bits and bobbins

it took me a couple days to formulate some plans.

quilting related:

-keep quilting.  quilt more and more as time allows.
-push myself, and stretch myself when it comes to quilting.  strive to keep trying new things, developing new ideas, and follow through with those ideas and finish those projects.
-work toward finding and developing my own personal quilting style.
-improve my machine quilting skills.  move beyond straight lines.

art/photo related:

-take more pictures.  via the slr and via the phone (instagram, etc.).  i.e., more photos by any means necessary.  photos of anything and everything, myself, poppy, peter, anything around me.  just get back into it.
-paint more.  acrylics, gouache, watercolor, whatever.
-take a painting class.
-draw more too, damnit.
-use what I learn in my fabric silkscreenng class to make fabric for art, clothing and quilting.  don’t end the class and not continue on with what was learned.  perhaps use this fabric to as above in the quilting section, enhance my personal quilting or fashion design vision, as it develops and continues to develop.

fashion related:

-try a little harder.  been in too much of a rut the past couple years.   have fallen into wearing “uniforms”.  so, i want to strive to try harder to express myself every day.  maybe even document it again, but can’t promise anything.
-keep making more of my own clothes.  use hand printed fabrics and marimekko stash to make some new dresses.

personal:

-read even more books.
-do some traveling.  preferably out of the country, or at the very least, go somewhere in the states where i/we have never been.
-make new friends.
-spend more time doing art with my daughter.
-eat even healthier.  cut back on the sweets.
-take a dance or yoga class.
-walk more.

***

i’m well aware that the turn of a new year is an arbitrary date on which to set goals, as goals can be set and strived toward at any time or date throughout the year.  still, i like it…it’s a time to look back and reflect on the year gone past and formulate plans to make the year ahead as fruitful as possible.  never a bad thing.

this photo isn’t from NYE, but, close enough.  (it was from pete’s work Xmas party back on dec. 10th.)

i have been around, but busy.  i also got an iPad and that derailed my blogging big time…went into deep media digestion mode and created virtually nothing in a virtual sense.  pinterest and Flickr efforts excepted.

it was a crazy year, full of a tremendous amount of change.  good change (moving, poppy growing up and getting potty trained (!), and starting at a new preschool), and bad change (health problems, peter’s dad passing away, etc.).

but overall, the year ended on a good note, i would say.

-poppy’s new school is great.  very urban and forward-thinking, as well as kind of hip.  her head teacher has pink hair!  they even make a point to serve them healthy organic food and emphasize environmentalism, which is a nice touch.  she’s going 5 mornings a week and seems to love it.  yay!

-poppy’s school is about a mile away.  i usually walk back home after dropping her off, and walk back over to pick her up.  lately i’ve been taking the stroller with me to pick her up so i can walk us home too, so I get about a 3 mile walk in each school day.  hooray for exercise!  i need it, as it’s been a non stop sweets and candy fest around here since Halloween…(maybe you can relate???)

-while poppy is at school, i usually head home to sew.  i’ve been getting into quilting, big time.  i made my parents a large quilt for Xmas, and also finished one baby quilt (for my newest niece marabel, born mid-dec), as well as a full size red and white zig zag quilt, which now resides on our bed.  i’ve also finished multitudinous quilt tops in the past little while and have more ideas and quilts in the queue.

-on a quilt related note, i joined the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild in dec and met a fabulous group of ladies there…including one famous quilter, jacquie, who lives in my building.  she and i have even gotten together a couple times since at her place to chat and sew.  she’s amazing.  so happy to make a friend here, especially one as nice as jacquie, and especially one who sews/quilts!

-i signed up for a fabric silk screening class, it starts next week, and runs for ten weeks.  so excited!

i’m off to do some sewing RIGHT NOW.  a perfect way to start the new year.  while i sew i plan to ponder my goals for 2012.  still formulating plans.  *smile*

***

what have you been up to?  i’ve missed you.  :)

we’ve been in our new place here in chicago for two weeks, tomorrow.

my mom came a few days after moving in to help out and take care of p while i set to work putting things in their places. having her here was amazing…i was able to get a lot done. without her here, the same work would have taken me months to complete. because 3 year olds need to be cared for, fed and entertained, you see…

there’s still a lot of work to be done, but little corners of the house feel settled and for now, that’s enough.

every day i am surer of our decision to move to chicago. i have and always have had a lot on my mind, but my soul feels more at home and at rest here than i have anywhere in the last two to three years. i believe i’m allergic to suburbs.

i’m really loving how *close* our new place is to everything. how i can not bother using the car most days, and can just hop on a bus or train to get me where i want and need to go. or just use my feet. it just feels easy and right.