It's the time of year again to look back at what I hoped to accomplish in 2024, share what I completed, and set some goals for 2025. This year will be another big one in our house as my son graduates high school, and moves into the next phase of his life. He's very excited about the possibilities and I am looking forward to celebrating along with him. But before I get ahead of myself, let's take a look back at 2024.
I set four craft-related goals for myself in 2024:
1. FFO (fully finish) at least 30 stitching projects and as part of that, finish at least 12 of the 19 "green" (ready to go) projects in my list - I came close but didn't meet my goal here - I had a slower start and never quite caught up, and I found other projects pulling my attention. In the end, I am okay with 25 and I've made good progress on the "green" ones, finishing 11 of them. The good news is that I continued to keep my running list from growing too much - of my 28 stitching finishes in 2024, 13 of them are already FFOed and three of them were Christmas gifts (the three ornaments). .
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| 25 fully finished stitching items from 2024 |
I keep track in a spreadsheet so I can see progress over time and also have an idea of what remains to be fully finished, and here are the charts at the end of the year.
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| 2024 was my third highest year for FFOs |
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I have a total of 39 items waiting to be FFO'ed, up three from my ending spot last year. I'd love to finish off a few of the older ones this year so I have fewer years on my graph.
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2. Stitch ornaments as gifts - I did okay here, but didn't get to the finish line for several things. I stitched six ornaments to give as gifts, but only got three of them fully finished. The remaining three remain on my cutting table in my sewing room to get them to a finish this year so they can be gifted in 2025. It was really fun to search for ornaments that were perfect for a specific person and I plan to continue doing this in 2025.
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| Days with at least 15 minutes of crafting by year |
4. Continue working down the quilt UFOs - I'd like to continue to work my list down, target of 5 UFOs by the end of the year again - I made some good progress here, better than I've done in recent years. I started the year with 10 UFOs and fully finished five of them. I made progress on two others and found fabric for another one so that I can get back to working on it. I started three new projects this year and two of them are still in progress so will be added to the UFO list for 2025 (even though I am actively working on them), so that makes my 2025 starting list seven items.
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| 2024 finished quilting projects - 9 of the 11 are fully finished, and 5 of them were gifts |
The work on existing projects helped with stash usage this year. I made five quilt backs and those are always good for usage, and I used two jelly rolls that I've had for a long time (bottom left and bottom right quilts). I added fabric with purpose (mostly) and used it to supplement projects I was working on or intentionally for a specific new project. I ended the year with 12 1/4 yards added to my stash. I bought/was gifted 21 1/2 yards but then used 33 3/4 yards. I think I've passed the days where I will have >50 yards used and that's okay, I'd just like to keep working down my stash.
In addition to the crafty items, I had a good year of travel with friends and family, attended five retreats (three stitching, two quilting), and helped my son visit colleges and get applications in. I also celebrated a milestone birthday so now I am the youngest in a new age group!
Now we move to 2025 and goals for this year. I usually come up with some pretty clear goals over the holidays but didn't have the same type of clarity this year, so the list is short. Hopefully that means that I can stay focused.
1. Stay ahead - this goal is multi-pronged - I'd like to stay ahead of gifts so that I am not madly sewing right before holidays/birthdays, and I'd like to fully finish more than I finish (for both quilting and stitching) - if I do this well, my "to be finished/UFO" lists will both have a smaller number at the end of the year.
2. Set intentional quilting goals - I have several projects that I want to work on and that have been sitting on my cutting table or in my shelf without any progress. I am going to strive to set two quilting goals each month as I know I work well when goals are set. They won't be gigantic goals, but I know that once I get started, I usually keep going, so hopefully the small goals will help me keep some projects moving.
3. More reading - this year was a smaller reading year for me than the past few years. I would like to try to read at least two books a month this year. I might even try some audiobooks to see if that will help me achieve my goals. I've been a fan of podcasts for a long time, but have never quite connected with audiobooks. I think if I tie them to a specific activity (maybe exercising), then it will encourage me to do a bit more of that too.
In addition to my crafty goals, I've just started a new position at work so will be getting settled there and determining how to make a positive impact, my son will graduate from high school and head to college (school & location TBD), and will start to figure out how to live as a semi-empty nester. I also celebrate a big work anniversary this year (25 years!) so have some additional vacation to use and would like to have some fun trips.
So, how did you do in 2024 and what are you planning and looking forward to in 2025? Thanks to you all who continue to stop by and see what I am up to via the blog and wishing you all a very happy 2025.
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