I generally feel a let down every year following the Christmas season when the kids have all gone back home and the festive decorations are put away. I have spent months planning the events and shopping for just the right gift for each person on my list and it is all over in the blink of an eye. Now what do I have to look forward to? Actually I have just the cure for those after-Christmas blues! I pick a day and spend an hour or two in my sewing room making a list of the projects that I want to work on in the new year. Just thinking about working on those projects and the possibility of finishing at least some of them makes me very happy.
This year I have nine projects on my to-do list - four were on last year’s list and five are new. Of the five new projects four of them are for the grandchildren. That puts those projects in the “very special” category. I think I will call them VSPs (Very Special Projects) instead of UFO’s!!
One of the projects on last year’s list was Dear Jane. To be honest it has been a Work-In-Progress (aka WIP) for about 15 years. I finally put it on my to-do list last year in hopes that I would actually work on it. Unfortunately that didn’t happen but I have high hopes that I will stitch at least ten or more blocks this year.
Another project that I would like to finish this year is a scrap quilt in which I have all of the pieces cut out and ready to stitch. The pattern is called Katie’s Quilt from the Missouri Star Quilt Company. My Quilt of Valor group made this using red, white, and blue fabric and it turned out so nice. Now that I think about it I really should have at least once scrap quilt on my list every year as I do have a lot of scraps!
The third project that was on my to-do list last year is the Flowers For My Wedding Ring from QuiltWorx. This is a pattern that I have had for many years and finally made the smallest bit of progress on last spring. I have the fabrics chosen and sorted. The next step is to begin stitching on the rings. For years I have admired all of the patterns designed by Judi Niemeyer and I’m looking forward to finally getting something accomplished on this one.
The fourth carry-over project is my English Paper-Piecing (EPP) Trip Around The World. All of the hexagons have been prepared and I’m now ready to start sewing them together. EPP projects are just the thing when I want to stitch in the evening or to take along on a trip.
That brings me to the five new projects on my list. The first is a charity quilt for the Panama Quilt Guild. Every year we choose a project that will benefit a non-profit organization in Lincoln. This year we are making quilts for a women’s shelter. I’m hoping that I will be able to make a twin-size quilt by the deadline at the end of May. Another option for me to participate in this project would be to quilt a top or two made by other members of our group. We’ll see which option fits best in my schedule. At the very least I have a lot of scraps from which I can make a quilt. The picture below represents just a small portion of those scraps.
Two of the new projects are counted cross-stitch Christmas stockings from Herrschners that I plan to make for Ruby and Baby Z. I had intended to do patchwork quilted stockings for the grand babies but just couldn’t get excited about that. As a result Ruby ended up with the “boyfriend” stocking this year which worked fine since all of the boyfriends have now become sons-in-law!
Speaking of Baby Z brings me to another new project on my list - a Harry Potter bookcase quilt for his nursery. This is a foundation paper-pieced project designed by Jennifer from sewhooked.com when I Googled “Harry Potter quilts”. It has 30 different blocks which include approximately 80 books as well as a sorting hat, wand, eyeglasses, owl, crystal ball, etc. While most of the fabric will come from my stash I will need to purchase fabric for the background and the borders. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
The final project on my 2022 to-do list is a Super Secret Project that I can’t share just yet. You will just have to wait for the big reveal that will be coming soon. So stay tuned!!
