OhSewCrafty Blog

So, I was supposed to focus on WIPs in 2017, after doing the Year of Starts in 2016 (18 starts & 18 finishes).  Somehow I wound up with 24 (+1 or 2 maybe) starts this year!  How did that happen?   I am expecting 24 finishes, so everything is copacetic.  Several of the pieces were ornaments, but still, I felt stretched rather thin this year.  My rotation seemed critically important, as I attempted to juggle all the balls in the air.  But this is my hobby; it’s not a race nor competition.  I need to take a step back and spend more time crafting, less time scheduling and strategizing.

Enter the Year of WIPs 2018.  15 WIPs are required to fully participate and my friend Louise decided on 18 in 2018.  That’s well… double the number of WIPs I will carry into 2018.  But I want to play along and I figured out a way to make 9 January starts work for me.

My planned January starts include the project I’ve wanted for ages, Spooky House by X’s and Oh’s.  The other one is the Lord’s Prayer by Stoney Creek… I want a sampler in my rotation, and I want the Lord’s Prayer in my dining room, thanks to some enabling by Lorrie the Mischievous Stitcher on Flosstube.  All the others will be smalls / “parts”.

The idea will be to work on Lizzie Kate’s Boo Club throughout the year, one word per month.  But it involves 6 different patterns, so I’ll start 3 in January and consider it 3 wips. 

And I do plan to continue my pace on the Mill Hill Christmas village, 1 per quarter, so I’ll just start all 4 in January.   Everything will be started and technically WIPS, but most of the smalls / “parts” will be “temporary UFOs” and will be stitched in the appropriate month/quarter, pending finishes.

Of course there are other things I want to start next year… but I’ll start them when I have a spot in my rotation. Here are some large-ish projects from the top of my wishlist.  

Joan Elliott Xmas Teddy, Bird of Happiness by Riolis, Rapunzel by Joan Elliott, Halloween Memories by Sue Hillis

Eeerie Express by Glendon Place, Selene by Passione Ricamo, Fantasy Triptych by Teresa Wentzler, Spring Bellpull by Stoney Creek.  Photos belong to respective designers.

What do you think of my plans?  Can I ramp down from the Year of Starts mentality or is this a one way street lol?