Coming Soon

First off, I just discovered that blogger has a smartphone app. This is blindingly obvious in retrospect but still an amazing discovery.  These days, I'm spending less time on my computer, so I'm hoping this will let me post more often.  (And, my apologies in advance if this contains more typos than usual. I'm trying to edit as I write on this smallish screen, which is rarely a good idea.)

About that projects challenge: it is going surprisingly well. I decided against tracking weekly goals and instead have started two running lists. One is my list of projects that just need to be done. This list helps me get things out of my overcrowded head and reassures me that I'm not forgetting anything important or time critical.  I usually review it whenever I need to add something.

The second list is my goals for the day.  I often include household chores or errands on this list in addition to the broken down tasks needed to accomplish the goals from the first list.  It's a great reminder that I am doing important work, even when "projects" aren't getting done.  After all, healthy meals and clean homes don't happen by magic!  The most important thing about this list is that it has permission to roll over unfinished items to the next day.  I try to remember that there will always be "things to do" and as long as my family is fed and safe and loved, I am doing okay.

What I'm finding with this project is reassurance that I am making progress, albeit slowly.  Coming to terms with the new, postpartum pace of my life has been rough.  Seeing that I am accomplishing goals (I never delete an entry, just check it off) lets me cut myself slack on days where I can't get anything done.  I am relearning how to give myself room to breathe.

There will be pictures soon of some of my completed crafting projects. I'm working on one for a friend who just had her third adorable little one and that will take priority for a few more days.  Right now it's more important for me to accomplish than brag but I hope to be up to that soon, too!  I'm also making good progress with my reading, averaging a book per week this month.  My goal this year is 45 books.  It's ambitious but I like to aim high.  Unfortunately, financial goals are not going as well this year, due to the realities of renting out our property when we live across the country.

What projects are going well for you right now?  Any particular goals of mine that you're interested in?

Resolutions

I've been thinking a lot about projects lately.  I don't know about you but I feel like I'm in the middle of dozens of never-ending projects!

Today I was also considering my New Year's resolutions.  I make one every year and deliberately don't publish it.  This isn't true for everyone but if I'm talking about it, I'm not doing it.  Two years ago I made some life resolutions, namely some financial goals (made those) and some career goals (a new degree, which was accomplished a little late... having a baby does these things).

This year, I resolved to work on specific gratitude.  As I get older, I'm starting to understand the "it takes a village" mentality.  I work very hard on my own projects and taking care of my family but we wouldn't be where we are today without many other people's contributions.  I feel like I say "thank you" to a lot of people without truly letting them know what they mean to me.  This was especially true after kid1 was born.  No one expects a new mother to do much more than take care of her baby but once I got that (vaguely) under control, I tried to let people know how much I appreciated their support of our family.

For instance, I caught up on all my thank you cards, no matter how late.  All the baby showers, all the gifts, all the meals, all the people who just lent an ear or some advice while I was pregnant.  It was a good feeling to get that done.  I've also tried to send friends a little note once in awhile when I use and particularly appreciate something they gave me, whether it was a piece of furniture or some advice.  This in particular has opened my introverted eyes to the role of friends in my life.  I met some great people at our last base whose friendship is still positively influencing my life today.

But what about next year?  I hope that specific gratitude is becoming a character trait instead of a project and I need a new resolution.  I'm seriously considering starting a 52 projects challenge, one for each week of 2013, and tracking it here.  52 Projects would involved tackling some long overdue emotional weight (e.g. rolling over those orphan 401k's; reading some long-owned, never-opened books) as well as some projects I'd just like to try (finishing a quilt).  This is a departure for me, since it would commit me to regular posts.  It would also be challenging, maybe too challenging, as we are scheduled to move again next summer and I am hoping to earn a job at our next assignment.

Is it a good idea?  If I commit to doing it, would you read and comment on it?  Would anyone like to join me?

Re-orienting

I've recently been motivated to start sewing again, a hobby which took a serious down turn correlating with kid1's mommy-time-intensive first year.  It's hard to know how to pick up a project you've let go for awhile.

Sometimes the results are good.  I recently moved my sewing machine downstairs so I could sew when kid1 naps and sleep.  Clothing repairs got tackled first.  I thought there was monster pile that would take hours to fix but, once I got started, I was done with everything except replacing buttons in 30 minutes.  Now I have an almost-new pair of PJ pants, a sweater, and 4 shirts!  It was great to actually finish something (feeding the family and dishes and laundry and cleaning house don't count... they always need to be done again!).

Sometimes, the results are ambivalent.  In the same sewing spree, I finished piecing together the rows for kid1's quilt.  Now, the pieces are in the right order because I pinned them all at the same time.  And the rows are in the right order (I think...).  But are they turned right?  I have no idea which way I was folding them months ago and which side is left or right.  So while I've definitely made progress, I have some more work to do to really get going with this project.

*Note: This is a great example of why it's important to document your long term projects with things like, I dunno, pictures and diagrams.  Whoops.*

And sometimes, picking up a project in the middle is just a no-go.  The memory game I'm working on was this way.  After the quilt, I tried to move ahead with sewing the patterned fabric into the felt frames, only to discover the reason I stopped months ago: no matching thread.

I'm happy to report that one trip to Hobby Lobby later, that part of the project is finished.  Now, of course, comes the part I hate: ironing seams and interfacing.  Can I outsource this somewhere?  ;-)

Do you have lapsed projects that you're having difficulty re-starting?  How do you get going again?

New Year

The holidays have flown by in a rush for us.  LO's first Christmas was lots of fun; both grandmothers and two aunts were here to celebrate with us!  This was our first Christmas at home (seriously).  Being a military family, we live away from our extended family and, from the time we were engaged, have traveled for the holidays every year.  As much as we love traveling and seeing family, it was great to have our Christmas and start (or continue) some holiday traditions of our own.

With all that behind us, it's time to look ahead to a new year.  2011 was, in my mind, the year of baby.  I spent 9 months pregnant and 2.5 months adjusting to our new family routines.  We rearranged furniture & schedules, did lots of medical appointment, traveled for baby showers, bought and received tons of new baby stuff,  and generally got ready to be parents.  Speaking of which, if you're a parent (or have ever encountered a young child), you have to check out this blog post about an 11-Step Program for those considering parenthood!  Lessons 3 & 5 had me laughing so hard that I was in tears!

2012 will still be pretty baby-centric but my major goal this year is to find time for my interests.  January starts off with a bang - I go back to school next week.  With just two more classes to go, I can see the proverbial light but I'll admit to being apprehensive about finding enough time to do the work required.  Despite that, DH and I are both on schedule to graduate in March and that means, because we are in online classes and won't "walk", a graduation party this spring!

Some goals for this year:

Finishing my M.S. Systems Engineering degree.

Taking a quilting class

Finishing my existing, short-term sewing/cross-stitching/crafting projects by June (I made some good headway on this in 2011).

Organizing our Stuff (more about this in a later post)

Reducing debt and expenses & financial planning (we accomplished all of our financial goals for 2011!)

Losing the baby weight (8ish pounds from now)

Being healthier: Getting back to my fit weight (8 pounds below pre-baby weight), exercising a couple times a week, eating more veggies

Of course, the humdinger in all this is July 2012: the military move month.  Moving will wipe an entire month (or two) from the calendar.  It seems simple... pack your stuff in one place, unpack it in another... but it is simply not that easy.  Added to that, I'm hoping to earn a job at our new location.

It's going to be a busy year!  What plans and goals do you have for 2012?

My Month

It's been a busy month around here.  As of today, the baby is full term.  Yesterday was our last birthing class.  Monday marked the end of my last pre-baby systems engineering class.  I'll have about 3 months off before taking my last two classes.  This last course was super-time intensive in the homework department, although I'm not sure it was as beneficial as other classes have been.  At least it's over now.

In between homework assignments, though, it's been baby, baby, baby!  All the furniture is assembled and, with the exception of some later arrivals, all the baby clothes and bedding are washed and put away.  Thanks to the much appreciated generosity of friends and family and some long term financial planning on our part, we're in the process of finishing off our registries right now.  I'm excited because our nursery decorations should arrive next week!  Pictures should arrive here shortly after that.  :-)

Speaking of pictures, here's some craft updates!

First, a transportable changing pad that I made last month.  It was a very easy sewing project using this online tutorial.  Actually, it was so easy I'm thinking of making more for several friends who are also pregnant.

Transportable Changing Pad

Instead of the suggested inside fabrics, I used some Yankees-themed fleece left from several earlier projects.  Fleece turned out to be much easier to work with than minky or chenille, not to mention less expensive since I already had some!  There's even a handy pocket for diapers and wipes.

Inside View

Fully Unfolded

Next are two of a set of eight placemats I made, inspired by the blue gingham I got at the $1 fat quarter sale.    Blue check patterns sort of scream summer, don't they?  Even though these were simple, they took more time than I expected, mostly because I wanted to add in some interfacing to stiffen the placemats.

Reversible Placemats

I'm actually not quite done with these next two pieces.  Our changing table came with a pad but no cover, so I decided to make a couple.  Again, it's a simple idea, essentially a pillow case.  Unfortunately, when I measured out the fabric, I was a little too exact... the finished project was exactly the length of the pad, without enough edge to tuck under.  Fortunately, Hancock Fabrics had a cute dinosaur fabric that matched both covers!  The borders are sewn on but I still need to finish one end.

Dinosaurs!

Little Boy Fabric

Lastly, a couple of quick cross-stitch ornaments.  These are for the daughters of a friend of mine who are moving away soon... their little sister's ornament is still a work-in-progress.

Lots of other projects happening, including baby-themed sewing and some Christmas cross-stitch.  Pictures soon!

PS- One bonus picture: Pointing the camera down yields some interesting results these days.  :-)

More Crafting

I took the day off yesterday to do whatever I wanted.  That mostly turned in to updating my Goodreads account and craft projects.  I decided, in my typical OCD way, that I should actually list the projects I'm working on right now.  Boy, was that a mistake... but one I'm happy to share for commiseration purposes!

First, I forgot to post yesterday that I did end up repairing the dog blanket last month.  The replacement batting and patching I had in mind worked out pretty well.  It's not elegant, but then again it's for my dogs.  They seem happy to have their comfy blanket back and I'm happy to be done with another project.

This leaves me with 17 projects at various stages.  Yeah, that number's not a typo.  Shh, don't tell my husband!  Especially since he said something the other day about not needing to go back to a fabric store for a few years...

Without further ado, my list of projects (1-6 are current; 7-13 are doable but not started; 14+ need something):

1. Placemats - Found some cute blue gingham at the $1 fat quarter sale.  With the addition of some even cheaper red gingham, it will make 8 double-sided placemats.  Everything's cut, I just need to pin, sew, and iron.
2. Cloth Napkins - Coordinating yellow starburst/flower pattern to make napkins to go with the placemats.  Unfortunately, I underestimated the amount of fabric needed for this and actually have to go back to Hancock for another yard.  Who knew cloth napkins ranged from 16 - 21 inches square?!?  I discovered yesterday that this may be a good test run project for my new serger!
3. Picnic Bench Cushions - Blue leafy fabric I found back when we lived in Vegas (no comments on how long ago that was...).  The pieces are cut, the batting is cut, the straps are made (that was a pain); one cushion is even basted.  Just need to install that walking foot on my sewing machine and get going!
4. Memory Game - Made some progress on this last night.  Interfacing is all cut out, felt is all cut (including frames).  Now I need to start cutting squares of fabric to insert.
5. Baby Quilt - It's really a twin size quilt, which turns out to be a good thing.  Apparently all the crafty people in my family decided that making blankets for baby would be a great idea!  Plus, the 20+ receiving blankets we received as gifts are likely another craft project in the making.  They are all super cute but at least the quilt I make will be big enough to be useful for a long time.
6. Dragon & Castle (cross-stitch) - I've been working on this one off-and-on for over 4 years.  Just getting it set up to work on is time consuming.  It is a huge design and I'm probably 60% done.
7. PJs/Sleeper - Have the fabric (teddy bear fleece!) & pattern & notions & thread.  Just need to cut it all out and sew it together.
8. Gift for my sister-in-law - This is a stamped cross-stitch project kit, the first one I've ever done (the other type is counted and that's what I learned when I was young).  Not sure if she reads this blog or not; if not, pics may be coming after I start.
9. Crib Bumpers - I got the pattern from my mom and discovered last night that I may not have enough fabric (whoops!).  I based my cut size on another pattern I saw in a store, so I might just go back and get that one.  Once I decide what to do about that, it's cut and sew.
10. Clothing Repairs - Ugh.  What uninspiring sewing.  I think I need a basket, like my friend Jen suggested.  I need this more out of the way than I need it done right now.
11. Christmas Ornaments - Another cross-stitch project.  Each of these takes me 4-6 hours to do, so it's a good car-ride/TV-watching type project.  I make at least one for us every year plus a few for family/friends, but I'm running out of kits (only 5 left).  I haven't been able to find any at all the last two Christmases, so if anyone sees these (they generally run $1-2), please let me know!
12. Hand Towel - Cross-stitch pattern that took me longer than I estimated.  I intended to make 2... one is done and given to my sister as a wedding gift... now I need to finish the matching one.  Whoops.
13. Baby's 1st Christmas Ornament - Yeah, started this cross-stitch kit when I was 9... as in, for my new baby sister.  She's in high school now, so I should probably convert that to my baby's instead.  It would definitely take me less time now than it did then!
14. Bear Cross-stitch - Picked out the pattern, need to order it.  This is going in the baby's room... should probably get on that!
15. Curtains #1 - For that same sister, actually.  Still need the dimensions of her closet since she hasn't sent them yet!
16. Curtains #2 - Not sure if this is still valid.  I got fabric to make curtains for our house in Vegas and did about half of them before we moved.  Still have the fabric (and the curtains) but they don't fit this house at all.
17. Curtains #3 - These were for curtain sheers at the house in Vegas (it's very sunny there).  Never made any of them, but they might be retrofitted to another purpose through the sheer amount of fabric I have.

That's a lot and it makes me want to dive in and sew!  I also discovered that I have 9 fabrics with no plans.  I thought of uses for a couple, but still at a loss for the others.  It's good to have options, right?

Ever discover that you have more going on that you realized?  How do you handle the overflow?

July's Cross-stitch Projects

Okay, craft update time.  I'm pretty sure that all the things I've finished since my last update were gifts.  I'm hoping to get to more me-crafts this week.  Either way, it feels good to finish some projects!

 Wedding Gift: This was for a very good friend of mine but was severely tardy (worked on it for close to a year).  The corner pieces are from a different pattern, but I adjusted some things, selected the verse (from Hamlet), and arranged the whole piece, so it's a semi-original design.  I would never have guessed that a red/silver double matte was the way to go, but it definitely trumped the blue design I was considering!  (The date on the pattern has been blurred out for information privacy reasons... I'm kinda big on the subject.)  Sorry that the pictures are a little blurry; I only had my sister's camera and it's not quite fancy enough to make up for a poor photographer like me!

Matted Final Piece

Close up of Verse

Better shot of stitching (wish I could get these two pics melded!)

Baby Gift: This piece was slightly less tardy but, because it was a little late, I was able to give it in person rather than having to mail it!  My friend Amy and her husband decided to do an arctic animals theme and she made an adorable quilt to match.  I was so pleased to see that this piece went with it!  She also made us a very cute amish puzzle ball, themed to match our teddy bear nursery.  I haven't taken a picture yet, but she posted a good one on her blog.  (Again, the little one's name is blurred out... no reason for an infant to have an online presence yet!)

Frolicking Orcas!

Thank You Gift: We got thank you gifts for everyone who threw us baby showers, but this is the only one I made.  My sister-in-law is a big Winnie the Pooh fan and I've looked for years for a cross-stitch kit to do as an ornament for her.  As luck would have it, I found one this summer instead.  Guess I'll have to do something else for Christmas!

Pooh Bear Says Thank You

Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of this one with its matte.  DH procured it (and picked out a good one) and we gave it as a gift right after.  I'll have to try to get a picture the next time we travel to see her!

That was a lot to finish in one month, but it was mostly matting and framing that was needed to complete these projects.  As I mentioned in my last post, I'm almost done with my current class, so the next couple of weeks should be crafty ones!  I intend to get the quilt front pieced, make some placemats and napkins, start on crib bumpers, and make some progress on the memory game.  What are you working on these days?

Before I forget!  My friend Amy is also interested in doing an internet-based fabric stash swap.  I will definitely be participating!  If any of you are interested, let me know and I'll put you in touch.

In Which I Do My Version of Nesting

It's a well known feature of pregnancy that most women like to "nest" towards the second half of their baby-carrying time.  For most women, I would assume that this takes the shape of doing some long forgotten house projects and decorating a nursery.  Me, I apparently sew.  And sew some more.

My friend Amy has started a weekly "works in progress" update on her blog.  Not sure I could do this weekly, especially with my crazy July schedule, but it did inspire me to stop and take stock of what I've done recently and what projects I'm still planning to do.  Here's what I came up with:

Projects that are nearly complete:

• Wedding gift for a friend: Cross-stitch piece is done, mattes are on order, frame and mounting board are purchased!  I will finish this between trips to see family, which is when the custom mattes will arrive.  So excited to finally give this one in person (8 months late)!  Not only is it for a very good friend, but I (sort of) designed it myself.  Pictures will be posted after it's given.
• Baby gift for a friend: cross-stitch piece is done; mattes, frame, and mounting board are assembled; just need to put it together!  Probably finishing this tonight.  Also very excited to give this one (less months late).  Again, pictures will be posted after the gift is given!

Projects that are in progress:

• Baby Quilt: blocks are cut and sewn, piecing is organized, working on sewing the whole front together.  Updated pictures coming after that's done and I pick out a backing fabric.
• Picnic bench cushions: All the pieces are cut out.  This was on hold while I looked for a walking foot for my sewing machine.  That finally arrived a few weeks ago, so I should really get to this soon.
• Various clothing repairs: Very back-burner.  It's hard to motivate myself to do these when I don't fit in those clothes right now.  Although it would be nice to have the space back!
• Doggy Blanket repair: One of my dogs ate a hole in his blanket (he's not a destructive chewer so this was very unusual).  Plus, he pulled the batting out.  I cut away all the chewed up fleece, but I need to replace the batting in about a quarter of the blanket as well as patch the hole and I'm still not sure if I've got a good idea on how to approach this.

Future projects:

• Curtains: These are actually for my sister's closet.  I've had the fabric for awhile but misplaced the finished dimensions I needed.  I should probably call her and ask for them; this would be a pretty easy and quick project to finish.
• Crib bumpers: Fabric is purchased for two sets, but I'm getting a pattern from my mom next week (mostly for the dimensions).
• Baby romper/sleeper: Just got the fabric and pattern for this today (and discovered that there are a lot more clothing patterns for girls than boys).  This may wait till the quilt is mostly done.
• Unknown baby project: Purchased some very cute blue boy-themed fabric today for $0.85/yd!  Not sure what I'm doing with it just yet.  It's just over 1 and 3/4 yards, so I'm thinking maybe a onesie and something else.
• Memory game: Again, kudos to Amy for pointing out this blog project a few weeks ago.  It's a cute way to use up some fabric remnants from my ever-growing stash.  Thinking about doing two sets, one as a gift and one for our future little boy.
• Cloth napkins/placemats:  I got some cute blue gingham print fabric at a recent $1 fat quarter sale.  Just need to see if I have enough to do placemats or napkins.  This should be a quick project and I should at least try to finish it before summer's out!

I'm sure I've forgotten something, especially considering the incredible stash of fabrics I'm staring at in my craft corner.  How do you keep track of projects?  Do you work better when you know exactly what you're doing or are you more creative without organization?

Quilting Progress

I had lunch with my friend Leah today, who is very crafty and is making me an awesome baby carrier that I will be sure to post pictures of once it's home!  But our talk about sewing reminded me that I haven't said much about my quilt's progress recently.

First, the promised picture of the border fabric:

Another friend of mine pointed this out to me at the local quilting shop.  At first, I couldn't see how to incorporate it, even though I liked it.  But when I discovered that I needed a border fabric, this was perfect!  It's hard to see between the pictures, but the colors of the letters match the solid block colors.  I can see now why so many quilters keep fabric "stashes" for just such an occasion.

Tonight I completed sewing all the squares for the quilt!  Here's the stack:

And here's an idea of what they look like unfolded:

I still have to iron out all blocks and then square them off, which might be a little tricky (yay rotary cutter!).  But after that, the piecing can start!  I'm not sure how I'll arrange the blocks, but I enjoy organizing things (I know, weird), so I'm sure to have fun!

I'm trying to finish piecing the front before I travel to see my family next month.  It's going to be tight, but I want my mom's help with the backing and some serious advice on the actual quilting part.  We're going fabric shopping while I'm there (yay!) so my mom can pick out some fabric to make nursery paraphernalia.  We have a teddy bear theme going for the room and I was able to score a great deal on two teddy bear fabrics at Hancock last month:

Aren't they cute?!  I especially love the green one.  The tan-ish one is a regular cotton, but the green plaid is just a little heavier.  There's enough fabric of each to make crib bumpers and plenty of the green fabric to do something else.  Both fabrics are licensed prints and for $2.00 and $2.50 per yard, they're even cuter!

I also have a cross-stitch project I need to finish before the same trip. I think I better start devoting more time to crafting!

The Beginnings of Quilt 1.2

I finally uploaded the pictures of the new quilt I'm making to the computer last night... sharing time!

First, I'm using the "orange quilt" pattern on Cluck Cluck Sew as my template.  I love the white and orange look; I originally meant to make a quilt with solid tan blocks (for the teddy bear decor in the future nursery) and different colored patterns.  But, after finding some good deals ($1 fat quarters!) at a local quilting shop, I'm going with something a little different.  Instead, I'm using three different solid colors (red, green, & blue) and tan patterned pieces.  Here are some pictures, including gratuitous shots of my new (50% off!) self-healing cutting mat:

This is the selection of solid colors (the red one has a nice little texture pattern to it).  The teddy bear & ducks design is a cross-stitch pattern that I'm buying soon to stitch and hang in the baby's room.

 Four of the six patterns I picked out.  I wanted to make an 8x12 pattern and counted total squares in the store, not a per pattern amount.  Didn't realize I'd need six till I recounted at home (whoops!).

A close up.  My favorite is the paisley!

 The pieces of future blocks in order and pinned for sewing.  I used the recommended stack 'n' whack method to cut them all out and it was much quicker than measuring and scissors!

A close up.  You can see some of the color combinations here.  This is only 4 of the 6 tan patterns.

The center squares and flaps are sewn and ironed.  The pattern on the right is the missing fifth pattern and has some cute stars and swirls.

And, in this picture, the pattern on the right is #6.  It's darker than the others, but I'm planning on a dark brown backing (I think!  You know how these things go.)

Next step is pinning the strips onto either side of the center strips and sewing and ironing them.  Then they'll be ready to finish piecing!  After cutting out most of the blocks, I discovered that by using the stack 'n' whack page, I had cut blocks that will finish at about 1" too small to make an 8x12 quilt approximately twin size.  So instead, I got to return to the quilt shop and buy not only 2 new brown/tan patterns but border fabric!  The fabric I picked was one a friend pointed out to me on an earlier trip and it is super cute... tan with solid color letters everywhere.  I forgot to take pictures of that but will add them soon.  I also have two new teddy bear fabrics (Hancock Fabrics was running some great deals!) that I will post projects for in the near future.

So far the quilt has gone together easily, although I'm slowly remembering why quilting is so expensive both in time and money.  I'm excited to see the finished blocks and to play with the arrangement for the front!  What do you think?

Dogs and Quilts

Being pregnant has lead to some odder-than-usual observations; for instance, it makes me understand my dogs better.  They're beagles and they're known for a number of traits: their enthusiastic greetings, their loud beagling (beagle literally means "to trumpet"), their insanely sensitive noses, their insatiable appetites, and their willingness to nap on the couch at any time.

I can't compete with the noise they make (or their joy at meeting someone!), but in the first trimester, my hyper sensitive nose revealed all sorts of smells of which I was previously unaware.  For instance, I now know why my dogs run over every time I open the fridge or pull the kitchen garbage bag out.  Even though they never get anything out of either event, it smells like food... all the time.

Now that I'm past that stage, my sense of hunger has returned.  I'm actually supposed to eat every couple of hours because of sugar problems, so I'm also never allowed to over indulge.  This leaves me in a perpetual fix-food/eat-food/hungry-for-food cycle.  I often joke that my dogs will eat anything that will stay still, or occasionally just move slowly (Dog #2 and grasshoppers are great entertainment!).  In any case, I'm beginning to seriously sympathize with their continual drive to eat!

As I write this, both dogs are lounging on the couch "watching" the Yankees game with us.  Even with the increased energy of the second trimester (relatively speaking) I'm spending more time resting these days and can tire myself out in a hurry.  And when I need to sit and rest, it is nice to have two warm dogs to lay next to me on the couch.  :-)

In the mean time, I'm (ambitiously) starting my first quilt this weekend!  Well, let's be honest... my second quilt.  I started one way back when I was... 8?  9?  Anyway, it's a patchwork quilt that never got past the piecing stage (I'm seriously considering seam ripping the squares and using them for other projects).  I've meant to learn some quilting techniques for several months now and, as so often happens, it looks like I'm largely going to teach myself.  Pictures of the pattern and fabrics I've chosen are coming soon!

Book Reading Update

In September of last year, I wrote a post about slimming down my reading list.  Looking back, I'm pretty sure I never followed up on this on the blog, which is a shame since it was one of my most-commented entries.

Here are some stats (numbers = happy me!):

• Read in 2010: 17,347 pages (35 books)
• Left unread in 2010: 23,882 pages (48 books)
• Eliminated: 5,449 pages (14 books)
• Added in 2011: 10,152 pages (22 books) 
• Read so far in 2011: 5,785 pages (12 books) + 1,245 pages (2 books) re-read = 7,030 pages
• Left to read in 2011: 22,800 pages (44 books)

I ended up completely eliminating about 20% of my reading list, although I've certainly added back pages.  The titles that I added fall in four categories: books I owned but hadn't recorded, titles for book club, books I received for Christmas, or books published in 2011 by favorite authors. I have another 2,644 pages that are potentially going away; they're in a box that hasn't been opened since last October, probably for a reason.  I'm also thinking about taking the complete works of Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Hans Christian Anderson, and the Brothers Grimm off my list, which would eliminate another 4,000 pages.  I'd never sit down and read those works cover to cover, but I tackle one or two offerings from time to time.

At this rate, I would almost finish this group of books by the end of the year, assuming I don't go overboard buying new publications.  What do you think... do I go ahead and eliminate those 6,600 pages?  Should a few more books go?  How are your reading lists coming?

Bonus Update:  Books I've read since my last book review post, with hyperlinks going to my reviews:
Persuasion (4 stars)
Stone of Tears (2 stars)
The Forgotten Garden (3 stars)
The Wise Man's Fear (5 stars)

Debt Free Month! Or not...

Note: This is the story of why April 2011 is no longer our debt payoff month.  It's a bit long, but I tried to make it flow for easy reading.  I hope you get something worthwhile out of it... please feel free to comment on your own experience!

About 3 years or so ago, we got serious about getting rid of our debt.  At that time, we had some substantial credit card debt (thanks to financial classes that were not a timely investment) and a lot of student loan debt (thanks to a private college that kept hiking rates).  We did have a financial game plan before we got married, something that I highly recommend for committed couples of all types, and we paid everything on time with extra when we could afford it.  But it becomes very easy to slip off the debt payoff wagon when things don't go quite like you expect.  For instance, it took a lot longer than we had planned for me to start my first career job.  We also discovered that there are some peripheral expenses to being a military officer (and really, just having a career... lunches out, anyone?) that we hadn't accounted for.

So, when I did get that job in April 2007, we recommitted to paying off our debt faster.  Much faster.  Because I have graduate loans, some of our debt had a 20 year payoff period.  Crazy!  I did not want to be one of those parents who writes the last check for their own student debt just to turn around the next month and start paying tuition for my own kids!  We crunched the numbers and decided that we could live off my husband's income for bills and groceries and in turn use ALL of my paycheck towards debt payoff.  As an engineer, I brought in just over half our take home pay, despite also taking a bigger tax hit.  By moving from a retail job at $10.75/hr to a career position, I had effectively doubled our total income.

This system was tough at times, but it had a huge effect.  Both of us kept lunches out to twice a month.  Dinners out were also twice a month and we tried to do one as a date night and one night out with friends.  We carefully budgeted for everything, especially household items and groceries.  It was hard sometimes, especially when friends bought new cars (mine was 15 years old) or went out to dinner constantly; but seeing those numbers go down was worth it!  At some point in our debt payoff scheme, I calculated how long it would be till we had canceled out all of our credit card and student loan debt.  The answer?  Fall of 2010!  Much better than December 2026!

Fast forward 18 months, to August 2009.  My husband got orders to PCS, which is military-speak for "relocate your life".  We only got about 8 weeks' notice, so we immediately changed our plan; no extra moving debt for us!  We kept paying debt minimums (of course), but everything else went into a savings account, just in case.  Moving is expensive, even when it's reimbursed, and it means finding a new job for me; there are no guarantees.

After lots of moving fun (read: annoyances), I wound up unpacking the house about three months later (the military is also fond of sending people to training, heedless of timing).  We planned for me to be out of work for about 9 months.  At the time, most people in my industry who were looking found new jobs in about 6 months, but they could go anywhere.  I recalculated that debt payoff date using our new lower cost of living (city to small town move): if I had a comparable job/income by July of 2010, we would be debt free by April 2011.  Still awesome!

You probably know, or can guess, most of the rest of the story.  The economy is still down; the local economy is non-existent for highly-skilled/educated jobs.  Our experience living on one income has been a lifesaver; my husband has been promoted and gotten the commensurate raises since then, meaning that his income now roughly equals our starting income from four years ago: his career plus my retail job.  We can and do live on one income comfortably, but April 2011 is no longer our debt payoff month and it's hard to say what it is now.

Some good things we did:

• Savings build up.  We rarely touched this, but it has given us tremendous peace of mind and stopped us from running up credit card bills (if we're not willing to sacrifice savings for something, why would we pay interest for it?).  We recently reduced the disproportionate amount we had to pay off a couple of low balance, high payment loans, which has been great for our cash flow while still leaving us plenty for emergencies.
• Early debt payoff.  The credit cards and loans that were paid off before we moved (plus the two paid off since then) meant that our minimum payments were much lower.  Our original minimum payments would leave no wiggle room on a single income, so this has made a huge difference.  We are also continuing extra debt payments, albeit at a slower pace.
• Rented out our property.  It doesn't cover the mortgage, but the extra money that this brings in is being split between debt payoff and a baby fund that will likely purchase our next (family-sized) vehicle.  This income is only guaranteed for the length of the lease, however, so we don't count on it past a certain point.
• Living on one income.  This move would have been an insane adjustment with no prior experience; instead, it was just a question of juggling some numbers.  I cannot overemphasize how little stress this has caused us and how horrible it could have been.

Now you know the story of my not-quite-debt-payoff month.  What about you... have you set financial goals that you've needed to re-evaluate?  What steps have you taken that turned out to be great in the long run?

Crafty Wishes

I'm feeling the urge to be crafty.  I had to put off joining a quilting class that I really wanted to attend for extraneous reasons and I feel the need to make up for that!  I'm actually working on two cross-stitch pieces for two different friends, plus one for myself, but I really want to sew today.  Cross-stitch is great for relaxing or having something to do on long car trips, but today I want to make something.

However, I don't really have any projects going at the moment, other than the monstrous pile of repair work that I should do.  I love this platypus that my friend Amy made in just one day!

So how about it crafty friends?  Any cute, quick projects to suggest?

Or any websites or stores where you get great bargains on quilting supplies?

New Years Resolutions

Wow, has it ever been a busy holiday season!  Without my calendar in front of me to confirm, I would still guess that I averaged an event per day.  Fortunately, I managed to do well enough on my homework to make an A in my latest class.  Yay!

Since then I've caught up on some reading and articles.  Of all those I read, the one I want to point out is this one: Women and Money.  The first financial book I read was Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach, which I feel is better than most books on female finances, but could certainly be improved with the information that the article's author suggests.

On the topic of scheduling, this is the point where I need to admit that I did too much in the last six weeks.  I'm working on that with my New Year's resolutions.  It's a mistake to make too many, though; I read a great article today about ways to help you keep your resolutions.  So here are my goals for 2011:

• Financial Improvement: paying down debt, increasing income, reducing expenses.  My husband and I are doing our annual financial update next month, so I'm likely to blog about this a lot in the near future. I also intend to write a post soon about our financial journey.
• Physical Improvement: I lost 16 pounds last year, but have gained back around 6.  Planning to drop that 6 again and then finish with the last 7 I was originally planning to be rid of.
• Personal Improvement: Less agreeing/volunteering to do things, more reading, sewing, cross-stitching, and personal time, and no guilt about it.  Also, more having friends over and less going out (conveniently helping with the financial goals).

Is there something you're working on in the new year?  Do we have complementary goals or are you working on something uniquely yours?

Holiday Charity

I posted a link to this before, but it got lost in the shuffle of a different post: Worldbuilders

Authors are becoming increasingly connected directly to their fans these days.  This is an attempt by an author to harness that power and do some good in the world.  It's hard to call Patrick Rothfuss a favorite author of mine, although I very much enjoyed his fantasy novel, because it's a small statistical sample.  But let's say that his book is awesome (because it is) and that he deserves adulation for setting this up year after year (because it's a huge undertaking and he does).

So what is Worldbuilders?  It's a drive to raise money for Heifer International, a global charity that is predicated on teaching poor and rural people responsible agricultural practices.  They have lots of great info about that on their site, so I won't repeat it here, but suffice to say that this is a charity with a strong systematic outlook.

But!  Worldbuilders is not just about "hand over the cash"!  There are prizes!  Good ones!  Specifically, a lot of rare and/or signed books, plus some miscellaneous items.  These are donated by publishers, authors, readers, and bookstores; the prizes can be seen on the blog linked above.  Most items are put in a lottery; a $10 donation gets you one lottery entry.  Some items are sold directly in their online store.  A few rare items (such as getting your manuscript professionally edited or a signed Brett Favre jersey) are put up for auction on Ebay.  And, thanks to the generosity of Rothfuss and some corporate sponsors, all donations are matched $0.50 on the dollar.  Last year, the final total was over $125,000, which was $190,000+ after sponsor matching, a mind blowing amount for such a distributed group of readers.

In any case, I think this sort of effort deserves a plug.  The lottery fundraiser portion is done on December 13th, but some of the auctions extend beyond that.  If you haven't decided where to put your holiday charity money yet, consider Worldbuilders, where your money is worth 50% more.  The latest blog entry by Patrick Rothfuss gives your odds of winning with a $20 donation at 1 in 8, which are good odds for such cool stuff!

Book Elimination Progress

My bookshelf already looks better.  I got rid of 12 books from my spreadsheet that I know I won't read.  Plus, there were over a dozen books that had crept onto my shelves with no mention in my reading list.  Most of those were put out as well, and I added the seven books that I do intend to get to.  I also put 8 more titles "on notice" by sticking them in a box.  All told, I eliminated 4,932 pages from my reading list, about a 20% reduction.  The eight boxed books are potentially another 2,644 pages to go, although some of those titles will find their way back to my reading list.

Overall, I'm proud of myself for this.  My bookshelf is cleaner, my reading list is up to date, and my reading is not an emotional drag for the first time in months.  Of the books that I own and will read, I have 21,535 pages to enjoy, although that number will drop as I finish a few more books before the end of the year.  I would love to be below 20k pages by January 1st, but hesitate to set that goal knowing how busy I am between now and then.  In any case, that is a do-able number for next year's reading and I intend to set that New Years Resolution for myself.

Next up are my Goodreads shelves.  I already created a couple of new exclusive shelves, titled "potential to-reads" and "removing from reading list".  The "removing" list currently stands at 43 books and growing; I'll delete this list and its contents once I've gone through all the unread books.  I'm moving books I'm interested in but not actively pursuing from "to read" to the "potential" shelf.  This will create a pool of books to draw from if I want something new but also remove the emotional burden of a 200+ title "to read" list.  Books that I own will stay on the main list, as will books on my "anticipated purchases" list.

Okay, that's all very complicated.  But the point is, I'm lightening my load and making reading a fun hobby rather than a chore.  It's very much like handling our finances; now that I know where things are, I feel more relaxed and in control.  Anything that helps reduce stress this time of year is definitely worth the time.

Now there's a better question: what to do with the books I'm not reading?  Options include donating, trading, or selling.  I'm leaning toward selling for the money and because it wouldn't create more books for me.  Has anyone else done online book selling?  Or have a good charity to donate to?

"Down Time" Escapes Me

So in what is all too typical of me, I managed to cram everything under the sun into my 5 days off.  My house is finally clean... well, the downstairs is, anyway.  And the finances are updated/readjusted for now and I made some progress on Lego Harry Potter.  But what I'm really excited about is this weekend!  I have an action packed three days coming up:

Friday is a day trip to New Orleans with some of the ladies from the local spouses' club.  This should be a good trip because we really have not taken advantage of the closeness of NOLA yet, so hopefully I'll get some inexpensive day trip ideas.  Plus, I get to hang out with a good friend!

Saturday is the Renaissance Festival in Hammond, LA.  In honor of Veterans Day, this weekend is half off for military families.  I've heard nothing but good about this festival and I'm very excited to be going with yet more good friends!

Sunday is my cram day of sorts... we were originally going to spend the whole day at the semi-local Celtic Festival (complete with jousting, music, and sheep herding dogs!).  But of course I had to get on the internet and one thing led to another (as it often does for me) and I found a Christmas craft fair!  And, even more unsurprisingly, it's only this weekend, just like the Celtic Festival.  Thus, Sunday is just going to be busy and that's all there is to it.

You may notice the lack of book clearing.  Not to worry, I started the list two days ago and just have to go take them off my shelves now.  Going to squeeze in the worst part of that before we go out to dinner tonight.  But first, I have to kick the two napping beagles off my lap!

Back to the Book Question

I feel a bit like a kid today: I'm counting down the days until school is out.  Or rather, till my current class is done (5 days!).  I have three more assignments, including one 15 page research paper, which will be about the systems engineering behind e-readers.

In any case, I get a very short break between classes, only 5 days, so what I'm actually thinking about is how to spend those days.  Two of them, Saturday and Sunday, will be taken up with a Renaissance Festival and a Celtic Festival and Highland Games (very excited about both... even budgeted for souvenirs, i.e. cool jewelry...).  For the remaining three days, there are two goals (big step for me: notice the lack of house cleaning objectives!):

1. Beat Lego Harry Potter (almost done w/ Year 4, just need to go back and play to 100%)
2. Par down my to-read lists.

No typo, lists.  There are 3!  One on Goodreads, one on a spreadsheet, and one that's a stack of books in my room.  Obviously, there's a lot of overlap, but I suspect some books have sneaked onto one list or another without my acknowledgement.   Based on what I wrote before and the awesome feedback I received, here are my new book elimination rules:

1. Any Star Wars books/series that I started and didn't like (I'm looking at you, Coruscant Nights!) or that I haven't yet started will be eliminated.
2. Any book I've owned more than 4 years without reading will be eliminated or boxed, no exceptions (and I can't cheat here, there's yet another list with proof of ownership for that long).
3. Any book that I feel will not be read will be eliminated or boxed.
4. Parts of series that I've never bothered to collect will be eliminated.

Even if I wuss out a bit on #3, I think that's going to take care of most of the dead weight on my shelves.  Anything in a box (call it a "maybe toss it" box) will stay until January 1st.  If I can't remember it in two months, it goes.  I track my reading annually and I want to start next year's reading feeling lightened and not duty-bound to read something because it's on a list.  I want to go to a bookstore and pick up a book without feeling guilty that I have dozens at home that are unread.  I'm inspired by the success of others and knowing that when I eliminate Stuff, I feel healthier.

Are there other rules you would recommend?  Have you successfully done this yourself?  And how do I have a book list party to add some social pressure?  Or should I bribe myself with a treat to celebrate afterwards?

New Blanket

I went on a bit of a creativity spree yesterday and worked on a couple of lapsed projects.  I was going to take pictures of the dog blanket that I finished last night, but I encountered a problem:

I thought the pictures could wait and I intended to try again this morning.  This was the result:

I guess I must have done alright.