Priming the Pump

Hello Blog.  

It's been such a while since I was last here and I feel a little out of practice.  

Whenever I feel like I've fallen off the wagon with any habit, I just take the pressure off by priming the pump.

Eliminate the expectations...just show up and write something...anything...so we can get accustomed to one another again.

So first, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Though you never left my heart, I didn't actually come by and say that, did I?

I have been blogging for six years...I'm now entering my seventh.  I started getting these books printed on Blog2Print and I'm just waiting for them to announce a coupon before I print 2013.

Every Christmas season I think how wonderful it would be to blog about it all.  

And every Christmas season I'm too busy enjoying it all that I often don't even take pictures, let alone blog about it.  

I'm shooting for next year.  Seven is my lucky number so maybe in my seventh blogging year it might happen.

So, here I am finally settling into January, my favorite month.  I have a few monkeys on my back...aka projects/tasks that I've promised people...that I need to finish before I can delve into finishing Mrs. Rose.  I've also re-committed myself to Japanese Embroidery so that I can graduate by the Fall of 2015 so Japanese embroidery will be showing up here more often.

I have tons of playing ahead in 2014 and I'm eager to get started.  That's why I chose my word for 2014...

By that I mean...

create schedules for work...

until they turn into work habits...

until those habits become routine.  

All of which should lead to progress.

OK.  Progress is not the word.  Let's get back to WORK.

I'm pretty good at "work" when I've reached the flow stage of any project...but then I take too long a break in between before I show up to the next project...so...hence the word WORK. 

WORK hard, WORK consistently, WORK when you don't feel like working, WORK like someone is watching you and giving you a performance review...

But before I start talking about the work, I've got to close the book and talk about some highlights from Christmas.  This year rather than exchange family gifts, we decided to put all our names in a hat and choose someone to buy a gift for.  That means little kids could get adults, teenagers get each other,  etc.

That plan worked really well and it was great fun to see what the kids gave the adults.

My niece Allie had me.  She's standing in the pic below and giving me a gift which she made herself...

which is my absolute favorite kind of gift.

Isn't it marvelous?   

An Allie Original, ball point pen on canvas.

I love it and it goes very nicely with the colors in my sewing/dining room...

My husband Jim had Allie's twin sister Lindsey, spelled Linz.  Well, check out what my engineer of a husband who works in the lighting industry handmade for his goddaughter...

At first he started out with just an "L" but he didn't want to stop there.  

Linz even has a remote to turn it on and off and change the lights from strobing to fade to constantly-on...etc.  When you're an engineer you think of things like remotes.

Speaking of handmade gifts, check out this little Christmas hand towel knitted by my super-talented Crazy friend Irene.  

She's been knitting more than crazy quilting lately and I am one of the beneficiaries.  

If I find the pattern she used (knowing her she probably made it up), I'll let you know.

For Christmas, I had the Littlest One...she's in second grade now.  I'll tell you about her gift another day.

And lastly, my SIL has a birthday just before Christmas so I like to give her a little something since those folks that have birthdays around Christmas seem to get lost in the holiday shuffle.

I made her this spiral rope necklace...made with silver 15/0 and smokey 11/0 seed beads plus chinese 3mm crystals.  

It turned out lovely and goes with lots of things.  I can see more of these in my future.

I learned how to make it at one of the gazillion beading parties that they hold at my new favorite beading store, Bead Soup, in Savage Mill.  

I'll be back there on Saturday for another class with the amazing Erin Simonetti, loom weaver extraordinaire.  Follow the link to the snow and you'll get a glimpse of what we'll be making.

So much more to share.  I feel better already.  The pump is primed and I'm rip, roaring and raring to go for 2014.

Now back to WORK.

Which includes taking down all those pretty Christmas decorations...

I had fun decorating the house this last year.