Goofin' Off and Getting in the Zone

Have you ever heard anyone talk about being "in the zone"?  I feel like the past few weeks, as I have been focusing more on my personal goals and projects, I have been able to get "in the zone" more often.  For me, getting in the zone means a nice focus on the project at hand--everything else around me seems to disappear.  I set my timer and get to work...or maybe it's get to relaxing.  When the timer goes off, I can look at what I have been working on and smile at where I have finished my session of stitching for the day.

Getting in the Stitching Zone with Music

I know everyone gets "in the zone" differently.  What helps me get "in the zone" is listening to music.  I enjoy most types of music, but when I am working on a project, I enjoy listening to movie soundtracks and movie scores.  Can you guess what type of movie scores I like?  Ten guesses...anyone,  anyone?

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you can probably guess that I love to listen to soundtracks and movie scores from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, etc.   I even got a few new ones for Christmas this year.  My family knows me so well.  I got the music from the new Lion King movie that was released...as well as Jumanji.

I am sooooo excited I got these.  I have already ripped them onto my laptop and added them to my MP3 player.  They are now mixed in with my playlists and I am excited to have these added to my collection.  More music means more stitching...right?

My question to you is...

HOW DO YOU GET "IN THE ZONE"?

Let me know below in the comments, if you like.  I'm always looking for new ideas and ways to be more productive and get in the zone.  I love it when my friends share their ideas.  

Christmas Fun

I had a really nice Christmas this year.  The gatherings were a bit small, but the time spent with family was priceless.  I spent Christmas Eve with me and my boys.  Two days before Christmas Eve, Mr. Goofin' Off decided he wanted to prepare Christmas Eve dinner.  My plans for dinner went out the window, but I was more than happy to let him do all the work.  He was in the kitchen all day long preparing food and washing dishes.  What a Christmas treat.  You know what I did while he was doing all the hard work?  I was upstairs in my office/craft room doing some stitching.  Yay for me!!!

Christmas morning we had my son over and opened up stockings.  Santa still delivers Goofin' Off Jr.'s stocking gifts to our house.  Maybe he hasn't received a change of address yet?  Not a problem.  We love having him over.  About noon the boys headed out to pick up my dad.  It was his second Christmas without my mom, and it seemed to go a little better than last year.  He told me he didn't want a Christmas dinner; he wanted a Christmas brunch...so Christmas brunch it was.  We opened gifts with him and he and Mr. Goofin' Off watched some TV shows about cars while Goofin' Off Jr. and I took a little nap in the chairs next to them.  It was absolutely perfect.  

This Christmas was packed with lots of stitching and quilting gifts...all the more reason for me to get my act together so I can have more time for relaxing with my projects.  I received five 3-yard quilt kits from Fabric Cafe.  Their quilt kits go together really quickly and are the perfect size for Project Linus quilts...and each kit comes with their own pattern.  These was a fantastic sale for Black Friday, so I think Santa did a great job picking these out for me.

Star Trek 3-Yard Quilt Kit

Fishes 3-Yard Quilt Kit

Forest Animals 3-Yard Quilt Kit

Vintage Aircraft 3-Yard Quilt Kit

Floral 3-Yard Quilt Kit

Santa brought me this Ott light...well, technically this was my mother's Ott light that she had in her sewing room.  The lights had been broken out at some point while it was at my dad's assisted living facility.  Santa's elves got new light bulbs for it and got it working for me.  It will be an eye saver for me because the days are so dark here in the Pacific Northwest during the winter.  

Standing Ott Light

My last gift was from my dad.  He gave me money to purchase gifts for my family and wrap them up.  I chose for my dad to buy me the fabric and about one-third of the thread needed to get started on my Randal Spangler Sundae Delight pattern that I purchased from Heaven and Earth Designs several years ago.  My dad was tickled that he got to watch us open the gifts he gave us rather than just giving us money.  I hope to get started on this piece in the very near future.

Fabric and About 1/3 of Threads Needed for Sundae Delight by Randal Spangler

Sundae Delight by Randal Spangler - Charted by Heaven and Earth Designs

The past few weeks, I was actually able to get a jump start on 2020 and do some tweaking to my schedule.  I found a bit more stitching time and was able to make some progress on my newest stitching project.  Here it is:  

Last Update on Mystery Project - December 16, 2019

Current Progress on Mystery Project - December 30, 2019

Any guesses on this one?  I really am enjoying all the pretty colors of this piece after working so long on my Mickey and Pirate Friends piece that is full of browns, dark grays, and oranges.  These purple, pinks, and greens are just what the doctor ordered for me.  This pattern is four pages, and I will rotate after I complete a page finish.

Now it's time to step away from the blog and prepare for our annual New Year's Eve party.  Thank you all for being such a big part of my stitching world.  You all make the world a better place for me.  

I hope you all have a fun and safe New Year's Eve!