I went back and looked at my 2015 goals thinking for sure that my year had been a complete failure. I’ve been making a LOT of stuff. Sewing has become a huge thing for me over the past year and it’s so much faster than cross stitch or even embroidery. But I also feel like I’ve dropped the ball a bit on blogging. Because of my switch to doing more sewing, I feel like I’ve been in a weird state of transition and I’m not entirely sure where I fit in creatively. With my blog redesign I finally ditched “cross stitch” from my tagline and in 2016 I plan on really focusing a lot more on sewing, but also on combining my cross stitching with sewing.

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So let’s see how I did with my 2015 Goals –

Try Something New Every Month Success!
I’m really proud I successfully completed a year of trying something new every month! You can see the whole list here. This is going to be continuing next year and will be looking a little different, read about it here and join the Facebook group if you haven’t yet!

Use It or Lose It Mildly successful
Last month I rearranged my craft area and got rid of a LOT of stuff I’ve been convinced I would eventually use. I gave bags full of supplies to three different friends and then also donated a ton. I’ve also been trying really hard to stop hoarding supplies for the “perfect project.” It’s something I really struggle with, but I’m getting better. I know there will never be a perfect project and I should just use them on something I’me excited to make, even if it doesn’t turn out exactly like I plan. I’ve found that the more confident I get with my skills, the more I feel like I “deserve” to use the nicer supplies.

Complete a Quilt Almost a success
Between October and December I finished three quilt tops but haven’t actually completed a whole quilt yet. I’ve made a few mini quilts and have been getting a lot of practice with quilting and binding on a smaller scale, so I need to just take the plunge and finish these quilts up!

Finish Some WIPs Mildly successful
I finished a few of the projects I referenced – the astronaut cross stitch and quilty stitches sampler. I finally decided to call it quits on Evie’s blanket and I mostly finished Mira’s blanket. (except for weaving in the ends) I definitely started and finished a lot of projects but I still have a lot on my WIP list and I didn’t come close to my one a month goal.

Have A Project Published in a Magazine Successful!
It wasn’t a project, but I was featured in Cross Stitcher magazine which was very exciting. Then I also had a project in issue 8 of One Thimble and one in WhipperCrafter.

Really Focus On Blog Content Not successful
I’m realizing I need to reevaluate how I approach my blog. I really need to set a definite calendar and schedule or I get lost in what I should be posting. Thankfully I’ve started to tackle this for 2016 so hopefully this goal will be more successful!

Clean Up Blog Tags Also not successful
My blog did get a clean new look, but unfortunately I didn’t get all the back end stuff dealt with. It’s so hard to want to sit down and work on tags and making sure posts are optimized for Pinterest but I know it’s something I really need to do.

Clean and Use My Sewing Machine More SUCCESSFUL!
I didn’t end up cleaning my sewing machine, but I did get a new one! In March I got a Janome Magnolia 7360* and I love it so much. I made space for it on my desk and since then I have sewn almost every day. I am really proud of the huge strides I’ve made in the last year and can’t wait to continue that.

Say No! Mostly successful
There were a few times I realized I was in over my head with too many swaps and other commitments but there have also been a lot of times where I have said that no, I don’t have time for something. This is definitely one I need to continue with in 2016 though!

I’ve started thinking about my 2016 goals and I’m going to share those before the New Year. How did your 2015 go? Did you accomplish as much as you hoped to?