Just So You Know

So what did I accomplish this year? Let's start with work since I used to talk about it alot

I started the year being held over on the temporary job - it was great on the sales floor and then once I was moved to customer service, I got time to stitch while waiting for telephone calls but it became boring since I couldn't actually fix the problems, just create case logs to pass on to people who really didn't seem to care. Pretty soon, the temp job began interfering with my job hunt schedule and we agreed that it was time for my contract to end.

I then thought it would be nice to take some time off to clean, quilt, stitch and relax. That didn't happen - I was recalled to the old job but at a lower pay level than before. Luckily I also got an offer at 10% more than the old job paid for a new company. I took the new job. The old employer proposed that I work as a contractor and so I've had two jobs this year which has been really nice.

When I was unemployed, DH found work but it was commission only and rough. He's still working although he did switch companies this year and seems to be doing better with the new company. I've tried to spend more time with the kids this year and ended up being a team mom for football. J came and worked with me up at This is the Place park, he was apprenticed to the blacksmith and learned to work with hot metal.

It was good to get back to this part of my life and have time for it again. I've finished 33 projects so far this year and hope to finish a few more before midnight tomorrow. I'm only 7 projects away from finishing the 100 project challenge. I moved the stash room back to the small area in back and I have a ton of stuff to give away that I should be posting soon. I joined EGA and I ended up as President of the Greater Salt Lake Area Quilt Guild. I lost Stitching Station and found I didn't miss it as much as I thought I would since I'm not buying anything at the moment.

I worked with a local book seller to get Jennifer Chiaverini here and then I got to meet Monica Ferris. I also took J to meet Rick Riordan and both boys got to meet Chris Claremont of X-men fame. One thing I didn't do this year was blog.

So that's it for the year. It sure seemed to fly by.

This leaves me today with a project list of 75 started yet unfinished objects (This includes two items at the framers and 2 items that I just need to seal the frames and they're finished.) I have a list of 62 items that are fully kitted and ready to start.

That leads me to next month. Traditionally January has been Guilt Free start month. This year there is a twist proposed by a Finnish stitcher. During January, pick 15 projects to start during the first 15 days of the month. Then, during the year 2011, complete those 15 projects, posting pictures on your blog. I do have 14 small projects fully kitted that I could start and would probably finish during the year if I worked on them. But, what of the 11 Large and Medium projects which I've already got started and should really finish during 2011? I still need to finish 12 items to complete the 100 project challenge.

For me, participation in Guilt Free January has been limited to working on my hobbies and ignoring the housework. I haven't really started anything new during Guilt Free January although I was thinking about it this year. However, I'm really thinking that before I start anything new at all, I need to finish either Winter Carousel Horse by Teresa Wentzler or FireDance by Enchanted Lair. Those two are both over 44% finished which is about the closest I have to finished in my Large and Medium categories. Next would come the Red Thread sampler which really is a collection of smaller pieces which could be used to quickly complete the 100 project challenge.

So that leads me to the next suggestion put out there by Susan - Stop the Insanity! This really sounds like something I should do with a bit of modification. During my days off leading up to the new year of 2011, I should recalculate and see on the 75 projects I have started, which 15 are closest to being completed. Then starting in January, I will start working on the project closest to being finished and work on it until I can't stand it anymore. Then I will start putting one thread a night for stitching projects and 2 hours a weekend for quilting projects into it and start working on the 2nd project on the list. With luck, I will have finished at least one of those before I get beyond sick of the 2 of them. Then I can start working on the 3rd project and so on.... This way, I should have at least 12 finishes during the year or at least make noticeable progress.

The goal is to have progress pictures up for you during the last week of December or during the State of the Stitching address in January - along with a list of the 15 items for the year.