Moving Along at the End of the Year

I did find a bigger piece of fabric that will go on the back of the quilt. I also found enough batting pieces to join for it too. I will call for an appointment to baste early next week, and then be ready to machine baste and bind it. I am surprised how the scraps came together for this one. The success of it all inspires me to take action to use up more of them.

Every year, I experience some amazing stress to finish projects and get things shipped back to the Midwest for holiday gifts. 

Every year, I try to figure out what to do earlier and easier. My drop-dead-date to get holiday quilts or projects sent is THIS week in November before Thanksgiving. My idea is for gifts to arrive so that recipients can put holiday themed things out when they decorate their homes. Its all pre-holiday isn't it, because the PR becomes exhausting and after it is all done, those things get stored for the next year.

I finished that yesterday shipping. Two trips out. Done. Of course, I have packages for the youngest kids that will go out during that red-bar week for optimal shipping. I know they rip open the packages rather than save them for Winter Solstice, so later is better for them. And the older ones get money, so whenever is fine for that gift. Because I live far away from relatives, I will send out cards with personal letters. And I will do a cookie baking extravaganza in early December. Then, one last post office shipping experience for the youngest of the kids will be the time I wait in line.

Meanwhile, the studio needs to be set up for the 2017 projects, which are all those UFO's (unfinished objects) listed on my sidebar. This will be the year I finish the Bird Quilts, and work on other embroidery projects. I've held off sending those embroidered quilts to them for a couple of reasons and now just need to get on with it.

I don't know why I let the stress get to me. And I do think there has been change over the years to lighten it. For instance, instead of shipping off Thanksgiving Turkey cutout cookies, I got a full body massage. The kids love getting cookies, but each box ships for over $10 and there is only about a dozen cookies in the container. That is plain silly. Its not like they miss having homemade cookies. If they get one package of cookies through the holidays, it will be a sweet treat that they will cherish as more of a memory rather than a taste.

Weather is shifting now and my studio has western windows. Trees were trimmed back so much that there is little to break the wind, so it feels colder. This is the time of year that I notice how it is to be in the mountains at a higher elevation. I keep candles burning, add Amaretto to my coffee in the morning, and layer clothes to stay warmer.