Make a List Monday

Can you believe February is almost over?? Just 1 more Monday and it will be March! Crazy! I'm finally getting settled in the new house, and getting my sewing area all arranged to my liking. I have a vision of how it was going to be, but in the end it just wasn't quite right....so I rearranged it, and rearranged it again...I think I finally have a good setup, that has the kind of flow that I want, so now, it's just a matter of getting all of the fabric unpacked and sorted out. In the meantime, there are a few projects that need work done before I spend any more time unpacking.

So, this week on tap is....

1. Find the blasted iron, seriously, I can't do much on some of these projects without the iron, so if I don't find it by tomorrow night, I'll have to buy another one.

2. Borders on the couch quilt I made this weekend. It's an easy finish, just needs #anhouradaykeepsthecrazyaway to finish it up.

3. Cutting out Broken Daisies.

4. Vintage Rose - finishing up the step outs for the retreat this weekend.

5. Planning Items:

• Plan the Q2 work plan - Bali Wedding Star weekly plan
• Plan the March work plan - 
• Update the website with newly scheduled classes
• Create a design schedule for my quilt of the month for 2017/2018

I'll check in next week and see how the week goes. 

See you soon!

Catherine

Sunday at Monica's

I got to spend yesterday at Monica's in Palm Desert doing a Judy Workday. The Judy Workday classes are always a bit of a mystery, you never quite know what everyone is going to be working on. Which is fun and challenging. This month was really fun because everyone was doing something different....

Prismatic Star

Bali Wedding Star

Rocky Mountain Bear Claw

Another Prismatic Star.

There were a couple of others working on papers or fabric cutting, and 1 Woodcarver's Star, which I seem to have missed getting a picture of.

I booked another 6 classes at Monica's which I will update onto the website later tonight, in the meantime, I'm working on some simple easy projects and getting the sewing room fully operational...including finding that iron that went MIA in the move....so, off to work I go!

What I've been up to since the beginning of the year.

I had such great plans to blog and chat every week, and here it is mid February, and I'm just getting settled. I always underestimate how long changing life situations will take....but now the move it officially settled, and life is feeling more normal and routines are getting settled, it's time to talk about exactly what I've been up to lately

Watching - House of Cards on Netflix. I binge watched the entire series. Completely evil and scary and equally fascinating. Part of me wants to believe that this is all fantasy, and part of me knows that we see this stuff every day in our political system.....

Craving - Thin Mints. So far, I have resisted, but my resistance is fading and quickly. 

Doing - lots of organizing and cleaning and reorganizing.

Obsessing - about planners and planning and goals....all that start of the new year, new me thing....

Loving - all of the Bullet Journal ideas that I have seen floating around Facebook. 

Reading - Rereading The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt. we're looking at some serious production changes at work and I'm getting inspiration on building that amazing team to really become partners in excellence.

Wanting - a vacation -- somewhere warm with no worries

Pinning - lots of yarn lately. With Stitches West next week, all of the new color ways are super inspiring and exciting.

Dreaming - about revamping the business and how I really want it all to work.

Writing - not much. I have a couple of patterns in process and a couple of blog post ideas that I am working through, but nothing serious.

Crafting - home decor....with every move, I am always making new pillows and pillowcase, and new "decorations"

Sewing - not much. I seem to have really lost my sewjo, and I really need to get it back. I know part of it is not having a real space, and needing to get the house in order before the sewing room, but now that that has resolved itself, I am hoping to really get back to sewing this week.

Knitting - not much knitting either, as life has been packed for several weeks, but hopefully (repeat previous answer here)....

Listening - to Old Dominion. I picked up the album on a whim, and i really have to say there isn't a bad song on it.

Wearing - lots of sweatshirts and wool socks, it's been cold and rainy for weeks now, and I've gotten a chance to wear things that haven't seen the light of day in years.

Needing - an adventure....

Planning - a retreat for the fall, and maybe a new haircut, i'm a bit indecisive about it, but I keep coming back to it.....

Trying - a couple of new recipes this week....slow cooker pork ribs for tomorrow, and an asparagus and lemon pasta dish on Wednesday. Trying to expand my repertoire in the kitchen. I feel like the last few weeks have been the same things each week, so I'm adding some new things to the mix.

February News

I can't believe it is already mid-February!!! I had so many big plans for Q1! And very few have gone anywhere! The reality is, it has been a very eventful 6 weeks of 2017. I moved, I made some big decisions about the business and what I want to do, and how I want to do it....so look out for some big announcements in the next few weeks. In the meantime, just some checking in about sewing plans, and progress. And some teaching opportunities....

so, first....business stuff...

Teaching ---

Sunday, February 19th -- Monica's Quilt and Bead in Palm Desert

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, February 24-26th - Cozy Creative Center in El Cajon, CA

March 4th and 5th - Cotton and Chocolate Quilt Co. - Thousand Oaks, CA

March 11th - Orange Quilt Bee, Orange, CA

So, as you can see it is a busy, busy month ahead.

Luckily, I have finally gotten my new sewing space all sorted out in the new house, so I can honestly say that I SHOULD be able to sew more in the very near future. Hopefully, I can really get back to the things I need to get done. So, I'm off to sew!!! See you soon!

Q1 2017 Plans

Well, I've been working on my WIP list, and it's worse than I thought. Much, much worse. I have 60+ major WIPs. And yes, I have separated them into major and minor WIPs. Major WIPs have more than 25 hours of sewing to finish. Minor WIPs have less than 25 hours. So, I have 60+ major WIPs, and 18 minor WIPs. So, I am going to rearrange my "plan". I'm going to retreat in March, and I am taking nothing but the minor WIPs. And there is no way I am going to get my Major WIPs finished this year (or be remotely close to only 5 remaining), so some prioritization is in order. I'm not quite done with that part yet, but I have at least gotten the first quarter's priorities sorted out.

1. African Violets placemats - minor

2. Vintage Rose Sample 2 - major

3. Vintage Compass - minor

4. Broken Daisy Placemats - minor

5. Paradise in Bloom Sample 2 - major

6. Sea Urchins - major

There's about 10 weeks left in the quarter, and if I can sew for 10 hours a week (which is sometimes easy, and sometimes challenging), I should be able to make good traction, if I stay focused and disciplined and get it done.

And did I mention I am in the middle of moving...so my sewing room is completely packed until next Sunday??? Yeah, that is happening. Fun. At least I have time to finish my prioritization.

Word of the Year 2017

If you have been reading this long for any amount of time, you know I choose a word of the year to help me with all of my various goals....a word that sums up my plans for the year. For 2017, I have chosen discipline as my word. Yeah, it's a tough word. A word that strikes a bit of fear to be honest. It's going to be a year of getting a lot of things done, of getting really organized (not somewhat organized), a year of new projects, and finishing existing projects. A year that is bound t one full of changes. I have a long list of things I want to do, and a list of projects that have floundered for one reason or another, and need to get completed.

You see that first item under the definition of discipline -- that is not part of my plan.....I'm going after 4 and 5 -- getting control through thoughtful enforcement of a pattern of behavior. Specifically, getting my shit together. Which Looks something like this...

1. Update my WIPs list -- the last time I actually updated it was 11/26/15 (Thanksgiving weekend, almost 15 months ago).

2. Create a plan to manage my WIPs for 2017. Seriously, I want to be down to under 5 by the end of 2017. Last I updated the file, I had 43 on the list. And I know there at least 4 to add that I am currently working on. Needless to say, it's going to be a big year of finishes.

3. Host a couple of finishathons throughout the year.

4. Reorganize my sewing room after the move.

5. Design and make a quilt of the month for the new house. I won't have a chance to really work on this one until later in the year, so it will overflow into next year. I've sorted out a couple of high level designs, but nothing concrete.

So, I have big plans, that are going to require serious discipline to get them all done...wish me luck.

Bye 2016, Hello 2017

I must admit, I am quite happy to say goodbye to 2016. It was a really tough year for me, in a lot of different respects. We lost quite a few people, including my Dad, and the latter part of the year was really me in a rut, and not the good kind. I got really distracted with everything that was going on, with lawyers and estates, and handling distribution of things. It just seemed so ridiculous. And senseless. But I am determined to get things together. I have a bunch of big goals for 2017, and a lot of components of multi-year goals. I'm still formulating exactly what the plan is for 2017, but let's just say it's an aggressive plan. For the business, for my work life, for my sewing life, even for my exercise regime. There's enough going on that I felt the need to get an accountability partner, and not just a friend/accountability partner, but a professional one. That detailed planning will start later this week, but here are the high level plans....

1. Get organized in all aspects - house, life, finances, etc, etc, etc

2. Ensure self care - eat right, exercise, read, have fun, etc

3. Knit more.

4. Sew more.

5. Finish some UFOs.

6. Build projects almost exclusively from stash. 

So, we're starting with this....

Once I've got the plans further fleshed out, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I'll be sewing.

See you soon!

Cat