February is here and has brought back the sunshine. I didn't realize how much I had missed the sun until I felt it on my face last week while walking Mando. We have been taking every opportunity to get outside and walk.Â
Unfortunately, it also came with February hair. Looking in the mirror first thing in the morning is scary enough. When you add to it the dryness of central heating and the head flattening that happens when you wear a hat day in and day out, it brings a whole new layer of crazy. Â
But not even that can ruin my good spirits! I have come off the declutter challenge on a high. I can’t believe the layer of clutter that has left my space. And it really wasn’t the tangible clutter that went out the door but lots of inner dreams, demons and road blocks that I no longer neededÂ
My main goal for myself this year is to stop feeling like I am always behind. And to that end there were some hard truths I had to face. So for instance, I am likely never going to play the viola again. Mine has been sitting on top of my cabinets since we moved into our condo. And I am sure it’s been 10 years since I last played a note! For me to take the time necessary to get my skills back would mean that I am taking time away from family and other pursuits. And since I am already trying to catch up, I let it go. And I let go of some aspirations and the insidious pressure that came with them. Any inspiration that I had once felt for them is long gone.
I let go of a pile of fabric given to me as well as bolts I purchased for ideas long forgotten. I let go of extra tools and some brand new ones that never worked for me. And I have donated a number of my quilts to some worthy organizations as I can only keep so much.Â
And with all that cleared, I now have that brain space that the declutter challenge promised. So much space that I was able to identify another sub-category of UFO’s. The ones where I desired the final product, but I didn’t want to do the work to get there.
That is what I have been dealing with the last four weeks and the mental games I had to play with myself to get them done. You can watch the video here.
With my added brain capacity I was also able to finalize my quilting classes for my upcoming cruise to IRELAND, ICELAND & SCOTLAND. The Kapella Cluster Quilt
Not only do we get all the adventures in these destinations, but we also have 5 days to sew at sea. If you want to join in the fun, you can checkout the brochure here.Â
If you are traveling in the next couple of weeks…like maybe to Quiltcon…you might want to download a couple of my podcasts to fill in time while on the highway or in airports. I have had some amazing guests from, or adjacent to, the quilting world. And my interview with author Lucy Adlington does not disappoint. You can watch the videos here or listen to the podcast on the Youtube music app here.
My next Stitch’n Chat with Karen’s Quilt Crew is tomorrow Sunday February 11th at 11am EST. If you are a member, you will find the zoom link on the Just Get It Done Quilts community page.Â
If you need to plan further ahead, the March date is tentatively set for Sunday the 10th at 6:00pm
Mando is giving me that look that says he needs another walk. So that's all for now. Please please let me know how is your year coming along. How did your declutter challenge go?Â
Take care