Happy 2011!

Hello, and a very happy New Year to you, albeit 5 days late. It's not quite Twelfth Night yet, but come tomorrow, when it is, that will finally close the door on this Christmas. Time for a fresh start and new beginnings.

I managed 25 blog posts last year. Not bad, but not brilliant either. I'd like to blog more this year, and to find more of a balance between the things I make, the things I do, and the things I like to share with you.

Other goals? On January 3rd I opened my fabric scrap box and finally saw my starting point for a patchwork throw. I have the colours, I have the scraps, and now I'm on the lookout for a suitable pattern and the time to make it happen. The plan is to ease myself gently into quilting, starting by covering an old blanket, while it's still cold enough to need it. I'll take photos of the said starting point when I have better light!

A pretty standard one next, which is to take more exercise. I've signed up for another evening class, and also have in mind to take more walks, as I've enjoyed getting out and about in these past few days before work began again. On Monday we spotted this bird in a tree and have no idea what it is or what it was doing in Regents Park. Since I don't have a handy book of birds any more, if you know what it is, I'd love you to to tell me!

This year I'd also like to make time to record and reflect. Whether it's photos, my journal, or even a blog, I would like to note and remember more of the little things and to keep a track of where I am and what I'm doing. I loved Document 2010, it went a long way towards pulling together my various ways of doing this, and I'd like to continue with a modified version of it this year. I'll never be the type to regularly sit down at the end of every month and make stunning feature pages, but I loved having somewhere to put the random bits and pieces I pick up along the way and collect together with small selection of photos, and that alone has been and will be a pretty amazing account of my goings and doings.

The common thread appearing through all of this is making time for me. That's definitely the guiding theme of my goals for 2011.

(I know you've seen the bird already, but no-one who knows me is going to be surprised by this second picture, as it's such a pretty bare tree, even with the murky sky!)