My Word

This morning I was thinking about the rich abundance of opportunities for Quilters Who Blog (or Bloggers Who Quilt, as you prefer).  The new year has brought numerous quilt-alongs, blog hops, UFO challenges, and the usual number of just plain inspirational photographs that make me think, "Oh, I want to do something like that!"

All of this got me thinking about my tendency to want to do it all.  Not to have it all, but to do it all.  I'm a terrible sucker for "just one meeting per month" and "only one block per week" enticements.

And then I reach the point where the things that I'd expected to be fun have turned into obligations that aren't fun, but pressures.

I've printed out the instructions for Lori's little quilt-along; a tiny quilt shouldn't take up that much time.  But I've not done anything about it.  Then I saw what Barbara Brackman was up to and realized that I've never done a whole lot with eight-inch blocks and I had a wealth of CW fabrics so at least it wasn't going to be expensive, and I started making her blocks.  I've forced myself to quickly close windows that open with yet more challenges, projects, quilt-alongs.

A little while ago I read Sandy's blog.  She's identified her "word for 2011."  It is "participate."  She challenges her readers to identify their own words for 2011.

Thinking about all that is going on in my family, at my job, at church, with quilting opportunities,  and in the rest of my real life, my "word for 2011" is on the tip of my tongue but I can't quite find it.  It isn't restraint and it isn't exactly balance but it is something in that general neighborhood.  Something like judicious or careful.  And then I find it:  thoughtful.  I want to not enter pell-mell into every possible opportunity that comes along.  I want time for consideration and a thought-out decision.  Thoughtful.  Thank you, Sandy.  I needed that.