2020 Year in Review

Wow, if any year had lots of twists and turns, it was 2020, wasn't it? I remember early in the year when our China office closed and we were amazed and remarked how that could never work here...and then about 6 weeks later, we received the notification on a Sunday afternoon not to return to the office on Monday. That was March 8 and I have only returned to the office two times since then - both quick stops to pick up necessary items that were in my locker. I figured out how to work from home, was able to buy some equipment to help (an ergonomic chair was essential!), and have been able to do my job remotely since then. We don't believe we'll return to the office until mid-year. The kids followed me a week later and have been mostly home since then. Jack did return to middle school for a couple weeks - first on a hybrid schedule (2 days/week), then full weeks for just 3 weeks. They are now both home through at least mid-January and then we'll see what happens to the illness rates after that. My husband was working part time at the beginning of the pandemic and the work he was doing to start-up a non-profit ground to a halt when no in person events could be held - he became our rock - did all the shopping for us, made meals (lots more than usual since we were all home all the time!), and generally made sure the house kept going. He did find a new job in October, so has been leaving the home to work since then but is still our primary "out of the house" person. We've had a few Covid scares - one turned out to be a bad cold, and the other was an exposure that luckily didn't impact us - and those tests are not that fun, so it is extra incentive to stay home! We have stayed in a small bubble with my parents through the year which has been really nice - my mom and I had several sewing weekends to make up for the retreats we didn't attend and to have some fun after my long hours of work. The extra time at home and many canceled events meant a lot more time at home for crafts - I am really pleased with all the stitching, FFO'ing (fully finishing stitched pieces), and quilting that I did this year. Let's jump into that and then I will recap the goals for the year. 

We'll start with crochet, which is often my third choice craft - I enjoy it, but not quite as much as the others, so I usually have one project going for a long time. I had two finishes this year in crochet - one cowl and one half of a sweater. I guess blue was my color for this year with the yarn! 

Next up is quilting - I had a good year and finished 6 of my UFOs and only added two new items to my UFO list, so had an overall reduction in UFOs. From small things to full size bed quilts, I had 25 finishes for the year. I was going to try to pick a favorite from the projects, but I don't think I can! I really am happy to have finished the Broken Star Log Cabin (top left, about 40" square), and the Stained Glass Log Cabin (just next to the broken star, and one of my oldest UFOs). It was also fun to work on several of these projects with my mom. Do you have a favorite? 

On the cross-stitch front, I was busy this year! I finished stitching 13 projects, all but four of which came from my existing stash. I also can't pick a favorite here, but I did really love the Months of the Year SAL (bottom right) as a project that I worked on through the year. 

I also did a great job fully finishing projects, with 22 FFOs this year - a high by far! I think the highlight for me was actually spending the time to do this - not any specific project, but an overall increase in confidence as I try different finishes and see more of my work around the house. I still have a long list of items to be finished, so there will be lots of opportunity to continue building my skills this year!  

I always set some goals at the start of the year, so now it is time to see how I did on the goals I set last January: 

1. Prep embroidery and crochet projects for travel - hahaha, you all know how this turned out! I only took two trips this year - on the first one, I worked on a small cross-stitch and on the second I started my sweater, so I would say this one was a success, but not what I'd planned at all! 

2. Continue quilting, reduce UFOs, and keep stash additions to a minimum - I think I did well on this one - I quilted 11 projects on my HQ Avante and a few smaller ones on my Janome, reduced my UFO list to 12 (I think I started the year at 15 and found one new UFO in the midst of the year), and only added 15 1/8 yards to my stash (this is my second lowest year of stash additions since I started tracking in 2010). 

3. Complete a memory quilt for my friend - big failure on this one - all the clothes are still in the bag and I need to get going on this in 2021! 

4. Complete year-long stitch along and finish lots of stitching projects - success (see pictures above)! 

5. Find 15 minutes a day for crafting at least 70% of the time - I did better than planned on this one, and I think a lot of that is thanks to the pandemic with so many canceled events and activities. I spent 307 days of 2020 doing stitching, crochet, or quilting (and had a few days where I did all three!) for a total of 84% of the year, surpassing my goal. 

6. Exercise 90 minutes/week for at least 2/3 of the year - most of this became walking as we spent many hours walking to get fresh air and exercise, and it also became a necessity in April once we added Grace to our family. I didn't count through the year to make sure I was on track for this goal, but I did check in with progress in late September and knew I had to stick with it hard through the last part of the year to meet my goal. In the end, I had 36 weeks where I met my goal, for 69% of the year - just squeaked in! 

All in all, I would say that 2020 was not such a bad year for me and for our family. Sure, we struggled with the travel limitations, missed seeing friends and eating out, and did not enjoy the long, long hours in front of computer screens, but we found ways to have fun together. We played games, watched movies, added a dog to our family, and were able to remain healthy through the year. I won't wish for another year like this, but I am grateful for the time together with my teenagers before they start to head out into the world. Before I know it, there will be cars, jobs, friends, and (yikes) college to lure them out of our home. I hope you were able to find silver linings in your year as well - I'd love to hear one or two of yours. 

Our family picking out the Christmas Tree - Dec 2020

That's a wrap - here are a few fun charts that I put together (thanks for the inspiration Kate) to track my activities over time - hope you enjoy them and thanks to each of you for your support during the year between reading, commenting, or following me on Instagram. I really enjoy this crafty community through blogs and social media and appreciate each one of you! 

This chart shows additions, usage, and net stash use over the years

This chart shows the number of items FFO'ed each year - give less weight to the early years, as those were done mostly by memory! 

Let me know if you have a favorite from my finished projects - I'd love to hear what stands out to you.