The first line-jumper of the year

During Shug's & my busy holiday visit to the midlands, there was one day that my Mother-in-law & I took a little time & had an outing -- we had lunch, finished up some grocery shopping & she offered to take me to Fabric Recycles.  I NEVER turn down an opportunity to visit this store! I found some stars from their "started, not finished" table, a brown calico, a bit of cat fabric & 2 yardages of 60s-70s era fabrics. After returning home, my purchases moved into my sewing room & sat on top of things until I could get around to putting them away.

As I was working away at a couple of scrappy projects, the blue-lavender-olive fabric began speaking to me.

"Excuse me. Excuse me.
Don't my colors remind you of those in your stack of Liberty fat quarters?
Don't you think we might look very nice together?"

"Why, yes, blue-lavender-olive fabric, I think you might be right.
I'll get the Libertys out as soon as I finish a few things."

"Nooooooo!
Get them out now!
I was cut from the bolt back in the Nixon administration &
have been sitting on a shelf ever since.
I want to BE something! I want to be something NOW!"

"OK, OK, settle down. Here they are.
Hey, you're right, you all look really good together.
Good, um, eye?, blue-lavender-olive fabric. Do you have any suggestions?
What do you want to "be"?"

"Well, I was meant for decorating, so something with me in big pieces
would best show off my natural, large-scale beauty."

"Hmmm, bossy & vain, but I think you're right.
Maybe some sort of strippy, geese-y, tree everlasting-y kind of thing?
Would that suit you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but it sounds fun. Let's start now!
But, I wonder if all the florals might be a bit flower-y, all the blues a bit too blue?
Do you have any stripes or dots or plaids to mix in?
And what about just a touch of complementary colors -- just a touch.
I've waited so long, I want to be awesome!"

"Alright & right again, blue-lavender-olive fabric.
Don't get your hopes too high. But this does sounds like fun, let's see where it takes us."

"By the way, you really are beautiful, blue-lavender-olive fabric."

"Yes, I know."

2015

I began sketching out my Quilt Room Dreams & Aspirations & was quickly overwhelmed!

First off, I want to finish up some UFOs:

7 tops to quilt -- 4 nearly done, 1 basted, 2 ready to baste -- & 9 stacks of blocks & block parts that I want to get made into tops (then, of course, more tops to quilt)! YIKES! Looks like just clearing out the backlog will be a year's worth of work!

Then there are the things I want to start/explore anew:
more charitable sewing, more scrap & string sewing, medallions, improvisational piecing, a quilt or 2 for juried shows, a quilt for someone's milestone birthday, and a series project I've been calling "bed rugs".

Lastly, with my right hand held up in an oath-ish position -- I solemnly swear to attempt to buy less fabric this year. "Attempt"?, you say! "Buy less"?, you say! Why not vow to not buy any?!? Well, because I know myself & I know that 12 months of buying no fabric is simply not realistic. I don't want to set myself up for failure & I think a pledge to only buy solids, fabrics on sale & vintage fabrics just might be a promise I can keep. :-}



New Year's Day was cold & dreary -- a perfect day for staying warm & cozy with fabric & sewing machine, thoughtfully, methodically tackling my list.
But what did I do?
I began something new.

The Road to Too Many WIPs is paved with good intentions.