Purpose and plans or wishful thinking?

P is for Purpose. (from Jude)

I am not a great one for making resolutions – every time I articulate a resolution, a plan, an idea…I lose interest or change my mind. I was planning to go through my list of things I wanted to achieve in 2008 and check things off the list, but I suspect that the reality was so far removed from the list that it would be a pointless exercise.

However, without looking at the list and just looking at the quilts around the house, it would appear that I achieved quite a bit, even though it wasn’t necessarily what I set out to do. Part way through the year my focus changed from trying out new things to finishing old things – I had this notion that I wanted to start 2009 with as few ongoing or unfinished projects as possible – so I could concentrate my energies on something new . My other purpose was that any fabric I had earmarked for a project was used so all my fabric is now officially ’scraps’ (regardless of the size) rather than fabric waiting for a project – which means it can be used with impunity.

Anyway – this year I haven’t got a great long list of things I want to achieve. I am not joining any groups or challenges or workshops – I’m not exactly a social butterfly and I can’t stand the (self-imposed) pressure.

I have one ongoing quilt
project –a quilt made from striped brushed cotton (a bit like Kaffe Fasset’s optical illusions quilt – I think that’s what he called it) – which is pieced but will need to be put on hold to be quilted – until the weather cools down ( I also need to piece the back). I have two UFO’s – the Dear Jane crib quilt and the 1930’s calico garden (I lost interest), which I will work on if the mood hits, and a few random blocks and bits in a new basket called experiments.

I have one ongoing embroidery project – the stumpwork coral reef – anything unfinished is dumped* because it wasn’t working. I have two embroidery projects I may do – one a beaded needlepoint kit from my aunt and the other a goldwork and silk shading design of my own.

*by dumped I don’t mean thrown in the rubbish bin, but taken apart and re-used or re-purposed.

This year is going to be one of experiments:

• I am planning to use the embellisher to make one small project/experiment every week (or so)
• I am planning to do my own Bead Journal Project type thing – I can’t join the real thing because I am hopeless at taking part in things – but I am aiming to make one small beaded thingy every month (or so)
• I am going to do experiments with embroidery, patchwork and quilting with a view to perhaps incorporating some or all of them into a quilt.
• I am going to make three pay it forward gifts.

Maybe Jude should have sent me W and T
for Wishful Thinking instead.

And now having said all this – let’s see what I really do.