It's been so long since I've corralled my sewing ambitions into a list.  This weekend I found myself fluttering about, unsure how I want to spend my time.  I could keep moving from one project to the next, like so many convenient stepping stones, but I have a sense that I'll find more motivation, more focus if I take a moment to assess.



{Bluebird Quilt} That stack of Bluebird fabrics is still out because my intent is to use it.  I'm everywhere drawn to blues lately, a color I've tended to brush off in the past as too ubiquitous and well-liked.  The time is right for a monochromatic work, my "blue phase."

Forbury teapot from Anthropologie

{Kitchen refresh}  It seems my kitchen has conspired a distraction, an opportunity really.  Three items out on display (and that's a majority because I keep clear counters) have need to be replaced all at once:  salt shakers, tea pot and stand mixer.  What if these items were purchased in new colors?  And what if I sewed new things that make up the balance of my kitchen decor:  rug, wall hanging, curtains, oh my?  Today I'm thinking cobalt blue, vintage aqua and my peachy perfect walls present a tempting new color scheme.  Do pots this pretty go on clearance?


{the next Score}  I find myself halfway on my journey through The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters.  I've so enjoyed the discipline of working through each score.  It's nice to follow for a change.  But maybe I need a break, a month or two resting in more structured sewing?  On the other hand, the next score is a grid style that involves much more structure than the doodle score.  Hmm...

{Still Point Quilt}  I just finished reading a true story titled "The Still Point of a Turning World" about a baby with a terminal brain illness.  While I didn't identify with much of the author's worldview, the title still captures my interest.  It touches how it felt to mother a baby who couldn't change.  I think this compelling turn of a phrase (by T.S. Elliot) wants to be visually interpreted.  In quilt form, of course.

{a new Class}  Yes, I have a new class in mind!  A new class to make!  In fact, my friend and I sketched out an outline, threw around names and everything.  This will be my first sewing class designed more for the beginner/intermediate quilter.  I definitely need to get started because I want to see it happen this year.

by Laundry Basket Quilts

{Gift Quilt}  I've never made a quilt for one of my dearest friends (just for her babies, ha!).  I asked her to start a Pinterest board to guide and inspire me.  And it did.  I don't know if I should go for these butterflies, which had actually caught my eye already, or for an angular design, which is a stronger theme in her pins.

Oh my, I don't feel any closer to a decision.  All of these ideas speak to me at the moment.  Where is the "all of the above" bubble?  Darn.

I wonder, how do you choose what to make next?