New Year - New Start

Wow, it's been awhile - a slight understatement!

So I'm back to talk about my New Year's Resolution which is to finish some, actually twelve, UFOs (Unfinished objects to the uninitiated!)

Yes I've vowed to do this before... and it didn't work. so what's different this year?

Firstly, in 2015 as I finished a project I recorded it in a notebook, just the date and the fact it was finished. This was useful I could see how productive I'd been and give myself a pat on the back each month and at the end of the year. Though a good idea it had no effect on the UFOs. So last year (2016) I also recorded when I started a project. At the end of the year I had a start and a finish (or not) date for each project, and I could see just how many genuine UFOs I'd actually finished. Turns out it was only two which was disappointing as in my head I'd been going great guns!

A new strategy is called for.
First - Accountability. I'm declaring what I'm up to here
Second - Finish one per month alongside any other ongoing/new projects.

My Rules:
I'm counting anything started prior to 2016 as a UFO, anything started in 2016/17 will be considered and ongoing project. I don't want to be adding more to the list and there are two from last year that are looking suspiciously like it, if given half a chance! Vigilance will be called for.

One project per month, I'm tempted to put minimum here, but that will just lead to overload and consequently abandonment, so I'll stick to one.

I've chosen, I use the word chosen loosely as I've actually just taken the first 12 off one of my UFO lists and allocated them a month chronologically. This might require some adjustment later as I've got some pretty big quilts in the first few months, but I'll deal with that as and when I need to.

January 2017
This month I will be finishing a single bed quilt called Hugs & Kisses, started several years ago using two jelly rolls. At the beginning of this week, when I found it, there were 36 blocks completed and it was destined to be a throw. But I thought if I add a couple more rows it will make a reasonable single bed quilt and use up more of the fabric, thereby adding less to the scrap stash!

This is a glimpse of it up on my design wall.

Now to get on with making more of the extra blocks....

Knitted Baby Beanie Hat

I've finished another project, one I started in April, I'm good at starting things! Its a beanie hat for a premature baby, I didn't want to make anything too big in case I ran out of wool again and the object of this exercise is to use up some of my stash.

This was using up the wool left over from the white baby cardigan. But there is still lots left so I'm probably going to have to make another!

I just weighed the hat and the remaining wool and there is more than enough for another hat, I think I'll make a larger one next time.

The Year of UFO?

In an attempt to get some discipline into my quilting/sewing/knitting, life I have begun to document all my UFO's/WIP's/PHD's (for the uninitiated that's - unfinished objects, works in progress or projects half done). As very few of mine are WIP's and even fewer are PHD's I think I'll stick with UFO's!

The list appears to be endless, each time I think I'm there I find another. So in the interests of keeping my stress and also my blood pressure at manageable levels, I just take deep breath and add to the list when each new one pops up.

The endlessness of the list is not helped as I keep getting sucked into yet more and more new projects when at the shop!

Now for my first finish I give you the baby cardigan in white:

This was a PHD as all it required was sewing up, I soooo dislike sewing up knitted garments.

I began knitting the cardigan to use up a ball of yarn left over from another project, but there wasn't enough yarn to finish it so I had to get another ball.

Now that I've finished the cardi there is still loads of yarn left.... so I'm going to knit a baby hat, I figure it won't take the whole ball, but at least I won't have to buy another one, hopefully. I'll make the smallest size!