweet embroideries, gorgeous hand knitted and crocheted pretties, the tarting-up of some op shop treasure find, a little home decorating, the odd travel story thrown in for good measure....story after story of glorious blossoms; well I know I will. =). I know there will be a few stories penned by me, dripping with facetiousness as the sense of the ridiculous is always percolating within me. After all, I am an Aussie gal.

For me, I am excited to think I will be visiting your lovely places, smiling at the inspiration which is before me. Why, I will smile at your happy stories, shed tears at your sad stories. Because, I have a suspicion with the horrible year we have all experienced, the sad and difficult days are not going to end anytime soon. I will knock on your virtual door and gift you a beautiful bouquet of flowers, cinched with a pretty bow. Whatever stories you and I write this year, this thing I know for certain, you and I will find encouragement in each other's narratives.

As my stories are written this year, I desire each page to be underlined with thankfulness for the gift of each new day; gentleness, tolerance, beauty, encouragement, kindness, hope, faith.....love. I want to find the joy in the ordinary everyday.....the simple things and blessings which make the moments of my day. And, I want each page to highlight the nuances of God's grace and His love  for me; invisibly threaded throughout my everyday.

So here's to a new year where we will visit each other and read each other's stories, and when we leave, our hearts will be grateful and gladdened  for the beauty and inspiration we have just been witness to.  As for me, I am thankful and pleased that there will be a year of Sundays in which to enjoy a little hand stitching over at Kathy's, Slow Sunday Stitching. A year of Sundays to be inspired by others' gorgeous hand stitching. So, so very excited about that.  May we all have a year of Sundays, and every other day of the week, where we glory in the beauty of each day❣ 

Until the next time.....................


61 comments:

  1. Your quilt top is wonderful, a riot of colour! I love it! Wishing you a happy and peaceful new year, Jillxo

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  2. Blessings for the New Year, Kim. Your Clamshell Party quilt is a delight, reflecting your beautiful garden and aesthetic on life. Thank you for sharing your corner of the world with us.

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  3. Your quilt top is a clamshell party indeed, brimming with beautiful flowers, as you love to put together. Yes, another year has started full of plans and hope for a better year for our wonderful world. Happy New Year wishes to you both and I know you will enjoy another year of glorious stitching. Looking forward to seeing what lovely creations you will stitch this year.

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  4. This quilt is beautiful. What size are your clams?
    quiltyladyrr at gmail dot com

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    1. Hi Robin, The clamshells are 4" from the bottom of the left side to the right side. Thank you for visiting and for the gift of your lovely comment. Kim Xx

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  5. Such happiness for the New Year!Stunning hydrangeas and fabulous quilt!Sending hugs!

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    1. Sending you a basket of hydrangeas wrapped in love, lovely Maristella. May your new year be a beautiful one. Why, let us, you and me, raise a pretty teacup and drink a spot of tea to welcome the new year.

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  6. Oh My dear Kim - your clamshell quilt is stunning. Look at each of those clamshells just filled with gorgeous flowers. How beautiful. And your hydrangeas are looking particularly beautiful at this time of year too ... we are hoping for some rain as things are very dry here. I too look forward to visiting your beautiful pages filled with such delight this coming year again dear Kim. Thank You for all that you share with us out here in blogland. xxx

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  7. I love your pretty quilt and I need to get back to sewing. I fear I have not done much in my craft room for some time now. One of my New Years goals is to start sewing again. Things here was very quite for New Years. Our State is having a lot of Covid 19 and so many things are shut down. I did not hear any fireworks this year. Usually we have so many neighbors around us setting them off, but not this year. I pray that this year things will turn around.

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  8. What a party !!!!! Beautiful, colorful with gorgeous photos to share ! Thanks !
    We have a quiet New Years, as usual...with some fireworks from our neighbors.
    Hope 2021 brings us some freedom...
    Hug from a cold Portugal ;)
    Anna

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  9. Your clamshell quilt is so colorful and pretty, just like your hydrangeas! So nice to see some color, happy stitching!

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  10. A beautiful party of clamshells.
    Happy New Year from Canada.
    I always enjoy visiting your blog with all the lovely sewing projects.

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  11. And....a wonderful New Year to you, Thelma. I hope all is well with you and you are keeping safe there in Canada. Thank you so much for your lovely comments and delighting me with your sweet visit. Kim Xx

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  12. Kim, I have missed making time to visit blogs... why I can't get yours to come to my inbox each post I am unsure... but I am sooo glad you posted at Kathy's before me and I had time to view what you are up to... I too was asleep before the ball dropped...we live remote and no fireworks or shebangs we heard as we slept... Your clamshell quilt top is gorgeous but your display of this little quilt is enamouring :) I love how you display your handi work! kathi

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  13. Happy New Year Kim! I love your beautiful clamshell quilt and indeed it is like a party so pretty and it fills your heart with sheer joy just to look at it. Your garden is looking lovely too, mine is sad and very grey in the midst of winter but we are moving towards the light each night getting just that little bit shorter. I'm looking forward to all our new year crafting adventures. xx

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  14. Your flowers, in your garden and on your clamshells, are gorgeous! We are in for a difficult time until everyone is vaccinated but there is hope on the horizon. Stay safe and Happy New Year!

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  15. Oh, WOW! Your Clamshell Party is just gorgeous! Some of those clamshells look like real flowers. Your fabrics are absolutely beautiful. It's difficult to tell where your quilt ends and your garden begins. :) Happy New Year, Kim!

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  16. A beautiful post. The clam shell top is beautiful and will provide many a comfortable nap when finished.

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  17. Wow! Your Clamshell Party is amazingly beautiful with a garden of color to enjoy.

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  18. I love the colors in your clamshell quilt!

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  19. Your clamshells look right at home in your beautiful natural flowers. Both are lovely. Happy New Year.

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  20. Such a joy filled quilt! And oh, your beautiful words. May your year be filled with beauty and joy!

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  21. I went to bed, too - I knew it was already 2021 somewhere! Your clamshell quilt is beautiful, Kim! I love all the beautiful flower fabrics you included in it and your amazing photos of it around your garden. Have fun finishing it!

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  22. Hi Kim
    So lovely to see your happy quilt, so pretty. It is cold and grey here, so you party quilt photos are most welcome. Happy hand quilting.
    Happy safe new year Kay c XX

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    1. It's a bit cold and grey here today, too, Kay. BUT.....of course there is always the garden to sprinkle sunshine into my day. The hydrangeas make the greyest day sunshiny. May your new year be a lovely one, lovely Kay. Kim. Xx

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  23. Your clamshell party quilt is almost finished and what a beauty it is! Every quilt you do, I think to myself...oh that’s my favorite...and then you make another favorite! I hope you find the perfect border and backing fabric. I loved your message of thankfulness for each day. I pray each day for the fruits of the spirit, of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control. Happy, Healthy 2021 to you, dear Kim!

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  24. Beautiful Kim! I love it. And lovely to have a whole new year of blog posts to look forward to, happy days. xx

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  25. Oh it looks beautiful, I love how you arranged them with the colors flowing throughout, such lovely fabrics. I imagine it will be fun picking out just the right fabric to border it and to back it!! it looks so lovely among your garden flowers.
    We too spent a very quiet new years, the neighbors were shooting off fireworks so we did hear them, our cat is not fond of them.
    In the year ahead I think we all need to find the positive in each and every day when things are still heading in a bad direction and may God bring us love for one another, caring and understanding.

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  26. Your clamshell quilt is full of colour and warmth and I love it. We too are in for a rough ride but I like your ending sentiment and I'm filled with hope! Take care.

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  27. Clamshell Party is absolutely gorgeous!

    Michelle
    https://mybijoulifeonline.com

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  28. Full of collor and lovely, champshell party is as beautiful as all your pictures and flowers. I miss you.
    Hope is my word for 2021.
    Happy New Year sweet Kim. Thanks for the beautiful bouquet of flowers, I have just recived it when reading your post.

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  29. Me ha gustado leerte hoy, me das mucha alegría con tus hermosas flores.... aquí ahora no hay flores...... hace muuuucho frío..... pero ahí está la costura, la lectura, las lanas y los proyectos.....
    Tu colcha es como tú: color y vida. BESICOS.

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  30. Your clam shell quilt is just beautiful, Kim. I've just come over from Julie's (My Threadbear Life) and so glad I did.

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  31. Just love your clamshell flowers such a riot of happiness. Wishjng you a wonderful 2021.

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  32. Happy new year! And that quilt is certainly a party! Good luck finding just the right border fabric. :-)

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  33. Happy New Year. I love your quilt and the fabrics you've used. So pretty:)

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  34. The clamshell quilt is a beauty. Hope you can find the right things you need for the border. Wishing you and yours a Blessed,Healthy and Happy New year.
    Marion and Marilyn

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    1. And..a Blessed, Healthy and Happy New Year to you both! I am hoping the perfect fabric for the border will stop me in my tracks, Marilyn and Marion. It's proving to be a tad elusive. Thank you for stopping by in this brand new, year. Hope your week is a beautiful one. Kim Xx

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  35. Kim Clamshell Party is beautiful, as are your gorgeous pictures and lovely prose! You brighten my day with everything you do! Your hydrangeas are beautiful, as are all your lovely flowers! Happy stitching and Happy New Year!

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  36. It's a riot, a riotous party of clamshells...what a perfectly wonderful name for a perfectly wonderful quilt. May 2021 be an inprovement over 2020. Hope for a grand 2021 - I join many others that are feeling the very same way. Thank you for making my journey more enjoyable. Happy New Year, Kim.

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  37. Happy new year! Such a beautiful quilt

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  38. Que colcha tan alegre, así imagino que es su personalidad!!
    Las hortensias me encantan!!
    Feliz año, besos.

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  39. Your clamshell quilt top is a masterpiece, so many happy colors and flowers all dancing together! I can’t wait to see what border fabric will be gracing the edges to frame this beauty!! You are so right that our blogs allow us to share a bit about our lives with our blogging buddies. They give us a look into the worlds of people we would otherwise never know and share things WE hold dear. I truly treasure my blogging friends and enjoy “visiting” them, reading about their days, their happy (and challenging) times. It is to encouraging, personally, as they share their comments with me. So, yes, here’s to another year! Blessings to you, dear Kim! ❤️❤️ Zenda

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  40. Dear Kim, have a blessed and healthy New Year!
    May you make many beautiful and creative quilts, a joy for you and everyone who loves quilting. The clamshell quilt is exceptionally beautiful and especially the violets stand out.
    You have used a variety of flowery fabrics, so super beautiful.
    Looking forward to your uplifting blog posts.

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    1. And, a blessed and healthy New Year too you, lovely Loes. Just think a whole new year where you and I can visit each other's places and joy in friendship, and all the pretties that you and I imagine. Kim Xx

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    2. Haha, bokkepootjes are Dutch cookies with eggwhite, almonds and chocolate.

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    3. Something always gets lost in translation, hehe. =)

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  41. Your clam shells are so pretty. They are most certainly a party and a very cheery sight for those of us locked down in the grey, wet, cold...need I go on? I am wishing you the happiest of years and eagerly awaiting all your flowery posts of 2021 :)

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  42. Beautiful work, Kim! As we are turning the corner of shorter days growing longer, I often think of you in the southern hemisphere and wonder if you're wistfully thinking of your own days growing shorter yet...

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  43. And a very Happy New Year to you also. I love your pretty clamshells. I finished one last year and suspect it may not be the last. The botanical fabrics you have chosen are gorgeous. And all those beautiful Hydrangeas make me sigh......

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  44. Kim - at our age, we rarely see the New Year in; this year, we were working New Year's Day, so we had to be on our best behavior (wink!) I think I prefer your Clamshell party to a New Year's party anyway. Especially when it is accompanied by those gorgeous hydrangeas!!! Like you, I am looking forward to the ongoing journey of our blogging community - I feel so close to everyone and enjoy reading the goings-on, be they good or bad. Happy New Year to you!

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  45. Wonderful quilt Kim! Vibrant, joyful and immensely beautiful! I wish you a year filled with lots of love, good health, and tons of laughter!

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  46. Kim, I have come to your gorgeous blog via Julie at A Threadbare Life. I am overwhelmed at the joy and beauty found here! I look forward to the year of 2021 blog entries from you. What a delight! Carol in Texas

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    1. Carol, what a delight to wake up this morning and read your beautiful comment re my little blog. Thank you so much for your kindness; your lovely words have sprinkled a little beauty and many a smile into my day. 'Tis lovely to 'meet' you, lovely lady. Kim Xx

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  47. Another pretty quilt for your collection of beauties. Such a lovely mixture of fabric colours - perfect. Happy New Year to you and yours.

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  48. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous quilt. And I like that it is a party. Any party would be welcome right now. Like naughty children we've been sent back into lockdown. Oh, well.
    Amalia
    xo

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  49. You have fashioned yet another incredible homage to the beauty that surrounds you....a delight for the eyes, particularly on a dull day here in Ontario Canada. You, my friend, are a ray of sunshine that we all need more of in these troubled times. The happiest of wishes for continued blessings upon you and your loved ones - happy new year!

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  50. Oh such a lovely, and sweet quilt! Your clamshells are very pretty, I love the purple ones making the eyes traveling into the quilt. Sure it was a quiet starting year, and I hope you will stay away from all the crazyness of the world. Happy new year!

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  51. What a spectacular way to start the new year! I love your clamshells close up and from afar, especially nestled among the hydrangeas! (My favorite flowers are any that are truly blue.) Have a lovely year, no matter what it throws at us.

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  52. A beautiful post Kim! Lovely clamshells!
    Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year!
    We had a quiet start to the new year here too.
    Let’s hope things will improve soon!
    Hugs
    Barbara xx

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