Monday, December 8, 2008

Pondering Goals

I think I was a teenager before the concept of setting goals was officially presented to me. And it did not go down well, let me tell you. Every time I was given an assignment that involved setting goals I would put it off, try to get out of it, moan and groan and complain until finally I was forced by the deadline to sit down and apply myself to the task. I never followed through on the stated goals if I could help it either.

Now that I'm in my fifth decade I have matured sufficiently to find goal setting not only easier to do but also desirable (at least in some cases!). Who'd a thunk it?! It only took some 40 years.

I bring this up because I've been thinking about how I'm going to cope without the Take It Further challenges next year. There doesn't seem to be enough interest amongst this year's participants to keep it going another year and Sharon is going in another direction with the challenge she's sponsoring in 2009. So I will have to challenge myself. I want to do a small monthly project, and I want it to be as much a mental challenge as an artistic one. (Does that make sense?)

I figure I need to come up with 12 challenges before January 1 otherwise I'll spend half of January trying to figure out what my challenge is! Also, part of the fun of TIF was waiting with bated breath for the first day of the month to find out what the challenge would be. So I'm planning to write out the challenges in advance, put the slips of paper in a tin or a box and draw one out on the first day of each month.

This is a new experience for me, planning this far in advance. By nature I am a leave-it-to-the-last-minute kind of gal. ;- )

It's not really eye candy, but I can't leave you without pictrues of some sort. I've done a couple more rows on my band sampler:

You'll notice I didn't bother with guidelines. I'm determined that this is to be a working sampler, not a showpiece. As a recovering perfectionist it's actually more difficult to let myself stitch freestyle than to mark nice even lines and have my work turn out more polished.

I have also sewn up these Bow Tie blocks:


They finish at 6" but they sure look bigger than that to me! Right now they're orphans; someday they'll end up in a preemie quilt or something. Oh, and my Christmas quilt has come back from the quilter. All I have to do now is trim it and bind it. Time for a seasonal movie!

9 comments:

  1. I love your phrase "recovering perfectionist". I think I'm with you on that one. It's an on-going process for me.
    Love your eye-candy! That floss is just yummy. And your band sampler is looking good.
    I too am terrible at the "goal" thing. I hated it in school. But I admire you for trying to do your TIF challenge by yourself. It would be very hard for me to do it at all, and I would have a problem staying motivated too. Good luck! I think you've done real well this year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not a goal person which is probably why I am so disorganised and never know what day of the week it is, never mind the date!

    I admire you for setting your own TIF and will be interested to see what you come up with.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I never liked making goals. We had to do a lot of that when I was teaching. I do make a lot of lists though, which I suppose is much the same thing. Maybe lists are easier because they are more short term and usually involve finishing things.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh thank you thank you for the bow tie quilt. I had not been able to find, and couldn't exactly remember how it went - my grandmother used to make them. As for goals?? Oh dear. I remember being presented with this at about 40, and it had something to do with written goals being more likely accomplished.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Here's to the idea of goals (whether we actually accomplish them or not) ~ the process of considering where we want to go next is worthy!! Best wishes as you challenge yourself for next year!

    ReplyDelete
  6. im hopeless at goals and challenges - as soon as i think i HAVE to do somethign i dont want to do it anymore, or i have no inspiration. hey maybe you could ask people for challenge ideas...not that I can actually think of one.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Sue, good luck with the goal setting. I probably hail from the same school of thought as you. I hate being told what to do, or even suggested to. Probably was born a rebel at heart and not much has changed. I don't mean being ornery, but I hate being "managed".
    All that being said, I have loved seeing your take it further challenge pieces. I think it would be wonderful if you decide to do again on your own. How about 12 zodiac signs? Or the 12 months of the year? That's about all I can think of that comes in "a dozen" except for eggs and donuts. Hugs, Finn

    ReplyDelete
  8. If you really want some surprise challenges just ask one of us blog readers to offer one about a week before the month comes up. Or, you could ask just if you can't come up with one in a month. We wouldn't like to see you fail because you run into a blank wall.

    I'm finding it hard work to stick with the BJP this year yet I still want to do it. Crazy feeling but so far I am determined to stick with it even if I am behind now. That's a challenge in itself for me as like you, I never liked goal setting and didn't often meet them when I was younger.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What kind of cloth are you using for your stitchery sampler? I think it's great you want to continue the TIF challenge on your own. I'll be watching for them.

    ReplyDelete

I'm sorry it's difficult or impossible for some of my readers to leave comments. I do appreciate your visits and the kind comments I receive.