I love this time of year! Christmas is always such a fast-paced, over the top, joyous time! This year was really exciting for us because this was the first year Hurst really "got it". He talked non-stop about Santa and could always be heard singing Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells or the Grinch. We spent our time with lots of family, eating lots of food and opening lots of gifts. Needless to say, a good time was had by all.
But, I'm so glad it's over! I was always a little sad when Christmas was over as a child, but as an adult I look forward to getting back to our routine. The only thing I will truly miss is having my husband home with us. It has been so nice spending so much time with him. I hate to see him go back to work!
I love this week between Christmas and New Year's. I get the chance to clean the house, eliminate some of our clutter and recover from the Christmas chaos. During this time, I've been thinking about what I would like to accomplish in the coming year. I have decided this year to keep it simple as far as my quilting/sewing goals. Last year I had a very long list and while I started most of the list I didn't finish most it. Don't worry I'm not beating myself up about it! Sometimes life gets in the way, and that's okay! That's why this year I'm trying to keep it a little more manageable.
1. I want to tackle my stack of projects that I've started, but haven't finished yet. I have quite a few really beautiful quilts that I started and then put in a box and ignored. Well, this year I want to finish them...well at least work on them. :) I have joined the UFO Challenge at Patchwork Times to help me reach this goal. It really seemed to help other quilters in 2011 so I'm hoping it will do the trick for me this year.
2. I want to continue to eliminate my fabric stash. I still have a ton of fabric from when I first started quilting 15 years ago that I will never use. My plan is to use some of it to make quilts for the Quilting Angels. If all else fails I think I will donate the fabric to the group and others might be able to use it.
The second part to this goal is to grow my stash the right way. Most of my fabric shopping is very impulsive. While that's very fun and it looks pretty on the shelf, it's not very practical. When I decide to work on a new project, I find I have to shop to get everything I need. I really would like to have a stash with enough variety that I can just pull from it and start working.
Next week I'm taking my machine in for it's yearly checkup and while it's there I'd like to spend some time organizing my fabric. I think I'll use this series on color by Jeni to help me. Once I see which colors are lacking I'll SLOWLY fill in the gaps.
I've set the goal of no shopping until I've made good progress on my WIPs. Of course, all bets are off when FMF comes out, but other than that I'm really going to try to stay focused this year!
3. I want to spend more time with my quilting groups. The time I was able to spend with the DC Modern Quilt Guild and the Quilting Angels this year has been so good for me. It got me out of mommy mode, doing something I really love while surrounded by people who have the same passion. Everytime I left a meeting I felt a renewed desire to quilt. Now that things have settled down a bit at home I really think this goal will be easily achieved.
4. I want to blog more often. I have missed my time spent in this little corner of my world! I look forward to making new friends and cultivating the friendships I have already made. I also think writing about my projects will help keep me on task especially with the WIPS.
So there it is! Not too bad! I think I will look back at this list next Christmas and see that I've made some real progress! I am so looking forward to seeing what is going to happen for the Burnett family this year! Graham will be a year old soon, Hurst will start preschool this fall, who knows what will happen to mommy and daddy?? Big things I'm sure!
I wish all of you and your families a very healthy, happy and safe New Year! I look forward to spending a lot of time with you in 2012!
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