I Love a Party!

So many BOMs and Sew-alongs and UFO-Finish-it-up parties out there in Blogland this year!!!

For me, the temptation to join them all is tough, because as the title says, I love a party!!!  And after all, one of the main reasons I began this blog was so that I could join in on some of the fun parties going on.

However, since my PHRASE this year is Just Do It!, I've decided to be very careful about how I choose to commit my time resources.  Mainly, I'm going to join in the parties that work into my goal of getting some targeted priority projects from A to Z, with a huge emphasis on the "Z"!  I don't want to come sliding into December, out of breath, frazzled and frustrated and ready to drop - with nothing really to show for it except a bunch of blocks or project boxes in various stages of chaos!  Since willpower is NOT one of my superpowers, I'm giving myself a huge pat on the back here :)

So what will I be joining this year?

Kathy's Quilts:

I've made such wonderful friends at Kathy's parties :-)  My focus UFO for the first part of 2016 is to finally finish my Blue Collection project.

I believe I started this monster in 2008 when I bought the patterns from a friend who was moving and downsizing her patterns.  It is hand-appliqued, so a slow goer.  I've worked on it in fits and starts, always putting it back in the box when something critical came up to push it aside, or when I hit a standstill because I didn't have any applique prepared.  All the vase blocks are done, and I am now working on the borders.  This is my first Just Do It! Challenge to myself :)

I'll also be working on my other current hand project, the Folk Art Album blocks.

SoScrappy's Rainbow Scrap Challenge

Using up those scraps is perpetually on my ToDo list, and there are few things I love better than playing in rainbow colors, so I'll be playing along with Angela and the gang again this year!

For my RSC blocks, I'm going to buddy up with the Quilty 365 sew along at Quilty Folk.  I've been seeing these circle blocks pop up everywhere - and the urge to join in was very tempting because I've always wanted to do a circle quilt!  I decided I could join in if I made it part of something I was already doing, like the RSC.

My mind was finally made up when my sweet friend over at Amity Quilter blog sent me a piece of fabric to make a cute deer circle just like hers!

Now how could I resist that I ask you???

So I'm in!

And I'm already behind!!  LOL!!!

The two final parties I plan to join are:

Heidi at Red Letter Quilts - OMG!

Isn't that just the cutest party name?

I love it :*)

Jess at Elven Quilts:

I'll share my detailed plans for each of these in separate posts since they can run quite long.  But in a nutshell, the OMG will fall in line with my Guild's UFO Challenge, so I know I can play along without falling behind.  And I really enjoyed the FAL last year!  I found it very helpful to have that list of projects already targeted when it came time to decide what needed to be worked on last year, and I finished quite a few projects that would still be sitting on my UFO shelf otherwise.

There are other linky parties that I often join in as I can - you can see the buttons for most of them on my sidebar, and if you click on the button it will take you to the party!

So, what are your plans for 2016?  Will you join in some of these fun sew-along parties?  Or do you plan to follow along while doing your own thing?  Does it help you to join in these parties, or do you tend to get overwhelmed with the deadlines?  I find that both are true for me, and that's why I have to pick and choose what I join, while setting limits on my involvement.  I hope to see you at some of them!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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