Rounding up or down

If you are expecting some profound comments from me about my past quilting year you'll be disappointed. Likewise, anything insightful about the upcoming year will be hard to find.

Last year I was audacious enough to list on the sidebar projects "I really want to get finished in 2012". Look carefully, because nowhere did I say I will finish. I had a good go and made progress but not everything got done.

Clean Green New Zealand is my biggest disappointment. Alas, I'm not sure if it even came out of the bag and that is too bad because I would really like for this one to be a finished project. Maybe this year.

Holidays Inc is a round robin that is still in progress which was the plan. We are up to the second last round and there are still a few weeks to go on this round - which is just as well.

The Civil War BOW project became "The Blues and the Greys". Yay! the top got finished mid way through the year. It will go to a longarm quilter in the next week or so.

The Dark Hours has not seen much action in the past several months. Some might see this as a good thing since it is somewhat of a therapy project.

The June Bride is another project that was never going to be finished by the end of 2012 as it is a challenge with several rounds. The next round is due at the end of the month and I will have to be super busy to get it done on time.

Not appearing on the list is this one "Strawberries and Cream". I began it in a workshop with Jo Morton in April and it is using Jo's pattern "Rhubarb Crisp". I needed a red and white project for our big guild challenge to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the guild. This one is getting close to the top being done. It looks somewhat haphazard in this photo as I am in the midst of assembling the vertical seams. Still to come, I think, is an unpieced white border which will be finished off with a red binding. This too must get to the longarm quilter in the next few weeks so this is my current focus in my sewing time.

 Another project I began in 2012 was the Grandmothers Choice BOW with Barbara Brackman. Each week I get the block done and posted so you know about that one. Here I am showing you all of my 18 blocks to date. I have a concept for the sashing/assembly and it might be a good idea to get some blocks set with that idea so I can check if it is going to work or not.

In between there have been unexpected projects to work on like quilts for quilters with health issues or who are leaving the area. And a commission I have been given to make a memory quilt using the fancy fabrics (not quilters cotton by any stretch of the imagination) from bridesmaid/party frocks. I'm not too enthused about this one as it has been slow to get started while I wait for instructions from the potential client. And in another small group I belong to we create quilts for wounded soldiers and, once a year, a quilt to raffle off to raise funds to buy the fabrics for the wounded soldier quilts. So those interrupt the progress of completing my "get it finished" list.

Oh, and of course there was the "full on" activity in January/February when I was the co-convenor of a quilt exhibit in an art gallery space. That was an unexpected hit for the gallery producing their highest ever number of visitors. We have been invited back for January 2014 but this time there will be more planning time so it should not be so overwhelming to produce the show.

What will  I be doing in 2013? Watch this space as they say.  The Grandmothers Choice project has 49 blocks so that should be a finished top at least this year. The Barbara Brackman appreciation society (aka the flickr group from the Civil War BOW and Grandmothers Choice BOW) is all abuzz about a (thankfully) block of the month project that Barbara will launch this coming Saturday "Dixie Diary". I have not committed yet but, who knows, I might want to join in on that one too. Of course I would restrict myself to using the leftover "fabric collection" from the Civil War BOW or other selections from the huge pile of fabric that is threatening to overwhelm my sewing room. This notion is known as famous last words.

In the next few days I guess I should update my side bars. But in the meantime I am having fun reading the blogs of other quilters who have already listed their expectations for the year.

But the real "must do" project is to tidy up my sewing room! Let me hope it does not take all year for this project to be done.

What projects are you embarking on this year in your sewing/quilting life?