My determination to continue blogging may not be overly apparent at the  moment,  but I can promise you that I am determined and that once I get in to the flow of my new life (new job, husband at home, being able to drive) I will find a way to carve out some more regular TreeFall time.
That's not to say that I'm not loving all the newness thats been going on around here, it just that it's all just so damned new to us. And we're all still finding our feet.
I am managing to find a little crafting time though. And have even found a renewed love of quilting. Especially as I have finally mastered (actually that's far too strong a word) the art of free motion machine quilting.
One of my most recently finished quilts is the Hopscotch House quilt that was a commission for a gorgeous little baby girl called Ellis.

It was based on the quilt that I made for Lily but worked out so much nicer than that one. Sometimes it's such a good thing to be given the chance to correct decisions that you've only realised didn't work once the quilt's finished. And that was the case with this one.
The layout of Lily's quilt has always slightly bothered me. It's not something that I can specifically put my finger on, but it's just not quite right. I'm also not overly happy with my use of crochet trim in Lily's quilt and knew that this quilt would work so much better without it.
I do still really like the row of houses in Lily's quilt though and if I was to make a third Hopscotch House quilt, it would probably be a combination of the first two.

One of the things that I really enjoy about quilting is that small changes can make such a big difference and that the possibilities are endless. Of course that's also the overwhelming aspect of quilting too. But it does make it fun.
When I'm working on a quilt I try hard not to think about it too much. For it to work for me, I need to be able to stand back and almost squint at it to see if what I want to jump out does, or if too much is jumping out. I like the quilt tops to look fairly random, without an immediately discernible pattern to it. But that's almost impossible, and I usually end up with a pattern that's obvious to at least me (Jim always says he can't see them until I point them out). But that's what then makes it work I guess.

I really would like to find the time to make myself a quilt like this and maybe even in a different colourway - I 'd love to do a green Hopscotch House quilt for our bedroom.  But at the moment I don't think that will happen. There's just too much else going on.

****

Whilst writing this I looked back at the archives for the beginning of the year and I can't believe how much Lily has changed already and how much we've already forgotten. Like the fact that she was born with black hair. Totally forgotten that. And the fact that Bella and I had such a hard time with each other at the start. That has definitely been forgotten and it was a bit of a shock to re-read about it. Time is flying too quickly, but thank goodness that I have this blog to at least mark it's passing. And that's why my determination to keep blogging is so strong!