A dent in the plans

Well, life does not always go as planned. I kind of knew this day was coming, but reality feels a little weirder than I thought.

I am being scheduled for surgery to remove part of my thyroid. The doctors are treating me under the assumption I have cancer because my thyroid is so large it has paralyzed one of my vocal chords. My surgeon said, while not impossible to have the vocal chord paralyzed and NOT be cancer, he's only ever seen cancer as the cause. The fact that this is "urgent" surgery, means I'm likely looking at a February date for the surgery. The good news is even if this turns out to be cancer, thyroid cancer is usually 98% survival rate.

Needless to say, getting some of my UFO's done this week has been challenging, but I'm determined to not wallow in self pity. So, no progress to date, but I'm thinking tonight might be the night to get going on things.

UFO's Everywhere

In order to not completely overwhelm myself, I decided to just inventory the quilting projects I have (sadly, I have embroidery, needlepoint, and sewing projects too).

Good News - I got the inventory done. Bad News - Holy Cow, what a list. My oldest UFO is mumble years old (I bought the fabric in the area I went to university at, back when I was still in university - and that was two marriages, two kids, five moves, and many jobs later!)

Here's the list in age from oldest to newest:

Richmond Hill Trip Around the World - fabrics washed but not started other than that
Christmas Wreath - pieced and part way hand quilted, but needs finishing
Love Never Ends - purchased on a business trip to the US last century, not started
Bunnies - started for my nephew before he was born and he's in university now
Star Sampler - Center star almost done but border stars need doing
Sunset Star - blocks are together and rows started assembly
Flowering Star - all there but not even first cut made
Block of the Month 2003-2004 - about 6 months done but need to finish piecing
Quilter's Challenge 2005 - barely started
Breast Cancer Quilt - not started yet, but since my mother is just finished treatment for Breast Cancer, this one is feeling more important to do
Phoenix - fell in love with the stain glass patter, but never started it
Strip Quilt - bought a bundle of strips with great intentions

Technically there are a few more - quilt guild mystery challenges and summer school quilting courses but they were more about learning technique and I'm not sure they could be salvaged to make a viable quilt - still, I may yet come back to them.

I've decided to finish the Sunset Star first. It's for my grandmother who's already in her 90's, so you don't have to guess why I'm making that a priority! Tonight's goal - piece two rows together and take a picture for the blog!

Another Christmas Season is here

This year, despite becoming an Entrepreneur with my husband, despite some health issues, and despite the fact that there is still only 24 hours in the day, I've decided both for the sake of sanity, cleaning up my UFO's, and saving money, I'm going to try to make some Christmas gifts this year. I have 4 weeks until Christmas to make this happen.

Tonight's Job - A full UFO inventory. This is bound to be embarrassing, but the first step to doing anything is to assess where you are. I certainly feel like I have no time in the day, but the reality is I watch enough tv to make several gifts many times over. I feel overwhelmed and exhausted at the end of the work day, and sitting in front of the boob tube both is a family event (since working on crafts seems to be a solo effort for the most part), and seems to be what I feel I have energy for.

I used to use the saying "the more you force yourself to do, the more you'll realize what you can do" - baby steps.

So, today is day 1 of the Christmas Count-down and the challenge is to use even 15 minutes a day to move me closer to my goal.

Renewing the Drive - August 21, 2011

It is hard to believe it is over a year and a half since I last posted. A lot has happened in that time, and yet some things I had as goals, seemed to slip off my platter.

My husband and I took a leap of faith and opened our own business. After 15 months, we have done the unthinkable - succeeded! Our sales have doubled, we've received public recognition for our work, and we're heading towards a fundraiser that will allow us to give back to the community.

The costs have been high - I have not touched my quilting, my basement clean-up project has gone the way of the do-do, and I don't get to spend as much time with my friends as I would like. Lucky for me, I have such great friends that they've been understanding through this.

I was reading my best friend's blog about seeking renewed motivation for her area of focus and was inspired to restart holding myself accountable via this blog. So let's see what today brings with a renewed sense of optimism about getting some me time in the day.