Thinking about the new year

Projects!  That's what my life has always been about, whether I've been working or retired.  Projects seem to keep me going.  A member of our quilt guild posted a great worksheet for the year's planning, and I think I'll give it a whirl. 

Over the years, I have been keeping a little notebook of details about each quilt I'm working on - size, date begun/finished piecing/finished, some info about the techniques.  I can stuff the worksheet into my notebook although I doubt if I'll fill in the section called "did I sew this week?" which is totally absurd for me.  I sew almost every day!   

My main project right now is the Bigfoot quilt for Chris' birthday January 15 when I hope to have the top ready to show him.  I will ask Marie to quilt it since it's going to be bigger than I like to quilt on my Elna.  I am halfway around the scrappy checkerboard border now.  I know it's risky to add one side at a time, but I decided that, if it doesn't work out evenly on the last round, I will put an appliqued Bigfoot corner on instead of finishing the checkerboard.  Then there will be two plain borders and then I'll be finished. 

After I get the checkerboard done, I may take a day off and work on a few blocks of the month, for the first blocks of Aby's "Optimism" quilt and the guild's BOM.  After I finish the Sasquatch quilt, I will try to return to Dear Jane for a while.  I have made and quilted half of the interior rows and would like to make the other 7 by the end of the year.  There will be distractions, and that's OK.  

I watch more TV during the winter and like to knit while doing so.  I'm working on a red hat, teenage sized, for Bags of Love while I figure out what to make with the gradient bundle of fingering yarn my sister gave me for Christmas.  I would love to make a small shawl for myself, so I'll spend some time rolling these lovelies into balls while I decide what to do.

New Years 2025

 

We had a fun afternoon yesterday, ringing in the New Year with neighbors and friends.  Our second annual "First Footing" celebration was a great success.  I always feel that when people stay longer than the time you set, they are really having a good time.  And that we did.

Almost everything I set out was eaten, and several people brought additional goodies for the table.  The big box of Dutch cookies took quite a hit, which is fine with me.  Although I would have loved to have eaten every bit of it myself, I know I shouldn't.  We still have plenty left over to feed my sweet tooth for a few more weeks, I'll add some veggies and cheese to the mix instead!

Parties are always fun when our friends Bill and Diane can come, and once again Bill sang (Winter Wonderland this time), read poems, and kept the conversation going.  He showed the sombrero he had received for Christmas, and we passed it around for photos. 

Bill also asked each person what his//her New Year''s resolution or special word would be.  That was fun and interesting, especially because most people don't "do" resolutions, But they were very thoughtful about choosing words to guide the coming year.  I wish I'd been writing them down, but I do remember Rachel saying forward, and me choosing finish (relating to UFOs and family history).  One man said he would like to make his wife's life easier which we all thought was sweet.

I'm glad we have a relatively large living room that accommodates at least 16 people.  We brought in chairs from the dining room, basement, and sewing room to create a cozy circle, Dutch style.  It won't take too long to get things back to "normal" here today, but we will have plenty of nice memories to keep us going this year.