AYOLF - February 2015

In my efforts to clear out some of my UFO's (and my conscience!) this year, I'm joining A Year of Lovely Finishes and hope to rescue at least one project from The Black Hole each month.

 

The monthly link-ups will work in nicely with my UFO Challenge at my Guild, so I can kill two flimsies birds with one stone!  At Guild, in January we turned in a list of projects numbered 1-12 which we would like to finish throughout the year.  At the meeting, our VP calls out a number, and we are to work on whichever project is listed at that number for the month.  If we finish it, then we can bring it in for Show N Tell to the next meeting and have our name entered for a prize!

For February the number "1" was called, and #1 on my list is to finish piecing the Bargello Tree Skirt by Martha Eddy....

Photo courtesy of pattern
Quilt made by Martha Eddy

I started this project at Runaway Retreat two years ago.  It is not an easy pattern, but definitely a rewarding one!  My feature fabric is a wonderful print by Jason Yenter ...

The selvedge is no longer attached, but I believe it is from his Winter Wonderland collection.  So far I have two sections complete and attached, with another almost ready.  That would put me at close to halfway done.

I remember spending about two days on getting this much done at retreat, so I know it won't go quickly.  I do think I can finish the piecing before the end of the month though.  One advantage is that I am going to retreat at the end of the month, so I can hurry up and finish it there if I have to :*)

Wish me luck!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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KISSing the Dinosaurs

I've decided that my motto, or "word" if you like, for 2014 is..........

My plan is SIMPLE (couldn't resist that pun!) - I want to SIMPLIFY every area I can in my life - pare back, sell off, streamline, clean up, eliminate piles of stuff, stop collecting, stop buying more, use up what I have, slow down, take a breath, enjoy my gifts ..... well, I'm sure you get the picture! =^..^=

I've already started working on targeted areas in my house and my life.  For instance, the other day I sat down with my pile of CD's and went through them, pulling out the ones I no longer care about or haven't listened to in ages.  Those are now in a box ready to go to Goodwill.  Yippee - I feel lighter already!   I'm going through my books - two boxes went to Goodwill a couple weeks ago.  Cleaning out drawers, one at a time.  Giving away extras.  Asking myself before a purchase, "Where in the world am I going to put this????"

My Quilting world is also going under the microscope!  I've been doing a major clean-up/organization in my studio, and the pile of stuff to giveaway or sell has grown like a mountain :*)  I even bagged up three UFO's and sold them at a recent Guild yard sale.  (And I may do it again soon!)  I'm going to pass on most of the QAL's and blog hops - but there are a couple of blog events that I can't pass up, like the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and the NewFO Challenge :*)  My one BOM will be Berie's Year - and really, who could resist Bertie?  I'm just sayin'....  

I'm sure you've all heard of KISS - which stands for Keep It Simple Stupid..... except that I've learned not to call myself ugly names, so for me it will stand for Keep It Simple Silly! ♥)  Well, in order to get my quilting life back into some kind of order, this year I'm going to be KISS-ing a lot of very ugly, nasty Dinosaurs!!!  I explained in THIS post what I call a Dinosaur - a UFO that is older than the dirt Adam walked on!!!  I'm going to work on these old Dinosaurs until they are Extinct!!!

I've listed my 12 Dinosaur UFOs for this year on my side bar.  And to avoid complications (keeping it SIMPLE!), I think I'll join A year of Lovely Finishes in 2014 to keep me on track with working these UFOs each month.  I always do better when there is some form of accountability.

 

Right now, these projects are not listed in any kind of order because I want to be flexible enough to be able to choose a small project in short months (like this one) and then choose a large project in months where I have much more time to devote to it.

Since January is going to be a short month for me, I've decided to do the Rag Circle Flower quilt for my UFO this month instead of The Blue Collection, which was my first choice for January.  There's no way I could finish TBC this month, and the RCF blocks are going to be used for a doll quilt for my granddaughter, so it won't take too very long to finish up :)  That's the kind of flexibility I need to have in order for this to work for me.  I'll be sharing pictures of this project soon!

I'm really excited about this because several of you have indicated that you plan to join me in making your old Dinosaurs extinct!  Projects are always much more fun when we work together :*)  I'm looking forward to hearing how you all do with making your Dinosaurs extinct this year!!!!

So that's my New Year's goal!  I'm concentrating on making some Dinosaurs EXTINCT and my quilting life SIMPLIFIED!!!  Most of all, I'm looking forward to expanding good relationships and valuing the wonderful people in my life!  I'm hoping to make new bloggy friends and deepen my friendships with so many of you who are already friends :*)  Come along, let's support each other & have an amazing 2014!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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