I've put it off long enough.

This is a picture of my bin of UFOs. If you don't already know, a UFO is an Un-Finished-Object, a quilt or project not completed. Resolution # 1: I vow to complete at least 4 UFO's in 2010. I started taking pictures of some of these UFOs and....good grief!! I feel more discouraged than motivated. I'll share some of these pics later this week. One of my quilt buds, Kathy, resolved to eliminate ALL of her UFOs from her life, by finishing, discarding, or giving away. Wow!! What a great idea. The Wild Threads promptly decided to bring out our unwanted UFOs at some point this year and see if anyone wants them. Resolution #2: I vow to make AT LEAST 3 quilts to have on hand as gifts for friends in need of comfort. Accidents, illness, losses, and difficult times don't always happen when we have time to whip up a quilt for a friend. I know that quilts don't solve the world's problems but it's what we quilters do. This is a picture of some blocks that became a quilt for a friend. When I was a brand new nurse, I got a job in the Pediatric ICU at Hopkins. There was so much to learn, the children were so sick, and I was 'scared silly'. There were a few nurses there who will always be heroes to me. One of them was Dottie, she taught me so much and showed me how to be a dedicated nurse. We moved on and lost touch but over the years, whenever an occasion brought us in contact, it was like no time had passed at all. About a year ago I discovered by accident that one of my friends from quilt guild went to nursing school with Dottie. We laughed and said, what a small world. Shortly after that, Dot was diagnosed with leukemia. Between the two of us, we finished a quilt and Dottie LOVED it. She showed it off to everyone and kept it on her hospital bed through multiple admissions for chemo and a bone marrow transplant. So quilts show love and give comfort. Dottie passed away just before the holidays. I visited her a few days before she died and her sister told me how much the quilt meant to Dottie. I hope her family can enjoy it now. Soooo, I really want to have some quilts made and ready to go for when I think someone could use some comfort. Resolution # 3: Don't give up on my Citrus quilt. Remember the Don't Look Now quiltalong? It started Nov 1st and the pace is 1 1/2 blocks a week. Here are 9 of my 10 blocks and there will be 49 altogether. And didn't I mention in a previous post that just preparing the petals is a chore? So I'm several blocks behind and.... only 2 of my blocks are stitched. These 'petals' are pinned and the stitching is by hand, waah! I really think these quilts are going to be stunning and I will be crushed if mine becomes a UFO. When I show you my pictures that I took today, you will know why I worry. Resolution #4: I resolve to make at least 3 projects 'just because I want to'. This means I will make sure I take time to make some of the quilts that I've been wanting to try. Like this, and this, and this. There are millions of awesome blogs out here with zillions of gorgeous quilty goodness. There are so many that I bookmark to try out some time but never get to. And let's not forget the quilt books I couldn't live without and then haven't made anything from yet. Oh yeah, I also have fabric that I couldn't live without that I haven't used yet. Like the gorgeous solids from Cherrywood that my mom gave me, and the Christmas flannels that are washed and ready to go.


Last but not least... Resolution #5: I want to try dyeing my own fabric. the internet is full of tutorials on dyeing, like this one and this one. I have at least one friend,(thanks Jennilyn) who said she will try this with me. Yay!!


I hope you're not too disappointed that I haven't resolved to eat less, exercise more, keep my sewing room tidy, cook more for my family, or try to curse less. Those things just don't sound like much fun but I'll sure let you know if any of that works its way into my life. Tee hee!