The New Year Plan

Welcome back ya'll!

I hope your hangovers are manageable, and that the festivities were worth it. :-)

New Years for us was very quiet, we stayed home and played battleships and then did a puzzle (or part of a puzzle... It was a big sucker with way too much sky) together. We were tucked up in bed by 11:30.  Don't believe me???

 

 
 

Over the last couple of months I have been thinking about my little corner of the internet, and while I know it's kind of trite to do a resolution post for New Years, I really want to start off the year, articulating  my vision. What is it they say? Something about if you believe it, it will happen or if you build it they will come... Anyway..

For the past year or so (forgive me for not knowing how long I've been doing this *bad blogger) I've been writing for me, as a way to get my thoughts out. And to keep a record of what I've achieved, so I can see myself growing and so that if I give away my makes, I still have a record of them. And to be part of the quilting community- I have met so many fantabulous people (I actually started listing you all, but then this became an Oscars speech and no one wants to read that.)

 
And I still want to do all of that!!!  But I thought about what I love in other blogs and what I hate.  I hate when people tell me about a project and then I never hear about it again.  And I do that A LOT.  So in order to really have the follow through you deserve, I have decided I needed to be more intentional about what I'm writing in my bloggy spaces. I want to start a project and, while I can practically guarantee that I will still have a thousand things on the go at the same time, keep updating til it's finished. I don't want there to be lots and lots of random.  Of course there will be, I'm still my rambley self.  But I want to try to start less and finish more. I don't want to make commitments I can't keep. And if I blog it, I am making a commitment to you that I will show you a finish at some point.
 

So what can I offer all of you for the next 12 months? How can we make 2014 a more productive year than 2013? 
 
Well, I have written myself a list! Actually, lots of lists!
 

  
I'm not going to go into it all, because I find those posts super boring! But I am going to share a couple of the pertinent points.
 
I am going to make a commitment to post each week.  It doesn't have to be huge - in fact it might be nothing more than "this weekend we went camping and I did no sewing. see you next week!"  The reality is that I work fulltime and have a needy husband who actually wants to see me, not just hear my sewing machine going in another room. And I need sleep. Lots and lots of sleep. So I can't promise huge amazing results focused posts, But I will post.

I am going to follow through - if I post it, it will happen.  I promise.  And it will happen in a timely manner.  Now "timely" is open to interpretation. it might still take me a year to finish, but you will see progress on it.  I am thinking of this as my "quilt arc".  You will see the beginning, middle (Probably lots of middle) and an end to anything I post.  The end might be that I gave up and have decided not to do it anymore, but it won't just disappear into the ether.
 
I am NOT going to sign up for any BOM's or quilt-a-longs or bees this year... unless they're so super awesome I can't resist.  Last January I signed up for 3 or 4 things and I'm still trying to get through half of them.  Frankly I just signed up for too much when too much else was going on in my real life.  I mean I flaked on the bee I joined (yeah I joined a bee. I lasted a whole two months!!).  This year, I am going to work steadily through the list of what I want to sew.  I will still want to join in on the cool trends going on everywhere, but I will be strong and say no.
 
I will take proper photos - you know unless my camera breaks.  I have a lovely DLSR camera.  I have a fancy point and shoot digital camera.  I have no excuse for using my iPad to take blog photos.  the quality is rubbish and I look at those posts and get grumpy at myself.  NO.  I am going to be proud of my corner of the internet and it is going to be filled with perfectly posed photos.  or at least the best photos I can manage :-)
 
I also have a bunch of things I want to learn this year, but I don't want to bore you too much, so I'll save them for another time.

And now that I've talked at you until you're ready to delete me from your reader...
 
I will do a giveaway to anyone who read this far.  Tell me in the comments one of your "resolutions" (for lack of a better word). It doesn't have to be blog or sewing related, it just has to be something tangible that you want to work on this year.   I have no idea yet what I'm giving away.  This was a spur of the moment decision when I saw how much blah blah I'd written - turns out I did do one of those super boring say EVERYTHING posts.  just think how long it would be if I wrote it all down...  So throw your hat in the ring and I'll try and come up with a suitable prize.

May 2014 bring you all lots of joy, very little sorrow, and the fulfilment of at least one dream!

E xx