Happy New Year! Can you believe we’re already a new decade in this century?! It seems like all the Y2K commotion was just a couple of years ago. It’s amazing to realize it’s been 10 years already. Where does the time go?!

As you can tell, the new year has also brought a new theme for my blog. After years of blogging, I finally found what I believe to be the perfect theme for my blog. This is so “me” that it’s unbelievable. What you think?

As I’ve been reading everyone’s blogs over the past couple of days, I’ve been seeing lots of people posting a recap of their 2009 goals and setting new goals for 2010. This left me wondering if I actually set any goals for 2009. It’s probably not a good sign that I didn’t even actually remember, eh?

As it turns out, it looks like I only set one stitching-related goal for 2009 which is a little surprising. Unfortunately, I didn’t even meet the one. Oops! The goal was to keep my WIP list down to 15 or less, but it’s currently sitting at 19. Maybe this year.

2009 Recap:

*As far as projects moved to UFO, I borrowed a concept from Annette. If I haven’t worked on a project in the preceding 12 months, I’m no longer considering it a WIP (work in progress), and will move it to UFO (unfinished object) status instead. This doesn’t mean that I won’t eventually finish it, but if I haven’t worked on it in over a year, I just can’t justify in my head calling it a WIP any longer.

Here is a list of all the finishes I had during 2009:

1. Snowman’s Quaker Christmas (Midnight Stitching) – Completed 1 Feb 2009
2. NEEDLE heART (Margaret Bendig) – Stitching cruise piece – Completed 8 Feb 2009
3. Christmas Joy (Little by Little Design Co.) – Completed 25 April 2009
4. Rosemarkie (Long Dog Samplers) – Completed 29 April 2009
5. Rudolph (The Stitcherhood) – Completed 2 May 2009
6. Boo (The Stitcherhood) – Completed 3 May 2009
7. Letters from Nora – Madeline Melissa (Nora Corbett) – Completed 27 May 2009
8. Ink Circles May 2007 freebie – Completed 7 June 2009
9. Spooky Treats (Part 1 of 6 of Lizzie Kate’s Boo Club) – Completed 11 June 2009
10. Anonymous RAK – Completed 25 June 2009
11. Patriotic Quaker Heart – Completed 27 July 2009
12. Multiplicity – Completed 14 August 2009
13. Hagatha’s Slipper (part 1) – Completed 11 September 2009
14. Boo to You House (Fair & Square exchange) – Completed 10 October 2009
15. West Coast (Sea to Shining Sea series) – Completed 19 October 2009
16. Moon Witch – Completed 4 November 2009
17. Noel Naturally – Completed 5 November 2009
18. Joyful Night- Completed 14 November 2009
19. Indian Summer – Completed 25 November 2009

2010 Goals:

1. StRIP (Stash Reduction Implementation Plan)

This is the year that I really want to get my WIP list under some semblance of control. I know that I give this goal a bit of lip service every year, but I’ve never really followed through on it. This year is going to be different!

How am I going to accomplish this task you ask? My rule for 2010 is that I can’t start a new project until I complete at least three existing projects. I do have a few exceptions to this rule:

1. Little House Needleworks ornament of the month series
2. Exchanges
3. Class projects (probably only the Shepherd’s Bush retreat this year)
4. Guilt-free January (GFJ)

For those who aren’t active on stitching message boards, the concept of GFJ is that one is allowed to start as many new projects as they like, free of any guilt about existing WIPs or UFOs, during the month of January. I have decided to slightly modify GFJ and only allow myself this caveat during this first weekend of the new year. If it’s not started by 11:59pm on Sunday, January 3, then I can’t start it until after I have completed three other finishes.

The downside to this StRIP plan is that most of my current WIPs are BAPs (big ass projects), including several samplers. The upside is that now I’ll probably get some of them actually finished.

Once I have my WIPs under control, then I’ll work on coming up with a plan for the UFOs. I’m not even going to worry about them until I have my WIPs down to single digits.

2. Little House Needleworks Ornament of the Month series

I signed up with Drema for the automatics on this series a couple of months ago when Diane first announced it on the Little House Needleworks website. Since these are ornaments, they should be pretty quick stitches. My goal is to stay caught up on stitching this series throughout the year as they are released.

3. Stash Stitching

Along with trying to get my WIPs under control, I definitely want to get back to stitching from my stash again for my new starts. I have so many gorgeous pieces already, with probably about 40 already kitted even. I am always so tempted by the new pretties that come out that I end up buying more and more and then never get around to stitching them.

My goal for this year is that 80% of my new starts, excluding the LHN series and any class pieces, will come from my existing stash. Given my first goal, it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to have more than 5 or 6 new starts this year. By making the goal 80%, it does give me a little wiggle room for something that might be released that just screams at me to stitch it right away.

As you can see, I have my work cut out for me this year with my goals. Wish me luck because I know I’ll definitely need it. I’m weak!

Until next time …

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I saw this meme on the Sunday Stealing blog. I thought it would be a fun way to recap my 2009.

Here we go …. The Final Week of 2009 Meme:

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Took a driving tour of the lower peninsula of Michigan. Highlights of the trip included a surprise (to me!) dinner with friends from Indiana in South Haven, Holland, Traverse City, climbed the dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, went on a tapas tour of the Chateau Chantal winery, ate some wonderful German food and drove by Bronner’s (they were closed ) in Frankenmuth, and then back to Detroit.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don’t make “resolutions,” but I did set a few goals. I met some of them, others … not so much.

3. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?

At home, stitching

4. Did anyone close to you die?

My cousin’s husband accidentally ran over and killed their toddler son.

5. What countries did you visit?

Mexico

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

Not that I lacked it in 2009, but I would love to spend more time with friends in 2010.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

January 20 – the day President Obama was inaugurated!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Earning another professional certification for work

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not losing weight

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Yes, I tore the meniscus in my knee.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

An Olympus E-600 D-SLR camera followed closely by my Wii

12. Where did most of your money go?

I live in California, so where do you think? RENT!

13. What song will always remind you of 2009?

“Single Ladies” by Beyoncé, but only because of the scene in Glee of Kurt & the girls performing it in his basement.

14. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Exercising & losing weight

15. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Commuting & working long hours

16. What was your favorite TV program?

Glee!

17. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

No

18. What was the best book you read?

I can’t pick just one in the series, so I’ll go with the entire Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J. R. Ward.

19. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Straight No Chaser, an amazing a cappella group from Indiana.

20. What was your favorite film of this year?

Sadly, I think I only made it to the movies three times this year. I enjoyed all of them, so since it’s such a short list, I’ll provide them all: The Proposal, Public Enemies, & New Moon

21. What did you do on your birthday?

Went to Disneyland

22. What kept you sane?

Stitching!

23. Who did you miss?

As always since she passed away, my Gran

24. Who was the best new person you met?

While not technically new since I’ve known “of” her for about 10 years, but I finally got to meet Tracy’s mom, Anita, in person this year.

25. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:

That 26-hour road trips to Vegas are much more difficult to recover from at 45 than they were 25.

Until next time …

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