33

Ah, symmetry. I normally have a problem with remembering how old I am, but I think this year will be different with such an easy number. As it's almost the end of the year, I just happened to be reviewing January's list. Not much got accomplished, but I can cross off at least one thing in every category, so I'm happy and it's time to move on.

So here is my new list. These are things just for me, things to do before I turn 34 and can no longer remember my age again:

1. plant bulbs for Spring

2. make a rain barrel

3. dig out the tent (or more likely borrow a larger one) and go camping with the family and dog

4. really practice practice practice free motion quilting on my machine

5. quilt a quilt using free motion

6. make spring rolls

7. learn a cook a few other tasty ethnic dishes

8. spend the weekend away with Will - I'm thinking either Birmingham or Louisville

9. sew a skirt and a dress for me

10. wear more skirts

11. find the (almost) perfect pair of boots and ballet flats so #9 will happen

12. learn to use my gocco

13. make an Alabama Chanin bloomers skirt

14. write more, especially my children's birth stories before I forget all the details

15. work on finishing off all the film in my refrigerator

16. find a photo lab that still prints contact sheets, not just scans negatives for a digital print

17. build a stone/gravel patio in our backyard for a firepit

18. invite friends over to enjoy #17

19. find a local organic/no spray place for u-pick berries or fruit

20. buy an sx-70

21. weed out my closet and repair, dye or recontruct anything that is still good but not quite right

22. move my blog to wordpress

23. zumba every week

24. bake more bread

25. institute homemade pizza night on Fridays for real

26. paint a magnetic chalkboard in the kitchen

27. get fancy drinks at Patterson House

28. rescue my old files off of the 2.25 discs

29. get a jade plant and an orchid and keep them alive

30. eat hot chicken at Prince's 'cause it's been way too long

31. find or have made the perfect menorah

32. sew the family Christmas stockings

33. and finally... I will paint the hallway

Dogs and Frogs

I started this quilt for a special baby in the womb more than a year ago. My plan was to give it to him or her soon after the birth, so I could sew a personalized label on the back with the baby's name and birth date. Well the baby was born - a sweet boy named Jesse! - and the quilt was finished within a few weeks of his birth, except for hand sewing the last couple of inches of the binding. And so it sat for a year. Clearly I have a procrastination problem, especially where hand sewing is involved. I always think I hate hand sewing, but once I start I remember that I actually enjoy it. How could someone who loves to make things a la the Alabama Stitch Book hate hand sewing?

This past Sunday was the annual Tashlich service at my church. Tashlich is the Jewish ritual usually performed on Rosh Hashanah of the casting away (often by throwing breadcrumbs into a moving body of water) and examination of your sins of the past year. It makes a lot of sense to me to do this at this time. Fall always feels like a beginning, because a new year of school has started, and the lush green Summer starts to fade as the trees and plants end their growing cycle and start preparing for the next. While I usually make a bunch of resolutions on New Year's day, I've been participating in Tashlich for a few years now* and it seems a much more meaningful way to reflect and change than writing down exercise 3-5 times a week or cook more vegetables for dinner on a piece of paper. As I thought about Jesse's quilt and hand sewing, I remembered a line from the Tashlich prayer: Let us cast away the sin of stubbornness, so that we will neither persist in foolish habits nor fail to acknowledge our will to change. A foolish habit indeed. I have pinned the prayer to the bulletin board above the computer and near my sewing area, where I keep not only my inspirations but the things I want to remember. But even though baby Jesse did not receive this quilt, I still think one year old Jesse will enjoy it.

Now, a few details about the quilt. Jesse's parents love dogs and the dad also has a bizarre passion for frogs, so I couldn't think of better fabric to use for this quilt than animal prints by Heather Ross. I kept the front simple with 8 inch squares paired with a cream border. I decided to piece the binding which was fun and something I will do again in the future, since I really liked how it created a subtle border with little pops of color. I like to make the back of my quilts reference the front but almost be a new quilt, so I chose brighter colors along with a strip of rejected squares from the front. I knew I wanted the turquoise fabric somewhere in this quilt, because it is from a bolt I bought at one of our auctions and Jesse's dad works with us. For the label, I used the method in Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts which I love and first used for this quilt along with a micron pen. The quilting is just a simple grid I've seen a lot of other quilters use, and I like how it creates a frame in each of the squares. I was hoping to get some better photographs but it's been raining here for nearly two weeks, so inside on the bed was the best I could do. In retrospect, I should have put a sheet on first, but I didn't realize how bad the mattress cover looked until after the gift was given at Jesse's first birthday party and I finally had a moment to sit down and upload all the photos I took that day. Another foolish act, but probably not a sin.

*Even though I'm half Jewish, we never celebrated Rosh Hashanah in my home growing up. It wasn't until I started attending a Unitarian Universalist church which uses rituals and sources from many religions, did I learn about Tashlich.

To Accomplish

I usually write my list of what I'd like to accomplish in the new year sometime in the first week of the year. Last year I had pages and pages of stuff I wanted to finish in the before the baby arrived; most of it didn't happen since Agnes was a little more than 3 weeks early but a lot of it did happen by the end of 2008 including create a blog. This year I am keeping the lists simple. Maybe some of last year's list will get done too.

House
-paint hallway, dining room, and bedroom in that order

-get non-working doors fixed and install doors for guest bedroom closet

-get chimney evaluated

-get crawlspace evaluated

-re-screen back door

Yard
-plant an oak tree for Agnes

-plant fruit and nut trees

-plant some some berry canes

-create a small square foot garden

-make and set up rain barrels

-prune prune prune before it gets warm

Photography

-do one photo a day (a 365) with the digital camera

-process one roll of film a week until they are done

-shoot at least one roll of film a month

-read my camera and flash manuals

-take a digital photo and/or photoshop class at the community college

Sewing/Crafting
-finish all 2008 (and beyond) unfinished projects, especially quilts

-sew some garments for myself

-sew some garments for Agnes

-use my gocco

-sew Christmas stockings for the whole family

-open an etsy store

Blog

-make a banner

-spiff it up

Me
-get my eyes checked as I probably need new glasses

-go to bed earlier

-be kinder

-be more generous

-waste less and reuse more

I think that is all doable. Now I'm off to process the very first of 365 daily photos.