Keeping a Record

 A few years ago I started keeping a record of the books I read throughout the year. What prompted me to do it was while looking back over the year, my first thought was that I had not accomplished much, and that I had not read anything! :/ But, once I began to really think about the past year, I realized that I had done more than I gave myself credit for.  So, for the last few years, I have kept a record in my yearly planner. I also keep a record of what I've knitted. But, I have not kept a record of what I've sewn. Go figure!!!

So, this year I've decided to not only keep a record of my completed sewing projects, but I've decided to keep a lovely notebook with details about each garment. 

I went online and searched free sewing planners, and found a few that I really like.

The planner that I will most likely go with is from Simple Simon & Company. You can find it HERE.  I like that it's very clean, and detailed enough, but not overly so. 

So far this year, I have completed 3 projects. Trust me, they were all quite simple. I have the swatches on my pages, and I'll get the details filled in later today. I think it's best to do it right away while the project is still fresh in my mind.

Another planner that I found that is quite nice is from Sewing and Quilting Club. With this planner, they have included a notions and accents section where you can just circle rather than having to write out everything. You can find their planner HERE. 

I also found a wonderful planner from Seamwork,which is free. This planner is based on developing a collection rather than just 1 garment.

There are pages that can be used as a sewing record.

But, if you would like to actually plan a mini wardrobe capsule, the planner will walk you through the entire process. You can find the Seamwork planner HERE. 

   

I'm really excited about keeping a sewing diary of sorts. I have a feeling that I am in for a learning experience. We'll see!!! :)

Sunday Night Reflections

 

Dream Big

A wonderful article to contemplate. Read it HERE.  

2020, New Goals

January 14th may be a little late for a reflection back on 2019, but reflection is never bad unless we choose to linger there.

Like all years, 2019 had it's ups and downs;
*I broke my arm and missed out on the ski season
*My step-father died
*We had to say goodbye to our Gracie

While those things seem bad, I am reminded of a quote from President John F. Kennedy;

When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity. 

Very profound. 
While there were many other things that happened that could be looked upon as not the best of things, just as there were with anyone who happens to read this, I'll focus on the 3 that I listed above.

Breaking my arm. The blessing; I had the opportunity to once again see my husband's devotion and incredible love for me. Never once did he complain about anything that he had to do.  

My step-father's death. His greatest fear was having to have his legs amputated, end up in a wheelchair, and ultimately in a home. While it was a shock for my mother, his passing was as easy as it could have been for him.

My dog Gracie. When she came to us, she was in awful shape, a huge cyst on her side, missing hair, and the hair that she had was so course and dry, she was starving. She died with me by her side, with a thick beautiful coat, a full stomach, and knowing that she was loved.

I'll share a lovely highlight from 2019;

"Hey Rhonda, 
Just wanted to reach out and thank you for our flight today. It was somewhat of a "learning experience" for me as an instructor...but your experience, and professionalism helped me so much, especially in expanding my personal minimums. You have a very calm demeanor, and you fly the airplane like an expert. I'm very much looking forward to our next flight together."

In all my years of flying, I have NEVER been paid such a compliment! That's a note that I will not throw away!!!  

Like many of you, I too set goals for 2019. Some I accomplished, and some I did not. I am most proud of 1 accomplished goal, and that was reading through the Bible. I read it as though I was reading any book, beginning to end. What an incredible journey it was! I downloaded a daily guide that kept in my journal, so every morning when I would sit down to write, the guide was there to remind me, and guide me.

I found the reading to be quite easy, just 3 or 4 chapters per day. I was one of those kids in school who loved getting gold stars on my homework, so being able to check off the daily reading assignment was right up my alley ;) 

As I read, there were so many passages that I wanted to keep track of, so the backs of my pages are filled with all of my notes.

  
If by chance you think that you would like to do something similar to this, HERE'S a link to the chart that I used. You can download it without any obligation. 

Back in August of 2019, I decided that I wanted a particular type of  planner, something that would give me the space to write down not only my appointments, but my daily, weekly, and yearly goals. Low and behold, I went to Walgreens(a drug store), and found exactly what I wanted.

I think the planner was intended for a teacher, but who cares?!! It was what I wanted. It began in August of 2019, and runs through January of 2021.  

It has the typical daily appointment calendar.

Larger spaces for day-to-day things. I use this to write out all that I would like to accomplish each day. On the right hand side is a place for notes. I use this to keep my goals in front of me. What I learned from reading through the Bible last year is that goals can easily be met when we take small, consistent, daily steps toward the goal.
 

In the back of the book are maybe 40 pages for notes. Here I keep a running log of the books that I have read, the knitting projects that I have accomplished, as well as my master goal list for the year. 

At this point, I have a list of 12 things that I would like to accomplish. Most I will keep to myself, but I'll share a couple;

Last fall, I enrolled Berkley in a training class that would ultimately lead to him earning his therapy dog certification. In November, Berkley completed level 3. He has level 4 to complete, and then he'll be ready for the actual certification training. I'm so very proud of him, and I have so enjoyed the learning process as well. I hope to have this all completed by the 1st of June. 

Just a crazy thing, ever since I learned to fly, I have wanted to earn a seaplane rating. Landing in the water is just something that I want to do, and not because I have to, i.e. an accident! The rating won't mean anything other than having accomplished the training. I'm saving that for sometime in July.

I do have sewing goals, creative goals, spiritual goals, and health goals. 

One last thing that I would like to share, I have a friend that I talk with each and every week. We set our time together as though it is a business meeting, knowing that at 9 o'clock on Thursday morning, we will be talking to each other. We miss from time to time, life can get in the way, but our time together is important and we try to keep our appointment. We share our goals for the year. We keep each other accountable by asking how we are doing with our goals, and we offer each other advice. Our conversation lasts for just about an hour, and it is by far, the best hour of my week. I highly recommend finding a friend that you can trust to share your life and goals with. It makes such a huge difference! 

Here's to a new year with new opportunities! May we all accomplish something wonderful in this new year.

Rhonda

Sunday Night Reflections

Thoughts On My Studio Cleanup Journey

There's a beautiful story about 2 famous basketball players, Charles Barkley, and Moses Malone. Charles Barkley was the #5 pick of the 1984 NBA draft. He felt he had the world by the tail, and that he would take the NBA by storm. He weighed in at close to 300 pounds, and was shocked to find himself sitting on the bench with limited opportunities to play. He approached Moses Malone for some guidance. Malone pulled no punches, he told him that he was fat and lazy. Brutal! He told Barkley to lose 10 pounds and meet him at the gym the next day. When he reached the goal of losing 10 pounds, Malone instructed him to lose another 10. The weight loss and workouts went on until Barkley weighed in at 255 pounds. Barkley asked Malone why he didn't tell him to lose close to 50 pounds when he first approached him. Malone replied that it was too big of a goal, 10 pounds was attainable. The relationship between Barkley and Malone remained so close that Barkley called Malone 'Dad' until Malone died. Barkley gave Moses Malone a beautiful tribute;

"He never said anything about what he did for me. Most guys when they mentor a young player like that, they go around saying, 'Yeah, that was me. I did that.' Not Moses. He never told anybody. And that was the best part."  

When I began cleaning up, and cleaning out my sewing studio, I cried to myself, "I can never buy another piece of fabric for as long as I live!!!" Then, I thought about the Barkley/Malone story, and realized that I was setting myself up for failure. So, I made a smaller, more obtainable goal, no new fabric shopping until August 1st. That was a 3 month goal, and one that I felt I could do. So far, so good :) But...whew!, in the last week or so, I have REALLY wanted to go to a fabric store. What helps a lot, is going into my studio and cleaning up a space, or a drawer. That's enough of a reminder, and the bonus is that I get excited about something that I want to make.

I did another little exercise that was rather difficult. I went through my fabric, pulled out 5 pieces that I love, and put them in a bag. A friend of mine and I had made a date for tea. I took the bag with me, handed it to her and told her that she could have all, some, or none, it was her choice. I then explained that these were pieces that I love, so not castoffs. She took all but 1 piece. As I sat there and watched her go through the fabric, I'll be honest, I thought of all the wonderful things I could do with it, but I held tight. A day later, she sent me a picture of a fun shirt she had made to wear with tights, using a piece of the fabric that I had given her. I could not have been happier! She was happy, I was happy, and it was all because I let go. 

I then decided to take my exercise a step further. I invited another friend to come by, go through my fabric and choose a few pieces that she would like to have and felt she could use. As I sat there and watched her touch the fabric, I cringed a bit, but once again, I held tight, and let her choose what she wanted. And guess what?!!, as much as I cringed, I can't remember exactly which pieces she took!!! And even better, she left excited about her new projects. 

My fabric diet is not music to any fabric shop owner's ears, but it is a journey that I am happy that I have embarked upon. At this point, I am learning to let go, and use what I have. 

I hope the Barkley/Malone story will inspire you in some way, It's one of my favorites, but then, I really like Charles Barkley. He makes me laugh :)

Rhonda