The End of 2009

What a year!

That's all I have to say about that.

ha! Fooled you! ;) I'm no Forrest Gump. I can't be a person of few words. I like to ramble, doncha know? ;)

For the past month or so, I've been a bit sulky, thinking that no matter how hard I try, I don't get any quilting done. zip, zero, nada. I've dwelt on the fact that I did not finish a show quilt in 2009. I look at my Step challenges on my sidebar and see FAILED! and know that I'm adding another FAIL for December. I feel like I can't call myself a quilter, because I haven't been quilting.

I remember my high school PE teacher, we called her "Miss Pete." She was a wise woman, despite her lack of years and grey hair. On one occasion, when I was listing my failures, she reminded me that while it's necessary to acknowledge what still needs to be done, it's also very important to look back and see what has been accomplished.

This morning I was reading Tanya's blog, and she took the time to review the year and see what she'd finished, quilt-wise. Rather than "not finishing anything," she'd completed 21 quilts!! To see her entry and photo collage, check here.

And so, I've gone through my blog, so see what I've finished. Rather than finish "nothing," I see that I finished and gave baby quilts to Heather, Julie, & Michele. I made large-ish quilts for Sean, Jeff, and Daniel. I made wallhangings for Sharon and Pete. I finished my 2009 Hoffman Challenge, made a quilted background for our guild website, made a quilt for the spare bed and finished an adorable wallhanging of young Adam in Scotland.

According to photos on the blog, I also finished and sent out at least 32 quilted cards.

And I quilted 17 quilts-for-hire.

And I successfully navigated my first year as chair of Best of the Valley.

Wow. I read that, and it sounds like bragging. Truly, it's not meant to be. I had no idea I'd finished so many quilts, no matter how small. Does it matter if they measure 5" x 7"? They were sent to touch 32 people. Hopefully that contact was just as meaningful - or MORE - than making a "show quilt."

Maybe the time I spent quilting for hire wasn't "wasted." It helped others finish some of the tops that might otherwise be on the shelf, gathering dust.

If I look around my house, I see a bed quilt, the Scotland wallhanging, and a photo of my 2009 Hoffman Challenge. Not much to show for my efforts. But if I look at the bigger picture? Maybe I DID do something quiltie this year after all!!

So, if you're feeling like you didn't accomplish much of anything this year, I encourage you to take the time to sit back and actually think about what you DID do, not what you DIDN'T do. Goals are good, and all that, but I'm pretty sure you'll be pleasantly surprised!!

Happy New Year!!!