7 Days of New Years --- Day 7: Hello 2023!!

Ahh, the end of my holiday quilt-a-thon.  As usual not as much done as hoped but still fun to try to sew every day and at the least move things forward towards a finish.  In light of everything I tried to do for the holidays, it was easy to come up with my new Word of the Year:  

Limits

Knowing that I am prone to taking on more than I can chew, I know that this year, I should try to set limits to what I want to accomplish.  Oh, I will still plan and dream of ALL the things I'd LIKE to do, just not commit to doing all of them in the immediate term, LOL!!

As usual this also brings me back to a long ago Word of the Year:  Focus.  That's what it really takes to get things done.  So as I start to map out 2023, those two words will be kept firmly top of mind as I plan out each month.  

As always, Bonnie Hunter's inspirational quilty quotes are good for setting the tone for the day:

That said, each new year promises better and brighter days and dreams and wishes fulfilled.  Let's hope 2023 keeps that promise for all of us!  Enjoy the start of a bright and shiny New Year!!

Some Thoughts On the Word of the Year.....

As we head into the second quarter of the year, I thought I'd take some time to reflect on my Word of the Year.  For me, the word this year is PLANNING.

                    

For a few years now, I've been trying to understand how I get my projects from beginning to end and improve how efficiently I can do that.  The goal is to minimize frustration and procrastination.  Doing so allows me to actually get that "More Projects Than I Have Lifetime" list closer to being accomplished!  I've come to learn that project overload doesn't help that process although I can't say that I don't keep doing it anyway (my RSC 2021 project list is a prime example of that)!  However, not feeling like I am being buried by the overload means having a good understanding of what can be done in a given amount of time. 

I've learned that part of that is planning.  First you have to know what you want to do, then you have to truly understand what it takes to do it.  In the words of Jessica Able, it's understanding whether something is a Task or a Project.  

And this is posted in my quilt space to remind me of that!

I have been guilty in the past of thinking something is a Task (Oh, I just have to make 30 of  those blocks) but only when I start to try to tackle it, do I it realize it's actually a Project (Oh, to make 30 blocks, I have to cut 300 specific pieces and then sew sub-units, then sew sub-sections and then sew the sections together to make the blocks).  Got to say that was an eye opener!  Understanding that in advance reduces the number of curse words or minimizes the project depression (aka slogging) that happens later.  

It also means that if I don't make a deadline, I know why instead of feeling like I failed.  January was a case in point.  I was thrilled with what I did get done yet it was no where near the complete list of things I had wanted to accomplish for the month.  Yet pretty much everything that I fully evaluated and mapped out did get done.  When things didn't get done in the time expected, I could usually point to where I either did not break down the tasks far enough or that I did not evaluate just how many tasks needed to be completed each day in order to meet the desired goal.  As a result, the year started out on an up note instead of a downer.

While it may sound like a lot of trouble to go to for a hobby, I admit I truly like what I get to do, what comes out of it and want to be able to do even more.  So if I'm going to make myself happy, I gotta know what it takes to be happier!  As Bonnie Hunter has shared with us:   

Because.....

Nothing backs up a good life lesson better than a quilt!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In a big nod to planning, starting tomorrow, I'm going to take up Frédérique's (of the Quilting Patchwork and Applique blog)  A to Z Quilt Challenge for the month of April.  After quilting for almost twenty years (January 2022 will be my anniversary!), I realize the breadth of my complete fascination with quilting really has run the gamut from A to Z!  With the topics already mapped out, look forward to daily (except for Sundays) posts on the world of quilting from my perspective.  Should be fun!

Word of the Year: PLAN

Each year, quilters around the world pick a word that represents their vision for their new year of quilting work.  When I thought about 2019, I decided that the thing I wanted to improve on most this year was my ability to PLAN what I want to get done.  You know the old saying:

When I started quilting, it was both to learn the craft but also to explore the nature of creativity and learn how people were able to move from an idea to making a beautiful finished product.  To that end, over the years I've read (and saved) articles and quotes from creatives in various disciplines and found that the "process" is the same no matter what it is you are producing.  The biggest revelation was that it is not as smooth or direct a journey as it seems to those of us that view the finished works.

Yet, I'd also see quilters who seemed to be producing a project a week and wonder, "How the heck do they do that?!?!"  Well, closer examination showed that I really had to take a close look at the type of things they make compared to my own WIPs.  If they focus on only one style of project or they limit themselves to projects of a specific size or they only work from curated fabric lines rather than choosing a compilation of fabrics or they employed a range of shortcuts or simple to execute techniques, it greatly improved their ability to crank out finished goods at a good pace.  More importantly though, I also realized how important it was that they worked on their projects consistently and had a handle on what they needed to do and when.  That was a big help in allowing them to get what they wanted done when they wanted it done. 

To that last point, three years ago I learned about "Bullet Journaling" (Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts has started a good You Tube series on the topic) and around the same time I discovered the blog of  Jessica Abel.  Ms. Abel is by profession a cartoonist and art professor but also runs workshops to help creatives take better control of their creative work.  I read her book "Growing Gills" and have watched a number of her free webinars co-hosted by other creative coaches.  I learned a lot about how our perceptions of how we work and what we can accomplish is the real source of the frustration in not getting our projects done.  Too often those perceptions are in conflict with what it is actually possible to get done.

Jessica Abel's blog post on "Granularity" sums up the solution quite well.

Can you say "reality check"?   Like most quilters, I would love to get to a point where my hobby could actually generate an income.  However, watching those already in "the industry",  I see how important it is to be able to meet (often very short) deadlines and produce a prolific amount of projects.  While I feel capable of that, it has been a challenge just to complete the projects I'm making for my own purposes and bring them in on the deadlines I set for myself.

The biggest lesson I've learned from Jessica has been how important it is to really understand the steps to completing a project.  You need to to carefully map out how you approach that project to really evaluate what it will take to complete it.  Often that means considering:

Just one of the motivational signs I hang in my quilt space.

I've been less stressed about my projects since I've learned to really see just where my "intention wheels" get run off the road!  Rather than being frustrated when I don't meet a deadline, I can more easily see what it would have taken to complete it as intended.  That helps me stay focused on the task at hand.  It has also helped me to distinguish when something is truly a task and when something --- which in my mind, I think should be simple and quick to execute --- is actually a project in and of itself.  In that instance, I have to change course and accept that it needs more time, planning and effort than initially anticipated to achieve it.

So to that end, I'd really like to up my estimation game this year.  I'd like to get better at evaluating what it will take to finish a project and better at planning my quilting sessions so I can actually meet the deadlines I make.  After all, I have project ideas to fill a few lifetimes but only one lifetime to make them all!  Ok, there's that reality check:  make as many of those project ideas as possible!  Since living forever isn't an option (yet!), it's important to me right now to get better at squeezing as much out of the one I've got while I've still got it!

Do you formulate a word of the year?  What's your word and what do you hope to accomplish in this new year and decade?  I wish you all the possibilities you desire and none of the stress in accomplishing them!

Welcoming in Another New Year!

Now that's a Quilter's idea of a Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all!  I hope your celebrations throughout the holiday season have brought you joy and peace and family memories that will last for years.  Just as important, I hope it brought you time to do this quilting thing we love so much!

So first off:  what's my Word of the Year?  I'm planning to work with more INTENTION this year.  This prompt comes from an audio meditation received from Tracy Matthews who runs the "Flourish and Thrive Academy" coaching sessions for jewelry entrepreneurs.  The advice is also good for us every day creatives in that getting our projects done means really drilling down on what you want to make a priority for the year.  After that it's about having a clear vision and plan for completing them.  Just wishin' and hopin and prayin' ain't enough to get them done!

So this year, some of the things I want to turn my intentions toward are:

1.  Returning to the Bucket List:  Last year I had a plan to work on the last four of my original Bucket List projects and that still remains.  I only got started on one of them and then got distracted by life issues.  With things a little clearer now, I'm going to make a better effort to move these forward with the ultimate goal being to complete at least two of them by the end of the year.

2.  Continuing to whittle down the UFOs:  There's alot of them but working on things from that previous category and the next one will also clean up more than a few projects that have been hanging around for a long while.   I'm reluctant to commit to a "one a month" goal -- my "baby steps" route will be to commit to getting at least four done for the year which for me would be siginificant progress.

3.  Quilt Alongs:  The String Alongs going on this year are going to help me vanquish a real old UFO and in the process empty out a big project tub that will go a long way in clearing up some space among the project stash.  I'm admitting right now to joining another new quilt along (so a new project) that will give me an opportunity to scratch a long held itch for a line of fabric I've long loved.

4. Quiltville Projects:  Ah, Bonnie Hunter deserves a catagory all her own!  I've got one (a UFO) that will hopefully be quilted before the end of January, two tops waiting for backs, two in the process of piecing (one of which will be worked on for the String Along) and one kitted up as a travel project.  At least two completely finished is the goal for this year.

5. Complete the Civil War Series:  Well, almost complete it!  I want to get sarted on the two remaining "Hussies" (HSY - Haven't Started Yet) projects that had already been planned for my series of reproduction quilts.  When I look at the above list, I'm thinking the least I can do is get them to tops and maybe one could get all the way to being quilted.  To finish the series I'd need to quilt my "Civil War Chronicles" BOM top but until I sort out my machine quilting situation, I don't expect that to happen this year.

6.  Seasonal Decorating Projects:  I have projects for the Spring, Halloween and Christmas (again?!?!?) seasons that I'd like to work on.  Unfortunately, the list of "To Do's" in each catagory are pretty long so I will really have to take a hard look when each season approaches to determine just what is possible to accomplish.  I'll push for getting one to completion for each.

As always, ambitious but a girl's gotta dream!  Just have to keep in mind that "Dreams Don't Work Unless You Do"!  A Happy Quilting Year to all and to all a Good Week!

Happy New Year and What's On Deck for 2018

A Very Happy New Year To Everyone!

 

 

When a New Year dawns, we all think about what we hope the year will bring and what we can accomplish in it.  Normally, this is the time for quilters to reveal the "Word of the Year" that they want to guide their project aspirations for the year.  I have done some work this past year using a Bullet Journal and studying the prompts of illustrator and author Jessica Abel through her blog and her book "Growing Gills".  If you feel like you never seem to get what you want to accomplish done, I highly recommend the book (and the email prompts she will send you after you purchase it) to help you pinpoint what your issues are. 

Between the two, I realized my biggest problem was determining what the "Realistic" part of S.M.A.R.T. goals (see Tip #1 on this post) really means and how to truly prioritize them.  Those two things were the main reasons why I was able to stay on track at the end of the year and get a few projects competed even while juggling a Christmas gift project and Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery without getting discouraged or feeling like I was going crazy.

 

So as 2017 ended, I tried to think about what would be my guiding word for 2018.  However, as I rolled around the possibilities in my mind, two words kept bubbling to the top for me.  They represent what I want to do more than how I plan to work and that is:

 

BUCKET LIST 

 

Yes, for me the guiding principal will be that this year I want to finish up my original Bucket List goals.  I wrote about my Bucket List back in 2010.  The projects on it represented the quilts that when I started quilting, I felt I NEEDED to attempt in order to be considered a "real" (as opposed to fake?!?) quilter.  To fulfill those lofty aspirations, at that time I had seven projects still to attempt: Double Wedding Ring, String Quilt, Lone Star, Dresden Plate, Complex Applique and a Hand Quilted Wholecloth.  I finished the Dresden plate quilt called Merrimac Dresdens in 2013 so that left six more still to do.

 

I had actually started on the Double Wedding Ring way back in 2009, made siginificant progress on it in 2012 and had last worked on it in 2015.   

 

 

 For the Wholecloth project I had plans as far back as 2012 to start it and made them again at the start of both 2016 and last year but each time got sidetracked.  So with the Bucket List my focus, I could finally get it started this year.

 

 

 After doing the "Growing Gills" lessons, I wound up completely reorganizing my "Hussy" stacks (HSYs - Haven't Started Yet projects) which reacquainted me with some of the things I had chosen to fulfill my Bucket List goals.  For instance, while I had considered doing a number of projects to fulfill the Complex Applique wish, I realized that there was a project that I had long wanted to make that could actually fulfill that for me and I decided right then to forego all others in favor of it.  For that one I plan to make (or at least start) one of the Robert Callahan's Applique projects.

.
I also have stashed no less than five different Lone Star designs, all using different approaches to the construction. 

 

These are just some of the patterns I have.

 Again, I had long debated about which to start with but with cleared creative "Gills", I finally made a firm decision on which project to start with:  I'm going with the Jelly Stars kit I have.

 

 

Now that I know where I want to go, I am ready to plan the when and how.  I had always planned for the wholecoth to be a whole year project so the push for that one is just to get it started and in the hoop.  Once that's done I can work on it a little each week until it gets completed (and it will be great for "Slow Sunday Stitching" linkups).  For the other projects, I thought that the easiest plan for attacking them would be a personal quarterly challenge.  I can attempt to get one BL item started (or in the case of the Double Wedding Ring, continued) in each quarter.  If I plan well, some might even get finished within their quarter.  And from my experience at the end of last year, I know that it is possible to juggle more than one project as long as I was realistic about what I thought I could get done and monitored, accepted and re-grouped when I was sent off track from my plans.

 

This is not to say that I don't expect to work on other things during the year:  I definitely want to get the two Bonnie Hunter mystery projects, On Ringo Lake and En Provence, at least to the top stage:

 

Lots of parts still in progress......

A Bonnie project may also fulfill my String Quilt bucket list item but I haven't decided on that definitively yet.

I'd also like to make some headway on some decorating projects like my Halloween quilt and a few wallhangings I want to make for the house.  Hopefully what I learned last year about planning and deadlines, will clarify for me just how much additional time, realistically, I can devote to these projects if at all.  If I realize I can't get them done, then at that moment it will be time to decide what will take precedence.  I'm also sure there will be those times when the project du' jour may be frustrating me and I will welcome having a diversion at hand.      

 

So that's the 2018 plan for me in a nut shell.  What is your Word for the Year or plans for 2018?  Whatever they are I wish you well in bringing them to fruition and making 2018 the best it can be for you! 

A New Tuesday Archives Post: 2017 Word of the Year and Goals

Happy New Year!

 



This week, Val over at Val's Quilting Studio is asking everyone to post their goals for the New Year in the Tuesday Archives link up.  I am more than happy to oblige in this annual quilter's "right of passage" as we hope for a productive quilting year.

Word of the Year:  Prioritize

Since planning is still my big goal, setting my priorities is a first step to that.  I've found in the past that I need to get better, on a day to day basis, of considering and setting priorities.  I've come to understand that priorities can (and sometimes have to) change day to day, week to week and month to month regardless of the overall goals set.  So the push this year is to manage that better.

However, that doesn't mean that there won't be those times when "what I WANT to do" will override "what I NEED to do"!  I just need to make sure I take note of that when I re-do the list.

APQ and TBQs

American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine is once again doing their UFO Challenge for 2017.  You make a list and each month they pick a number and you try to get that project done.  If successful, that's (potentially) twelve projects off your "To Do" list by the end of the year.

When I sat down to make my list, I realized that outside of projects that have specific deadlines, all but one of my UFOs were "TBQs" -- that is "To Be Quilted" or close to it because they  need the backing prepped.  I decided to try to give this a whirl.  The first number has already been picked so if you want to join in, make up your list now, go here and get your UFO goals for the year started!

This Just In!  While checking on links for this post, I found out that Judy Laquidara over at Patchwork Times is also doing a UFO List pick.  She's has also picked her first number and ironically, on my list that just so happens to be a quilt designed by her!  However, I believe my APQ pick would be easier for me to finish and a finish will keep me motivated so I'll stick with them on that one.  I will be joining Judy for her monthly Quilt-A-Thons but if you'd also like Judy's help picking your UFO projects, find out what her first pick was here. 

Staring Down The Bucket List

My next big and admittedly ambitious goal is to finish the last four items on my original bucket list.  Why ambitious you say?  Well, those projects consist of some pretty heady quilt designs:  Double Wedding Ring, Lone Star, Complex Applique (in the vein of a Baltimore Album) and a Hand Quilted Wholecloth!  The plan right now is to devote attention to one of these projects each quarter. 

I'll start the wholecloth first since once it's in the hoop, I can take a little time each week for the rest of the year stitching it up.

The Double Wedding Ring is  already half done -- the last time I worked on it, I only got as far as cutting out the border strips for it.  Let's hope this year I can get the border applique done, get it layered up and quilted! 

In some ways I feel the Lone Star is the easiest to piece (can be done by strip piecing) but not to choose!  I've got at least five different versions I want to try (and fabric already in house for at least two) so the one that gets made up (yes, definitely won't be more than that this year!)  might not be a "traditional" Lone Star. 

Up to now, I didn't really know exactly what I wanted to do for my "Complex Applique" project.  That's why it pays to shop your stash or shelves!  Long ago I fell in love with Robert Callahan's applique samplers when they appeared in McCall's Quilting magazine.  At the time they came out, they were soooo beyond my abilities, I could only dream.  However, that didn't stop me from setting up a box and occasionally throwing some "starting stash" into it. 

Now that it's many years down the road, applique is not the scary prospect it was back then.  I'm finally ready to tackle one and try to get that stash box off the shelf once and for all. 

 

All that said, while I'd give better than average odds that at least one of the Bucket List items probably won't make it all the way to the finish line this year, starting is still that much closer to finishing!

But Wait There's More!

Other big projects I want to get to this year are:

Finish my Label Pledge (So far two down, six to go!)

Finish my (first two) Quilts of Valor (and hopefully start on that during this week's Quilt-A-Thon with Judy at Patchwork Times).

Make a Tote Bag For my Featherweight (kit and supplies are already in house)

As noted earlier, I've got some "specific deadline" projects, mostly gifts and for decorating at particular times of the year so have to schedule those accordingly.

Oh and did I mention that I'm trying for the first time to do one of Bonnie Hunters annual mystery projects -- this year it's called "En Provence"?  Well, it's actually not a mystery any more since the reveal came out on Sunday.  I've had the stash set up for a while but the aborted "Holiday Quilt-A-Thon" put a wrench in an early start so at this point I'll be playing catch up. 

The good news is that from what I've read over the years, that's par for the course for most people for her mysteries so I'll be in good company!

As usual, I think I've lined up too much but out of sight, out of mind!  If you'd like to see what your other fellow quilters have in store for their year, hop on over to Val's at Val's Quilting Studio and peruse all the lists!  Have a Very Quilty New Year!!!

Happy New Year! What To Look Forward To in 2016

A New Year has started and so do the quilty hopes and dreams of quilters everywhere!  Val over at Val's Quilting Studio has done a new twist on this week's "Tuesday Archives".  Rather than sharing an old post, she has asked everyone to share a new post on their plans and goals for the year.  Perfect since that had been on my agenda anyway so let's get started!

First off, the Word of the Year:  Efficient

Over the past few years, quilters have been starting off their plans for the year by picking a word that they hope will define their approach to their quilty life.  For me, the chosen words have been centered around helping me overcome obstacles to finishing my projects and this year is no exception.  The new tool I hope to put in the belt is the ability to be Efficient in my quilting.  The first few definitions that popped up after doing a definition search say it all:

I've got the all the tools (both physical and mental) but it's managing them all so that I can get from Point A to Point B as smoothly as possible.  Many times I think the process part of a quilt will be smooth but I feel I need to better manage how to do that so that it can actually happen!  Part of that will be making smaller goal lists and trying to better estimate both the time I have to do stuff and what I can reasonably (key word) expect to get done within it.  It also means making sure I have a number of different things queued up (a Plan B so to speak) so that if my time is not as generous as expected, I can still accomplish something.  Speaking of which did you see Pat Sloan's post about planning for UFO-busting?  It was pretty good and definitely has some tips I want to incorporate.  Check it out here.

The Big Picture:  The Main Themes This Year 

As always the year will be about tackling the ever growing "To Do" list.  However, in the interest of being efficient, I know I'll need to focus (one of the past years words) on some priorities if I want to get anything done.

1.  Hand Work

Since I'm already starting off the year without any working machines (for details on that, scroll down to the bottom of this post), it looks like this will be easy to get to for a change.  I'm already set to finish up a mini sew along project today and hope to layer my Christmas quilt UFO for "Big Stitch" quilting by the end of the week (while I await an order of some new Valdani Perle threads).  The biggest project of the year (and it will probably take the whole year to do) will be to work on a really big Bucket List project:  hand quilting a bed-size wholecloth quilt.

2.  Staring Down the Bucket List

Speaking of the Bucket List, in addition to the wholecloth quilt, I hope to make good on last year's plan to finally finish up my Double Wedding Ring project.  If I can get these two done this year I will only have two more items left on my original Bucket List which I blogged about here.

3.  UFO Busting -- Get It Done!

I'll be continuing my monthly "Get It Done" Posts in my ongoing attempts to stay on top of both the UFOs and any new projects.  I actually want to try, for once, to limit the new stuff and keep the focus on the UFOs since  there are already projects in the previous two categories that fit that bill.

4.  Charity Quilts:  Quilts of Valor

I feel bad that I've been slack on getting to this in the past so if I do start any new projects, I want it to be for this.  Since this one is dependent on getting my machines back on line, that will need to be a priority this month too.

5.  A Functioning Featherweight

While my electronic machines will have to go out for service, I'm actually hoping to finally get to learn about the Featherweight machine that I've used just for display.  I'm looking forward to both getting it up and running, trying it out for piecing and becoming knowledgeable/proficient at maintaining it. 

6.  The Baby Quilt

This one was on last year's list all year and is now (too) long overdue.  I want to get it done if only to get it out of my head!  Again, bowing to efficiency, I've got to make time for this, set up a plan and knock it out! 

I think that's a big enough list for now since I'm in danger of already breaking my first resolution to not make big lists!!  If you're reading this before January 2, then maybe you'd like to add your quilty task list over at Val's too!  However, even after that, you can check out what other quilters have in store for 2016  by clicking over here. 

Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Productive New Year!!! 

Word of the Year: Purposeful

It's that time of the year when a lot of quilters instead of (or in addition to) making resolutions choose the word they want guide their projects for the year.  My words for the last three years (Focus, Practice and Fearless) all related to my desire to keep my goals in sight and on track as I moved through my projects for the year.  That mission has not changed so I was hard pressed to come up with another word that would succinctly express what my motivation should be. 

When I thought about my "body of work" over the now thirteen years that I have been quilting, the one thing that I would say has always guided my choice of projects were that they served some PURPOSE.  Most often that started with wanting a chance to learn a new technique or try a new tool or popular experience currently engaging the quilting world.  In order for me to stay motivated to finish the project, I also preferred that whatever I was making had a person or place to go to when done.  The need to meet a gifting deadline (upcoming or long overdue) or to fill an empty bed, wall or table space was often the push needed to force me to tackle a difficult or tedious construction passage. 

Then there were those times when it was only AFTER finishing the project, I realized that there was some big lesson that had been learned that had not been sought or apparent at the outset of the project.  Like being surprised at just how good or improved my quilt skills were showcased in the finished work.  Sometimes I wound up encouraged by the (up until that point, uncharacteristic) amount of determination or perseverance or patience I showed in working through a difficult or complex project.  Sometimes it has been when a new technique or tool manages to live up to or exceed the promise of simplifying or streamlining some task.  The best was when I was pleased that something that I seemed to hate all the way through making it just astounded me when it was done and became a favorite project!

But in all of these cases, I can honestly say that there has never been a project that JUST got made for the heck of it and I don't have a problem with that.  In fact, when I look at the pile of UFOs, PIGS and HSYs* laying around, in pretty much every case there lurks an intended purpose and the hope for some unintended benefit when it is all done.  What does get in the way is forgetting the initial PURPOSE as I work through the project, especially when the stitching gets tough or something new and exciting comes into view.  I'm always tempted to immediately drop what I'm doing or worse, get impatient with it because I now can't seem to finish fast enough so I can move on to the new shiny or seemingly easier thing calling for my attention. 

But this year I want to be mindful of keeping the focus (there's that word again) on what I am working on right now.  To embrace the work I am doing and watch for and really appreciate what I am experiencing as I work on and through each project.  This also relates to being more mindful about Rossi's "Process Pledge" that I adopted a few years ago (and you can click on the button on the sidebar to read about why she started that movement) and documenting the journey.  I can entertain the new and interesting but I don't want it to be at the expense of what I am working on now.  My hope, as always, is that doing so will lead to a smoother, more direct course to finishing all of my projects and result in even more satisfying finishes as the year progresses.

So, what is YOUR word for the year?

* Unfinished Objects, Projects in a Grocery Sack and "Hussies" - Haven't Started Yet

And Now For the Word of The Year......

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.



---American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine, April 2002, page 53

 

 

 

I fear the venture into the unknown.

But that is part of the act of creating and the art of performing.

---Martha Graham, dancer

 

 

All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this:

Act as if it were impossible to fail.

 

---Dorothea Brande, writer

 

 

 My goal for the reader of (my book) is for you to listen to that little voice that says, “I could do that,” and go with it.  No matter what your insecurities say, do it anyway and ignore the fear….What is the real secret to winning quilting awards?  Being fearless when you are scared out of your mind.

---Karen McTavish from the book “Quilting For Show”

 (On-Word Bound Books; 2007)

 

 

 

And a reminder that is posted in my "studio" and is always at the bottom of my blog:

 

 

Click on the picture to read this if it's not clear)

(As Seen in Quiltposium magazine, Fall 2011)

 

 

Enough said!

Time To Regroup

Well it's the end of January and I should be showing my challenge finishes on this post but alas have none to report.  I realize that I need to once again adjust my expectations and figure out what I need to do different to get from here to there. The three weeks I spent on jury duty ended up throwing me for a loop more than I had anticipated and I should have planned better to work around it.  While corresponding recently with another quilter I realized something:  last year, whatever I did get done, happened when I was able to FOCUS on a particular project.  Many quilters choose an operative word for the year, and I think this one needs to be mine.  So here are the project updates:

Myra's PHd Challenge

I had intended to to work on the Denim Blue Lagoon quilt project (see item #1 in this post) for my sons to fulfill the first finish of the PHD projects.  I thought it would help even more to join Brenda's (of the Scraps & Strings blog) new String Thing Along.  However, I still haven't worked with the boys to sit and sew the strings for me, so nothing was done on this one.  So next month will be a new chance to try.

My back-up plan was to finally start quilting the UGRR/Pioneer samplers.  But I was still unsure about how I wanted to quilt them.  I've since had a chance to review my "Quilt Whisperer" coursework from 2010 so I feel a little more confident to start "staring my quilts down" and come up with a plan.  This is why I need to have a plan C for when A and B don't pan out!  Perhaps February will be more productive.

Judy's Patchwork Times 2012 UFO Challenge

Judy's number for January was #5.  My projects were to be to quilt Safari Stars and to make the WAK Triptych.  This is the project I most wanted to get done so I am really surprised I didn't do much work on it.  Again, I wasn't prepared for not having the kind of time I usually have to focus on a project.  I did get the first two borders attached around the fabric photo transfer pictures for the Triptych but that's about it. I think the other issue is that the spots these were supposed to hang in when finished have been temporarily taken up by these:

Maybe after the Superbowl on Sunday, I'll be a little more motivated to try to get back to these and get them done.  Meanwhile, I'm really anxious now about what February's number will be since I already need to do so much catching up.

Chronicles BOM

Some of the fabrics for the last Chronciles BOM kit came in but the main red fabric is still MIA.  However, Homestead Hearth is expecting it in in February, so now it is not nearly as long a wait as it was when we were first told this before Christmas.

NewFOs at Cat Patches

I hadn't planned to participate in this since I have UFOs to attend to.  But it turns out the way to get me back to the machine is to throw a new project at me!  Fortunately the two (!) I chose were minis so it took a quick three days to bring them to the flimsie stage.  The first was a mini Twister in Reproduction fabrics:

You can read more about it here.

*Updated 2/1/12
The second, I can't reveal until tomorrow:  I couldn't resist Lori's new doll quilt-a-long called "Pink Lemonade".  I already have my post made but the reveal is tomorrow so I'll update the link when I post it.

You can read more about it here.  The good news is that when both of these are completely done I can actually check a decorating biggie off my list:  I've wanted to make a few mini quilt projects for display behind my Featherweight machine.  I've been collecting ideas for the last year but these two sparked me enough to get me moving and I am happy about that.

I am looking forward to getting into a better groove in February!