2014: Year in Review & Goals Assessment

Every year I seem to have fewer and fewer finishes.  I suppose that is to be expected as I slow down with age.  But I'll be retiring 3/4s of the way through 2015 and should see the trend reverse in future years as I have more leisure time.  I look forward to that most heartily.

Total # of Projects completed: 40

Total # of Smalls/Ornaments: 26. 1 Patriotic Heart ornament, 3 Valentine's Heart ornaments, 12 Town Square ornaments, 1 PS Christmas ornament, 5 small pin pillows, 1 Baby Bib, 2 Autumn ornaments, Mystic Smalls Needle Book

Total # of Medium projects completed: 12.   By the Bay Needle Arts 2010 Easter Bunny, Cross My Heart's Cumin [tea towel], Cross My Heart's Rosemary [tea towel], Cross My Heart's Sage [tea tpwel], Dragon Dreams' Here Be Dragons, Dragon Dreams' Compass Rose Dragon, Easter Egg Band Sampler, Homespun Elegance's Owls' Night Out, Pineberry Lane's Autumn on Marigold Lane, Pineberry Lane's Mehitabel's Redwork Sampler, Pineberry Lane's Tansy, Yarrow and Rue sampler, Sue Hillis' The Pirate's Creed.

Total # of Large projects completed: 2.  Dragon Dreams' The Dragon of the Winter Moon, Dragon Dreams The Dragon's Tea Party

Total # of BAPs completed:

Total # of Sewing & Assembly Finishes: 25

Ornaments: 22

Totes: 0

Pin Pillows: 2

Throw Pillows: 0
Scissor Fobs: 1

• ASSESSING 2014 GOALS AND SETTING 2015 GOALS
• There has been more positive movement than negative on these goals.  I am really quite pleased with my stitching year.
• 1. My Own Crazy Challenge: work on unfinished class pieces from 2005-date.  I did get back to the Mystic Smalls projects and continued work on this year's class project, The Kindred Spirits stitching journal.  I am nearly done with the former and have made some progress on the later.  I should be able to tackle the Sturbridge Box and accessories sometime in the first quarter of 2015.  And in the second quarter, I'll work on The Christmas Sampler from 2013.  Since I'll be taking a class with Thea in October, I'd like to get all my Victoria Sampler class projects from previous years done to bring to Show and Tell night.  I'd also like to finish a sampler I purchased, The Pumpkin Farm.
• 02. Complete two BAPs: Stitch stockings for Piper and Rocco.  I am afraid I let this slip by the wayside, focusing mainly on The English Band Sampler as my primary BAP this year.
• 03. Stitch a few more Heart ornaments for the Anniversary-Valentine's Day tree.   I stitched four more heart ornaments, one for the Patriotic tree in May and three for the Anniversary and Valentine's Day tree in Jan/Feb.  A goal met in full.
• 04. Stitch one ornament a month from the 2006 Indy Town Square SAL.  I stitched and did the assembly finishes on twelve more ornaments this year ... so this goal was met in full.
• 05. Continue to work on UFOs and WIPs list going into 2014.   I am very near a finish on The English Band Sampler, which leaves seven projects remaining on this list.  I would have liked to eliminate a few more pieces from this list but it was not to be.
• 06. Limit stash purchases to fabric, fiber and tools needed to complete charts on hand.  I didn't buy any new charts this year, though I did pick up a few free charts at the Mystic Stitcher's Hideaway.  If you look at my previous post, you will see that my expenditures were limited to a retreat and to fabric, floss and tools.
• 07. Continue to blog regularly, aiming for every other day.  Just as in the past few years, I haven't actually blogged every other day but the number of my posts does exceed half of 365.
• 08. Make an effort to catch up on sewing finishes and frame 2 or 3 pieces professionally.  I left this rather late in the year, but since October 1, I have completed 25 finishes which works out to 2 a month, meeting the goal.
• 09. Inventory and declutter existing stash.  I have been systematically pulling charts from stash for my one new start each month.  This year, I concentrated on my Dragon Dreams charts.  I stitched five of these charts and passed them on to other stitcher's as I completed them.  I also gave away a number of Pineberry Lane and Homespun Elegance charts as well as some door prize charts from the Mystic Stitcher's Hideaway that I knew I would never stitch.  And I culled a number of other charts that I had stitched but, for no particularly good reason, I was saving.  They were offered as giveaways in November and December.  I plan to continue to give away charts I have stitched, with a very few exceptions, and by mid 2015, I should have trimmed my chart stash down to a manageable level.  At that point, I will actually take an inventory, make up a spread sheet and start planning for the future.  In 2015, I hope to work on Workbasket Quaker animals  and my remaining dragon charts as my monthly new starts.
• 10. Change EGA membership to cyber-stitcher.   I missed the chance to do this because my renewal doesn't come up again till March 2015 ... I'd forgotten that I had signed up for a two year membership last time around.  

                GOALS FOR 2015

• 1. My Own Crazy Challenge: work on unfinished class pieces from 2005-date.   There are still 9 projects on this list.  I'd like to pare it down to four this year.  I'll be concentrating on the Victoria Sampler charts since I'll be taking a class with Thea in October and would like to bring my finishes of her designs to Show & Tell night.
• 02. Complete two BAPs:  Stitch stockings for Piper and Rocco.  
• 03. Seasonal Stitching Disorder Projects.  Stitch one Prairie Schooler Year Round in the appropriate month, thus adding to my seasonal ornament collection in a disciplined and consistent fashion.  Furthermore, stitch The Trilogy's Winter Spots  for the late February tree and a few Easter ornaments for the Spring tree.  
• 04. Stitch one ornament a month from the 2006 Indy Town Square SAL.   I am not sure I will stitch all of the 12 remaining buildings.  Some of the shops, like the Wedding Shop, the Tannebaum Shop and the Abecedarium, don't really interest me.  But we shall see how many others take my fancy.  I had thirty ornaments done by Christmas 2014 which made for a fairly respectable Small Town USA themed Tree.  Anything I stitch in 2015 will be icing on the cake.
• 05. Continue to work on UFOs and WIPs list going into 2014.   There are  seven projects remaining on this list.  I'd love to pare it down to just two or three.
• 06. Limit stash purchases to fabric, fiber and tools needed to complete charts on hand as well as my annual Stitcher's Hideaway and some framing.  
• 07. Continue to blog regularly, aiming for every other day.  
• 08. Make an effort to catch up on sewing finishes and frame 2 or 3 pieces professionally.  
• 09. Inventory and declutter existing stash.  My inventory is slowly shrinking.  I have been systematically pulling charts from stash for my one new start each month.   In 2015, I hope to work on Workbasket Quaker animals and my remaining dragon charts as my monthly new starts.  Once I have caught up with those, I will work on the remaining Halloween charts.  This should eliminate another dozen or so charts.
• 10. Change EGA membership to cyber-stitcher.