Happy New Year and Progress Report

 Happy New Year?  Yeah I know...I'm a little late.  Better late than never?  At least that is my story this time and I'm sort of sticking to it.  

You might have wondered...or not...what I've been up to.  Good question.  I'm not sure.  I get through each day and still wonder what I've done that day.  I thought that retirement was supposed to be a time when I got to relax and take it easy.  I guess that I sort of am relaxing and taking it easy?  January, at least how I experience it and have experienced it, is a time for stress.  Many think that December is stressful and so do I, to a certain extent.  For me, January is more stressful.

I try not to think I am so predictable or fall into the same pattern all the time.  I am human so of course I am just deluding myself.  Every January everybody is expected to make New Years Resolutions.  What they expect to accomplish or change in the upcoming year.  I usually say the same things.  The same things haven't changed.  What am I going to do THIS year?  Good question.  I made my list but only recently although it has been rattling around in the empty space I call my head.  So this year I am going to make a list, probably multiple ones, and then try to knock off at least one thing on the list.  THAT will be breaking the cycle of giving up on the list.  How am I going to do that?

 I think that I am starting off in the same way.  Make a list and I'll be checking it twice.  Oh wait.  Wrong season.  That's Christmas.  I will still make a list or 10 but this time the list will be more reasonable.  My list so far is:

Work on UFOs

Work on not collecting too many more new projects

Try to keep my sanity.

See?  Nice and simple.  First up is working on UFOs.  In my Our Time To Quilt group we are doing a UFO challenge.  How doe it work?  You pick 12 UFOs that you want to work on.  It would be great if you could finish it but it is more about the progress.  So this month I am working on a table runner called Pop of Poinsettia.  I have my applique pieces cut out but need to put it together.  I'm not stopping there though.  A couple of friends of mine are joining me and I am doing something similar with them.  So what I am working on with them is Words to Live By.  That is a wall hanging.  I won't finish it this month but I at least I am working on it.  That isn't all I am working on though.

I am still doing my blackwork.  In fact I will be doing at least two blackwork pieces this year.  One is the Peppermint Purple SAL.  The other one is another one of their patterns.  I also want to work on a couple more things but I will tell you about them later.

Now for some pictures.

I have been receiving some blocks from my block swaps and here they are.

Then we have my blackwork.  This is actually two weeks from the SAL.

And this is the first block from Words to Live By.

I hope you have enjoyed what I plan to work on.  What are your plans for 2024?