2016 in review and 2017 goals

Another year has come and gone and it is now time to review how I really did against my goals that I set at the beginning of 2016.

2016 Goals

1. Blog at least 4 times a month. - blogged every week

2. Cross-stitch Bluenose Dime by Lynne Nicoletti – still working on this piece as I only have rayon floss to do and I don’t like using rayon floss.

3. Finish 5 cross-stitch that I already have started – finished more than 5 cross-stitch but not that were previously started.

4. Get stash below 300 pounds – got yarn below 300 pounds as I was able to donate yarn I would never use to a charity

5. Get craft items organized – ongoing process but things do look a lot better

As always I have sat down and figured out a few goals for 2017 and hopefully I will have some really good results by the end of this year.

2017 Goals

1. Blog at least 4 times a month

2. Finish Bluenose Dime by Lynne Nicoletti

3. Cross-stitch Reflections of Canada – Ink Circles in 2017

4. Stitch from stash for both cross-stitch and knitting/crocheting (see below for explanation)

5. Continue to get craft items more organized and downsized

6. Finish two of my own designs in 2017 that are already kitted or started

My goal in both the cross-stitch and knitting/crocheting stitch from stash is to really limit my spending and see how it goes. I am going to do this for the first six months and when will figure out if I will continue it for the last half of the year. I will post updates on the blog at the end of the month to show how I am doing with each of the stitch from stash.

Stitch from stash explained

Stitch from stash is an idea where you give yourself a budget each month for how much you can spend on a craft. You can earn more money by finishing projects but ultimately it is a means of controlling your spending on the crafts you love but you will also see how much stash you really have. This is what I am doing so that I can get my stash better organized and maybe finish some projects that have been started. I have set a $25 a month budget for both cross-stitch and knitting/crocheting. I haven’t figured out how I will earn credits for the knitting/crocheting but will figure that out as I go.

The group I am in for cross-stitch we can earn between $2 and $25 based on the size of the project we finish. A piece 40 x 40 stitches earns you $2 and a piece 160 stitches x 160 stitches or bigger earns you $25.

I am thinking that I am going to try and give myself credit for baby hats of $1-$2 and then children’s hats $5, shawls $10-20 depending on size, afghans $25. The knitting/crocheting credits will be determined as I start to finish things but at least I can only spend $25 a month on items if I don’t get busy and make things.