Bored and sick!

I got the crud that Miss P was passing out ... bummer ... there was cool things to do this weekend too! But I'm just laying here - moaning on occasion!!! I have been surfing the web all day - my brain is just well enough that I can do that - symptoms are BIG headache, icky throat and nose drips! [Just in case you catch it by reading my blog!!!] I've been staying home - just so I don't pass it around to an innocent bystander!

I realized today that I listed my Fab5 in June of 2007. Granted, I got three of them done-done but seriously - 15 months ago???? It's been a busy year - retiring and moving, getting settled in, seeing Miss P twice a month ... and there were a lot of 'non-fab5' projects finished. FOUR great nieces and nephews graduating from college in one May created a backlog of quilts owed. Now that those are finished, how to get serious? Dedicate time every day to quilting? Dedicate one day a week to UFOs? What about all these other projects nagging at me??? [Do your projects nag you? I can hear them whining from the sewing bins! Even closing the bedroom door doesn't help!!!] Time for a list!

• New baby quilt for grandson coming in November - decide on pattern - baby blue and brown are the colors - I love blue and brown together - but that baby blue is difficult
• Miss P's 'big girl bed' quilt - decide on pattern - could finish an UFO for it - but I'm not thrilled with how it will go in her room - mishmash of styles!
• Library book bag for L - she gave me the fabrics - would I be more excited about this if she actually used the library???? LOL!
• Repair L's graduation quilt from 1997 - you know how I feel about repairing!
• New quilt for our bedroom - king sized - I'm afraid
• Little presents for friends for Christmas (shhhhh - don't tell!!!!)
• Pink [I hate pink] wedding quilt for DH's nephew - not thrilled with the way scrap "disappearing 9patch" is coming out - I think I used my favorite blocks on the graduation quilt I gave to N! - wedding's in January - reception in April????
• TWO BOMs that were frightfully expensive to just languish!
• TWO kits that were frightfully expensive to not even start!!! It wasn't even like me to buy kits - darn that favorite store in Gretna!!! - I miss them!!!!

So - I'm not feeling well - and feeling guilty about quilt projects ... I'm entertaining comments on how to get going ... Please let me know what you would do!!!

Well, hope your weekend is going better than mine!!!

Auburn hair

Well, that week was a disappointment! It was a race at work. Okay, not a race, exactly - more of a "hurry up and then wait" type of week. Move on - that's over. Next week at this time I'll be in the middle of a 3 day retreat!!! Oh, did I mention that I'm really looking forward to that???

Two threads have really caught my interest this week on the Yahoo Stashbusters list. Grey hair and project lists:

Grey hair: I turned grey early in life (thanks, birth mom!) I had auburn hair naturally; and when the grey came in it dulled down the color and the shine. I started with henna treatments when I was 22. It was like putting algae on your head - the smell was distinctive! Did anyone else do this? I didn't like the thought of chemicals and this was supposed to be more natural. Fast forward to 40! And it does seem like that - a fast forward! I was using the chemicals by then, but I was getting a great skunk streak of grey within 2 weeks of coloring it. I had it done at the shop - I did it once at home and it was a disaster! Dark coloring and white woodwork = not a good combo! But time to "age gracefully!"

Growing out - it looked awful. :> My hairdresser decided to streak my hair and see if we could blend it in alittle. Not as successful as we'd hoped! I took my girl scouts to a pool with a slide that summer. As I walked to the other side of the pool I heard from above [the slide not God!] "Good grief, that woman's hair is plaid!" I didn't even look up - I knew who he was talking about!

Finally - grey hair. When I got a compliment on it at work, one friend sniped back, "Well, sure, you didn't have to be here while it was growing out!" When my dh said he really liked the auburn hair and did I think I'd ever go back - I had to say a resounding "NO!"

Lists of projects:
I'm in Institutional Research - work with data - it's what we do. Excel spreadsheets and Access databases - the best way to learn them is to put in something you're interested in. I started keeping track of all the books I read in excel. Rating them and sorting them by author, etc. It's a great system - I can look back at any 4 star rated authors from the past and see if they have anything new out.

I have an excel sheet called "Mylife(year)" It has many worksheets - knee problems, Christmas lists - past year and current year, gifts bought for Mom's day, birthdays, etc. Packing lists - this works excellently! I have basic lists for things I take to Oregon every summer (tin to put seashells in) and to Retreat (I always forgot the fly swatter!). Lots of sheets about quilts - spending, projects and finished projects. My quilt projects page has 95 projects listed. Including UFOs, PIGs, Whimms, WIPs and DSDs

PIG - Project in Grocery Sack - been gathered but just sitting there
WIP - Work in Progress - intermittent bursts of working on it
UFO - some work done - been sitting there waiting
HuSsY - Haven't Started Yet - have pattern/idea - gonna be great!
DSD - Dreaming of Someday Making
Whimms - What is in My Mind

The trick is to come up with a system that meets your needs, but doesn't take up all your time. Keeping the same worksheets each year helps - you're familiar with it. You'll find that you add a sheet every few years and take out one that no longer applies.

At the end of each year I write a sheet in a notebook about that year. Important events (weddings, ...) Finished projects. What I entered in the fair or guild quilt show. How many books I read. Weight I lost - or gained!!! Bullet points! I like to compare years. What seemed like a year I got alot done often doesn't measure up - and vice versa!

Well, on with the weekend - I have to get organized for Retreat next weekend - time to print out my packing list!