Tag: needlework

Well folks, the time of year is here again. The New Year is upon us all, and that means it’s time for a review of last year’s stitching resolutions and to create a new list for 2015. If you would like to read last year’s article in its entirety, you can check it out here:

New Year’s Stitchy Resolutions, Year 2, 2014

Last Year’s Goals:

1. Complete My UFOs
2. Complete My Mother’s UFOs
3. Complete the Remaining Christmas Presents
4. Complete a Large Project
5. Do a Bear-Themed Rotation

Last Year’s Goals in Review

So, how did I do with my stitchy resolutions in 2014? In 2013, I completed two goals, modified one goal, and dropped the remaining two, and I completed ten projects. It wasn’t the best track record but I had high hopes for 2014.

All I can say after looking at this list is that I failed all my 2014 goals! I did not complete a single one of my own UFOs, I finished one of my mother’s UFOs, I did not end up finishing either of last year’s Christmas presents (I even decided not to give one of them at all and start over with something new), nor did I finish a large project or do a bear-themed rotation this year. And in total? I completed four projects in the entirety of 2014. They were all under 5 x 7, so by my book, they were all mini kits.

I’m not discouraged! All that means is my interests throughout the year changed course. I didn’t get in nearly as much stitching time as I went back to school and worked two jobs, and I had more fun working on new projects than old ones.

With all that in mind, here is my New Year’s Resolutions List for 2015:

This Year’s Goals:

Stitch More

Take more time to stitch! My issue with cross-stitch is that I have about a dozen other hobbies all vying for my attention. I’ll have the bug, but not the motivation to pick up a needle when I should do something else. Now that I’m off work and out of school, I want to organize my time better so I can balance responsibilities, hobbies, and cross-stitch to do more of the thing I love the most!

Finish 10 or More Projects

When I sat down at the end of the year to examine my stitching progress, I shocked myself by only counting four finished pieces for the entirety of the year! I finished ten projects (of all different sizes) in 2013 and maybe ten or so in 2012 as well. Considering how many mini-kits I have in my set of drawers I should have been able to finish many more. In any case, even if they aren’t necessarily current WIPs or UFOs, I hope to finish 10 or more projects in 2015. Whether they’re my UFOs or WIPs, my mother’s UFOs, or brand new projects, I’ll count anything stitched towards the running total. The more things I finish, the better!

Complete a Rotation

I tried a Cat-Themed Rotation in 2013, and it failed miserably. I get so bored working on big projects that I’ll go start something new instead of working on something old. So, one of my goals for 2015 will be to complete a Rotation! It’ll keep me from getting bored with any one particular project and, if I follow through and finish them, those are finished pieces to add to my finish pile. I don’t know what kind of Rotation yet, but I will have one. We’ll just have to see whether it fizzles out in the end.

This year I think I will stick with just these three goals. They’re simple, they promote stitching, and I think they are all goals I can easily keep. The New Year fills me with so much excitement! I can’t wait to discover what the year has in store and get stitching on new projects. Here’s to 2015, and we’ll revisit this list again in another year!

What are you looking to accomplish with your stitching in 2015?

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“Random Corner” is a place for all articles related to all manners of cross-stitchery and the cross-stitch community that don’t fall into the topics covered in the regular segments. There is no set schedule for Random Corner articles, they’re just random!

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This time last year, I wrote my New Year’s Stitching Resolutions for 2013. A whole year has passed since then. It’s time to review the old goals, remove some, add some, and generally reflect on 2013 and the new year to come!

Last Year’s Goals:

Finish a friend’s wedding sampler

I actually wrote a Progress Report on this a month or so ago… I haven’t quite come up with a solution to the problem, but I do know that I decided not to work on the sampler anymore for the reasons listed in the article. So this is definitely a goal that’s not making it onto the new list!

Complete All My Mother’s UFOs

This is still a semi-goal… it’s not as important to me as it was when I made the 2013 list. A lot of the pieces are stained and/or they are very large projects, so not only will I need to start over on several of them – and they aren’t things I particularly enjoy stitching – but they’re large projects and I don’t do large projects. There are one or two that are small and in great shape, and I’d love to complete them! But the rest… not so much. This goal will be modified to be some and not all!

Sort and Organize My Stash

I think I can honestly say, I completed this goal this year! There were some tough times, as I moved twice over the course of the year and each move the amount of space I had for my stash got smaller and smaller, but I have managed to organize it to two shelves on a bookshelf! I’m planning to do a Random Corner article on what I did and how I sorted it, and I bought a few new things to sort it even further! But I’m happy with the system I have now. Goal complete!

Learn to Tolerate Stamped Cross-Stitch

This goal surprised me… but I have found for certain kits, I really do enjoy stamped cross-stitch! A new thing I’ve done this year is start embroidering pillow cases and hand towels, because of the Salvaged Stash I discovered early in the year. It’s still difficult for me to do, but I feel like my skill has improved since I’m more used to stamped cross-stitch, and the finished product looks better than my first few attempts. I’ve even found myself looking to do more stamped kits because I enjoy the pillow cases so much. Goal complete!

Complete Charts Instead of Kits

Well, I didn’t complete this goal. Every project I’ve done not from a kit, is one I’ve designed myself. Wooper Love, the Game of Thrones iPhone Case, and both gifts for my nephew (articles coming soon!) were all things I designed myself. I have bought a few cross-stitch magazines since I started working at Joann’s, but I’ve had so many other projects to do I haven’t looked at any to start! But I’m not so concerned about it now. There’s so much to do, it’s best to stitch what you love instead of worrying about stitching something else. I don’t think this goal will make it to the new list.

And that was it for last year’s list! Out of five goals, I completed two, modified one, and dropped two, so that’s not the best record. But I completed ten projects in 2013, which wasn’t a goal, but that’s quite a lot of projects! I am satisfied with how the year went, even if the goals didn’t fare so well. 😉

But how about the list for 2014? Here it is!

2014 New Year’s Resolutions:

Complete My UFOs

This goal must have not been a very big deal last year, since I didn’t have it on the list! But over the course of 2013 I’ve started and stopped a number of projects I really want to finish. (My Progress Reports are a testament to that! I don’t think I finished any of the ones I wrote articles on!) My list of UFOs went from one or two to over a dozen. My goal for 2014 is to complete as many UFOs as I can!

Complete My Mother’s UFOs

Bringing this down from last year’s list to this one, like I said above, I would like to complete some of my mom’s UFOs – but not all! That’s the main difference between this year and last year.

Complete The Christmas Presents

There will be an article on this in the coming weeks, but there were a few presents I was stitching for Christmas that didn’t get finished. I had too many other things to work on along with my job, so I ended up giving an IOU to people instead with a picture of what the finish will look like. Those pieces now have top priority! (I say that about every piece but it’s the truth!) If this goal isn’t completed by next year I will be very disappointed. It’s like a guaranteed complete!

Complete a Large Project

I know I say all the time how much I dislike large projects and how we don’t get along, but I do have a lot of large projects in my stash that I really want to do! Out of the dozen or so I have in my stash, I would really like to finish at least one in 2014! That way I can say I did it. And maybe even learn to enjoy large projects in the process…? I doubt it though.

Bear-Themed Rotation!

And finally, to round out the list with yet more projects I would like to do… I’ve done a Cat-Themed Rotation (which I am still working on), but I mentioned about halfway through the year that I would like to do a bear or teddy bear-themed rotation as well! And throughout October and November I found lots of bear kits to do and added them all to my stash. In the new year I would like to start a Bear-Themed Rotation, and hopefully have a bit more success than I did with the cat-themed one!

And that’s it for my 2014 New Year’s Resolutions! When we revisit this list in 2015, I hope they’ve all been completed and accomplished! What are you looking to accomplish with your stitching in 2014?

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“Random Corner” is a place for all articles related to all manners of cross-stitchery and the cross-stitch community that don’t fall into the topics covered in the regular segments. There is no set schedule for Random Corner articles, they’re just random!

By the way – to keep up on Little Thread Crafts stitching news and get pictures, updates, and more that don’t appear on the blog until much later, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! I would greatly appreciate it!