New Year, New Sewing Adventures

Even though we're half way through January...Happy New Year!

Not only is January my favorite month because I get to celebrate my birthday, but it provides a time for a new start. I LOVE fresh beginnings because it allows for a clean slate, and who doesn't like a clean slate? Have you ever had a day you just want to do-over? Well...that's what January provides, time to up the ante and make new plans to re-evaluate what's been done and move forward.

Recently on NPR I heard that researchers have determined when we speak negatively to ourselves we think negatively about ourselves (duh...makes sense to me.) Examples of this are, "I feel fat," so now you view yourself as fat. The researchers interviewed on the show recommended that speaking positively to yourself in the third person produces fantastic results. I tried this recently and I'd like to share with you what happened. Honestly I felt a little silly talking to myself, but this is how it went.

"Simone...you are strong when you do 

your push-ups in the morning. 

Each time you do these you get better." 
(PS I have a push up challenge I've been doing for 6 years now.
Complete 6240 push ups this year. How you do it:
10 push ups every morning & evening, 6 days a week, 
with Sundays as your rest day. 
Push ups are still painful, and sometimes down right 
NOT FUN AT ALL, but....I'm slowly improving. 
The first time I did a push up 6 years ago I couldn't even do one!)

"Simone...you are eating a healthy lunch 

with fruit that your body needs, 

this is way better than having a piece of pie for lunch!"

"Simone...even though you are annoyed 

right now you won't feel this way later on today. 

Don't let it get in your way, you are a productive person."

By the end of the day I had cheered myself on so many times that I wasn't as tired. I was happier and willing to keep moving forward. I felt accomplished, especially since I now had my own little fan club (in my head) cheering me on.

TRY IT FOR YOURSELF AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!

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Onto my sewing adventures for the next few months:

Short term quilting goals:

Post more frequently on my blog. 

Design a 12"x12" quilt for the Foreign Art Quilt Group. 

I chose a quote from CS Lewis' Screwtape Letters 

 for my inspiration. This is one of my all-time favorite books. 

I think I relate to it too well, but here's my quote for my quilting inspiration.

"The game is to have them all running about with 

fire extinguishers when there is a flood..."

Attend Road to California Quilting class by Teri Lucas next week: 

be inspired, hone quilting skills & have fun on a demo sewing machine. 

Attend Road to California quilt show next week: soak up new ideas &

try not to giggle at quilts depicting Dungeons & Dragons themes or 

mermaids wearing size double "D" shells. 

Come up with quilting motifs for my Science Fair quilt by Julie Herman. 

Make baby quilt for my first ever grandchild, arriving at a hospital in June. 
For this quilt I am making a modified version of Latifah Saafir's, Rocket 88 quilt. 

My youngest daughter, Camille, asked me to make a quilt for her bed.
We recently just rearranged her room, she bought a dresser with some help from Mom and Dad, and I reupholstered a little love seat for her bedroom. 

She likes her new grown up room.

Together we chose A Bushel and a Peck, by Emily Bailey. 
I'll be shopping for these fabrics at Road next week.

Lastly, use an awesome gift card to Hawthorne Threads 
that my husband gave me for Christmas. I'd like to make a quilt for our bed. It definitely needs to be geometric & modern.