I'm diving in ...

and here's my list for the 2011 Challenge of finishing projects that I couldn't wait to start ... and then I found another I couldn't wait to start ... and another ... oh, and not to mention that I have worked at my LNS on a part-time basis for the past 7.5 years. That means I have 7.5 years of stash I had to run home and start THAT VERY NIGHT OR I WAS GOING TO CEASE TO EXIST ON THE FACE OF THIS PLANET. Narrowing it down to 15 was the hard part!

1. Lionesses from Stoney Creek's "Stitching Safari." My 6-year-old son was soooo cute when he very politely asked his mommy to stitch this for him. He is now a very handsome 15-year-old filled with teenaged angst and I'm hearing rumblings of how the past nine years have been filled with nothing but disappointment. "I no longer have faith in my mother, as this sort of behavior has become the norm," says he.

2. Birth Band Sampler by Drawn Thread. Please refer to #1 on the list. I can't even remember when I started this one. It was a few years after I gave birth. Then I was going to finish it for said child's 10th birthday. My how time flies. Now my goal is to have it done by his 16th birthday. I'm not going to be mother-of-the-year at this rate. And it's a really good thing I only had one kid.

3. Polar Bear Snow Globe by Bent Creek. I swapped the fabric out of the kit for something I thought was a better choice (or it's the fabric rebel in me -- I switch out fabric because I can). I just had to see how it would look. This will be a recurring theme as the list grows.

4. Winter House by Bent Creek.

5. Spring Log Cabin Quilt Square by Sekas.

6. Loves Me, Loves Me Not by M Designs.

7. Take Time to Read by Jeanette Douglas.

8. Take Time for Friends by Jeanette Douglas. (The esteemed Mrs. Douglas needs to design "Take Time to Finish All of the Projects You've Started before You Even Think About Picking Up Something New." She has my permission to dedicate it to me.)

9. Seaside Retreat by Blackbird Designs. This was a kitted project from a retreat I attended at Dyeing to Stitch in Virginia Beach in 2009. I love, love, love the design. I love it so much that each and every smyrna stitch has to be perfect. Do-over seems to be the theme on this one.

10. To Light the Way by Blackbird Designs, a little kit that was available for purchase at the retreat. The fabric, R&R Reproductions' "Virginia Beach" is so luscious I envision rolling in yards of it (funny how my visions don't involve me actually rolling in real waves of water). I need to envision it finished.

11. Autumn Brew from Cross Eyed-Cricket's "Autumn Aprons." Another fabric switch and another wanted to see how it would look. It would look better on the wall framed.

12. Easter Island from Mosey 'n Me. And another fabric switch. One lone bunny is occupying the island on some really fun hand-dyed fabric. He looks lonely. He could look at me pleadingly for a friend but I have opted not to stitch his eyes yet.

13. Holiday Lighthouse by Erica Michaels. Stitching this on a soft blue opalescent fabric. It actually looks like a snowy winter's evening. This has been one of my most favorite things I have ever stitched. Maybe that's why I'm drawing it out. A few stitches a year and I've had my fix.

14. Bat Kitty by Prairie Moon. Switched out the fabric to Monster Mash green. (I warned that it would be a recurring theme.)

15. Blue Mountain Bunny by Sweetheart Tree.

Seeing how the challenge doesn't start until 2011, I still have plenty of time to start a few of my "wanna stitch it now" projects!
Kathy