Looking ahead to 2014!

Hello 2014!

What crafty goodness do you have in store for me this year?

I've never been one for making New Years Resolutions - Kevin's recent post over at Cabbages and Kings, perfectly sums up my feelings so go and read it! He puts the point across much more succinctly than I could ever hope to.

I do however, have some things that I'd like to do in 2014, and I also have some definite plans.

♥    I will be participating in two SAL's this year. Sort of. The official one is the Just Nan SAL which I am quite excited about :D In 2013 I managed to amass quite a collection of Just Nan charts so hopefully the SAL will help me work through one or two. I'm going to aim to stitch just the one (lots of new stitches to learn!) so if I manage to complete it and maybe even start a second that will be a real achievement. The second SAL is semi-official. It's a self-imposed SAL if you like. Just before Christmas I treated myself to this with the aim to stitch a block a month. However, Christmas Eve, procrastinating on the internets, I came across this! The Once Upon A Time Sampler..Gaaahhhh. So yes, I'll be stitching this now instead :D Super exciting as each month will be a surprise xD The first chart is out on 10th Jan and I can't wait!

♥   I am going to do my very best to stop being a serial starter! I have three things on the go already, not including the Mystic Stitch or the two SALs...and I'm getting myself a little stressed out by it all ^^; So, this year, I aim to not start something new unless I have finished something or I get an all-encompassing desire to stitch something. *eep*

♥    I want to start by saying 'props' to all you stitchers doing the 'Stitch from Stash' this year! I get panicky just thinking of only having $25 to spend a month *flails* I can spend £20 on crafty magazines a month alone...so I think it's really cool if you are embarking on this challenge and I wish you luck! This year, I aim to be more sensible with my crafty spending. I have gotten into a silly habit of seeing/buying a chart that I like and then buying all the materials that I need to stitch it. In one of my baskets I have 'kits' that I had made up in January 2013 that didn't even get looked at until I was having a tidy up :( So I aim to only buy the materials when I know I definitely want to stitch something. This should be made easier by point 2 ^^

♥   In 2014 I will bloody crochet something. If I don't do this I will be furious with myself.

♥  I would like to be more active on my blog. When I was compiling my 2013 review post, there were some months when I only made one post and that's pretty damn poor. I also want to keep more up to date with comments and such. I often forget to comment or reply and I'm very sorry about that ^^;

♥   This year I won't be participating in the TUSAL. I was really rubbish at posting my jar and it always felt like a chore to take the photos :( I will still collect ORT's though as it's a fun idea. Now that 2013 is over, what shall I do with the contents of my jar? Originally I had planned to use them to stuff a biscornu as I've not stitched one of these yet...however I decided on something different. I love how in Victorian times, they had curiosity cabinets filled with....curiosities. I would love to have one some day filled with lovely weird crap *___* So I decided to start my collection with a 'Stitching Specimen Jar'....

Aaaand I think that is enough!

I want to thank everyone who reads my blog and for all the lovely comments I receive - they put such a smile on my face so thank you very much! Also, thank you to all the other bloggers and stitchers out there - I love to read your blogs and see what you're stitching. You're all lovely and such an inspiration!

I hope 2014 is a wonderful year for all! Good luck in whatever it is you do!

Best wishes ♥

Hayley

♥