Thursday, January 14, 2010

Put up or shut up



A while back I mentioned that the I'd finished the cross stitch that's in my header (actually, a few months ago). 

It is one of the first things I decided to finish after my needlework "hiatus".  Out of curiosity I looked for a date on the pattern.  Wow... 1983.  (Thankfully it wasn't dusty blue and pink ducks! lol)  Here's the full shot. 



I'm going to frame it myself, venturing into new territory.  Thanks to the internet, I found lots of info on ways to tackle it.  I think I'll document what I do and share it here.  Call it a tutorial if you must.  If nothing else, it'll be a good reference for me.  It's on this weekend's to-do list. 

Speaking of lists, I have my goals for 2010. 
  • First quilt finish - #1 goal for the year
  • 2 wall hangings - got the bare walls in place
  • 1 lap quilt -  a must when you live with snow 1/3 of the year
  • 2 table runners - so my furniture doesn't feel left out
  • A few small, fun things - such as a pincushions & a bag 
  • Wool penny rug - yeah, I'm on that bandwagon too
  • 12 blocks of the Civil War Bride Quilt - towards a 2011 finish
  • 30 Nearly Insane blocks - I'm afraid a higher goal would be crazy (get it? crazy?... never mind)
  • Hand quilt something - this will be a new skill
  • Something out of Kaffe - I love what I see & it pushes me out of my normal range
  • Finish the "this-is-not-my-burial-shroud" project - a secret, revealed in due time
  • Carve out a spot at my home for my sewing - versus borrowing the dining table
  • Stitchery time > (greater than) time spent blog reading & surfing the net - Last, but definitely not least... can you relate?
As for that first goal, I know, I know... I've said it before. Time to shut up and - to use a popular phrase - JUST DO IT

Number one, I knew this would not be done by hand.  I think my old machine and my old skills are up to the task. 

Number two, needed to pick a design.  I poured through my inspiration books. 

Oh for goodness sakes, the pressure I gave this poor quilt.  Because I kept thinking, this will always be known as my "FIRST Quilt".  When people say, show me your first quilt, this will be "The ONE".

You should be rolling your eyes by now.

At least I found one rational brain cell in all of this... I shouldn't pick something too big or difficult... kind of interferes with the goal. 

Remember the goal?  A finished quilt.

Meanwhile, I was checking out my favorite blogs and spied something.  I really liked the design.


Photo courtesy of Lori

Lori (of Humble Quilts) showed this vintage quilt and offered a quilt-along with the cute name of Cheddar and Crackers.  The catch?  The quilt-a-long is for a little quilt, 24" x 24". 

Does a little quilt count as my first finished quilt?  It felt like I was cheating.  But I don't care.  ;-) 

I think it may be perfect for one of my other goals, hand quilt something.  !

I've signed up for tomorrow's Friday Night Sew In.  Time to put up or shut up.  Just do it.

Show and tell on Saturday.

4 comments:

Crispy said...

Ok, now that you have listed your goals, we are all going to hold you to them..........just kidding LOL. You know I'll be here to cheer you on :0)

Crispy

Oh, forgot to say, I love your cross stitch!!

Karen said...

Beautiful cross-stitch Beth. And, how brave of you to list your 2010 goals. I just set one goal to start the year and I am already behind!

Kaaren said...

I think it's important to set goals and to write them down. I love to look at my list and to cross things off as they get done.

I think your list is attainable and who cares if you decide to add and delete some projects along the way. I think you have a good enough cross section to both keep you busy and not get bored at the same time.

Happy stitching my friend!

wishes, true and kind said...

Very impressive cross stitch. When the blog first opened I thought it was needlepoint. Wow -- that is a lot of stitches. Here's wishing us both a productive year full of fabulous finishes!