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!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Progress......or Lack Thereof - January 15, 2010
A week into the New Year's resolutions and some progress has been made, sort of.
Translation: Not one resolution is going completely well, but we're making a dent in all of them.
I don't see this as failure. Life, like New Year's Resolutions, is all about the battle against inertia. As long as you're making progress in the right direction, you're succeeding!
Let's start with the Christmas decorations. I tackled the house and packed up all the ribbons and bows, the wrap and the tape, the tree and the decorations, the lights and the ornaments, the tablecloth and the assorted decorations around the house. I thought I had this one finished last week when I saw, today, a ratty piece of artificial holly that was masquerading as mistletoe, hanging from my front hallway light. Well, it won't take a moment to finish off this resolution.
I moved the dusty exercise equipment most of us won't admit to having from a remote corner of the basement to right in front of my hobby area and pointed towards a television. First workout went great. Now both the exercise equipment and the hobby area are collecting dust. This week is not over yet, so there is still hope.
I bought a curtain rod for the planned curtains in the office - I don't know if I can legitimately call that progress.
I've applied to more jobs over the last week and contacted many in my network about a possible job, so now I wait and see. I'm also cooking up a Plan B if all else should fail.
Still, life is great. My family is healthy and full of love. I have a few great friends and caring neighbours. I have no complaints really.
So, I hope you look at the struggles in your life and see, not the distance to the goal, but the strides you've made already to get there and smile as a result.
Translation: Not one resolution is going completely well, but we're making a dent in all of them.
I don't see this as failure. Life, like New Year's Resolutions, is all about the battle against inertia. As long as you're making progress in the right direction, you're succeeding!
Let's start with the Christmas decorations. I tackled the house and packed up all the ribbons and bows, the wrap and the tape, the tree and the decorations, the lights and the ornaments, the tablecloth and the assorted decorations around the house. I thought I had this one finished last week when I saw, today, a ratty piece of artificial holly that was masquerading as mistletoe, hanging from my front hallway light. Well, it won't take a moment to finish off this resolution.
I moved the dusty exercise equipment most of us won't admit to having from a remote corner of the basement to right in front of my hobby area and pointed towards a television. First workout went great. Now both the exercise equipment and the hobby area are collecting dust. This week is not over yet, so there is still hope.
I bought a curtain rod for the planned curtains in the office - I don't know if I can legitimately call that progress.
I've applied to more jobs over the last week and contacted many in my network about a possible job, so now I wait and see. I'm also cooking up a Plan B if all else should fail.
Still, life is great. My family is healthy and full of love. I have a few great friends and caring neighbours. I have no complaints really.
So, I hope you look at the struggles in your life and see, not the distance to the goal, but the strides you've made already to get there and smile as a result.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
New Year's Resolutions
That time honoured tradition of seeing the year start with the making of promises that may only have the hope of lasting 5 minutes is one I relish every year. I actually think I have a shot at these ones.
1) Put away all Christmas decorations by end of tomorrow. (We're a full week into January already so it's about time!)
2) Clean up the home office. We've let it get messy and a messy desk is not the most productive one. This I want to do next week, but trying to be successful at these resolutions this year, I'm giving myself until the end of January.
3) Find a job - let's face it, unemployment, for those who want to be employed, SUCKS! I have many irons in the proverbial fire, but I actually have to make something come of at least one of them.
4) Make drapes for the office. We have a room we use as a home office (same messed up room as #2 above) and I have the material to make drapes for the office. I just need to dust off the sewing machine and get this job done. Again, I hope to do this by end of next week, but I'm giving myself until the end of January to complete this.
5) I want to exercise 4 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes. I'm not doing weight loss goals this year, although I do want to get in better shape, but I just want to improve my fitness level.
6) I have a certificate I've been working towards earning through a self-paced on-line program for months and I want to complete it by the end of Jan. It's feasible if I can focus for 2 hours a day for 4 days per week between now and then.
I'll be honest enough to keep how I'm doing posted here. Do you have resolutions you want to share here too? By all means.
1) Put away all Christmas decorations by end of tomorrow. (We're a full week into January already so it's about time!)
2) Clean up the home office. We've let it get messy and a messy desk is not the most productive one. This I want to do next week, but trying to be successful at these resolutions this year, I'm giving myself until the end of January.
3) Find a job - let's face it, unemployment, for those who want to be employed, SUCKS! I have many irons in the proverbial fire, but I actually have to make something come of at least one of them.
4) Make drapes for the office. We have a room we use as a home office (same messed up room as #2 above) and I have the material to make drapes for the office. I just need to dust off the sewing machine and get this job done. Again, I hope to do this by end of next week, but I'm giving myself until the end of January to complete this.
5) I want to exercise 4 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes. I'm not doing weight loss goals this year, although I do want to get in better shape, but I just want to improve my fitness level.
6) I have a certificate I've been working towards earning through a self-paced on-line program for months and I want to complete it by the end of Jan. It's feasible if I can focus for 2 hours a day for 4 days per week between now and then.
I'll be honest enough to keep how I'm doing posted here. Do you have resolutions you want to share here too? By all means.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
A stitch in time
It's been a busy few weeks. There are two items, both involving stitches, that I wanted to capture here.
The first is a quilt I am making. I started it years ago, but I'm determined to finish it for Christmas. It will be a quilt for my grandmother. I really don't like the individual quilt blocks, but when you put it together and step back, the bigger picture gets quite interesting. The colours for the most part are very bold, but that was deliberate. My grandmother is legally blind but has some very limited vision and she has trouble now distinguishing colours. One of the fabrics is one I've held on to for years waiting to use. It's a duplicate of my baby blanket, and while I'm not sure, I think my grandmother was the one who gave the baby blanket to me. Now, I just have to stay focused and get it done in the next 5 weeks.
The second is a project I've been working on for me. I've had some moles on my face that started getting larger and I have already had cancer in my life before, so I decided to not take any chances and asked to have them removed. Last Tuesday was the surgery. My wonderful husband was allowed to stay with me the whole time as it was outpatient work done in the office in the hospital for the surgeon I had. Still, I didn't expect the removal of 4 moles to result in almost 16 stitches! My face is tender to say the least. I won't know for a few weeks if any of the 4 are in fact cancerous. If they are, I'll have to go back for more surgery, but I'm staying optimistic and I know I've probably caught it early even if it is the worst case. I'm willing to exchange a few scars for the piece of mind that the moles are gone.
Life is never boring - that's for sure.
The first is a quilt I am making. I started it years ago, but I'm determined to finish it for Christmas. It will be a quilt for my grandmother. I really don't like the individual quilt blocks, but when you put it together and step back, the bigger picture gets quite interesting. The colours for the most part are very bold, but that was deliberate. My grandmother is legally blind but has some very limited vision and she has trouble now distinguishing colours. One of the fabrics is one I've held on to for years waiting to use. It's a duplicate of my baby blanket, and while I'm not sure, I think my grandmother was the one who gave the baby blanket to me. Now, I just have to stay focused and get it done in the next 5 weeks.
The second is a project I've been working on for me. I've had some moles on my face that started getting larger and I have already had cancer in my life before, so I decided to not take any chances and asked to have them removed. Last Tuesday was the surgery. My wonderful husband was allowed to stay with me the whole time as it was outpatient work done in the office in the hospital for the surgeon I had. Still, I didn't expect the removal of 4 moles to result in almost 16 stitches! My face is tender to say the least. I won't know for a few weeks if any of the 4 are in fact cancerous. If they are, I'll have to go back for more surgery, but I'm staying optimistic and I know I've probably caught it early even if it is the worst case. I'm willing to exchange a few scars for the piece of mind that the moles are gone.
Life is never boring - that's for sure.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Trick or Treat
One of my girls had a challenge this year finding a pre-made Halloween costume that she liked and that would fit her. I offered to make her a costume from either a pattern or of her design. She decided she wanted to be an orange and black Halloween Princess. I took her to the fabric store and purchased fabrics of her choice - I made several suggestions but in the end we picked what she wanted.
At home, we sketched on a piece of paper what the finished outfit would look like and she agreed that the drawing represented what she wanted. I felt like a contestant on the tv show Project Runway - draping and pinning and cutting and sewing together a creation of original design. At each step I would ask her to try on our in-progress outfit and get her to validate that we were still on track. Finally, after a week, the outfit was complete. We still have to do a slight adjustment on the fitting, but all in all, what was created matched our original drawing.
In doing this, I realized that none of my girls would be able to do what I just did. When I went to school, home economics was a course we were required to take and that apparently no longer exists in our school system. We are on the edge of a generation who will lose a basic set of domestic skills unless we make the conscious effort to pass these skills in the time honoured tradition of parent to child. So now I add, in addition to all the projects I want to address, a new project to ensure my children are given the gift that was given to me of working with a needle and thread. It also speaks to the larger question of how many of us have skills that we either have, or have not, shared with our children. The legacy we leave is as much about what they wish to learn as it is about what we wish for them to learn. It's got me thinking, that's for sure.
At home, we sketched on a piece of paper what the finished outfit would look like and she agreed that the drawing represented what she wanted. I felt like a contestant on the tv show Project Runway - draping and pinning and cutting and sewing together a creation of original design. At each step I would ask her to try on our in-progress outfit and get her to validate that we were still on track. Finally, after a week, the outfit was complete. We still have to do a slight adjustment on the fitting, but all in all, what was created matched our original drawing.
In doing this, I realized that none of my girls would be able to do what I just did. When I went to school, home economics was a course we were required to take and that apparently no longer exists in our school system. We are on the edge of a generation who will lose a basic set of domestic skills unless we make the conscious effort to pass these skills in the time honoured tradition of parent to child. So now I add, in addition to all the projects I want to address, a new project to ensure my children are given the gift that was given to me of working with a needle and thread. It also speaks to the larger question of how many of us have skills that we either have, or have not, shared with our children. The legacy we leave is as much about what they wish to learn as it is about what we wish for them to learn. It's got me thinking, that's for sure.
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