I've had a shaky relationship with my quilting over the past two years.  I've quit twice, and often I have wondered where I was going with this and if I am growing at all.  It's my drug.  I quilt in the middle of the night.  I blow through my stash like the Tasmanian devil.  I come up with crazy projects - strip pieced log cabins, New York Beauties, I make bags and tablet covers, bibs and aprons.  I just sew, and now I can sew anything, but creatively I feel like I'm standing still.  I have figured out some things.  One, I am very happy when I am sewing.  Two, it is a very useful skill, which I must say, being self-taught, that I have finally mastered.  Three, its the only place in my life where I am a good teacher.  Patient, able cater to the student, a great cheerleader, etc.  So since I am sticking too it, because it won't let me quit, I went back to the beginning and decided to make a sampler.  All the block patterns are 12" blocks, most from www.quilterscache.com.   There have been other projects that I will share and this one is a work in progress.

I wanted to use the Peanuts fabric but this block didn't really work.  So I took it apart and made these two below.  

 My first quilt was a purple log cabin, and I always wanted to make a card trick but I thought it was too hard.  Not so!  Very easy.  It's been very cathartic to return to the shapes and names that I was so fascinated by 12 years ago.

 I like the whole process of using what I have available, and not running out to get fabric, and making it work.  It's a challenge, and when I get the sashing, etc. I will have to make decisions, but I think Scrappy Fall Colors is enough direction for now.

 I started in early September making the leave blocks (on left).  I couldn't get them to work together to make a table runner so I started making sampler blocks and I kept trying new ideas.

I've decided to separate the blocks that REALLY worked and the blocks that are just ok into two different quilts.  It is a learning process, and I'm making progress so far.