#1 – Get 6 quilts done in 2016

I’m continuing to work on quilting Tell It To The Stars.  I’m working on the light blue sections, then I’ll work on the green sections and then finally the border.  I’m hoping to get this done this month (that’s January, 2016). 🙂 I can already tell that this may not happen.  I really only work on this during the weekend because as soon as I have an issue, I just stop with frustration.

#2 – Continue to count my stash, with a true effort to not add fabric on a whim.  

So, I’ve never committed to not buying fabric before. It is actually much easier to do this now than it was before.  After 3 years of tracking and counting fabric, the urge to buy fabric doesn’t hit me as much now as it used to.  Part of it is the discovery that I generally buy fabric when I’m not quilting as much as I would like.  So, I make sure to quilt as often as possible.  It generally works out to quilting every weekend with the odd weekend away here and there.  In writing this I realize that I have a HUGE caveat to this goal… and that is – I’m allowed to buy fabric (if I so choose) at the quilt shows I’ll be going to and when we go to Florida and Myrtle Beach for our family vacation this coming summer.  I will continue to count my stash every Sunday and link up to Judy’s Sunday Stash report.

#3 – Create a hobby budget a stick to it!  

I created my hobby budget and it is $3,000 for the year.  I know it sounds like a lot but it’s for everything crafty/hobby related.  In addition to my normal quilty stuff, that includes yarn and printing pictures, trips to Joann’s, Craftsy classes, etc.  I’ll track this on Sunday’s with the other things I’m tracking because that will help keep me within the budget.  I’ll be heading over to Road2California this week so my budget for this trip is $450.

#4 – Knit weekly

I just want to make sure I do a bit every week.  I was rolling along pretty quickly on my Rosie Hat but then my wrist and arm started hurting.  That was a forced break last week so I was only able to work on my knitting once.  I’m also not a very fast knitter so I pretty much only do 2 rows each sitting.  It also helps make sure I do not overtax my wrist and arm.  I generally have a problem with my wrist/arm at the middle of every quarter.  I work my butt off in the beginning of the quarter doing my client’s quarterly bills and invoices and quarterly reports so that’s when I usually have a problem.  I’ve spent the last couple of years getting good ergonomic equipment like my keyboard and my mouse.  In the office I have a standing desk that goes up and down so I can have it up when I want to stand and down when I want to sit.  When I’m sitting, it’s at a perfect height to my chair.  My home office desk isn’t as nice. It’s a standard sitting one and I think my next big purchase will be a standing desk for my home office.  I love them but there aren’t any drawers or filing cabinets.  It’s why I haven’t upgraded my home office desk yet.  Anyway, my wrist/arm hasn’t been hurting that much the past 2 years because I’m pretty good now about stopping, putting my wrist guard on when I think it’s going to start hurting and just generally good self care.  I get regular massages and trips to the chiropractor.  It sure helps to exercise and yoga is my favorite form of exercise.  I could stand to lose more pounds but I enjoy my bread a little too much!  🙂  Anyway, this is a long story to say that I will surely be slow but I’ll be happy to just plod along each week as long as I touch the knittings once weekly.

#5 – Cross Stitch weekly

Similar to knitting, I want to cross stitch weekly.  The ultimate goal is to finish the “welcome” project and then get started on my farm project this year.  This will also be a slow project but this one will be easier to post pictures weekly.  The knitting is hard to see unless I remember to take a pic during the weekend when I can get out during the sunny day.  Unfortunately, I’m not usually able to remember that since I’m generally knitting at night.  But it’s nice to see the cross stitch project coming along.  I’m working on the bottom border right now.  I want to post an update weekly so I can see progress from week to week.

#6 – Scrapbook

I would really love to work on scrapbooking weekly but I already can tell that that may not happen.  I’m okay with that.  I just want to scrapbook some and if it’s every other week or once a month, I’ll be happy with that.  I still have all the scrapbooking stuff on the side of my sewing room but I really can’t figure out where I’m going to put them.  I figure I just need to get started on actually scrapbooking again and then it may be easier for me to figure out where to put them all.  A couple of weeks ago, I printed a bunch of pictures and they were delivered last week.  Now I’ve got stuff I can actually scrapbook.  I also plan on going over some of my old scrapbooks that I never completed and finish them.

Here’s a link to my original 2016 Goals.

Here’s to a great year!

~Melanie