Last Night I Caught

Charlie.

Silly Charlie. You went after the food, thinking it was more awesome than what I feed you. Were you wrong? You didn't eat a bite!

Thank you for the great responses to my goal setting post yesterday. Today I was listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio, and he was talking about effective goal setting. He mentioned five key components of effective goal setting.

The first was to Be Specific. "Don't just say, 'I want to lose weight,' say how much, exactly."

The second was that the goal needs to be measurable. "I want to finish 3 quilts."

Third is that you have to own it. You can't say, "My mom wants me to..." and then call it a goal. That's your mom's goal. What's yours?

Fourth is to set a time frame. "I want to finish 3 quilts by February." You have a specific, measurable goal, it's yours, and you have a deadline. (Haven't I always said that deadlines are my best friend? The best way for me to get a quilt finished is to have a deadline.)

And finally, put it in writing. That sets it in your mind, once you've put it on paper.

Can you believe it? He hit all 5 of my key points to goal setting in 5 minutes! It took me 45 years to figure it out!! I think the year that I did my own 12 Step Program (setting a goal each month to get one step further along on a UFO, not to necessarily COMPLETE anything...) was the year that it really hit home. Concrete measurable goals with a time limit. perfect.

So, what was my first quilt goal for 2012? "Finish the baby quilt for my husband's friend's grandson by Wednesday." Today is Monday, tomorrow I will be making the label.

What do you think? Are goals good or what?! :)

Happy New Year!!

First off, no, I did not catch the opossum. He actually returned a second time, within 30 minutes. arg!! I had my husband move his car so I could retrieve the humane trap from the attic. I set it up, but no luck. I almost caught one of my cats, but she thought better of it in the long run. Good choice, Hecate!

Today is the Day of Lists. Isn't it for everyone, in one way or another?

My son asked if I'm making any "resolutions." I told him that no, I'd rather set goals. I set goals I can accomplish, so my first one is to lose 3 pounds. I need to lose much more than that, but 3 sounds realistic. Once I hit and maintain that loss, I can set a new goal. Sound good? Sounds good to me, even looks good in print. Let's see if I can do anything about it in reality.

So anyway, I have compiled two lists, as I do on every January 1. First is the list of quilts completed in the previous year. Here goes:

1. Penguin Parade

2. “Ice” SAQA “This is a Quilt” entry

3. Sharon Schlotzhauer Iris Quilt for SJ
   

4. “The Flower Fades”

5. “Passion” SAQA auction donation quilt – purchased by Karey Bresenhen

6. “Glacier Ice”

7. “No Time For Tradition” - 2011 Hoffman Challenge

8. Airplanes Baby Quilt

9. oversize underwater fishes baby quilt

I also completed 34 quilted cards, which felt like next to nothing.

The second list is my UFO Challenge List. Now this is a list that I'd prefer to see shrink, rather than grow.

This year's list has 36 items on it. Last year's list had 37. A small victory. Happily I am down from my previous high, which hovered around the mid-40's for years, so I AM making progress.

Rather than make you read my entire list, I'll give you the Top Ten.

1. Rose Window Grad Q for Andrew

2. Pastel Lone Star for Penelope

3. Coxcomb for Allison&Jeff

4. Splashing in the River of Joy

5. Charlie in Color and Black and White

6. Flying Penguins

7. Blue&Gold Log Cabin (quilt, bind)

8. Yellow Floral Bed Quilt

9. Turquoise Tropical Medley

10. Bright/Black Feather Star

The top ten are the ten I would most like to see completed. They are not necessarily the ones that will be given priority treatment. I know for a fact that #36 will be the first thing I complete, as that baby is already here, and his quilt has been basted for weeks. *sigh*

Perhaps I should add "get organized" to my Goals for 2012 list? Getting/staying organized is a daily struggle and a life long goal, so I doubt that putting it "officially" on my list would make much difference.

And there you go. Have you put together a list for 2012?

I do recommend listing your UFO's. It can be disheartening, as you unearth one after another after another, but the payoff of having the length of the list reduced over the course of the years is an encouragement to persevere.

In 2006, I had 46 UFOs on my list.
In 2007, I had 44.
In 2008, I had 33. (I only listed quilts I thought I might work on, not all of them.) I finished 15 quilts, and made 40 cards.
In 2009, I had 40. I finished 12 quilts and made 35 cards.
In 2010, I had 44. I finished 15 quilts and made 40 cards.
In 2011, it was 37. I finished 9 quilts and made 34 cards.
For 2012, it is 36.

And for January 1, I have a baby quilt to quilt and bind, 4 cards to work on and 3 quilts-for-hire just waiting for my attention.

Busy, busy, busy! Let's get at it! Welcome, 2012!!!

P.S. I just realized that I have an iris challenge and the Hoffman Challenge that I may or may not be completing this year. Kick that up 2, I guess I'm up to 38 for 2012...
P.S.S. And then there's the SAQA Auction. I might be doing a quilt for that as well...Do I hear 39?

I think I'd better sign off, before I remember any more projects that should be added to the list...