Here we go again!

Welcome to 2014!  ( I still shake my head sometimes when I recall all the panic around late December, 1999 - after all, we would be switching everything over to the year 2000 in a few days, and widespread panic was forecast for everything from digital clocks to nuclear plants around the world.... and here we are, 14 years later!)
Anyway, I didn't plan to start off this year's posts with a history lesson - it was supposed to be my very first "A Lovely Year of Finishes, 2014 Version" post.
I didn't do so well with my monthly challenges last year - I managed to finish 8 of my challenges, but forgot to link up half of them.  (Note to self: remember to finish the project AT LEAST 2-3 days before the deadline, so I have lots of time to do the finish post and link-up).
So, January's project: I've been a member of a Yahoo quilt group that makes mystery quilts designed to be given to members of the military - whether injured, or heading out or returning from their tour of duty.  There have usually been 2 - 3 mysteries each year, and I look forward to doing them with great anticipation.  The problem is, anticipation doesn't always translate to completing said project.  I had all sorts of stumbling blocks and mini-crises last year, and the current quilt project seemed to be the easiest thing to let go of.  My New Year's resolution for this year is to start working on my monthly project at the first of the month, instead of waiting until the 20th or so (even though I perform reasonably well under pressure).  That being said, I give you January 2014's first ALYoF project:  the "MysteryQuilt4Military" quilt #31, from July 2013.  I'm aiming to complete the top - and, if I can, I'll even try to layer it - no guarantees on that point though!
Here's the pic of my fabrics all organized and ready to go - I managed to complete clue #1 before I moth-balled the project last summer - and I'm ready to start clue #2!

I have a few other things that I'd love to at least start in January - there will be posts in the coming days about them.  I'd love to do a rainbow scrap challenge, although I don't know if I'll actually sign up at the official site, and I'm also hoping to get a few of my "want-to-do-this-quilt" projects started.  I also have a "stash-fabric-only" challenge to do for our quilt guild, and I found the perfect project online a day or two ago, so I'm hoping to work on that a bit every day or two.  And finally, there's also a move scheduled for my sewing room - so I have to get as much done as I possibly can before that happens - who knows how long it will take to find my sewing machine back!