Making a List. . . It's a Good Thing

I've always been a list maker. .   My dad was a list maker. . . My daughter is a list maker.  I think it might be genetic.  But I believe that making a list is a good thing.  First, you can see in black and white what you have that  needs to be completed.  Secondly, and probably most important for me, as you accomplish one of the items on the list you get the satisfaction of crossing it off.  But sometimes I cheat!!  If I do something that wasn't on the list, I put it there just so I can cross it off.  And after making my mental list on Sunday, I finally feel like I'm accomplishing something.  Yesterday morning, I put the final borders on the quilt that I started a year ago for my mom.  And I plan to quilt it myself, it's too close to Christmas to ask my favorite longarm quilter to squeeze it in. After finishing the borders, I neatly folded the quilt and put it on the huge pile of things on the buffet in the sewing room.  And what do you think caught my eye -- the Halloween wall hanging I started last year.  It was all appliqued  and it was sandwiched and all ready for quilting.  What better way to practice free motion quilting than on this wall hanging??  I love to quilt with variegated threads, and found one in my stash that was turquoise, yellow and orange.  And, I figured it would be perfect for quilting my wall hanging.  I quilted it yesterday with feathers on the owl.  Not bad for a first attempt.  So, I moved on to the other panels.  And I tried to quilt "bubbles" on the ghost.  They aren't round, but I like them.   I quilted stars in the stars, and tried to do a wood grain in the broom handle.  Again, not perfect, but I like it.  This morning, I ironed the binding that had already been cut and pieced.  The binding is on, and sewn down.  The buttons are added to the owl's eyes.  And my wall hanging is ready to be hung on the door that leads to the basement.  Of course, it means taking down Santa Claus.  If you've ever seen Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, you know that the characters sing a song "Keep Christmas with You all through the Year."  That's what I've been doing -- Santa Claus in the living room, a Christmas tree quilt in the bathroom.  Yep, Christmas all through the year That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Rod says he will miss Santa Claus, but I assured him that he will be back in less time than we want him to be.  Ho, Ho, Ho.