It’s hard too believe yet another year has passed us by.  Today is Charlie’s first day back to work and I have begun the Christmas decor tear down….always a chore.  Christmas was grand with both our daughters home this year.  Dana volunteered to work on Christmas Day so we opened gifts on Christmas Eve.  No one protested this change from our Christmas morning gift opening.

Gifting 3 quilts this year made my sweatshop on the 3rd floor a swirl of activity.  I was so happy to put the final stitches in the third quilt on Dec. 23!

“Antietam” Made for Billy Lyon

“Eagles” Made for Kristen and Rich

“Let’s Go Caps” Made for Charlie

All of the quilts were longarmed on my Gammill Vision 18.  I have stitched about 10 quilts on my Vision and getting more comfortable and confident on each one.

My word for 2017 was Create and I feel good about the things I created and completed this year.  10 quilts, 6 pinkeep/cushions, 4 wool applique mats, 3 hooked mats/rugs, 15 books read, a healthier lifestyle averaging 138 min/ week of exercise and limiting the white in my diet – yep, white potatoes, pasta, rice, bread.  It’s a good start but only scratches the surface of items on my “to do” list.

I struggle with finding a good word or theme for 2018.  I could easily repeat the theme, finish what you started.  (Charlie loves that one!) But I think this year I should use “conquer.”  At first I didn’t like that word thinking it referred to overcoming by force.  Then I thought of the word conquer in terms of taking control.  There is much I’d like to conquer… my fear of failure in starting a small home business;  technology and computers; clutter – be it papers on the counters and desks, piles of recipes to try, digital photos, photos for scrapbooks, closets to be cleaned, possessions of my own or those passed down to me, scattered thoughts in my mind, unfinished creative projects; 15 extra pounds of weight.  Yep…I think conquer is my 2018 word.

Conquer – overcome and take control of (a place or people)

• sucessfully overcome (a problem or weakness)
• climb successfully
• gain the love, admiration, or respect of (a person or group of people)
• vanquish, defeat, subdue, reduce, overcome by force or strategy

I have some big 2018 goals…big, at least to me.  On the top of the list is getting “The Farmer’s Daughter” up and running.  I have been toying around for the past few years starting a small home business.  In the next month or so I will be launching an Etsy shop with hand dyed wool for rughooking and wool applique.  Some friends, as well as Charlie, have been encouraging me to do this for some time.  This past year I found myself with “extra” time on my hands…if that is possible.  Usually that was when Charlie was on a business trip and I was home alone.  Most of the time I would spend the day cooking in the dye pots.  It’s cooking recipes with zero caloric outcome. My business expectations are low (refer to my fear of failure) but it would be nice if I could fund some of my travel expenses to quilting/ rug hooking retreats, classes, and camps.  My version of a Go Fund Me page.  And as my confidence grows on longarm quilting I will start quilting for others…this, too, is a scary thought I need to conquer.

We are also taking the plunge and doing a total kitchen remodel in our house.  It should begin sooner rather than later.  This is a project we have discussed for a while and this year we are doing it.  I will be conquering a lot in this process…fear of making bad decisions (choices of counters, spending too much money), clutter…OMG my kitchen clutter, this is my chance to take control!  Chef Jekyll and Sous-chef Rhonda, our good friends who visited and cooked in my kitchen last year, made me keenly aware that there is too much “stuff” (they may have used a different word) in my kitchen.  How many knives, kitchen gagdets, mixing bowls, sets of dishes do you really need?  Things will be boxed up and labeled with Dana’s name so she can begin her adult life with my extra “stuff.”

And as in all the previous years, I need to conquer my laziness at blogging as well as getting the word out about The Farmer’s Daughter.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

“Believe in Yourself, Push your Limits, Experience Life, Conquer your Goals and Be Happy.” Oh..and Let’s Go Caps!