Friday, January 1, 2016

Sewing Room Successes for 2015

Hard to believe it's already the new year.  I spent the last hours of the old year playing in my sewing room before I was summoned downstairs to participate in the champagne toast and a good luck kiss at midnight.  It was a very good way to end the old year and start the new.  After that, I was ready for bed.

I spent a bit of time yesterday finishing off and archiving my 2015 quilting spreadsheet, then setting up the new one for 2016.  My spreadsheet is my quilting record for the year. I tried to use a journal last year so I would have a non-electronic record, but it only lasted about 4 months before I lost interest in keeping it up.  Paper just doesn't work for me, while I've been really successful in keeping a spreadsheet since 2010.  At any rate here's what my 2015 spreadsheet had recorded for 2015. 

Four finishes.

Flame Test (2014 Rainbow Scrap Challenge Sampler)
Pattern by Angela Feldbush of Soscrappy
Started January 2014, Finished  May 2015

Grand Illusion
The 2014 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt
Started November 2014, Finished September 2015

  
Experiments in Paisley (Layer Cake Quilt Along)
Pattern by Konda Lukau of 
 Moose on the Porch Quilts
Started November 2010, Finished November 2015

Lily Pond (Back to Square One)
Pattern by Judy Laquidara of Patchwork Times
Started June 2013, Finished December 2015

Of the four quilts only Lily Pond is destined for a new home.  It's a gift for the family that hosted Drama Teen's writing workshop last summer.  I haven't had a chance to get photos of the finished quilt, so I had to make do with the photo of the finished flimsy for this post. Three of the four were on the UFO list by the time they were finished.  Grand Illusion was a WIP at the time it was finished.  I ended 2015 with 17 UFOs, up one from 2014. 

It was a good year on the stash management front. I managed to stay on my fabric diet for the year and only added about 30 yards to the stash in 2015, while using 45 yards.  So for the first time in the six years of stash tracking, I ended the year in the black.  I'm really happy with that accomplishment for 2015.  

It may seem silly, but I also track the number of days where at least 15 minutes gets spent in the sewing room.  As I said it seems a bit silly, but it reminds me to get off the computer and get up out of the recliner to go sew.  With a full time job, an active teenager, and a spouse that travels a lot it can be hard at the end of the day to convince myself I have enough energy to sew.  My worst year ever was 2014, where I only made it to the sewing room 191 days out of 365.  I managed 213 days this year.  So 2015 wasn't my best effort, but it was better than 2014.  

So 2015 was a pretty good year.  I'm going to have to do better on all fronts if I want to achieve my 2016 quilt plan.  Wish me luck, I'm going to need it!

8 comments:

The Colorful Fabriholic said...

Congrats on your successes in 2015, especially your stash usage and days in the sewing room. May your 2016 be all that you want it to be!

Kate said...

Gorgeous finishes for the year! And I love your dedication to tracking things. I'm scrambling to get things prepped to do taxes because I may use the fabric, but I don't track it. Sigh.

Heidi said...

I am amazed at how well you are able to track, and how much you are able to finish while working and parenting. I ought to track my stash, but I think if I had in 2014 I may have been in the black too. At least it feels like I was good. Do giveaway winnings count? I've been lucky this year:)

I think I will add stashtracking to my 2016 goals. accountability may be a good thing.

Well, congrats on your beautiful finishes - I love your Lily Pad quilt!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

OH my goodness!! What a way to start my morning (afternoon) with a beautiful quilt show.

Grandma said...

All are beautiful, congratulation

Dar said...

I think you did very well on your 2015 stash management and sewing journal. I too use a spread sheet for keeping track of my quilting projects, finishes and fabrics used/bought. I love your Lily Pond quilt best! That is the prettiest color blue and the pattern just sparkles. I need to learn how to more easily post finishes with all the pertinent information in one place. That is a nice touch.

Barbara said...

These are all beautiful qults, Kate. Nice work.

Marti said...

Congratulations on some spectacular finished quilts. I've never thought of tracking my finishes. I guess my blog is my journal for that. I still track my 15 minutes too. 15 minutes usually turns into an hour and I get more done. And I found that not spending 15 minutes one day makes it harder to get back to a project the next day too.