Last week, I posted that I’m taking on the Kimberbell pile of projects that have accumulated in my studio over the last few years. I mentioned that I was going to start working through the backlog, and that I hope to make significant progress in the next 17-ish weeks. I haven’t yet started working on projects; we were on vacation last week, and when we got back home, the last thing I wanted to do was start trying to go through projects to decide what I’m going to work on.

Make no mistake; I’m not trying to ditch the Kimberbell habit. I’m just trying to get caught up enough that I don’t feel so guilty every time I buy a new Kimberbell project. I don’t know if that’s actually possible – they come out with cute stuff way faster than my three embroidery machines can keep up – but I’m going to try, at least.

Even though I wasn’t ready to tackle a project last week, I did start setting up a database over on Airtable.com to track what I have purchased so far. I have a few challenges to get to the point of actually stitching, the most pressing being a lack of knowledge of what I actually have bought over the years. I have a few of the original books that were published, but I also have a significant digital archive of projects as well.

My first step has been interesting, to say the least. When I went to my Kimberbell digital library, I found that I currently have 160 digital files. Not all of them are actual projects; some of them are quilting designs, but not many. I had another 12 books and about 10 CDs, so I’m approaching 200 Kimberbell files. I’m not sure, but that might qualify me for membership in a 12-step program.

I’m subscribed to the Perfectly Pieced digital version, which explains how I ended up with so many quilt blocks in my collection. I get the files but not the fabrics, and that suits me just fine. I am seriously considering making a quilt with these blocks; they are absolutely stunning. Maybe I’ll use some of my Lori Holt stash … 🤔

I see a few quilts in my future using some of the blocks I’ve collected, and I’ve collected way more than I should have by now, especially for not using them nearly as often as I should.

I’m going to get started tomorrow, with the Digital Dealer Exclusive program for the year, the Mistletoe Mystery quilt. I have the January blocks done, and half of the February; I’ll finish February this week. My plan for the Mistletoe Mystery is to get at least one month done each week until I get caught up.

In addition, I want to finish up the event I started a couple of weeks ago, but then real life got in the way and I was unable to finish during the event. I don’t know if I will get to that this week, but it will get done at some point.

My plan is to have the monthly Mistletoe Mystery quilt finished by the end of the year, so I can display it for Christmas. I will work on other projects during that time as well, and I’ll share my progress with you each week. Hopefully, I can turn some of these projects into gifts for the holiday season!