Congratulations on your Retirement! I was supposed to work today, and Saturday for that matter, but I am heading to a covid test this morning. My daughter's boyfriend tested positive yesterday after spending the weekend here. Even when practicing social distancing and masking up, he still got it. Fun stuff.

Resolutions for next year

1. Recover from covid (if I am positive)

2. Finish quilting 6 quilts I have sandwiched and ready to go!

3. Continue making personalized quilts for my nieces and nephews on my husband's side of the
family (2 down, 6 to go)

4. Kitchen Remodel

Congrats on Retirement, nannyp. That's a big list.

I'm praying you don't get covid, Char.

The only new resolution is to travel a lot this year once we get the vaccine. My DH is losing his eyesight due to glaucoma, and I want to make getting him out of the house a priority.

But I'll continue to:

1) de-clutter the house I started in October. Finish by April. (In March 2020 we started the project of some new flooring and having the inside of the house painted. Before we got anything done, Covid hit. Once the de-cluttering is done, we'll start that.)

2) Avoiding activities that cause we stress whenever possible. (I started this in June.)

3) Complete the UFO's. The list is not long:

*Zelda gift - Top priority

* binding on a fall runner

* hanging sleeve on a quilt for the family room and fix the quilting on it (tension was terrible in parts)

* two or three (can't remember) pieced tops for Africa (And probably a cheat.....I'm not counting the D9P orphans as UFO's, but as fabric. LOL)

* make a few more blocks and make a lap quilt for me! from 2019 block of the month we did here.

* and the best one is a quilt top I pieced many years ago from fabric my grandmother cut out 50? years ago. Some of the fabrics came from clothes I had made in high school. It was my first attempt at quilting and I want to redo it. I'll post pic and ask for suggestions when I'm ready to start.

Happy New Year's, everyone! I pray 2021 will be a blessing for all of you.

Number one would be to survive the ‘bug’.

and once it is over to meet and hold two new greats that we have not met yet.

In the sewing room, destash and reorg. And tackle some of those patterns Lois keeps posting! 😃😃😃

Theresa, you made me chuckle. I'm happy if my quilts inspire you. I was inspired to make them by seeing them somewhere. I wish I could take credit for designing them. I'm just a copier.

Beverly, if I haven't said it before, congratulations on your retirement. I hope it's everything you dreamed of. Char, I hope your test comes back negative.

My resolution for 2021 is to lose some, if not all, of the 35 pounds I've gained in the past three years. My back is causing me so much sciatic nerve pain, and I'm sure it would improve if I were not carrying around so much weight. I also need to exercise more. I can tell that I'm not nearly as strong as I was. I'm not trying to be unrealistic about the ravages of age, but I think I can do a better job of combating them instead of just giving in to them.

Off that unpleasant subject! I'd just like to say how much pleasure I get out of this forum. Although, with the exception of Sharon, I've not met any of you, I feel like you are my friends. So, my friends, please take care of yourselves during this crazy time. I hope you all have a wonderful 2021 and that all of your dreams and resolutions for the new year are realized.

Lois

Char, fingers crossed for a negative test. Do you still have to quarantine?

Had a very busy day today, but still got a cookie and a gift card for fabric from my tech.

Grats again, Beverly! you will have lots of time to quilt now 😉
Got my test back already, Negative! I do have to quarantine for 7 days. If I dont have symptoms & test next wednesday, and it is negative again, I can work Thursday! Of course if I develop symptoms, all bets are off. I am hopeful.

Congrats on the negative test. Maybe you can get some sewing done while you are quarantined.

Wow! 2021 will be a challenge for sure.

I'm with Lois on the desire to loose some weight. 35 would be good, but my goal is 15. (I love my sweets too much!)

Quilting - finish at least 10 quilts this year - a combination of UFOs and new.

I think I will try to keep it more simple and enjoy life more!

Sue

Sue & Lois, I lost 25 lbs on Noom in 5 months and have maintained for 3 months now. I'm terrible with dieting, but this plan gave me new knowledge and perspective to change behaviors. I have to say it was pretty easy.

Charlene, what is Noom like and how much does it cost? I've thought of looking into it.

It was $139 for 3 months I believe...more than I wanted to pay, but I started this past March with a 2 week free trial that they were running. I was impressed after the 2 weeks, so I subscribed for 3 months. Basically it is an app with tools to help you log meals, weight, exercise, but you have a group leader who posts in group chat with helpful activities/information. You are assigned a support group of fellow noomers that help you stay focused and empowered. The biggest thing for me was the daily tasks that, if you try to do all of them, make you more aware of poor eating habits and why we suffer from them. AND more importantly what to do to permanently change those bad habits and behavior. It is a psychological approach and it worked for me. I can give you more info if you want to message me :-)

Ten UFOs (completed quilts and tops) were gifted last year and hopefully at least 10 more this year. My aim is to get borders on the tops that need them and to sew blocks together making tops. Other than that I'll be making pillowcases and starting new quilt tops cause a person can never have too many UFOs.

Good luck on your ambitions, Beverly. lol

LOL, I totally agree, Sharon. I have not counted all of my UFO's lately, but I have lots of future projects spinning around in my brain. I think it's healthy for us to have so many quilting/sewing irons in the fire...keeps our brains from turning to mush, especially this past 9 months!

Do we count kits as UFO's? If we do, then I'm in big trouble.

Go ahead and add in the kits, Beverly. Make that UFO number look impressive! LOL

LOL Beverly, but you allow like minded people to enter and look around! You might come across a 'wonder where that came from' once in awhile, but I'll bet you know what's there and who it came from.

Lois, Come to retreat. You can meet some of the rest of the gang.

I have all kinds of "wonder where that came from" moments.

Lois, we would love to have you join us. Must warn you, we are not diet friendly.

Well, it is true that there are lots of goodies at the retreat, but we all pretty much bring our own breakfast & lunch options. And besides, it's only 5 days of temptation, lol ;-P

So true, Char. And we can always walk if we want.

Char, I lost 15 lbs with Noom a year ago and I’ve kept it off even through the pandemic (and I’m a stress eater).

I finished a king size quilt top today. Yesterday while I was cutting and sewing borders I was thinking about my next project and thought maybe I’ll try to make a donation quilt each month this year. That will use up some of my stash and get me some good practice with my quilting machine and frame.

Donna

Way to go Donna! I'm about the same I was when the pandemic started, but it ain't been easy.

Way to go, Donna! Your donation a month goal is very admirable. 👍

So much for retirement. DD brought me an order for 60 masks. Seems her office has been told they will be wearing them for at least another year. One of her co-workers asked if I would have enough fabric. DD just laughed.

Beverly, that will take care of one day for you. You probably have enough fabric in your scraps for all 60. lol

Lois, don't stress about the weight. In my case, Safer at Home=Fatter at Home - from lots of baking and no travel! It's unfortunate that sewing isn't aerobic.

Got an e-mail today that our local Bernina shop is closing. Getting machines serviced is becoming a real hassle. I keep cleaning and oiling mine and hoping for the best.

Will post a completed quilt soon. Hope it's one of many. Hoping the new year brings everyone good news.

Sharon, I do have plenty of small pieces for most of them. There are some requests for Mardi Gras masks that will make me cut into a larger piece.

Latifolia, can you find out who does their service? If it is someone local they may continue to offer service.

Bernina shops usually have their own service techs inhouse trained by Bernina. I dont know if any other sewing machine service person will even work on Bernina. I drive 2 hours to St Louis to have mine oiled & cleaned every year.

Bless you, that's a long drive.

I was driving a couple hours to Tupelo because one could make an appointment and he would do it the same day. They closed last year.

This shop is run by a difficult woman whose husband does the service. You had to leave your machine for seven weeks.

I had a credit from a class cancelled last March due to Covid. I went in before Christmas and she loudly proclaimed to the whole place that I had "dropped out". Huh?

Anyway, there is a dealer in the tiny New England town where our lake house is, so my machine may be making that trek. Bernina needs to beef up their dealer network.

Seven weeks? Yikes! And I don't think I would be going back to that shop either.

It does sound like Bernina needs to improve their services.

Agreed, it has become more problematic for me to get service. While there is a dealer within 30 minutes of me, I wouldn't go to him ever again due to past experience. I gladly drive the few hours to the shop in St Louis. They have an enormous batik stock & it gives me a chance to shop downtown St. Charles as well. 🙂