Happy New Year!

With the turn of the page we have a brand new year and 365 days just waiting to be filled with our creative efforts. To get this year off to a great start I began by sewing the January blocks for the Happiness circle at Do Good Stitches. It's all about the flying geese this month:

Although I am the only one who would realize it, I pointed my geese south when I took this photo because it was -14 at the time and any self-respecting bird would be moving in that direction as quickly as possible, I'm sure (please take me with!).

I have spent my day off sewing and making the rounds of the blogs, checking out what everyone else is posting on this, the 1st day of January 2014. I see wonderful mosaics of projects finished in 2013 and I see lots of resolutions for the new year ahead. I am not one to make resolutions and I don't tend to write a lot of "to-do" lists anymore because I can usually remember what has to be done if for no other reason then because it's right up in my face as a constant reminder. But doing all this reading did cause me to reflect on a few things:

• Right now, my favourite fabric designers are Lizzy House and Carolyn Friedlander.
• I enjoy contemporary design but I am also enjoying making very traditional quilt blocks with current fabrics (see above!)
• I really like blogging and would like to be here more frequently but I have struggled to make time to sew enough so that I actually have something to write about and the photos to go with.
• I would like to write something of substance this year, be it a guest post, a series of posts, a tutorial, or even something submitted to a print publication. While I am not sure how to go about applying my writing talent to my creative endeavours I do know I have been gifted with the ability to write and my instructors and mentors have always advised "write about what you know" - it's time to start doing that on a big broader scale.
• No fabric fast for me - at least none is in the planning. I will be adapting my buying habits to account for backgrounds - I don't tend to be purposeful in buying those but it would be nice to have a couple options on hand for when inspiration strikes.
• My sewing space is getting a bit of a reorganization right now. It is not overly messy but I think I can always do better at utilizing the space I do have and finding more efficiencies in the way I store my tools and supplies.
• And I do want to get better at photography, something that would likely go much better if I hadn't left my camera in the stateroom on a cruise ship back in November...phooey on that. My daughter bought a new camera at a Boxing Day sale and is anxious to practice to perhaps my fabric and projects would be an interesting enough subject to catch her attention while I figure out my next move in the camera department.

It will be interesting to see how I feel about this list a year from now but today, it's a start. Happy New Year, everyone!
e.