The plan for 2025

It warms my heart to know that I am not alone! Boxes and bags of stuff are being donated to various organizations nationwide. We will conquer this mess we've created, but we must be mindful not to let it happen again. Slow and steady is all I can say. 

Let's not forget to keep celebrating those little steps. Maybe it's one magazine that got tossed, or perhaps it's a book that you donated. It all counts. What's most important is that as you start to let go, the more you want to let go. 

I think that's why I was a bit overwhelmed yesterday. I see what needs to go and want to do it all NOW. Time doesn't allow it at the moment, and I really need to get rid of the stuff I've already designated to go. It's like the floodgates have opened, and I now see myself taking the tub of the financial papers on my desk and sorting them upstairs in Studio U. Most will be purged, I'm sure, but the fact that I can visualize that is amazing! 

Before that, I need to finish the writing and clean up Studio U so I can make another mess! It really is a good place to sort and organize. 

I really want to regain all the time I spend decluttering. I hear some of you saying, "Just leave it." But who will clean it up later? By having less, I'm gaining more time—less time searching for things and less time managing. Plus, the sense of well-being from having a decluttered home? That's worth the time to make it happen. So, the lesser of two evils is to deal with it. It WILL happen!

I set three tasks for yesterday and worked on all three. Did I completely finish them? Not quite, but that's OK—progress was made. I cut some quilt blocks until the light got so bad that it was hard to see values in the fabric. The overhead light in Studio U is NOT conducive to quilting. I'll finish the rest of my cutting later today. 

The sample-making went well. Sometimes, the hardest part is coming up with ideas. I even thought about what samples to make as I walked the dogs over the last few weeks. Hmm—I had the first couple in mind and couldn't get beyond those. Then, I got a piece of paper to write down the ideas. I never wrote a thing down. 

But when I started making the samples and doing it methodically, it was easy to come up with the rest. I can't over plan—I need to get my hands dirty, and then it'll happen. This is why one must do, not just sit and think! 

I'm also going to try to have a more relaxed 2025. Not that 2024 was stressful. Yes, it had its moments, but that will always happen. It doesn't matter how much you plan; when things go wrong, it can become stressful. I've got to try to keep that schedule open—that's my biggest issue. And so far, I'm good. 

I have loads of downtime in a day - you don't always hear about it. But I like reading and read 75 books last year, including fiction and nonfiction. I walked 4,500 KM with no headphones, no music, just my brain to entertain me. I get a solid 6 - 8 hours of sleep every night. I went on five quilt retreats and took the summer off. So don't tell me that I don't take time for myself. I do - it's just that sometimes, the work gets concentrated, mostly because I don't manage my time well enough and procrastinate, creating urgent deadlines! 

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Here's a reminder about the NEW classes/lectures for the first six months of this year. All of them are on Zoom. If you are in a continuing class from last year, I did NOT mention it here. 

The Hobby Horse: 

Crossing the Finish Line  -  A six-part series on different ways of finishing a quilt. Check the link for all the details.

Chatsworth is a four-part class on making a quilt. You also need the book, and the paper-pieced foundations will be helpful; otherwise, you'll have some wonky edges to sew. 

Thimbles and Things: 

Saturday Sampler:

A four-part lecture series on various quilt-related topics, including batting, pressing, and color, and a "clinic" on fixing things when they go wrong. 

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My five clubs (only five of them) are full. Here's one thing I've noticed. If you don't charge for a club, getting people off the distribution list is hard if you haven't heard from them. But if you make them pay, then no money, no emails! I must keep that in mind going forward! I still have one list to contact, and I'd better do that soon! I could delete people from the list, but some are lurkers. They are happy to be in the background, but how will you learn without feedback? Without asking questions - how will you learn? Without doing anything, how will you learn? 

I think I will set an objective for these people - if I don't hear or see one thing from the lurkers, they will be off the list. It's not about my and my anal idea about keeping a clean distribution list, but it's for them and the guilt they must feel! The two groups are machine embroidery and digital cutter. I'm going to give them a goal for 2025. If they don't touch their machine by June, I want them to SELL it and get rid of the guilt! 

So there's not much new starting this year, but that's OK. We all have loads that we need to finish, and I'm trying to teach more techniques than projects to allow us all to learn rather than add to our pile of UFOs. 

I signed up for the Conquer Challenge 2025 and set a goal that is still a stretch for me but less than 2024. I won't tell you the amount of KM I committed to yet. 

I also created a new virtual challenge to replace the one in Africa. It's a very cool challenge. I may have to tweak it a bit, as I don't think I put myself everywhere I want to be. Have a look. 

My new personal challenge

I'm starting in Detroit and walking through all 48 continental states. I wanted to capture a city in each state, but I think I have missed some along the eastern coast. I must review it a bit closer and make sure that I touch Ohio right after Michigan. 

How many kilometers is that? A lot—it's 15,870 KM. I set myself the maximum time (three years), and I'll have to supplement with cycling a bit as I will NOT be walking that much in three years. But it's fun to map, and since it's all in the US, I bet Google Maps has mapped the entire thing. 

Speaking of walking, look at this. 

MOM -- great smells along the walk

It was so nice when I went for my afternoon walk, but they made me feel very guilty, so I went for a walk and then returned to get them. 

It took Murphy a bit to settle down. She's a bully and has to be in front. But once she settled down, the rest of the walk was pleasant. I may take them both for a short walk more often! 

My walking buddies

And there's Murphy with her current teddy bear. I went to arrange the bear's ears for the photo, only to discover that it only has one ear! Where is the other one? No one knows! 

MOM - he still has one ear!

Well, I'm off to make more samples this morning. I give myself until the end of the day to complete them, including the stitching. I must move on. With the samples I'm making, you could never be done. But enough is enough. Don't worry—you'll be very aware of those samples in a bit. 

We're chugging along on the EXIT Game—the Advent Calendar. DH wants to do more than one a day, but I say no. I love slow and steady, and if we zip through them, what will we do at dinner? Except for that one day, all of these puzzles are very doable! I'm not sure I would get them all by myself, but the logic is there! 

And that's a wrap for today! Stand up/Sit Down! As I become more aware of my daily movements, I often use my arms to get out of the new office chair, which has arms. I also sometimes use my arms on the table to get up from it. Now that I'm aware, I'm trying very hard not to do that. Use my quads and core, but don't rely on the arms! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!