Welcome 2007

It has been a really busy week, but I feel like I have accomplished a lot. Of course, I told my husband that it seems like every day I have a long list of things to do, and I only seem to get about half of them done, which makes the next days list even longer..... But looking back over the week, I really have got a lot done! I finished my string quilt, which I made as an entry to the Etsy Upcyle Contest. It's a queen size quilt, so that is saying a lot - I actually put the border on, basted it, quilted it, and bound it this week!

I also finished the two baby quilts that my daughter wanted to make while she was home for Christmas. They both came out really cute, and I am happy with the results! My daughter did all the sewing for the tops, I just quilted them for her. She also did the fabric selections, with a little input from me!

I finished the sample for Cupid's Arrow, and have the pattern completed, just need to get it printed up. I am thrilled with the way it came out and can't wait to see how the pattern does. One of my goals this year is to work on some more patterns. It takes some time, and it can be tricky to get the instructions written clearly - I'm often apalled at the amount of errors that creep in! I can only hope that experience will help with that aspect of my pattern writing.

I even have most of my Christmas decorations put away (still have to get the tree out, but that can happen tonight!) I can only hope as this week goes by I can get that list of things that need to be done whittled down to a managable amount!

Spent a lovely day on Saturday taking the raffle quilt down to the machine quilter (Shelley Knapp). She is not only a talented quilter, but a genuinely nice and generous person. She spent about an hour and a half with us, showed us all of her quilts, discussed quilting in general and gave us lots of wonderful advice and tips on quilting! We really enjoyed our visit with her, and I felt very enriched by taking the time to do this. On the way home we stopped at a couple of quilt shops and had a fine time finding treasures to take home with us. I found the seam roller I've been wanting for a while, bought a new kind of hand quilting needle to try, and found some fabric to go with my blue and yellow star swap. So now, I've got another UFO that's ready to be worked on. I also bought a surprise package of fat quarters that included a fat quarter of fabric that matches a dress I made. I thought I would never find that fabric again! The bodice of this dress does not fit correctly and I had no extra fabric to remake it - but now I do!! So that was worth the trip in itself!

Here's looking forward to a week of being productive, being creative, and enjoying life!

Last Entry for 2006

Another year has gone by and I am anticipating the New Year - I hope that it's a great one for all my friends and family! I've been busily working in my sewing room this week, trying to finish up some old projects and thinking about next years goals.

One of my focus areas for next year is working on my writing. (Yes, this does include working on my blog more!) I would like to publish a pattern this year, so I will be working on that. I also want to do more original work, I will probably have to cut back on the shop samples to accomplish that.

Another thing I will be working on is organizing my sewing studio so that it's more efficient. I am trying to figure out how to accomodate all the storage I need balanced with work space, and how to make it all pleasing to the eye. Not an easy task! I am really liking that quite a few of the things I am using are movable, so that makes my work space more flexible. The folding cutting table is really handy, I must say. I most often use it with only one of the leaves up, but it's truly awesome for basting when I put both up. Though it 's a tight fit, I can roll it around and reach all around it when I'm pinning!

I also want to work on my photography skills (which are pretty basic right now!) And if I can't do it, I want to find some resources that can! Not only that, but to find a place to take pictures of the larger quilts. My house is just not the right place for really good pictures. It's just too dark in here.

All in all thought, 2006 was a great year, and I did accomplish a lot that I set out to do. I tried some new things, got accepted into a juried show, and made some new friends. I've been more active in my quilt guild, finished a ton of UFO's (of course, I've also accumulated quilte a few of them, also!), and have moved forward on my machine quilting skills.

My family is all healthy and happy (at least most of the time!) and I have a lot to be thankful for. Here's to a wonderful 2007 - God bless you all this year!

Merry Christmas

Wow!! What a time we had this year - all five daughters were home for the holidays, plus one son-in-law, and a boyfriend. It was busy and bustling and fun. Also exhausting, expasperating and noisy! All have left this morning, husband is back at work and the house is a mess, but it is quiet. No one is expecting me to do something for or with them, and I have the computer to myself. I have some tidying up to do in my sewing room, and by tomorrow I'll be ready for some all out sewing, but for now I just want to is sit.

I am looking forward to lots of quilting in 2007. I just celebrated the fact that I have been quilting for 20 years now - so I am looking forward to my 21st year of quilting (guess that makes me an adult in the quilting world now, right?) I am working on trying to publish a few patterns, and finishing up a few old projects. I plan to enter a couple of juried shows, and to actually attend one of them. This summer I will be making a trip to Colorado with one of my daughters, and at the beginning of the year a trip with my husband and our married daughter and her husband.

Some of my personal goals are to be more efficient at my housework (think I may go back to the flylady routines!), and to journal more this year. Hopefully I will be good at keeping up my blog also! I want to simplify my life, and continue to define myself - in all my years of mothering, and loving my husband I feel like I've lost touch with myself. I am really thinking about who I am, what do I like, what makes me happy... I want my family to know that I am a person in my own right, not just someone who is here to make them all happy in their little worlds! I hope that doesn't sound really angry. I love my family, and I want them all to be happy, but sometimes they forget that I want to be happy also.

I want to grow spiritually this year. I want to spend more quality time getting face to face with God, and to know Him better. I want to be the woman that He has designed me to be. I want to look at this life with new eyes, and to see the things that are important. To know my blessings and to be truly grateful for all the wonderful things I have been given.

I also want to get this physical body of mine into better shape. I want to be able to walk and run and have energy to get all the things done that I want to do every day! I want to eat foods that will nourish my body, not food that will clog my arteries and make my hips bulge out like balloons. I want to be healthy, and comfortable with the way I look. I want to drink more water so that my skin will stay smooth and lovely, and not be dry and itchy.

So, I am a work in progress (aren't we all!). Here's to a Ney Year full of blessings, grace, and love. Today God has blessed me with a wonderful day to stay inside and recoup from the busy holidays. I blessed Shannon by making her heart shaped pancakes! I hope all of you have a wonderful day today, and that you will know that God loves you!