A New Year

The past year I wasn't able to accomplish the goals I had set for myself in quilting or in health and fitness. I was doing pretty well until I ended up in the hospital in July, then when I was getting going again, my Dad had a heart attack and passed away.


2007 Goals accomplished:

_Strippy Solar Quilt for a child in the Quilt Studio 40 Quilts Challenge

_8 monthly quilts done for the12 x12 x12 Challenge (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Oct)

_Pieced top for Sean's Mythical Horses Quilt (see photo)

_13 of the 39 blocks finished (26 made in 2006) for the Women of the Bible quilt

_7 blocks of the Praying the Names of Jesus quilt



We are blessed in that we are constantly being given a new chance, and with this new year I am setting goals again, both in quilting and in health and fitness. I find that without goals that have definite daily tasks to accomplish, it is too easy to drift along and not get anything significant done.

Healthwise, it is essential for me to take off weight and to strengthen my muscles with aerobic exercise and stretching. My goal is to take off 50 pounds in 2008. In order to visualize this, I bought a 4 pound package of lard; that is the amount I will need to take off each month to reach my goal. Can you imagine how big a chunk of lard I'd have with 12 of these lumped together!?

In order to accomplish this goal I will need to stick to a healthy and doable eating plan as well as exercising at Curves 3 times a week and walking on the other days.







My quilting goals are:

_Finish 4 UFOs, Mike's Bargello, Mom's Album, Alex's Depression Toys, and Sean's Mythical Horses quilts; they all need to be assembled and quilted, either by me or sent out to a professional quilter.

_Finish the December 12 x 12 Challenge block.

_I will learn to do free motion quilting with the new sewing machine foot I bought earlier this year and haven't removed from it's bag.

_I will piece the top of Carl's antique airplane quilt from the Depression Era reproduction fabrics I've collected. I need to figure out how to do the layout on EQ5.

_I will finish the 10 remaining blocks of the Women of the Bible Quilt and assemble the top.

_I will finish the 20 remaining blocks of the Praying the Names of Jesus Quilt and assemble the top.


_I will make a block a week (30 total) for the Quilting the Names of God online study group.

_I will make one small experimental landscape quilt each month, as my own Challenge for this year.


As a gesture of good faith, I actually finished the first Quilting the Names of God block this week as we were studying it. The first name is from the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis, God, Mighty Creator. The block is Light and Dark done in black, white and gold fabrics from a collection of fat quarters with gold touches (see photo) that I found at the Creative Cloth Closet in Canon City. I wanted to get an effect similar to the William Blake painting of The Ancient of Days.