Countryberries Designs Love My Mittens

This pattern is free for you to use. Please give the artist credit. Not for commercial use.

Enlarge this pattern to your desired size. Paint on wood or canvas. You can also applique in wool or cotton and embroider the details. You can do punchneedle or rug hooking techniques too. Whatever craft you choose, have fun!

Designed by Kathy Graham

Please note: Due to last year’s fire, our shop is closed for the winter. Order from our website and follow Countryberries on our website or on Facebook.

Countryberries LLC

Whimsies and necessaries for your country home and garden

330 North Road Deerfield, NH 03037 603-463-7615 www.countryberries.com Like us on Facebook

I Choose Joy

By Deb Heatherly

For many, the new year is a time of resolutions and starting new things. Many contemplate adding an exercise schedule and a change of diet to their lifestyle, while others, pledge to take a class to learn something new. The annual flip of the calendar seems to be a great motivator for making adjustments to daily habits and routine.

This year, instead of making the normal promises, I have decided to go in another direction. While it may seem strange to many, my only resolution for the new year is to take more time to reflect on the blessings all around me. As 2023 unfolds, I want to see and enjoy the little things that I miss in my hurry from day to day. In a nutshell, I plan to look for joy in simple day to day activities and happenings and I’m pretty sure I jumpstarted that plan today.

After lunch, as I tarried over a cup of coffee, little Max, my special needs kitty who has hypoplasia, decided that he wanted to sit on my lap. Max is normally a daddy’s boy, and while he might seek me out occasionally, to be chosen by him today was special. I would normally have held him for a few minutes and then redirected his attention so that I could go back to work. Today, however, I chose to enjoy the moment. Instead of focusing on deadlines and the long ‘to do’ list that sat on my desk, I made this quiet time with him a priority. I relished in his attention and this moment shared between us. The purr I felt radiating through his little body was a mood elevator that I did not even realize I needed, and while this was nothing earth-shattering, the time of bonding with him was a precious light in my day.

Later in the afternoon, as I took a few minutes to get up from my computer and stretch, I glanced out the kitchen window just in time to see a tiny bird enjoying the water in the birdbath with such abandoned that I laughed out loud. I called to my husband to come and watch and for several minutes we both stood and relished in the happiness this tiny creature got from simply playing in the water. Over and over it dunked its head and flapped its wings. I know I was smiling from ear to ear, again finding joy in this brief moment in time. Yes, there was still work to be done before my day was complete but giving myself this moment was priceless. The happy endorphins that I felt seemed to permeate my very being and carried me effortlessly through the rest of the day.

Maybe it’s the fact that I am getting older, but this year the turning of the calendar and the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” feels different. While I still look forward to the new year and the directions in which it may lead, instead of hurrying through it, I plan to take a few detours. It’s great to be productive—and there are many ideas and designs in my head—but instead of running a marathon this year, I have promised myself to stop and take in the glorious moments that I know will unfold all around me. I plan to laugh more, be more observant and find joy when I least expect it. Maybe I’ve finally grown up or maybe it’s a return to childhood. Whichever it is, I like this mindset and plan to cherish every second. Watch out, joy, here I come!

Deb Heatherly is the designer for Creative Grids® Tools plus the author of six popular pattern books. Visit her website at www.Debscatsnquilt.com to keep updated on Deb’s speaking engagements, what’s happening in the Deb’s Cats N Quilts Design Studio and to shop online for her latest tools and books. Follow Deb on Facebook and/or to join her online group “Grid Girls” at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/770429649800457/. Quilt Shop Owners Only are invited to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/273593657256524/. You can contact her at: Debscatsnquilts@aol.com for more information on how to set up a lecture, demo or workshop for your Quilt Shop or Guild, or call the studio at 828-524-9578.