Score!

I got up this morning and started sewing. When I went to press what I'd sewn, my iron wouldn't get hot. Not sure what happened, needless to say, I was highly disappointed. I took a trip to a local store to buy a new one. They apparently don't make the model I had before any longer, but there was still one on display at the store. I looked at a couple of newer models of comparable features and decided on one of them. On a whim, I asked the salesperson if, since they no longer needed the floor model, and couldn't sell it - if they'd throw it in if I bought the newer model. He took it down off the display, put it in my cart and told me to tell the checker that I brought it in my old one to compare. I gave him a wink and a nod, and bought myself a new iron, with a second one to boot. Now I have one for home and one to take on retreats. That floor model iron is working great! I love it, and hate the idea that there won't be any more of them in the future.

I only accomplished a little today, quilting-wise. Two complex paper-pieced kanji blocks... but I think we finally finished the last of our holiday shopping with gifts for my in-laws today. My husband still needs a secret-santa gift for a co-worker though. I'm glad I did most of my shopping online earlier. Now I just have to wrap things and decorate our solstice foliage.

I'll be doing the New Year's Day mystery quilt at www.quiltbug.com, so I'm preparing for that as well. I've got several quilts to finish before October. That sounds like a long time to get ready for it, but it's not that long, especially with all the things I have planned for the near future...

January - Road to California show and new longarm machine arriving; February - quilting conference in northern California, March - several classes at Glendale quilt show, trip to North Carolina to visit a friend; April - possible quilting retreat; sometime in all of that, I have to finish the requirements to get my teaching credential and I have 4 quilts that have to be finished before October... preferably before July. Two of those quilts WIPs, two are WHIMMs. I know it seems like July and October are a long way off yet, but as with all such things, the time seems to just disappear and these long-term goals turn into last minute panic deadlines.

I wish I was a more organized, focused person. Then maybe these projects wouldn't seem so daunting. I think I need to get on a 'no-new-projects' program. That is one of my biggest problems... I keep seeing things that 'won't take long' and I try to squeeze them in. And while individually these projects don't really take that long, they DO eat up time and distract me from what I NEED to be doing. On that note, I decided NOT to sign up for the 'Saturday Sampler' at the local quilt shop this year... I will still be doing on-line BOMs, but I can skip months on those and do the blocks whenever I want - even save the patterns and do them next year (or at least after October).

What am I thankful for this time around? I am grateful for the little courtesies to and from strangers - doors held open, smiles, friendly greetings, wishes for a merry season... while these things are more prevalent in this season when folks are reminded to take time to feel friendly towards strangers, they are there all the year round. Say hello to someone with a scowl, hold open a door to a cold, hurried shopper, buy a cup of coffee for a complete stranger, leave an opening for someone else to turn into your lane. Give a little, get a little... karma, baby.