I like to think that's what this blog is for! So that takes care of the period from August 2003 through the present. Between the time I started stitching (1988) and 1997, I had a project book. It had space for a photo and information about the design and the materials used to stitch it. I believe there may be a start or two recorded in that book that have no end date at this time. (Sad!) Between 1997 and 2003 however, things are a little sketchy. I did buy a new project book, but I didn't actually record any projects in it. (Go me!) I did make records on the patterns themselves and on scraps of paper that I have religiously saved. (To what purpose, I'm not sure.) Three years ago, I participated in a blogging project where I wrote a bunch of lists. I used my lists to record my stitching finishes. Not in great detail, but it is fairly complete, and it's no longer only recorded on scraps of paper.As for what I think is important, it's almost never what kind of fabric and floss I used. I'm much more interested in the reasons I'm stitching--is it for a special occasion, did the design remind me of a person or a place, am I memorializing something or someone? What were the special circumstances? For example, the very first project recorded in the old project book was a Christmas gift in 1989 that was completed in January of 1990. (Practically on time given my usual practices!) I've recorded the classes I've taken and the gifts I've given this way.
8 comments:
Oh, that looks so neat! I bet it's a pleasure to go through that notebook every now and then. You know, to see that you got so many things finished. That would be a great motivator for me. I just stitch whatever comes into my head and forget to take note of anything.
You are so right...the threads and fabric become less important as the years go by. I finally started writing on the back of my framed pieces the details of when and why I stitched a piece. (Stitching while my son was driving back to college in a storm after a Rush concert...makes me smile) Scraps of paper and patterns seem to go by the way side. And for some of my very early stitching, especially gifts, I have photos. I only wish I had been more faithful in the beginning years.
Hopefully, some day my samplers will be passed on to family members and they will read the notes on the back and think of me and what I enjoyed.
Now I have a digital camer a it's so much easier to photo everything and load it onto the computer.
I have finally decided to start a blog and have started to load my photos onto Picasa (which is taking AGES).
I wish I'd got a notebook like your's from the earlier days. They are mainly in my memory though I do have photos of some.
I have kept all the charts in a lrge chest and do enjoy going through them sometimes and thinking of all the people I've stitched for over the years.
Ah. I am still pretty much on the pieces of paper randomly in a drawer phase. I do record start and very infrequently finish dates, fabric and approximate number of hours to stitch. Your blog is a perfect place to keep track!
I've keep a journal of both my quilting and stitching projects. Sometimes when I don't think I've done that much, I look back and relive those things. A lot I've given away through the years. But I'm a keeper of lists - all the books I've read, etc. They probably have a name for me somewhere. And with the journals I've put in things that have gone on in my life too - it's like a trip down memory lane.
I have one of these books! I will have to get mine out and take a picture of it. :)
I really do need to update mine. It's horribly out of date since the advent of blogs and online journals! :)
In the past I have used an Excel spreadsheet to record my projects but I haven't kept up with it on a regular basis. I am thinking about attaching an envelope to the back of my framed pieces to keep notes as to why I stitched it and what was happening in my life and in the world while I was stitching it.
I need to get better about recording my stitching. So far I have about 4 notebooks floating about with information in them. I did start a notebook specifically for my stitching but then my younger daughter decided she wanted to write poetry and I gave her the journal. Now the pages are falling out of the new journal--I guess that is what happens when one takes their chances at TJ Maxx!
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