Wow, it sure seems like 2017 went quickly! We had a good year in our family - a wedding and a new baby for my cousin, a fantastic summer vacation, and (mostly) healthy parents. We've had a good chance to see family, travel together, and travel apart (this one is mostly for me, as it means I go to quilting retreats or to see out of town friends).
At the start of the year, I set four goals, hoping that by simplifying, I would make good progress on each one, and I have to say I did fairly well. Here are my goals and my progress on them:
Craft goals:
1. On the quilting side, I am working again to finish up some UFOs, especially as my list of unfinished projects has gotten longer, so I will again participate in the APQ UFO Challenge and also Judy Laquidara's UFO Challenge. I only have one list, so I will have two numbers to choose from each month :) I'd like to get more than 6 of the 12 completed. Hey - I got 7 projects finished, so I think this one is a big success! I also moved two tops along to "finished top" stage, so overall, I am pretty pleased with this one.
2. Stitch What I've Bought - I have so many charts, magazines, and a few kits, and I really want to focus this year on stitching things I've already got! I did pretty well on this too, 14 of my 18 completed stitching projects were things that I had at the start of the year.
Personal goals:
1) Paint - This falls into the home improvement category. Several items in our home need paint...the exterior, our family room, our remodeled bathroom, and my son's room, and all of these spaces have needed paint for at least 6 months. Some good success here too - we finally painted my son's room and our family room, and I have a contract for painting the exterior of the house (by the time I committed, the weather turned cold, so it will be painted first thing next year). The big one that remains is our new bathroom (now over a year old). Hopefully my husband will feel inspired to work on it soon (he does most of our interior painting).
2) Get up and Get Out - This continues my goal from last year to swim more. I want to do more exercise from home - walking and biking primarily. I want to get moving more often, even when the weather isn't great. I would say I just did okay on this one - I did get some more walking in and had a spell of several week when Jack and I biked once a week, but there is still progress to be made here, especially in the summer when the weather is nice.
Now on to the fun stuff - the collage pictures!
For stitching, I finished 18 projects (!!) and got four of them to the Fully Finished stage. Two of those were gifted over the holidays. Here they are:
For quilting, I really thought my final numbers would be down this year, but they really aren't. I finished 30 projects, which includes 12 finished quilts (some started in earlier years) and 5 quilt tops. Probably the one surprising stat from 2017 is that I only made two bags. I gifted 11 of my finishes to others. It was fun surprising a few of them too :) Edited to add that I quilted 9 quilts this year.
No collage picture for crochet - I finished two projects this year - one hat (dorky picture below!) and a set of curlicue ponytail holders for my daughter and my cousin's step-daughter. (I didn't get a picture of these, but the pattern is here and they look just like it).
After all this, probably the best change I made last year isn't one that I built into my goals - but on a whim I started it and it has been really good. I stopped taking my iPad upstairs at night during the week, which means that instead of mindlessly flipping through facebook, instagram, or blogs (which I thoroughly enjoy), I've been reading books before bed. I think that I am sleeping better and I know I am going to bed earlier (well, until I get close to the end of a good book!) with this change. It's a small thing, but has made a lot of difference for me. I even kept it up over my 2 week vacation at the end of the year. It also helps me get out of bed earlier in the mornings rather than leaning over "just to take a look."
I am still thinking on 2018 goals, so I will be back this weekend with an update for you on them!
At the start of the year, I set four goals, hoping that by simplifying, I would make good progress on each one, and I have to say I did fairly well. Here are my goals and my progress on them:
Craft goals:
1. On the quilting side, I am working again to finish up some UFOs, especially as my list of unfinished projects has gotten longer, so I will again participate in the APQ UFO Challenge and also Judy Laquidara's UFO Challenge. I only have one list, so I will have two numbers to choose from each month :) I'd like to get more than 6 of the 12 completed. Hey - I got 7 projects finished, so I think this one is a big success! I also moved two tops along to "finished top" stage, so overall, I am pretty pleased with this one.
2. Stitch What I've Bought - I have so many charts, magazines, and a few kits, and I really want to focus this year on stitching things I've already got! I did pretty well on this too, 14 of my 18 completed stitching projects were things that I had at the start of the year.
Personal goals:
1) Paint - This falls into the home improvement category. Several items in our home need paint...the exterior, our family room, our remodeled bathroom, and my son's room, and all of these spaces have needed paint for at least 6 months. Some good success here too - we finally painted my son's room and our family room, and I have a contract for painting the exterior of the house (by the time I committed, the weather turned cold, so it will be painted first thing next year). The big one that remains is our new bathroom (now over a year old). Hopefully my husband will feel inspired to work on it soon (he does most of our interior painting).
2) Get up and Get Out - This continues my goal from last year to swim more. I want to do more exercise from home - walking and biking primarily. I want to get moving more often, even when the weather isn't great. I would say I just did okay on this one - I did get some more walking in and had a spell of several week when Jack and I biked once a week, but there is still progress to be made here, especially in the summer when the weather is nice.
Now on to the fun stuff - the collage pictures!
For stitching, I finished 18 projects (!!) and got four of them to the Fully Finished stage. Two of those were gifted over the holidays. Here they are:
No collage picture for crochet - I finished two projects this year - one hat (dorky picture below!) and a set of curlicue ponytail holders for my daughter and my cousin's step-daughter. (I didn't get a picture of these, but the pattern is here and they look just like it).
After all this, probably the best change I made last year isn't one that I built into my goals - but on a whim I started it and it has been really good. I stopped taking my iPad upstairs at night during the week, which means that instead of mindlessly flipping through facebook, instagram, or blogs (which I thoroughly enjoy), I've been reading books before bed. I think that I am sleeping better and I know I am going to bed earlier (well, until I get close to the end of a good book!) with this change. It's a small thing, but has made a lot of difference for me. I even kept it up over my 2 week vacation at the end of the year. It also helps me get out of bed earlier in the mornings rather than leaning over "just to take a look."
I am still thinking on 2018 goals, so I will be back this weekend with an update for you on them!
Comments
Your idea of ditching your iPad and reading at night is wonderful. I usually read before I go to bed and, although I'm a very slow reader, I truly love it and feel that I can't go to sleep without reading my Kindle!
Wishing you and your wonderful family every happiness in 2018!