As of now there is no one on the list to get a Valentines card. I did not think of another person I wanted/needed to send a card to for Christmas once I made my last mailing! Yeah!

Now a little vent. I am always late mailing my gifts to my parents for Christmas and every other event for that matter! This year, much to my dismay, turned out to be no different. I listened carefully to the news reporters talking to the Postal workers and the report saying "If you mail Priority by Wednesday it will make it in time". When I mailed my package off on Tuesday at noon I knew I had it made! I bought tracking as well to be safe. You probably already guessed it, the package made it to the correct city on Saturday but after mail delivery had been made. So my folks present was late. Insert expletives of your choice here. I was not happy. My mother slipped in a snotty comment about it after previously saying not to worry about sending anything. Fortunately their Christmas card did make it on time and contained a portion of their gift. The way I look at it I was only half late! Everything was good on Tuesday the 26th when the package was delivered and my parents were both tickled with what I had made and sent to them.

Mom mentioned she liked the fabric I used to make a totebag earlier that year. She said she would like placemats in fabrics like those. Her wish was my command. Here they are:

Dad mentioned fleece socks that he had gotten last year. I traced them and bought fleece intending to make more. I am not great with not having instructions so I bought a pattern and then lengthened them, per his request, to go up to his knees. He was tickled and slept in them that night. Here they are:

With these done and mailed off I moved onto some baby blankets I wanted to make for ladies at work. It took me about 4-5 days to get two done. Here is the picture of the green one. They were interesting to make.

I now have the chemo cap from my list on the loom and almost done. If you look at my To Do List you will see that I am now back to a quilting UFO. Lists are my savior! I need to update it!

Last night I finished up all the Christmas cards that I could remember! I sent about 30 two days ago and thought 40 stamps would be enough. Today I just bought 40 more stamps and am through half of those. I made a list and checked it twice! I just can't remember everyone. As I was stamping this last batch I thought of another person I wanted to mail a card to. This must end. Anyone I remember after Friday will get a Valentines card from me!

I have gotten maybe a dozen cards so far this year. I think many have given up on me since I haven't sent cards for the past few years. I always wanted to but my crazy job took all of my time. It is nice to see who is thinking of you at least once a year. After sending all these cards I hope I fall back into the good graces of several and get back on their mailing lists! Of course there are many that, due to age, I no longer expect a card but want to let them know I am thinking of them. I don't really expect a card, I rather should say I HOPE for a card!

Now, that looming thing I mentioned yesterday. I have always wanted to knit and will be the first to tell you that knitting needles are weapons in my hands! I inherited some yarn from my mother in law when she passed away many years ago. In my decluttering endeavors I culled a lot of yarn that I got from her. There was this white nubby yarn I could not let go. With the desire to use this yarn in mind I kepy my eye open for something to do with it. I happened across Knifty Knitter Looms last November or so and bought them. I made myself a hat and scarf on the looms using that yarn and have been hooked ever since! Here is my list of knitty accomplishments.

Loom Knitted Items for 2006 (2005 included as well).

• White boucle hat and scarf set for me
• Purple sock/slippers for myself
• Red shawl for my boss (she didn't seem to appreciate it....)
• Blue hat and scarf set for Mom
• Green shawl for my friend Beth
• Red shawl for Donnamarie
• Blue shawl for Judy
• 1/2 dozen bangle purses for many happy little girls in my life!
• Orange slipper socks for Gavan
• Various swatches on new looms I got for my birthday

Currently on the loom. I have a blue shawl for myself on a knitting board. I need to put it on my list of things to do so that if gets the attention it deserves!

I have just tons of things I want to do next. So here is the challenge. I am a multi crafter. So which craft or item do I work on next. I think this is how I got away from quilting. I was overwhelmed with all the stuff I wanted to do. Because of this I plan to keep a list of prioritized items to work on next. The realization that I won't be able to do it all in my lifetime is on the verge of my conciousness. This has really caused me to stop buying so much. I find myself admiring a lot more and buying a lot less.

If you are a member of Stashbusters you will see me post reminders about 15 minutes of sewing a day. This is my way of motivating myself to do a little something every day. So with my list in hand and my push to do something for at least 15 minutes a day I should accomplish a lot in the coming days, weeks, months and years! Here's hoping!

I have so many projects that I want to complete. I have made a "To Do" list to help me stay on track. I am a member of Stashbusters which has an UFO challenge and also a No Buy challenge. I have signed up for both. I already have so much fabric that I don't really need anymore. The UFO on top of my list is a Rail Fence that is meant for a baby that is now 8 years old. Luckily the quilt is 45x60 and a good size even for an adult. I stopped my UFO work to get Christmas gifts done and some swaps that I was a member of. I need to really assess everything I sign up for to ensure it doesn't detract from my goals of finishing things and reducing my stash.

In 2006:

• had 10 UFOs
• completed 2
• started 2 new quilts that were not finished

This means I start 2007 out with 10 UFOs. 2006 has been the most productive sewing/quilting year for me in a very long time. I decided I needed to get back to it and have been very successful.

2006 accomplishments:

• tote bag swap completed
• finished my Chicken applique quilt
• fixed my friends parallelogram quilt
• designed and appliqued/embroidered a block for "12 Days of Christmas" swap. I had day 2 and created 2 Texas Wildflowers
• participated in my first mystery quilt "Chain Events". Great experience.
• created my first crazy quilt piece. A Christmas stocking swapped off to my buddy ozicutsnake in Australia
• made 4 placemats for Mom for Christmas
• made fleece socks for Dad for Christmas
• various clothing mending projects. Ick

There are probably more. I picked up loom knitting and have a list of completed knitted items as well. Will post those another time.

OK I set this thing up in April and then never posted to it. I guess I will make this the first official post so that I can see what I get.