Celebrate EVERY success

 I'm happy to report that although I didn't get as much done as I would have liked yesterday, it was an AWESOME day! Too much time on the phone - but I won't go there!

Here's something that we need to be very conscious of, and trust me - it's hard to grasp this concept. I'd say that quilters are extremely caught up in this, and it's why we have so many UFOs. 

The other day, I saw an acquaintance post a picture on Social media - she has already cycled just over 2,000 KM this year! WOW!! That's impressive. I will admit that a little bit of jealousy went through my brain. I wish I could get out on my bike more! Then I said to myself - STOP   -- you have WALKED over 1,000 this year. You NEED to celebrate that fact because that's huge!!!

My walking distance this year

There's the walking distance so far for the year -- 1,142 KM. Nothing to sneeze at, and I'm patting myself on the back for that. 

This is something that we all need to wrap our heads around. We have EACH made choices in our life - we choose to cycle, walk, lose weight, eat better, or make QUILTS - or whatever you have chosen. We have to realize that we CANNOT do everything. We need to make choices on how we spend our time, money, and emotional capacity. 

Then we NEED to be happy with that choice. We don't need to second guess ourselves. Focus on your choice and be happy with every little success - is it losing a pound, figuring out why you're a stress eater, walking 1 KM each day - or whatever the heck your goal is. Remember, it's YOUR goal, and you shouldn't be comparing your goals against someone else. We are all different, our brains are wired differently, and we have different resources available to us. 

If anyone criticizes you - you NEED to ignore them. I can't believe how many people (sometimes within their family) are so UNSUPPORTIVE. Seriously? What is wrong with people? 

This is the same thing that happens to quilters, and it's why we have so many UFOs. We see what our retreat companions are making, or we see a gorgeous sample in a store, or we see the latest Quilt a Long, or sew along, or FREE block of the month. I swear, I've never seen so many NEW projects made available to us. Whether it's through Instagram, Facebook, websites, e-mails, you name it - someone has something NEW to offer you. Quilters -- you only have so much time! Pick the ones that you really, really want to make or choose NONE of them. 

Well, I've decided NOT to do any projects on Social media. There will always be new. I want to finish the things that I thought were amazing when I originally started them. And you know what? I'm getting way more satisfaction from that - things are getting finished, the studio is getting organized, and space is being emptied (not for anything new), but just to provide a resting spot for my mind. 

So while you THINK you can get it all done - you cannot! You really need to focus and think twice about starting something new! That's why I LOVE to teach skills and techniques - not projects. I want to help people clean up the mess. It's amazing how eliminating this clutter from my brain, and my studio has made me a much happier person. 

Speaking of the brain - here's something else. I'm taking a break from audiobooks for a while. Why? No reason - I just decided that having a book with a deadline is more than I want at this moment in time! 

I started to listen to some podcasts. I've known they are there - I just kept forgetting about them. Again - there's so MUCH entertainment for us in any area we pick. 

Listening to a podcast

I got the podcast information from watching The Quilt Show as she was one of Season Two guests. Hmmm --- I'm not sure when this podcast was recorded. I'll try to find out because I was disappointed. It was an hour-long, and she has a wonderful voice. But you could hear traffic in the background, you could hear her shifting in her chair, she would fade in and out as she moved around. Seriously?? Aren't you supposed to be focusing on what you're saying in the podcast? NO - she wasn't because she forgot what she was going to say several times, and well - I didn't enjoy it. It was episode 209, so it wasn't her first show. Lots of UMs, you knows, OHs, and ANDs. Not what I would expect from the Queen of Podcasts. Now I'll try to find a very recent one to see if there is any difference. 

I see from her website that podcast 236 was published two years ago. OK -- I'll check that one out. But it won't be on my favorite list. 

Then I listened to another one. This one was made by two younger quilters. It was better - the quality of the sound was better - good information, but nothing that I didn't already know. But that's OK - it's entertainment. 

So if anyone has any good quilting podcasts that they want to share, let me know. 

I finished Series Three of The Quilt Show, and I'm going to go back and listen to that show from Series Two! Just to check out that podcaster. I think I'm going to sign up for a year of The Quilt Show and watch them while I sew. Just for something different than an audiobook. I'm passing these along to someone, and if she doesn't want them, they'll be up for grabs. They were great - I really enjoyed them, and it was enough to get me to buy a subscription!

The Quilt Show DVD

I didn't get a ton of sewing done yesterday, and I'm OK with that. I spent a good part of the day outside, and that was glorious. The weather was stunning and well - the gazebo called my name. I'm technically on retreat for a couple of days. And I have to say that I LOVE our backyard. It's almost zero maintenance. The pond crew is coming to open the pond in a couple of weeks. And then we have a yard guy who comes three times a year for a reasonable fee and tidies things up. No cutting grass, no clipping, I LOVE it, and it suits our lifestyle 100 percent!!

The view from the gazebo

I'm a wee bit behind in the paperwork. Not much now - and I'm going to try and get it all done this morning. And I have TWO quilts to make this weekend that were not on the retreat list of things to do. I'm OK with that - one is a set of blocks that need to be sewn together - I made good progress on it this morning. The second one? A brand new quilt that has to be in the mail by Monday. I haven't even pulled fabric yet!  But it's easy!!!

I did get two more of the Snail's Trail blocks together. 

All in a Row homework

A second Snail's Trail block - DONE

And I did some work on Long Time Gone. It looks pretty messy, but this is a HUGE amount of work, and it's going to stay this way until I need those pieces to finish off the sections. I do need to get to work on those pineapple blocks as I'm going to need a few to sew the next section together - I think. 

Long Time Gone

The fish are out in a fine form. I don't see any babies, and that's a good thing. We do NOT need baby fish. There are about 50 fish in the pond. My five larger ones all survived the winter. 

The fish sunning themselves

I have to laugh at this next picture. I don't normally text when I'm in the forest. I'm there to enjoy the walk, and while I take pictures, I don't usually bring out my phone. Well, it just so happened that I sent myself a note about something that needed to be done. While I was looking down to make that happen, I spotted more rocks with sayings on them. I wonder if they'll be there this morning. 

Sayings on rocks in the forest

OK - can you tell me what's going on here? The door is WIDE open, the screen is NOT in place. Yet - she is waiting patiently at the door. For what? To be invited in? Oh, Murphy!!!

Murphy waiting for an invitation

On that note, look at yesterday. What little success can you celebrate? Even the little things are worthy of celebrating! And don't try to be like anyone else! You are YOU! Pick things to do that you enjoy doing, don't pick them because someone else says they are good or your friends are making that quilt. Do what you WANT!! 

That's going to be the organizing challenge for today. Pick ONE small thing (or could be big) that happened to you yesterday that is worthy of a pat on the back!

On that note, I'm out of here. It's going to be another gorgeous day, and well - I'll be outside. Instead of reading at night, I'll read in the daytime outside and sew in the house in the evening. Works for me! The flexibility of working at home!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!