As some of you may remember, I set goals for myself in 2009 - fiber projects I wanted to complete during the year. Well, my timing probably wasn’t the best since I was packing up a house I’d lived in for almost 25 years for a move out of state. So, when I didn’t meet those goals I decided to shift them to 2010 - also not the best timing since I was unpacking and decorating the house to which I’d moved. Here we are at 2011 and I think I’ll give it another try. I’m still decorating but it has lost some of it’s urgency. So, here are my new goals for this year. Some of them may look familiar.

• Complete a minimum of five (5) UFOs. A UFO is any project that was begun prior to January 1 and was not completed. My previous number was eight but I guess I’m going for a more realistic goal this time. Of course there is no reason that I need to stop at five when I get there (not “if”, but “when”).

• Make at least 2 garments. There was a time when I made almost everything I wore. That was many years ago before my many interests and my income grew. There was a time when I would look at an item in the department store and tell myself that I could make that. As I had more money and less time the question changed from whether I could make it to whether I would. Then came catalogs making the shopping even easier. Well, I'm going back to creating my own garments and this is the start.

• Begin work on historic costume. One of my fellow members in the Tavern Spinners and Weavers Guild and I have discussed spinning, weaving, and making a historic costume for when we do demonstrations at the historic tavern in Heathsville. Time to stop talking and start doing.

• Design and complete a Barack Obama quilt. I spent the first five years of my life in St. Louis, MO. On my fourth birthday we had a party and the second part was to take everyone to the movies. At some point during the party, my mother and our next-door neighbor (who was white) realized that the party would have to split up for the movies since the white kids and the black kids couldn't go to the same theater. Although I grew up in New York City (Queens) and have spent my adult years in New Jersey, the northeast didn't eliminate incidents of discrimination from my life. I say all this to let you know that if anyone had asked me if I would see an African-American president in my lifetime I would have said "no" without hesitation. I feel I must commemorate this election and, of course, my thoughts turn to fabric. So I'm working on a design and my goal is to complete this quilt during the first year of his term. I did get as far as completing two designs during 2009 but never actually began work on the quilts. this year I’ll choose a design and get to work.

• Knit a pair of socks. I've wanted to do this for a long time and I've recently been reading about the magic loop method of knitting 2 socks at the same time on circular needles. I did get as far as buying yarn and a good sock book. So, again, I’m ready to start.

Well, that’s it. Wish me luck. END OF POST