frustration

I've got to leave for the airport in 2.5 hours.

as it stands, packing has been a nightmare and we have used absolutely every inch of possible space. the expandable suitcases have been expanded. There is one 6x6x9 corner reserved for toiletries which i can pack as soon as C is done with the bathroom (his gorgeous beard has been shaved.. :( ). My frustration comes from not having any satisfying quilt projects packed.

how did I let this happen?

All the while I thought I'd finish the winding ways top before we left and baste in on Grama's nice big livingroom floor. But as I've mentioned previously, December has not been a month of quilting. I've got 11 blocks left to piece and still never made up for the cutting mistake I made (cut 5 extra blocks worth of dark pink petals, leaving not enough washed fabric to cut the 3 or 4 dark pink corner pieces. argh). So yeah, that project, though fixable, is a mess. (frustration #1)

I've got the hawaiian wallhanging that I've been carrying around with me, and it's small, portable, and almost done (a few more days of quilting and I can put on the binding). Bad part-- I've been focused on that project alone for too many weeks and i think I got tired of it. You know? I just want to put it down for a few months and finish it in the spring or something. I'm not feeling the yellow & blue these days. Though if I work on it non stop for the next 24 hours, i could hypothetically have it done in time to give to A for Christmas, that's just not going to happen. (frustration #2)

What I really want to do is applique, but while I could work on the blue & white strawberry leaf UFO, I have been having so many good ideas for a tree-themed sampler-type thing, finding inspiration everywhere, and now I'm at the point where 2 days in my sewing room to choose fabrics/test things out is all I could ask for. Unfortunately, I'm down to 2.25 hours. (frustration #3)

It's great that inspiration struck right as I have vacation from work, but I still feel like my timing is all off. I want to be happy and relaxed in Chicago, with a steady project that I can pick up and put down while chatting or hanging out with the family. Over-inspiration is not what I need right now. What I do need is to calm down and finish packing. It will all be ok. Maybe I'll crochet a million tiny flowers or help my aunt learn how to crazy quilt. Things will work themselves out, but I just feel like I could have planned this better....