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It is mind boggling to me that I managed to abstain from most creative endeavors for eighteen months!  Of course, one way that I dealt with the inevitable withdrawal pangs was to promise myself that I’d be allowed to work on crafty things to my heart’s content once I was done with school, which has resulted in a HUGE “Want to Make” list.  Unfortunately, now that we’re to the point of being able to grapple with all the beautiful projects I earmarked, I’m overwhelmed by all of my choices!  What a fantastic problem to have!  Hee hee.  I work through decisions better with writing and visuals, so here’s what’s on my mind:

Quilts:

Rainbow Coin Strip Quilt:  (ASAP)  I am finally quilting this!  It’s horrible quilting because 1) I’m very out of practice, and 2) I wasn’t that great a quilter to begin with, but it’s in-progress!  I’ve realized that the quilting step is the huge bottleneck for my quilts; there was a time when I could just send them out to a long-arm quilter and wash my hands of the task, but prices and shipping have gotten so expensive in recent years that I can’t justify the cost anymore.  I invested in another sewing machine with a much larger throat space so I can quilt my own quilts, but they’re definitely not as pretty as the long-arm pantos that I love.  Sigh.  Done is better than perfect here.  And hey, maybe I’ll actually develop my quilting skills to a level that pleases me.  The Rainbow Coin Strip Quilt will not reflect that sort of level, but I’m telling myself it’s ok because it’s a scrap quilt that will get the snot kicked out of it anyway, so wonky quilting won’t be a tragedy.

Far Far Away Quilt:  (ASAP)  I started this one back in 2022 and even worked on it a little during a school break.  It’s sewn into its rows and is awaiting the rest of the top assembly, which will then require me to pull out all the foundation papers, which is causing me some task paralysis because papers removal just plain isn’t fun!  But, oh…it’s a pretty quilt!  Cara!  Just slog through the unpleasant part and get this finished so you can have this awesome quilt!  Geez!

Chatsworth Block of the Month:  (January-December)  This is a sew along hosted by Fat Quarter Shop this year and I really want to participate because I’ve been collecting some fabrics for a couple of years now that will work really, really well for it!  The first installment of blocks were due by the end of last month, but I haven’t started yet.

Piece & Quilt Sampler Sew Along:  (March 2024-February 2025)  Another sew along with the Fat Quarter Shop.  I bought the pattern book a while back because it looked awesome, and then I saw there was a sew along this year and I got really excited about it.  I’ve even stash-dived and decided on some great fabric to use.  The question is whether or not I have time for it? You can look at the general info and fabric requirements here if you’re also interested. It’s going to be a pretty quilt!

Birthday quilt for Nathaniel:  (April)  He at least has his own Christmas quilt, but alas, still no everyday quilt, and he rarely resists the opportunity to bring it up in conversation that I’ve deeply neglected him in failing to provide this necessity of life.  He’s given up on the Rocket Age quilt, and has been asking for a pig quilt for a couple of years. 

Reading Nook Quilt:  (May)  For the most part, I avoided even looking at fabric while I was working on my master’s degree; but, during a particularly stressful couple of weeks of student teaching, I indulged in a lot of online window shopping as I grappled with the challenges I was facing.  As luck would have it, Ruby Star Society’s “Reading Nook” collection was released that week and I was completely smitten with its adorableness and ordered a fat quarter bundle of it with the promise that I could make myself a reading quilt once student teaching was completed.  I’ve mocked up a pattern for it, it’s super simple and satisfying, but I’ve lacked time to start working on it.  I’d really like to finish this as a birthday gift to myself this year.

Fig Tree Strawberry Garden Block of the Month:  (May 2024-April 2025)  Another FQS sew along; I absolutely love it and hope I can make it happen!  I’ve placed a reservation order for the book and I’ve definitely got enough stashed Fig Tree fabrics to work with, so it wouldn’t even require purchasing fabrics.

Renaissance Graduation/College Quilt:  (June/August)  ‘Cuz I gotta. No idea what I’m going to make or what fabric/color palette I’ll use. I figure that will get worked out once we get her through the college application/acceptance process.

Penguin Christmas quilt for Renaissance:  (November)  Because she’s a senior in high school this year and she still doesn’t have her own Christmas quilt!  She’s been making do with the Hipster Christmas Tree quilt, but I’d really like to get her very own, made-specifically-for-her quilt done before Thanksgiving this year.  I have no idea where she’s heading after high school; she’s vacillating between studying music out of state or staying close to home and earning a technical certificate in pastry arts, so the quilt could be a “welcome home for the holidays” thing or it might not be.  It is nerve-wracking to watch your barely-adult children make these huge decisions.

Gingerbread Christmas quilt for Rachel:  (November)  Rachel also doesn’t have her very own made-for-her Christmas quilt.  She’s been making do with the Double-Nine Patch quilt I made for Fat Quarter Shop back in 2018, but has been wishing and wishing for a gingerbread quilt for years and years.  Due in large part to the euphoria of having submitted my last ever final paper right before Black Friday, I bought an embarrassing amount of fabric at various quilt shops’ Black Friday sales, and the majority of it was various precuts and yardages of the Holiday Cheer collection by My Mind’s Eye, solely for the purpose of finally sewing up a “just for Rachel” Christmas quilt.

English Paper Piecing quilts:  I have four in-progress and it would be nice to finish up some of them.  There’s the Star Spangled Diamonds quilt from forever ago that needs borders, the Smitten quilt that needs a few more filler pieces to assemble the top, a Christmas-themed jewel quilt I started this last Christmas because I wanted a Christmas project to work on in the car, and the Roses Hexagon quilt that I’ve slowly been working on for years whenever I need a break from current projects.

Knitting:

I don’t think I have any definitive knitting projects in mind, which makes me sad.  It’s just not that cold here in Washington, when compared to winter weather in Utah, so the need just isn’t that high anymore.  However, I just like the *feel* of knitting needles in my hands, so I’d like to do more knitting…I just don’t know what to work on.  I wonder if I equate knitting with babies and children for the most part, and because there’s really no little people in our families anymore, there’s not a lot of pressure to knit right now?

However, I do have a lot of stash.  Some things I’m inspired to make when I think about my stash are:

Lace shawls:  I have a lot of laceweight yarn in really beautiful colors.  Unfortunately, I don’t really lead a life that uses lace shawls, so creating them to then just let them sit is silly.  I could try to become a shawl-wearing person, though…or just enjoy the creative process and not worry so much about the end product.

Socks:  I also have a lot of fingering-weight yarn that would make good socks.  I think I just need to grant myself permission in this vein.  Socks are awesome mindless knitting that are oh-so-portable.  I should pause my EPP in the car and concentrate on knitting instead until the weather warms up. 

School mascot hat/beret:  I was exploring yarn shops in the area and bought some yarn in my kids’ high school colors because I had a vision of a cool beret knit in fair isle technique of the school mascot.  Should probably move along on this idea.

Brooklyn Tweed Shelter project:  I’ve been collecting random colorways for years, and decided, on a whim, to cast on a Baa-ble Hat last week. I’m enjoying knitting it up!

Clothing

I have so much apparel fabric and I literally have no plans to use any of it.  It’d be nice to get back into clothing sewing, but my focus may just be on quilts this year.  I don’t know even know where I’d start with clothes.  There is a lovely feeling of satisfaction when you sew your own clothes, though…I miss it.

Embroidery

Weird things happen when you put things on your Amazon wish list—sometimes your husband will actually buy you the things!  Michael generously gifted me an embroidery machine for this Christmas, and it’s on my radar to learn how to use the thing…at some point.  I didn’t think I’d ever receive it as a gift, so I have no plans in effect.  I put it on my wishlist while I was really leaning into tablescaping for the holidays and I think I’d enjoy creating specially embroidered table linens.  And monogrammed bridal handkerchiefs.  And I’ve always wanted embroidered pillowcases with matching embroidered flat sheets, and, and, and…hee hee hee.  It might take A WHILE to circle around to this, though; I really do have a lot of quilty plans to plough through first!

So that’s what I’ve got on my mind for 2024. I guess I should print out this list and hang it up somewhere to remind me that I’ve got some serious sewing to get to this year! I really got out of the habit of daily creativity during grad school, but I missed it dearly and am going to make an earnest effort to reintegrate creativity back into my daily life. Wish me luck! And I wish YOU luck with your project goals for 2024!