The Challenge

Okay, last night my husband and I were watching Julie & Julia and he grabs the remote and pauses the movie. "That's what you need!" he yells. "A deadline! I challenge you to complete two quilts and 10 other fabric art projects in the next year!" "And you have to only use what you already have in your stash"! Well, we have only been married a little over a year and he already knows this fact about me.......I procrastinate. So, I have spent today pondering whether or not I want to accept this challenge. Sort of like a fabric "throw down"? I am asking myself....can I do it? What do you think? Can I? Will I rise to the challenge, or feel the agony of defeat?

While I ponder that question, I had to post post photos of these cute little notebooks that I made for gifts this holiday season. I was dying to post them before Christmas, but didn't want the recipients to see them. My husband bought an embosser to make our Christmas cards and I decided to play with it one evening. So much fun! Now, I am running around the house looking for things to emboss. Maybe the cat? I am definitely going to try some of these cool rubber stamps I bought on fabric.

We had such a great holiday, I was able to spend a few hours with one of my granddaughters and due to the blizzard in Oklahoma City, my son was stranded with us for 3 extra days. We had a great time with him. He rarely stays in one place that long! I also was able to spend time with my parents, my sister and her family. Ahhh.....that's what the holiday's are all about to me.

Fourteen Days

I can't believe it is only fourteen days until Christmas. We have had some lovely cold and cloudy weather that has helped get me in the mood. When it's 80 degrees outside, it's tough to get in the Christmas mood! The house is decorated inside and out, but no presents under the tree yet. I best get busy on that. I will certainly get to experience the shoppers in the stores since I waited so long to start shopping. I fear there will be no time for sewing over the next couple of weeks. I'll be busy shopping, wrapping and baking. Ah, but then there will be the fresh new year to get me motivated to create.

The Works in Progress

Well, the blog design is done for now. Knowing me, I'll change it frequently. I took a picture of my storage room for my studio. And another of some additional works in progress that I keep in my studio. And there are more in a drawer.....might have a problem. My goal for 2010 is to complete many of these projects. I don't want to say I will complete X number of projects, because I will rebel against that! But, I want to make steady progress over the next year to completing many of them. My tastes have changed a lot since I started most of these projects, so I will likely put them in an Etsy store once they are completed. But, I feel the need to not abandon any of them. It's a much needed exercise in follow through.

First Post - Ever!

Well, the blog is in progress (and by the way, this is going to be a little tough, because the "b" key on my keyboard is broken and I have to coax each and every little b by "wiggling" the key until it decides to cooperate!) So anyway, it's still under construction but I wanted to get a post up because every time I tried to preview the site while I was building it there was that nagging little message that there were no posts. So, here we go. I have made things since I was a little girl and have wanted to make things for a living for as long as I can remember. What do I do right now, you might ask? I crunch numbers and research with a little IT support thrown in. About as far from a creative outlet as you can get. So, I create at night and on the weekends and it soothes my soul on a daily basis. Nothing calms me down after a stressful day at the office like sitting down with my current project (or starting a new one)!

I have this one little problem, though. I seem to be addicted to starting new projects, but have no addiction to finishing them! So, while busy reading other's blogs I became inspired to start one of my own and share my journey. Tomorrow I hope to post a photo of all of my "works in progress" so you can see just how bad my addiction is. Then, I hope to systematically share my journey through each one as I complete them. We just moved to a new house and I have my studio all set up and ready to begin. I hope you will join me.