Re-Visiting My To-Do List

Mr. and Miss Main Street returned to school last week.  As my spouse is a teacher, our lives have always revolved around the school calendar and I tend to regard early September as a time of new beginnings (which is kind of weird because nature-wise, things are coming to an end as the flowers die and the leaves fall of the trees.  However...).

 

It seemed a good time to review my quilting to-do list, assess progress, and take corrective action.  If you recall, I decided in January not to do a traditional to-do list but to set myself some goals instead.  Here they are from my Jan. 1, 2011, post:

 

1.  Allow myself to work on what interests me at the moment and put aside a project if I no longer "feel the love." This is a hobby, not work, and I should use the limited time I can devote to it doing what I really want to do. Only problem is that this may be somewhat at odds with goal #2...

 

2. Work on projects on more of a one-at-a-time basis to keep the chaos at bay, and clean up the "studio" between projects. I'm taking a cue from Thelma, who adheres to this clean-up-between-projects rule and has a wonderfully organized sewing space.

 

3. Make progress on my Christmas quilts collection. While decorating for Christmas, I got the idea to display a collection of Christmas quilts on my second floor landing. This is what usually hangs there.

 

 

 

I will need to make at least four more quilts to give it a "Christmasy" look. So look for a repeat of my Christmas in July Christmas sewing marathon. Though I don't think I'll be making them all in one year.

 

4. Expand skill set by trying something new, or relatively new, to me. I am thinking either applique or equilateral triangles, but don't have a definite project in mind yet.

 

5. Make a major dent in my backlogged projects. A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about organizing some of my projects. These are not quilt UFOs; to qualify as "unfinished" a project has to have been started in the first place. I think these might more properly be called PIGS - projects in grocery sacks, except in my case they are in dry cleaner bags. I have seven projects for which I bought all the materials but never started. I need to get some of these done before I give myself permission to add more.

 

So, what has actually happened so far?  Progress reported in blue ink.

 

1.  Allow myself to work on what interests me at the moment and put aside a project if I no longer "feel the love." 

I haven't put projects aside because I fell out of love with them but I have started projects spontaneously because I fell in love.  See Frequent Flyer for an example, or the "little stars" quilt inspired by a postcard I found in Paris.

2. Work on projects on more of a one-at-a-time basis to keep the chaos at bay, and clean up the "studio" between projects. 

I've been good about not having a bunch of projects going at once, though I think it is good to have a "machine" project and a "portable" project at the same time.  I have not been too good about cleaning and reorganizing my sewing space between projects.  I started out well but you should see it now!  Must address this before I start the next new thing.

3. Make progress on my Christmas quilts collection. 

Oh, I've really excelled here!  I have a small wall hanging and a quilt top finished from my Christmas in July work, plus the wool project is almost finished.  In addition, I have a second quilt top almost done.  When they are quilted and bound, they can join a few other quilts and that display will look very Christmasy.

4. Expand skill set by trying something new, or relatively new, to me. I am thinking either applique or equilateral triangles, but don't have a definite project in mind yet.

My wool applique project represents something completely new for me.  I have plans for a hand applique project using regular quilting cotton fabric and I intend to get it organized so I have a portable project to start when the wooly one is finished.

5. Make a major dent in my backlogged projects. 

Near the end of 2010, I identified seven PIGS to be worked on.  I've finished two of them:  the Halloween spiderweb quilt and the Misty Pines wall hanging.  However, I keep buying fabric so, really, I have more PIGS to put in the queue.   

As a result of this self-assessment, I've decided that next on list are:

• clean up the studio
• finish the "little stars" project
• organize the hand applique project so it's ready to go when I'm ready to sit with it
• decide exactly what I will do with my Etchings and vast Fig Tree fabric collections so I can buy any additional yardage I need while the fabric is still in the stores

But not necessarily in that order.  I better get to work!