My plans today were to write a long lengthy post about how I performed against my 2015 goals and to list all the great things I plan to do in 2016. After spending half the day quilting on a client's quilt, organizing my desk and updating all my spreadsheet for the new year, it finally dawned on me that 2016 is supposed to be the year of Cyndy....
so I put up my feet and appliqued my first circle for Quilty 365.
I have decided to sew circles onto a Kona navy background. Five circles and two half square triangles will make a block that will represent each week. Once I get a few weeks into the year, I will be able to share what the block will look like. Today I can only show you my circle for the first day of the year.
2015 was a tough year for me. It was hard on my body, my gardens and home were neglected and I was not always able to make the time to do the things that feed my creativity.
Don't get me wrong, I love my life and I enjoy quilting for others but I over committed myself last year. This year, being the year of Cyndy, will have lots of "me" days scheduled in. I still plan on supporting my existing clients (I mean, look at the amazing quilts my customers send me) but I will only be taking on new clients if my backlog is low.
Just how busy was I last year? I fired up my longarm 342 days out of the 365 in the year! I made 53 quilts from my own stash, of which 14 were donated to various organizations. I had two quilts published in magazines, participated in a few blog hops and I released two more of my own patterns. There were also a few classes taught and some presentations made.
No wonder I am tired. I have earned a little time for me.
So, in the year of Cyndy, I will still be playing with scraps. I will be continuing to share my processes with my Scrap-A-Palooza quilts, I will still be hosting Oh Scrap every Sunday, and I plan on participating in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.
Scraps make me happy!
In March and September, I will be hosting the Quilty Orphan Adoption again. It is great to see UFO s that are languishing get packaged up, sent off and finished, sometimes for donation to some great charities. In fact, if you have adopted and finished a picture, I would love it if you shared a photo.
I will be using my "me" time this year to work on my own projects. I love designing quilts and hope to publish more patterns and create more quilts for my own quilt collection. I have a long list of challenging quilts on my bucket list and would love to have time to work on them. For example, I have had all of the Park Bench blocks completed for months and just haven't found quality time to sew up the top.
So I am pretty excited about this new year! Change is always a bit scary but I think these changes will be for the good. I certainly couldn't make some of these changes without the support of so many. I feel quite blessed to have so many great friends, wonderful clients, and supportive followers.
I wish you all Happy 2016!
Linking Up:
Quilty Folk
Val's Quilting Studio
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
30 comments:
I hear you Cynthia, I over do it myself, trying to make everyone else happy and never telling anyone no. Its hard to change that habit but your body and mind unknowingly take a beating and before you know it you just crash. We are in the same boat, we need to take care of us first and enjoy our sewing! Happy New Year to you!
Scraps make me happy too! So glad that the rainbow scrap challenge has made it onto your list. Hope you are able to find a better balance this year. It is an ongoing effort for most of us.
Happy New Year, I have been doing quilty 365 for 53 days now, and find it helps centre my day to take that little bit of time to select and make my circle, so I hope you enjoy it too. Glad to hear you are continuing with all the scrappy goodness projects.
I'm a big fan of scraps, too!
I've finally reached a point in my life where I can do things that I want to do, when I want to do them. Mostly. 8)
May you be able to put your feet up and relax a lot more this year!
You accomplished so much this year and are incredibly productive! I would have everything else falling by the wayside and have to be hospitalized if I did what you do. Bravo to you for deciding this is the year of Cyndy! Taking care of yourself both creatively and physically is so important. Your 2015 list is so impressive Cyndy, but I think you must only sleep a few hours each night. Looking forward to seeing you get to play and have fun a little more this year! Happy 2016!
Oh my goodness, Cyndy!! What a year! I agree with Lara, that list is extremely impressive, I hope that 2016 can be a great year with more Cyndy time worked in!! Totally doable, saying no is hard but so necessary sometimes! Can't wait to see what you create in 2016. Happy New Year! :)
Happy New Year Cynthia! You have pushed yourself too much last year and you need to take care of yourself. I hope that this year can relax and make quilts for your own fun. Thank you for hosting the party! x Teje
I understand where you're coming from. A couple months ago I heard those dreaded words, "I'm giving up quilting for others," and my heart sagged. Until my LAQ added, "except for you and two others"! Take care of yourself and enjoy 2016!
Me gusta tu Quilt 365 sobre fondo azul marino.
Nos vemos en este Proyecto.
Besitos.
First and foremost you have to be happy so if that means taking my you time, than so be it. Enjoy it and don't ever feel guilty about putting you first.
So happy to see you're joining in with the Quilty 365 journey. I've found it to be very relaxing and therapeutic - plus being a great way to showcase our favorite scraps.
Bienvenida a este proyecto. Me gusta tu fondo azul marino, es mio es negro. Un saludo.
My word, it's really no wonder you're tired! I hope 2016 brings the rest you need and that your scrap bins overflow with creativity (which in my view they already do!)
Happy New Year to you. So fun to see that we still like the same things. I've jumped on the RSC16 and Quilty365, and it's so interesting to see how everybody put their special touch to the projects.
53 quilts plus client quilts?! You have been busy. A year of Cyndy sounds like a great idea!
Well deserved 'Me" time for you this year! No wonder you are exhausted! I look forward to seeing more from you this year, hopefully you will stick to the plan...it's all about you!!
No wonder you were tired indeed! I hope you have a wonderful 2016 and find the time you need to feel more "you".
My goodness! No wonder you need a year of Cyndy! I learned many years ago when volunteering at the kid's school to say 'No'. If I said yes, then I would be asked to do another job, and it would snowball to the point that I was doing all the work and feeling resentful. Now, I'm very choosy about what I get involved with, and make certain it's a path I want to pursue.
So, don't feel guilty saying 'no'. Creativity does need it's time.
How cool is that to do a "years" circle on your first Quilty 365! Sounds like you've had an extremely busy year. I hope you get plenty of "me" time in 2016.
Yay for the year of Cyndy! Looking forward to seeing you enjoy it. :)
What a great first circle! Really enjoyed reading through your post this morning. Hope you have a fabulous Cyndy year!
Love "the year of Cyndy" I think I should have a sign on my wall of my little studio "the year of Maureen or "the year of Mo" as my close friend and family name me - perhaps I should have this sign in every room of the house perhaps all will then get the message!!
Glad you joined in with Quilty 365! And good luck with the "me time"! Let me know how it feels!!! I have 18 months or so until retirement and I'm looking forward to a little "me time" myself!
You are such a busy person - I'm guessing that your job helps with the creativity? Getting your hands on so many beautiful quilt tops must be fantastic along with talking to their makers. Taking time for yourself is a great thing to do - I'm going to enjoy following 'The Year of Cyndy' - no pressure though:)))
Cynthia good lucky and enjoy the "Year of Cyndy". 2015 was a great year and you did a lot. Thanks for hosting Oh Scrap. Scraps make me happy too. :)
Hugs
We are always striving to find that balance....you can do it and you have all of us supporting you!!! Happy New Year!!!
Your first Quilty 365 circle has the perfect fabric! I am behind on my Quilty 365 orange peels because I have been so focused on finishing my Scrap vortex quilt this week! Hopefully I can get caught up tomorrow. And bravo on figuring out how to make more time for yourself in 2016! You can see by all of the comments that we are all on board with you. Happy New Year!
How lovely you're joining Quilty 365. I like your plan to differentiate weekdays and weekends. Can't wait to see more.
Year of Cyndy sounds great! Have fun!
Your circles look great on the dark background. Have fun!
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