I have been working on my January Journal Quilt this weekend! I sketched, enlarged my sketch, transferred it to fabric and started my stitching. The technique I am using is a reverse raggedy applique technique I saw on Simply Quilts. The quilt artist on the show used 3 layers of fabric, but I am using 4.

As I mentioned before, I am inspired this month by the recent birth of my best friend's baby, Ian. In this month's quilt, I am trying to convey the love and connection between us and our families, and the joy of that moment when a child is born. I am also trying to show the differences between our families, yet how the common experiences of becoming parent tie us together. Although I am a writer by profession, this topic makes me feel quite inarticulate!

I do want this quilt to be a literal interpretation, so I printed out the delivery room photo of Betsy's family and of my family onto fabric, then cut them out with a wavy edge rotary cutter so they look like old photos.

I also cleaned up The Vortex (sewing room), but more on that later!