Starting a New Year-Long entry after longer absence!

January Challenge for Elefantz blog

I made up mind to make the coming year one of doing and finishing   This is not a resolution–don’t believe in them, but it is a decision of heart to try my better than best to do what I say and finish what I do!  Okay, what am I getting at?  Why, finishing what I start you silly geese!  Laugh with me now!  yeah, yeah, I can hear it bubbling up, go on let it out!   

Honestly, how often do we tell ourselves just that?  Hmmm…I am 54 years old and I know I have said that a gazillion times in my short life.  Well, the time has come to cowgirl up!  Mean what I say and do what I mean!  Okay enough! 

I have many projects laying around my house in boxes, in totes, tote bags, plastic bags, grocery bags, garbage bags (no not full of garbage-well to some maybe, but to a quilter…?), sewing table-which happens to be my kitchen table at times *winkee, winkee*,  and lastly in storage and in the shed!  Sounds like a lot huh???  Sounds worse than it is because I have added my recently curtailed stash in various recepticles in that list   

What got me to the point of making this concious decision?  This past holiday.  Yep.  I started making holiday/Christmas gifts in May of 2010.  I worked right down to the wire of gift giving on Christmas Day and still had a few that needed finished.  I gotta tell ya, this has not happened in literally years and IT FELT GOOD!  I was a finisher for the most part!  And all gifts were much loved and much appreciated and I was not stressed nor broke because I couldnt finish anything so had to buy presents. 

SEW, this year, I started out the week after Christmas and am still working at it little by little by finishing those few things I had started before this past holiday.  The above skirt in the picture is a Valentine’s Day gift for my 3 year old granddaughter, Lydia.  I take care her during the week when her parents are at work.  She is such a bundle of energy and always helping gramma out in the kitchen and loves to help clean house.  Her favorite chore since she could walk and help out is dishes.  Yep, loves to wash dishes and she is darn good   The apron is for her take home with her to help mommy out in the kitchen   Mommy is going to have one also when I get it finished this week.  The apron I made for Lydia served as challenge also which was made by Jenny of Elefantz  (http://www.elefantz.com/).  When Jenny issued the challenge, I thought immediately of the skirt I had started picking out in June last year, so I grabbed it up and the few bits and bobs I had set aside to go with it and the above apron was born   So that is one gift down for the year. 

So what is it with the gifts and finishes?  Well, I had already determined to do this throughout the year again and start with those projects left unfinished from last year, so when I came across Allie’s post regarding making gifts throughout the year instead of waiting till the last few weeks (Yes, many of us are procrastinators LOL), I knew I was in the project all the way.  Allie of (http://allie-oopssweethappylife.blogspot.com/) is one straight up gal after my own heart.  And she is so supportive!  Drop by and pay her a visit.  Psssttt…I hear she is having a giveaway for a handmade by Allie if you enter a picture of a gift you made for the month! 

This would be the second gift which my little Lydia picked out to finish.  She helped me pin and I did the hand applique and then the binding.  She decided to give it to her new twin cousins this coming Christmas and until then she gets to admire our work LOL  Gotta love her, ey?   

The last part of my entry till next time…Have fun and finish!  Be a finisher!  That is my Charming Word for the year.  Finisher!

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