Round-up of 2014 and Goals for 2015

I pretty much wrapped up the year in my WIPocalypse reprot for December, but I have made some little progress since. 

I feel like I am a broken record because, in December 2013, I said "Like in 2012, I'm not that happy with my completion rate for 2013". And there was a list of fifteen completed projects and/or classes for 2013. Well, If I wasn't happy then,  I must be miserable now because I have not completed all that much in 2014. I blame it on a rekindled interest in papercrafting and reading... All I managed to complete this year were 11 projects:

• Green Thumb Challenge quilt for my quilt guild 
• "Dossier" block for the guild 
• Five "crazy blocks" for the guild retreat
• "Retreating the the Pines" challenge block for the guild retreat
• The Bead Journal Project 2014, with 12 beaded atc-sized ornaments (I also managed to assemble the 12 BJP pieces from 2013 but it needs borders, sandwiching and binding to become a wall hanging) 
• The Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2014, with 12 crazy quilt blocks,stitched and assembled but not yet bordered, sandwiched or bound (I did manage to assemble the blocks for CQJP 2013 as well but it also needs borders, sandwiching and binding)
• Take a Stitch Tuesday 2014, with 49 stitches in all
• A blackwork "Ladybug and Diasy" designed by Valentina Sardu for Ajisai Designs
• Wiehenburg Designs Mystery Band Sampler 
• "Golfer - Fairway" designed by John Clayton
• Charles Craft Plush Pet bear with bib

Four pieces were framed for fair submittal in 2014 (four first place ribbons). 

i am still a member of the local quilt guild and still their webmaster (and Yahoo Group administrator).

And, for accountablility, I participated in WIPocalypse 2014 and International Hermit and Stitch Weekend 2014 as well as this blog.

I had signed up for a four-part class in finishing with Funk & Weber and only managed half of part 1. I also signed up for a Seed Bead Botany class which I never managed to start. And left over from 2013 are two Janet Perry classes: Two Janet Perry classes (one a stitch guide practicum and the other a background stitch notebook), and several Craftsy online classes for quilting.

Long-standing UFOs from precious years weren't even taken out, let alone stitched on:

• "Angel of Love" - started before we moved to England in 1992!
• "Celestial Angel"  - started before we moved to England in 1992!
• "Map of England and Wales" - started in Saudi
• "Nature's Song" (excerpted from a larger chart) - started in Saudi

to say nothing of an ancient crewel-work pillow (I'm sure the moths have  done in the wool by now), all the top work on six or seven needlepoint pieces that all predate 1992, and a slew of piece-worked tops from quilting classes in Saudi...  And then there is my Round Robin piece from 2006 --- I still need to finish that off. (If the preceding words look familiar, they are almost verbatim my report from 2013!)

There are still all the years of Janet Perry needlepoint exercises that require finish-finishing;and  a Chinese coins quilt top still awaits its sandwiching, quilting and binding.

Also started, but unfinished in 2014 are two "true" WIPs:

• nine "Roll Your Own" mandalas from InkCircles (two are complete, one is in progress and that leaves six to go!)
• An Elizabeth Almond blackwork sampler SAL called "Save the Stitches" (issued in 24 installments, fill is completed in 9 and outlines completed for 12 more...)
•         A small souvenir piece from a summer road trip called "Historic Biltmore"

In addition, TAST 2015, Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2015 and possibly Bead Journal Project 2015 (I haven't decided yet) will be on the menu for 2015.

I hope to make 2015 a year of catching up and maybe even re-organizing my crafting space (which is currently a hot mess!). So my stitching goals are to finish what I call the "makeable WIPs": the "Roll Your Own" mandalas and the blackwork sampler; and keep up with Take a Stitch Tuesday and Crazy Quilt Journal Project. If I feel motivated, Bead Journal Project will also take it's place in this list. I will limit my goals to these, and if anything else inserts itself into my schedule, I should have the time to work on it...