All year long I’ve been trying to rid myself of excess stuff. I bought a Kindle version of the book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo and read every page (this allowed me to be virtuous, since I now own the book, but it never takes up space). One of the most powerful tips of the book, was a simple test: hold something in your hand. If it brings you joy, keep it. If it doesn’t bring you joy, give it away. This has been a powerful test for me. It has allowed me to let go of silly things like non-senior year yearbooks from high school and college, as well as old ceramic mugs purchased on my high school senior trip. Seriously, I did not even remember that I owned these things until I discovered them in a box downstairs. Into the donation pile they went.

When it comes to old crafts, however, things get a bit fuzzy. About 25 years ago, my oldest sister introduced me to counted cross stitch. I was never very good at it, but I purchased tons of threads and kits, but only finished a few.

Given my Christmas obsession, it’s not hard to believe that the only finished counted cross stitch projects I have are both with Christmas themes. Well, I shouldn’t really say finished because neither project is framed.  

These are rattling around my sewing room and I move them frequently. Do they bring me enough joy that I should finally get them framed and insert them into my life? Or should I let them go — donate them and let someone else find joy when they hold them?

Tougher question: what should I do about this half-finished project?

This lovely Amish home scene, complete with yummy quilts, calls to me. But I want to make quilts, not cross stitch them. Should it go in the donate pile? Or should I force myself to finish it? Am I failure if I donate it?

Remember the saga of my Paddlewheel quilt? I am here to report that I finally mustered up the courage to tackle those geese once more and…guess who won? Oh yeah, it was me.

Thanks to Keepsake Quilting‘s excellent customer service, I was able to get more fabric for the pattern and finish those geese off properly. The pattern and fabric came as a kit from KQ.

I love the low tones of this quilt, but I wanted to add some extra special sauce to it, so I replaced one of the corner blocks with a cheery splash of red to the final product. The pattern calls for a wide outer border in the small print cream which I have not yet added. I am considering adding a thin inner red border first. What say you? Is the splash of color enough or does it need to be balanced with a red border so that the red “makes sense”?

After all my struggles and denial about this quilt top, I’m really pleased with the result. It may just be the most accurately pieced top I’ve ever made. We will not discuss the little block error in the top left-hand corner (which I am fixing tonight!). I’m hoping to send this off to Ms. G, my longarmer by the weekend. Perhaps this quilt — which was supposed to be my roommate’s Father’s Day gift — might finally be ready for Christmas.