Sunday, January 1, 2012

Hello 2012!

Happy New Year!  The start of a new year is an exciting time for a list maker like me.  Last year I set some goals geared at furthering my knowledge of sewing and knitting, which I think kept me on track as far as determining what projects to make and when.  This year, I'm following the same pattern.  Here are my new goals for 2012.

1) Make two quilts for charity.
I really enjoy sewing for charity and this year I'm taking that up a notch.  A couple of months ago I found out about a great organization called Quilts for Kids, which happens to be headquartered near where I live.  They collect quilts for children and babies with life threatening diseases or for children who are abuse victims.  Since they need quilts that are small, I'm positive that I can commit to making two this coming year.  I know I have lots of leftover fabric in my stash to put together a couple of bright and happy quilts.


2) Say no to new fabric purchases.
Speaking of my fabric stash, I have to admit that it's gotten completely out of control.  This is entirely because I think I can complete projects faster than I possibly can.  With the exception of fabric for my sewing class (our first session will be making a cape and I definitely don't have any wool in my stash), gifts, and notions/lining fabric that I need to complete projects, I am not allowing myself to buy any new fabric until I have used what I already have.  I would say this will take me the entire year, but I have so many backlogged projects that it very well could flow over into next year.  These projects include dresses, skirts, blouses, bags, towels, and refashioning garments that I already have.  The first thing I'm doing is organizing this mess. How did this happen?

Mess of a Fabric Stash

The second part of this goal is to finish up the many projects that have been half done for most of 2011.  I made some good progress on this during Winter Break, so hopefully soon I'll be able to count my number of works in progress on one hand (right now I have 7 unfinished projects).


3) Make one quilt for myself.
I spent a lot of 2011 a little nervous about making another quilt after I finished my first one.  Once I started work on my second quilt, I wondered what I was so worried about.  Truthfully, I was worried that I'd cut the fabric wrong and waste it, but if I triple read the instructions and checked myself along the way, I was fine!  So this year I am going full force into quilting and that means I'm finally getting around to making myself a quilt from Jay McCarroll's Habitat line.  I can't wait!

Habitat by Jay McCarroll


4) Learn how to knit in the round.
Up until now, I've only ever knitted projects that are rectangular.  This is the year where I branch out and learn how to knit in the round.  I'm not sure what I'm going to make yet, but I think a snood might be in order.  Although, I have had my eye on the Gap-tastic Cowl for awhile now!  I'm sure some hefty perusing on Ravelry is in my future to figure out the perfect project.

Image Source

5) Beat our time in the Broad Street Run/exercise regularly every week.
These two items go hand in hand for the first 5 months of the year, but I really want to get on a regular exercise schedule and actually stick with it for more than a couple of months.  I have really fallen off the exercise wagon the last few months of 2011 and I'm ready to get back in shape.  I plan on swimming on Tuesdays/Thursdays and either running or doing an exercise DVD on Monday/Friday/Saturday.  My off days will be Wednesday (because of sewing class) and Sunday (although if I have to skip Saturday for some reason I will exercise on Sunday).  This is happening, people!  I just have to keep reminding myself of how much better I feel overall if I exercise.

Broad Street Run 2011

I think those goals will keep me busy!  Of course I'll be working on other non-goal related projects too, like embroidering the state birds for a summer quilt.

Have you set goals for 2012?

1 comment:

  1. I like all your goals! They're unique and I especially like the way that you commit to making projects for those in need. That's really lovely and inspiring!

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