2015 Wrap Up and 2016 Goals

I was intrigued the other day by a friend who counted up all her knitting projects for the year 2015.  I've read plenty of other people's blogs who write 'wrap up' posts and then talk about their goals for the following year but I've never done it myself.  I do write down goals and a general 'to do list' each January, but its a piece of scrap paper on my bulletin board and its a pretty fluid document.  I post 90% of the projects I finish on here but I have never counted them.  So, I was curious...

Mind blown.

In the words of Downton Abbey's Mrs. Hughes after
she receives a marriage proposal (to be read in her super cool accent),
''You could knock me over with a feather.''

I make a lot.

This should not be a revelation to me (or anyone that knows me!) but I've never actually counted finished objects before.

I started and finished somewhere between 65 and 70 individual objects this year.

Seriously?!  That averages out to finishing something roughly every 5 days all. year. long.  Absolutely crazy-pants!  What about all the evenings I sit and read and don't sew?  What about all the time I spend working, cooking, cleaning, playing with the kids, etc etc etc?  Its not like I sit and sew all day!  If I didn't have the photographic evidence I wouldn't believe it myself. 

It was interesting to see how the projects spread themselves out.  Some things were projects that I worked on for months, while others were one day whip-ups.  This is the rough breakdown... 

In 2015 I made:

... 15 pieces of clothing: 6 for myself and 9 for kiddos...

... plus these two projects I found that I never got around to blogging about, a bathrobe for Keith's birthday and a dress and muff for Grace for an October wedding, so I guess that makes 17 items of clothing...  

...  at least 4 softies ... 

... at least 19 bags/totes/carriers/etc of various types ...

I do like a good bag, thats for sure!  

... 2 queen-ish sized quilts and matching pillows...

... one hand quilted and the other hand appliqued hexagons .. 

... a handful of crochet projects...

... two larger shawls, but mostly little hats and earwarmers...

... and at least 11-12 things we'll call Miscellaneous Projects...

... embroideries, aprons, table linens, notebook organizers, etc...  

Certifiably crazy, folks!

Roughly 30 finished objects stayed in our house (for me, my family, or my house) and the remaining 35-40 things were gifts for others.  

This count does not include my part time seamstress job - just my hobby stuff.  And surprisingly there aren't many photos of stuff I made with the girls.  So add in a few doll clothes things or quickie pillows or dress up things 'cause we all know there was some of that going on in 2015.  And that blasted mending pile.    

Crazy, crazy, crazy!

My favorite projects are definitely the two quilts and the clothes I made for myself and I hope to continue that in 2016.  More properly fitting clothes for myself and more pretty quilted things.  I'd like to do some english paper piecing this year which will probably start out by embellishing things and possibly work up to a whole quilt at some point.  I would also like to keep learning crochet and maybe tackle a loose sweater type garment.  I foresee much sewing without deadlines for 2016 which will be nice.    

Here's to a fun and productive 2016, but I feel no need whatsoever to be quite so prolific.  I'll just keep sewing for fun and see where it takes me!  

Meet ''Elfina'' - Our Elf on the Shelf's Girlfriend

Last year I made our family an Elf on the Shelf.  His name is Elfie, he's super cute and I had lots of fun last year making him get into mischief for the girls to find in the morning all December long.  This year was a bit of a let down in that department - half the nights I forgot about poor Elfie and the girls weren't nearly as enamored as last year so it was a lot less fun overall.  (Granted they might have had more fun if I'd have come up with more creative stuff for him to do but it just wasn't working for me this year.)  So... I decided that maybe Elfie should just be a decoration next year.  Somewhere in the conversations about moving him from 'toy' to 'decoration' someone suggested that he needed a girlfriend to keep him company.  We joked around for a few days about a Girl Elfie and what an elf girlfriend would all entail and then I whipped one up over Christmas break.  

Introducing... Elfina.  

She's made from the same modified Tilda pattern as the original Beyer Elfie, though obviously I made her a dress to go over her pants.  

She was fast and fun to sew up over the course of a few days.  These dolls are partly sewn on the machine and partly by hand and only take a few hours total - perfect for a fun project when we were all hanging out and enjoying the holiday break.  

We think they make a pretty cute pair!  

For now they are hanging out on top of the mantle clock until the decorations come down.  They'll sleep in a box in the basement for 11 months and then we'll let them out again next December and see how they feel.  Maybe they'll be decorations - maybe they'll get into mischief - who knows?!  At least they'll be together...  :)

Another Notebook Organizer

I made another notebook organizer for a gift exchange over the holidays.  (I have two other smaller things to share as well but one of our holiday parties got postponed so I can't blog about those gifts yet!)

This is notebook organizer number three for me - here are links to versions one and two.

They sew up quickly and are fun and useful.  I don't have a pattern per se, I just measure the notepad and go from there.   This one I closed with a ribbon that wraps around and ties (the ribbon is stitched down at the center back and the edge of the back).

The inside has a couple of pockets and a prettied up notepad.  

Here's a side view when its tied shut.  

Practical and pretty.  

Now I need to stop making them for gifts and make one for myself!  :)  

Quilt Finish! Navy/Grey/White Half Square Simplicity with Pillows

I have a big quilt finish to share today!

This is for my brother and new sister-in-law who were married in October.  Yes, its a bit late.  We had two weddings in the family this year (five months apart!) and I did wedding quilts for both of them so this one ended up being gifted over the holidays rather than at their fall wedding.  Thankfully they're both great people and it was no big deal.  :)

Their wedding colors were navy and grey/silver.  I stuck with their great colors and chose a simple block in a simple layout and I love the overall look.    

Capturing its true colors in photos has proven tricky - I have a mix of indoor and outdoor photos, in shade and in sunshine.  Its a mix of dark navy and grey prints, and the white is a crisp clean solid for great contrast.

The quilt finished about 75'' by 95'' - large enough to cover the top of a queen mattress and hang over a few inches on each side.  It'll also be happy on a couch with two people snuggled up under it.  :)

I hand quilted this one.  It's been a few years since I last hand quilted a big quilt and it was very enjoyable.  I was determined to gift this over the holidays so I worked on it a little bit every day for five weeks with a little push at the end to finish it.  Most days were somewhere between 15 and 45 minutes of quilting time, usually in the evenings after the girls were in bed.  If I skipped a day I'd make up for it the next day or on the weekend.  Its amazing what you can accomplish in a few minutes a day!  I quilted on two edges of each white triangle so it makes a square 3'' grid all over the quilt.   You can see it a bit better on this side-angle picture.  

The backing is a grey-on-grey print that looks like knitted fabric.  It's a bit of an inside joke because my new sister-in-law is a voracious knitter.  Not exactly a play on words - more of a 'play on fibers'.  You can also see the quilting grid a bit on this photo of the back.   The fact that its not too densely quilted means its soft and snuggly and has good drape.  

I always embroider my initials and the year on big quilts.  This label is extra fun because I added a motif from their wedding invitation as well.  The bride hand stamped all her invitations with this cute love bird stamp so I copied it and added it to the back of the quilt.  

I made two throw pillows to go with it and - if I'm honest - I like the pillows as much as the quilt!  I hand stitched the white lines with perle cotton on solid navy and I just can't tell you how much I love it.  I want to make myself new living room pillows just like it in a myriad of colors.  I can guarantee I'll use the pattern again sometime soon.   I sketched the design on paper and then marked it on the navy fabric with a hera marker (a tool sort of like a bone folder for paper but its for making creases in fabric).  It's a good way to get straight lines without having to remove any markings afterwards.

You'll have to excuse the fuzz in these pictures - I was concurrently sewing a fuzzy trim onto a cape for a Christmas concert and now anything that comes within three feet of the sewing room gets a layer of fuzz.  No matter how many times I vacuum, the fuzz just keeps reappearing!  Nothing like solid navy for showing off the fuzz in the air...

Here they are together... sigh... love it!  

And a few more full-quilt shots with various shadows from surrounding trees...

This last picture also gives a good view of the border fabric - its silver stitching printed on navy fabric (I didn't stitch the swirls).  I quilted the same 3'' grid as the rest of the quilt, just in navy thread to blend in.

Thanks to my helper for holding it up high!  And to the girls for 'helping' hold the side. 

May the quilt be used and loved and snuggled to bits!