I am not accomplishing nearly what I had hoped in this little ramp-up to Christmas. So, to offset that, I am taking a little of my precious double-and-triple booked time to post some past accomplishments.
I finally finished a couple of quilting projects for Christmas.
This one I started over two years ago:
Go ahead! Click on it and zoom in! It shows up much better. I need to work on my photography skills.
I did these in a church quilting group with a half a dozen or so other women. Some of the fabrics we swapped, and some we didn't. On mine, I swapped some of the creams to get more variety, but I didn't swap many of the greens. The other women had a lot more going on in their greens, they were pretty busy, and I didn't like some of those busy fabrics. The problem was when the others were done and mine was next to them, theirs looked like decorated busy Christmas trees, and mine looked kind of plain. So, in a brilliant plan to make my life much more difficult, I decided I'd attach little magnets on mine, on the wrong side of the fabric, so we could use little metal things to decorate the tree. This slowed me down considerably, but I finally found something that would work, and found some sparkly things to use as decorations. I just finished it up a couple months ago, that's the kind of schedule I'm running on. I'm pretty pleased with the result, though every now and again someone walks by and brushes it and all the little metal decorations skitter across the floor.
Here's some detail:
Okay. Now I should get back to work.
I got my Christmas cards off, finally, but there is so much other stuff to do. And I haven't even figured out what to do for the neighbor gifts! I'm doomed to be up until 2:00 am every night between now and Christmas!!! And we were going to cut back this year! Ha ha ha!
I finally finished the sweater I started for Thing 1 FIVE YEARS ago! I think. I think I started it when she was about four. Maybe five. In any event I had finished the body and was halfway up the sleeves when I put it down. And didn't pick it up until a couple months ago. So what was Thing 1's has become Thing 2's. They're practically the same size, but Thing 1 won't wear anything that has more than two of the following:
1) has THAT much of THAT shade of pink on it
2) buttons up the front
3) doesn't have a pocket on it where her hands can touch each other
4) itches AT ALL (the yarn on this has just a smidge of wool in it)
It's not perfect (there is a slight puckering where the left sleeve joins the body) but it's done! Yippeeee! And Thing 2 gets to wear it. Between the quilting and the knitting and getting Hubby out the door (he left yesterday for two weeks in India and Sri Lanka), the house has gone to pot. But the SWEATER IS DONE!
I had to hand sew all those little flowers, which is a stretch of my embroidery capabilities (I have none), and sew on the buttons, which I was so tickled to find because they're practically perfect in every way.
Thing 2 stepped away from the computer long enough to let me take this picture, hence the, "Are we done here?" expression. I was tempted to just lop off her head, which would also have cut out some of the mess in my kitchen, but the headless sweater seemed a little weird.
I am not normally a procrastinator. I procrastinate, on occasion, but in general my motivation runs along the avoidance of pain and suffering. I have found that procrastination makes my life frenetic and harried, and actually brings more work. So I try not to put things off until they are actually on fire. However, lately things seem different. I have been procrastinating. Duties and commitments are sliding. Look at me ignoring my responsibilities! I am putting off commitments until the very last possible moment!
Things that have deadlines and should take priority aren't as appealing as the stuff that is farther down on the priority list. Why is it the higher the priority, the less appealing things are?
I SHOULD be writing the primary program. This is my fourth one, and I can tell you I am sick and tired of them. Yessirree, I would just about do anything on earth other than write another Primary Program! And I am doing just about anything on earth instead... I've already used up all my clever ideas, I'm tapped out. Every other ward I know of has already had theirs, and I haven't even started writing ours! Oh, the humanity. And to top it off, we are having it on Halloween, of all days. I want to throw in a spooky song. And maybe have the kids wear costumes. It will be the Best Primary Program Ever!! The kids always pull it off, but first I have to write it, publish it, distribute it, and we have to practice it.
I should also be making Quilt Blocks! Slightly below the Primary program on the Priority list, but still pretty important. I committed to participate in a Christmas Quilt Block exchange, and it is going to be wonderful, but if it's going to happen on October 11th, I have to hold up my end of the deal. 12 quilt blocks finished and pressed in about two weeks. Should be plenty of time, but... did I mention I haven't actually completed ANY of the quilting projects I started with this group?
I should also be cleaning my house. My folks dropped by today, my mom called from the road that they were coming into town and would be at my house soon. I was at Costco buying, among other things, Nutella (the food of the gods) in bulk. I could not be interrupted.
So I didn't have time to even get home and load the breakfast dishes from the sink to the dishwasher. I can imagine the horrified conversation the folks are having as they pull away from my house, something about depression, therapy, and slovenliness.
And I should be getting our financial ducks in a row. I'm the bookkeeper, and I haven't actually reconciled the bank or AM EX account for several months. I haven't made a travel report (required for tax purposes) since the 2nd quarter.
Did I mention the sprinklers are broken so I turned off the water a month or so ago? I remember to hand water occasionally, but the whole yard is starting to have the professionally neglected look of a "Bank Owned" property. (On that one I think I'm giving up. I think I'll hire someone come in and fix the sprinklers.)
So what is it I'm doing instead of these important things? Blogging, for one, or rather reading other people's blogs. Also working on the sweater that I started for Thing 1, but Thing 2 is quickly growing out of - I was so close to finishing it three years ago when I put it down for one reason or another, and finally picked it back up last week. A kid grows a lot in 3 years and I would like to see someone wear it. While I knit I watch 24, season 6, in which Jack Bauer can cross LA in 7 minutes, catch terrorists single-handed using nothing but... well, his hands, and use his body to shield innocent bystanders from the blast of a nuclear warhead. Well, almost. There is so much shark jumping going on it isn't interesting anymore. Yet I'm addicted to watching through to the end.
I've also been reading. Nothing amazing, just picking up a book now and again and ignoring everything until I put it down.
And I've been staying up late at night to do all of these things (or, more correctly, to NOT do the things I should be doing, but to do the other things.) Speaking of which, it's past time for bed and I haven't had the nightly call with Hubby... so I guess I should prioritize bedtime as #2 (right behind phone call) and then stick to my priorities, at least until tomorrow.
