2015 by the numbers

 

Along with the blog, I kept a spreadsheet of all the projects I completed in 2015.  It is amazing how productive you can be when you do something, even a little something, every day. Here are some of the stats of my challenge year.

192 completed projects. I did not count sets of things individually, so a set of 4 coasters equaled 1 project.

97 of these were crochet. No surprise there. crochet is my go-to  craft when I don’t know what else to work on, or when I need something portable.

27 sewing projects. This was a surprise. I don’t feel as though I had my sewing machine out that often, but apparently, it did.

2 completed quilts, which I actually didn’t count as sewing projects.

3 weaving projects. This needs to improve. I bought my loom at the beginning of the year and it intimidated me for a while.

15 charity projects. I would like this number to go up in 2016.

Along the way there were also the following:

6 bags

3 pillows

17 scarves

8 wreaths

5 pieces of jewelry

39 miscellaneous craft projects, usually involving a glue gun

You would think after all of this, my stash would be almost depleted, but it is not. I need to concentrate on finishing a few long-time WiPs and doing some stash busting. And since the daily creative work has become a habit now, I’ve already started my next project. And I’m using what I already have for it.

 

 

 

 

 

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December 31, 2015: Finished

I am able to send out 2015 with one final project completed. The mariner’s scarf  is bordered, woven in and ready to send off. I like ending the year with a project completed.

This is also day 365 of my 365 challenge to work on something creative every day. I originally started using this blog as a way of documenting what I did with the hope that having to record each day’s work would help motivate me to keep it going. What I found, as the year went on, was a wonderful community full of encouragement, inspiration, and even new project ideas.  I also feel like I’ve made a few friends along the way, and look forward to new posts from them to see what they have been doing.

I need to take a moment to say “thank you” for being part of my journey. You have added depth and dimension to what would have been a solitary task.  When I started this, I did not know if it would be possible to accomplish, but I made it! While 2015 is complete, 2016 stretches ahead, and I can’t wait to see what it will bring.

December 30, 2015: Penultimate

The black yarn in the Mariner’s scarf is really hard to photograph on its own. It either washes out to grey, or the contrast is too intense and it ends up looking like a black blob.  This photo, with some background color in the form of a cat captures it the best so far.

I did not think I would have a lot of time to work on any project this week, but an unexpected block of it showed up today. Original plans fell through and it ended up being a low-key recharge day. The next few will be busy again, so I appreciated  the time spent feet up, cat on lap, and hook in hand. It also explains why every project I make comes with bonus cat hair.

 

December 29, 2015: Family

My brother and sister and I have not lived on the same continent for  most of our adult lives. My sister lived in Cyprus for 11 years, and my brother has been in Saudi Arabia for the past several. This has made it hard to see them individually, and even harder to see them both together.

A few months ago, my brother started scheming to get all of us together at my parents’ house on a single day. That day finally happened. We gathered to celebrate my parents birthdays as it is the only time they would be here together, and my parents each have a milestone birthday coming up in the next month.

I did not get a lot of crochet done, but I was able to give my sister-in-law a quick lesson as she has been asked to teach someone else, and has never held a hook.

We were going through an old album of my grandmothers’ quilt projects and I came across this newspaper clipping from 1982. The article is about her quilting group, and the work they did each year to create a raffle quilt to help support the Wetlands Institute in New Jersey.  I remember as a child going with her to some of these meetings when the quilt was on the frame and everyone was gathered around working on it.

The album went to my Sister-in-Law since she is a prolific and accomplished quilter, but I had to snap a photo of the article. It was a good memory. I may not finish my current project by the end of the year, but spending time with family is a trade off I will take.

 

 

 

December 28, 2015: Yarn burrito

When I am working on a scarf, , and need to set it down, I always end up wrapping it around the skein of yarn and fastening it  with the crochet hook.  This is just about the only type of project where I don’t tend to have to go searching for the hook at some point.  If only all projects could be so tidy.

 

 

December 27, 2015: Mariner’s scarf begun

I’m hoping to finish one more charity scarf before 2015 draws to a close. This one is for the Seaman’s Church Institute which provides care packages to mariners.  Unlike most charity projects, they prefer wool since that will still keep someone warm even if it gets wet.

Since most mariners are men, they asked that the scarves be in non-feminine colors.  I was limited when I picked up this yarn, so had to buy black (which is photographing as grey).  They also provide the patterns they would like to have used.  This is a sort of basket weave look, which does give the solid color some visual interest.

We took a trip out to visit some relatives and I brought this along for the car ride.  It was all highway driving so I did not miss much scenery by looking down at the yarn and hook.

 

December 26, 2015: Second self-striping scarf

Oh this scarf. How can a scarf that is so simple have caused so many problems? There were days I felt I ripped out as many rows as I put in. Holiday brain maybe?  But now it is complete.

On the C2C scarf I made with the same yarn, I ended up deciding to not add a border around it. This one, with it’s rows upon row of double crochet needed something. The border seems to work as a frame on this pattern, so I am glad I did it.

I also realized that there is less than one week left in the 365 challenge I set for myself. I’m beginning to think I may actually accomplish it.

December 24 & 25, 2015: Holidays

With Christmas here, there was not much time spent on the computer, and a lot of time spent  on preparations and with family and friends. Early each day, when I woke up a little too early with thoughts of what needed to be done, but not wanting to wake up the other sleeping member of the house, I spent some time crocheting. It was a nice peaceful was to begin the days before all of the activity began.

 

December 23, 2015: Eve eve

I’ve always liked December 23. For the past decade or so, it has been the day when everything needed to be complete. By evening. the decorating is finished, gifts have all been wrapped, there are usually a few errands that had been run, but they are small and local. Any baking or making is usually done because the mood hits, and not with an eye on a schedule or list.

We won’t be having a white Christmas here this year, a wet one is more likely, but even with the oddly warm weather, it was nice to curl up under a quilt, find some time to sit, work with some yarn, and enjoy the lights of the tree.

 

December 22, 2015: Finding time

I’ve written before about the difficulty some days finding dedicated time to work on something creative. Life gets hectic at home, or you find yourself not at home and have to plan to bring along a project and fit it in.

This year, the holiday season has not been stressful, but it has been busy, and I find myself feeling guilty about sitting down to work on a project that does not have an immediate purpose or deadline to it. Conversely, the time I do spend on it is very grounding. This year I have been able to make myself do it no matter what in order to meet the 365 challenge. I am hoping that when it is over, I will be able to remember the importance of finding some time ESPECIALLY when things get crazy or busy.

So not a lot of work on the scarf got done today, but some did.  On the other hand, I did finally manage to decorate the tree.