101 things in 1001 days

I don't think I can emphasise enough how much I LOVE writing lists and I love it even more when I cross things off. The days I don't look at a list are the days that nothing gets done. So when I stumbled across the idea of 101 things in 1001 days I was hooked. I hope I don't bore you all with my updates!


The Challenge: 
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

Why 1001 Days? 
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple challenges such as New Year's resolutions or a 'Bucket List'. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips, study semesters, or outdoor activities. 

MY LIST


Start July 11th 2011
Finish April 8th 2014


CREATE

1. Learn to knit
2. Complete my Dear Jane quilt
3. Make something that involves Bunting (Bunting, quilt or pillow)
4. Learn to screen print.
5. Make a doily rug
6. Get my own fabric printed by Spoonflower
7. Make something to sell through etsy or madeit
8. Find a way to organise my material. 

EXPERIENCES

9. See a movie in 3D
10. Go to a local circus

11. Spend a whole day op shopping
12. Have a picnic
13. Fly a kite
14. Hit golf balls at a driving range
15. Visit Werribee Mansion
16. Skydive
17. Go bush walking
18. Learn to Surf
19. Ride in a hot air balloon
20. Go to a roller derby
21. Go ice skating
22. Take Pryor to Melbourne Zoo
23. Go snowboarding
24. Do a Ghost Tour
25. Go strawberry picking
26. Have dinner by candlelight
27. Sleep under the stars
28. Organise to see a chick flick with girlfriends
29. See the penguin parade at Phillip island
30. Lay outside and stargaze
31. Go horse riding
32. See a movie in gold class
33. Experience the Eureka sky deck
34. Visit 5 different markets (0/5)
35. Visit 10 Australian art galleries (0/10)
36. Go to an AFL game
37. Eat on the Melbourne restaurant train
38. Weekend away with Husband minus child

39. Go to Costco
40. do a bungee jump
41. Play mini golf
42. Go zip-lining

PHOTOGRAPHY

43. Enter a photography contest

44. Complete a 365 day photo challenge (2/365)
45. Make a 1st year snapfish photo book of Pryor

46. Take a picture for every letter of the alphabet for Pryor

47. Take a picture that looks like the a letter for each letter of the alphabet.

48. Take a picture to commemorate the completion of each goal
49. Create a photo wall
50. Take photos under water
51. Visit a photo exhibition

HOUSE

52. Put up something on the hall wall
53. Finally put up the artwork that was given as a gift in my bedroom
54. Make the porch look good so I can sit out there in summer!
55. Fix the gutters above the porch
56. Throw away lotions, hair products, beauty stuff I don't use
57. Get enough potted plants to fill the border of my porch

BUY

58. Build/buy new house
59. Have an investment property
60. Buy a bike trailer for Pryor to ride in
61. Buy a Keepcup
62. Buy a printer/scanner
63. New good quality sharp knives
64. Buy a venetian mirror
65. Buy an amazing new iron with auto shut off
66. Buy 10 dresses (0/10)

67. Build a King size 4 poster bed
68. Buy a piece of artwork

HEALTH/FITNESS

69. No chocolate for a month
70. Run 5kms without stopping
71. Run 10kms without stopping
72. Drink at least 1 litre of water a day for a whole month (0/31)
73. Take a multivitamin everyday for a month (0/31)
74. Walk the dogs 3 days a week for a month (0/12)
75. Complete the couch to 5km running program (0/27 sessions)

FOR OTHERS

76. Donate blood
77. Send flowers anonymously to a friend in need
78. Throw a surprise party
79. Surprise someone with an unexpected gift

ACCOMPLISH

80. Complete a 1000 piece puzzle
81. Have read over half of the books on the current Angus and Robertson book list

FOOD

82. Make ice cream or gelato from scratch
83. Drink all the tea that is sitting in my pantry
84. Have a signature dessert
85. Make chocolate covered strawberries
86. Learn something about different types of wine
87. Make a birthday cake for someone
88. No fast food for a month
89. No chocolate for a month
90. Make my own cook book
91. Eat fish and chips on the beach
92. Eat a pomegranate
93. Go to a high tea
94. Make jam

MISC

95. Have another baby
96. Complete my tattoo half sleeve
97. Blog at least once per week
98. Wear dresses for a whole week Completed
99. Get my eyes tested
100. Watch all the Harry Potter movies Completed 1/12/11
101. Make a list of all family and friends birthdays and anniversaries

Pryor Charles

I've had to put my craftiness on the back burner the last 9 months since the birth of my son. 

Pryor Charles

Born 17th September 2010

Cue a few of my favourite photos...

with Daddy

Like Father, like son

Helping with my sewing

Being a cheeky boy and climbing into the Kitchen Trolley!

It doesn't take much to make Pryor laugh.

I promise I am now back. Pryor has been going to bed earlier of late and I've had a chance to do a few sewing projects and I'm loving it! The mojo is back!

9 Flower Wednesday

I managed 9 flowers and 12 half flowers this week. I'm going to try to get them all connected before my baby arrives. I'm currently 1 day over due so I don't know if I'll get a chance. If I had a choice I would rather have the baby out, although the quilt is covering the floor in the baby's room at the moment.

It's good to know the quilt top will be finished soon. Its been a while since I've finished a quilt and this will be the first one that I have ever made that will not experience a sewing machine.

Keep a little sunshine in your pocket...

I'm loving having this time off before the baby arrives. I'm catching up on projects and doing easy things for the baby. One of those projects is my "Sunshine in your pocket" stitcheries. I've now completed all 9 and now have to look for some cream and red fabric to cut up and make into a quilt. This one was half done and lost in my sewing room a few months ago but rediscovered when I finally had the time to make my messy sewing room back into an organised sewing room.

Ready for the baby...

I may be due next week but the nursery has been majority done since April. Every time I walk into the baby's room I can't help but smile. I just love everything about it and how it signifies the beginning of our family. Although the room is blue we haven't found out what the sex of the baby is. It's more of a sky blue to suit the decals I bought off etsy. I've finally found a place for the baby quilt I made a few years ago.

I made up these easy to sew softies from Saffron Craig that are sitting on an old chair that I recovered in some pretty cupcake fabric.

I've had to put a baby gate up to keep my dog, Rupert, from getting in there when no one's around. He's managed to sneak in their a few times as it's the brightest room in the house and he loves lying in the sun. He managed to take a rubber ducky and chew it to smithereens. But we still love him and he can go in there as long as I'm there too.

30 Flower Wednesday...

Spring has arrived in Australia, so I figured a flower update was in order. I have sewn all my previous flowers together and completed another 30 flowers. I still don't know how big this quilt is going to be...

A lazy day on the couch...

A lovely girl at work knew I loved owls and bought me the Sublime stitching Bib embroidery Kit. It didn't take much convincing myself to sit on the couch to do them today.

It's only 1 week til my due date so the couch has become my best friend lately, although I did manage to walk around 5 holes of the local golf course on the weekend following my husband. One of his friends had forgotten his wallet and because I'm such a good friend I wanted to personally deliver it to him and figured I might as well walk the rest of the course with them.

Twenty One Flower Wednesday...

This week I have added another 21 flowers to my garden... I think it's time to start filling in the 'foliage' so I'm not left with a million little white hexagons at the end. After all these hexagons my thumb is a little sore. I've built up my left thumb muscle so much that I think I could beat anyone in thumb wrestling!!

26 Flowers in Bloom...

I've wanted to do a Grandmothers Flower Garden quilt for quite a while now but I wasn't keen on buying the homespun as I wanted to delve into my current stash. So I think what I'm making is now called a hexagon quilt.
After realising I'd have enough 1930's repo fabrics left over from my Dear Jane, I researched my bum off while at work. Being Pregnant and stuck in the office where I feel like I'm work experience I get a lot of time to surf the net. The result is a hexagon sheet downloaded from this site and a fantastic tutorial from Sew Many Ways. Each side is a little under 1 inch.

It took me 7 days to do all these. I am having so much fun doing these while watching some Cold Case DVD's. I seem to get addicted to 1 project and go for gold. At least my Sewing Machine is getting a well deserved rest. Maybe she should be treated to a service.

I went and bought a big piece of batting and have started a design wall. A couple of stick on hooks and a spare wall later and I have this. Unfortunately the only wall suitable is in the lounge room. Every other wall is either too small or not well lit enough. (They're my excuses anyway)

Proudly introducing 'Candy the Kitchenaid'

For over a year I have lusted over the 90th anniversary Candy Apple Red Mix master... I have had various celebrations over the last year where someone had said they would get it for me, But to no avail. I was then devastated to discover it was not being made anymore. No stores had it and when I saw it in Person at a friends 30th i got a little emotional. And putting it up my top to sneak it out was not an option. Have you felt how heavy these things are? And then she informed me that the store her husband purchased it from only had 2 left in the country!!

I bit the bullet and within 2 days it was in the mail. I even spoiled myself by getting the ice cream attachment. Isn't she hot. The microwave even got banished to the laundry so that she could be the focal point of the kitchen.



I have already made Vanilla Slices, Lemon meringue pie, and Banana bread. I'm still to make any ice cream although the bowl is chilling in my freezer. I'm not ashamed to say she gets a LOT of caresses when I'm near her!!

A busy year...

I have been going CRAZY with my Dear Janes lately. And I'm a tad over them now. I really need a break. I've had the busiest year so when I could get back into sewing again I jumped at my DJ's and neglected my blog a tad.

Here's an update on what I have been doing....

Last October I married the love of my life at the beautiful Cleveland Winery in Lancefield, Victoria. The beautiful Bernadette had told me about it when I first mentioned the idea of getting married a few years ago. We made it into a whole weekend deal and there was not a niggle of stress the whole weekend. It was truly amazing...

My dress actually has a train which is tucked up underneath the dress. Thus the boffy bit at the back.

We then delayed our honeymoon til February so we could spend 4 weeks in America. Visiting LA, Vegas, New York and San Francisco. The highlight was definitely New York. We travelled Business Class like rock stars.

In Las Vegas we saw the amazing Cirque Du Soleil production of Beatles Love. We loved the amount of acrobatics in it.

The strasophere casino. See the thing thats hanging from the side of the building at the top? Thats a ride that I went on and nearly pooed my pants on it's that scary. You are basically looking at the ground while it goes around in a circle.

Me with my feet firmly on the ground with Vegas as a backdrop.

This is the night we arrived in New York. I couldn't believe it was snow and not rain whizzing past my window as the plane landed. Times Square just before midnight. Luckily we left New York just before a MASSIVE snowstorm hit.

I visited a few craft stores in NY and just had to take a photo of the window display at the Lion Brand Yarn studio. I bought enough wool to make 3 amazing starfs that I haven't got around to making yet.

On to San Francisco and a lovely bike ride over the Golden Gate bridge. I wish we would have caught the ferry back from the first town of Sausalito instead of trecking it to the following town that wasn't as close as the map said it was, and hubby had a cold to make it worse.

We drove from San Franciso to LA in a convertable and I just had to visit the Winchester Mystery House on the way. Unfortunately you cant take photos inside the house. Can you see the door on the second floor that opens to the ground? Basically this house was built by a desendant of the Winchester Gun company and she was paranod that spirits of the people the guns had killed where after her so she kept extending and renovating the house until her death in the 1910's. There are over 100 rooms with secret doors and even stairs that turn a corner then go into the roof. The front doors were made by Tiffany & Co and only 3 people ever walked through them because she hated visitors.

Near LA, behind skyrise buildings is Marilyn Monroe's crypt at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. It's a miracle we found this place as there are no signs to get there and all we had was an adress. We had to drive between 2 huge buildings to get to the entrance.

I didn't want to bore you with too many photos but It's been an amazing year so far.

TR-5 Michigan Dunes

TR-2 Australian Pines

RS-7 Fedelia's Hearts

RS-4 Dutch Oven

LS-6 Susie Q

BR-4 Candy Dish

BR-2 Leigh's Woods

BR-1 Rosemary's Rainbow

M-7 Junko's Rose Garden