New Year's Resolutions

I know.

It's cliche.

But bear with me here. There are a few things I'm determined to re-solve for the last time in 2012, and my blog-dignity is going to hold me to them. 

1. I will get up at 6am everyday.

Like a typical Gemini, I have a significant struggle with time. I'd rather be in the moment than in the minute. Currently, I wake up about 5am, go back to bed, and engage in a perfectly pointless lolling for another 2-3 hours before eventually rising in a panic of lateness and rushing to work. It does not a lovely morning make. This habit is too pervasive to dislodge with pure willpower (believe me, I've tried). Since my attempts to convince the Rest of the World to share my 10am-2am working hours have miserably failed, I have developed A Plan.

Yesterday (at 11:30am, when I got up), I found this Pavlovian article. It is refreshingly unlike the usual drivel about going to bed earlier, so I'm giving it a try - a real, no-excuses, 30-day commitment. Even on weekends.

In the evening I actually practiced seven reps of waking up to an alarm. My husband supportively smothered his laughter. Then I was up until 2am. I did pop out of bed at 6am to my alarm (victory!), but it was cold, dark, and pointless-- no work today, and nothing much to do. I climbed back in til 9:30. Let's hope for greater success tomorrow.

2. Each day, I will spend at least 15 minutes sewing. 

Good for the blog, good for the soul. 

3. Each day, I will spend 15 minutes stretching.

Sewing can be hard on the body, not to mention all the other craziness we put our physical selves through. I'm going to help undo the tension with some simple stretches.

Time is precious. In 2012, I want to get more out of my time, using it more wisely and naturally. Hopefully these little adjustments will do the trick.

Speaking of which, let's get to the quilting already:

I completed my blocks for the 4x5 Bee. This was my first round, and honestly I found it rather stressful. Everything from choosing a pattern to figuring out measurements to selecting fabrics caused me anxiety. Maybe it was just the crush of the holidays, but I was totally intimidated by this bee.

I don't feel awesome about the blocks. Which sucks, because everyone in my hive is really nice, and I'm sure they are doing super-impeccable work.

If you choose such a simple block, you should do it perfectly, right? None of my blocks finished right at 12.5". Somehow I cut this one too small and had to add a border. Does it look ultra-lame?

(It's tough to see in the photo, but each of those blues is a different shade.)

The others were all a bit too big. I'm not sure if this is kosher, but I'm going to leave the trimming to my hive-mates. Does that make me a jerk?

See what I mean about the stress??

You've been warned...don't get into a Bee with me!












On a happier note, I've finished the blocks for Mumu, yay!

Each block measures 27" square.

I end up making a lot of square quilts.

Somehow.

But I think this one will be large enough that it doesn't matter (about 93" square).

It's been a bit cold and cloudy here - not too much sunlight in the sewing area.

But you get the idea. I can't wait to show you the quilt top soon!