Reflections

on a momentous year.

I'm getting a little head start on New Year's Resolutions.  I love to make them, but rarely keep them.  This year, however, feels different because of the amazing year I've had in 2010.  I'm actually feeling hopeful - even confident - about 2011 and what I plan to accomplish.  But first...

In September of 2009 I was contacted by a facebook friend about participating in a small project.  I was happy to oblige, and the experience developed into an odd but enjoyable (and usually one-sided) correspondence.  To be truthful, it was a life-preserver for me through a difficult time.  I was already feeling a little battered by life when we learned that my dad had terminal cancer.  He died June 19 (it wasn't a good death, I'm afraid) and shortly after that my life-preserver friend recommended Julia Cameron's Artist's Way.   He had found it "transformational" for himself and, although I was skeptical about "transformation," I was willing to try it in hopes of moving forward.

Transformation is exactly what I got from that experience.  Through it I learned some things about myself that have surprised me and have helped me develop a more hopeful attitude about the future.  But there were a few practical holes in the process and I found myself still floundering with the day-to-day challenges of living.  Recently, though, I've been catching up with my nightstand stack and am about halfway finished with Jonathan Haidt's The Happiness Hypothesis.  I had already started kind of a Flylady routine (again) to keep up with housework.  Haidt explains why her routines are the RIGHT routines for me, that to re-train my brain for this kind of work I need to do small, daily chores (and get the reward of a "flash of pleasure" with the completion of each one INSTEAD OF the weekly (or bi-weekly or monthly) gag-out, whole house cleaning I've done all my life.  I was finding myself incredibly resentful that, after working all week, I was spending all of my weekend trying to clean up the accumulated mess.  So, one of my resolutions for the new year will be to continue to develop these short, daily routines so that I have more free time on weekends.

I want to get back to active scrapbooking, especially on my second son's set of albums.

I want to get back to active stitching and quilting.  I am determined to finish some of the terrific UFOs that, I confess, are starting to haunt me.  (If you crawl back through my archived posts you will find a lot of these in 2006 and 2007.  Haven't done a thing with them since.)

This one is first.  Designed by Nancy Murty, it's been in this stage for about five years.  All it needs is binding and a hanger.  Oh, and a space on a wall would be nice, too, but that will be harder to come by around here.  Still, I really would like to finish it.



I have a second partially-finished Murty piece that needs more work.  I still need to machine applique around all the leaves, stems and berries, then bind this quilt and add a hanger.  I made a lot of mistakes with this guy (and, of course, my eye will go right to them once he's hung) but still want him finished.

I've joined a facebook Christmas Stitching group.  My longtime blog friend Chiloe says I should work on this guy.

Sometimes I need to be reminded what beautiful pieces I have stashed.








One of my problems with St. Nick is that it's very tedious work so I'm going to break up the Christmas stuff with some smaller projects.  I never did finish the cute little Margaret Sherry kitten cards I started, so would like to get them done this year (I think three?)



And I really want to start this one over.  I got a good ways through it, then left it sitting for several weeks under the skylights in the family room.  The beautiful opalescent blue fabric faded to white.  I bought some more and want to start this over.  It's such a cutie (there's a brightly-colored stocking hanging from that branch.)

I finished the stitching on this piece (YAY me!) but haven't finished it into anything.  I'd like to take it to Michael's, I think, to see if I can find a frame to fit it.  I have several other holiday charts by this company (same style and size) and have in mind hanging it somewhere and then changing out the charts depending on the holiday in season.

Still working on the embroidery on this Crabapple Hill piece.

 And on this quilt inspired by a Bareroots pattern.

I usually work on Firefly Faeries by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum when I stay at our condo in Utah.  It's quiet there, clean, no rambunctious dog.  Haven't been there for a couple of years, now, though so it languishes.  Sigh.

And, of course, there are many beautiful projects still to be begun in the pattern/fabric museum.

I think I calculated out (about five years ago) that if I completed ONE major project each year from my stash, I would need to live to 130 to get them all done.  Since then I haven't completed anything and, naturally, have added many charts and patterns (and fabric and floss) to the queue.

Something tells me I'm going to need to prioritize.

This is all going to cut into my facebook time, isn't it?