Saturday, February 01, 2014

Goals and Future Planning

I didn't make goals for January, but we can look at my yearly goals and see how I am doing.
  • stitch more smalls I stitched two!
  • finish-finish 12 stitched pieces I did not do any finishing, but I have planned quarterly finishing days
  • keep the craft room tidy God, I hate cleaning!
  • make cards in advance of needing them I did make several masculine birthday cards, and have set themes for other months.
  • plan Craft Month, and work ahead I have chosen 29 of the 31 projects, and have started making a shopping list. I also have ideas grouped by category so that I can start working on items in February.
  •  stitch two threads each night Not every night, but I stitched a lot more this month than I have in months past.
  • complete stitching eight pieces (in addition to the smalls) Counterintuitively, I made a bunch of starts.
On December 20, I wrote
I have been thinking about new year stitching, planning, gathering supplies. I joined Stitching Lotus's Smalls SAL, but influenced by Linda and her hundreds of projects, I've decided to up the number of projects I am working on--but only to 31, the number of days in January. My goal is to have fun stitching them, not to be finished with them all by the end of the year.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to meet that number, as you can see from my (updated) sidebar. One impediment to that goal was not having the time and energy for all that stitching, but another part was not getting the materials I needed to start some of my projects. Seriously, I just got a packet of threads in the mail yesterday. (And even that order was incomplete!)

Of my WIPs, I didn't get to Emerald Mermaid, Elizabethan Rose, 16th Century Knot Garden, Treasured Tulips, Watercolor Geranium, Fish Tale, A Mind Independent and Free, Majestic Rooster, Marquoir Ancien Bleu et Rouge, or the Dimensions Santa Kit. Of my planned new starts I didn't get to Amy Brueken's St. Nick's Noel (ordered the wrong count fabric, sigh), Plum Street Sampler's Cinnamon Stars (lack of fabric), and Midsummer Night's Our Souls (missing floss). Well, I'll get back to this stuff in April.

April!? Whaaaaat?

My plan for February is to finish the Emerald Mermaid. Longtime readers may remember that my mother asked me in 2006 to stitch it for her 65th birthday (in 2009). Plenty of time. I started it in 2007. In April, she'll turn 70. I'd like to have it finished in February so that I can have it framed for April.

Obviously the plan for March is to focus on Craft Month. And while I may get some stitches in, I really can't plan for that. That brings us to April. And, having finished Emerald Mermaid, I should have 30 projects for the 30 days of April. Perfect!

February:
Finish Emerald Mermaid
Smalls SAL
Cards: Feminine Birthday
Clean the Craft Room!
Start projects for Craft Month
Finish-finish three stitched pieces

What have you got planned for February?

10 comments:

Beth said...

Keep craft room clean! Oh boy howdy do I ever hear you on that one! Your mermaid will make a lovely gift for your Mom. Good luck!

Margaret said...

Hope you finish the mermaid for your mom. That would be great. I never have plans. I'm way too haphazard to plan. lol! I can never stick to a plan -- I have to be spontaneous and just follow my moods.

Linda said...

Great goals Nikki. I will be cheering you on to get the Mermaid finished THIS month.

Linda

Ranae said...

Beautiful Emerald
Finish it so your mom can enjoy
She will love it
For February I plan on stitching and finishing a small valentine something, lol

Jennifer said...

I am pretty sure you were working on that Mermaid when we had the stitching gathering at your house.

Brigitte said...

Oh yes, this mermaid is not very far from being finished. And I'm sure she will be for your mother's birthday this year.
I'm always planning but I don't care if I can reall realize my plans - it's just for the fun of planning, lol. But interestingly my January plans worked fine and maybe the February ones will work, too: stitch a rose for a card, stitch a bird, stitch a PS santa, start 4 new BAPs and stitch on a UFO. That's all, lol.

Chris said...

Emersld Mermaid Looks lovely! I know that you will get her finished this month.
I am looking forward to seeing what projects you have lined up for craft month.
I am plodding along stitching-wise, trying not to get distracted :)

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Your Mama deserves that Mermaid :)
Get 'er finished! She's so close you can do it!!

Charlene ♥ NC said...

Looks like only a little stitching left to finish the EM. Think I'd get it done for this significant birthday...

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

I'm sure you will complete your mermaid by the special birthday. My MIL is 75 in March this year too.

My February plan is to complete a Scarlet Letter Sampler before the end of the Challenge Year on the 20th.