Resolution Success

If you are follower of this blog, for which I thank you, you will know I make crafting New Year resolutions because they are more fun than promising to eat less cake or run 5K. 2017 has been the year of the stash diet. 

I made three resolutions. The first one was to find a knicker pattern. This has been a bit of a mission with lots of experimenting and learning. I can report success all round and can now whip out MY own knicker pattern and make batches of new knickers without even leaving the house.

The second one was to make another quilt. Again, lots of learning and new skills. I made Megan a sampler quilt trying out new techniques and blocks which I shared with my sewing group. It tied in well with the stash diet because I used up lots of scraps.

And finally the mammoth number three. Limit buying new craft materials. I must say that it was very liberating. I have used up many pieces of donated fabric and wool along with sewing notions without actually making any less items this year. My favourite free yarn project being my hat, cowl and glove set.

And my most worn free dressmaking project is my Cleo dungaree skirt from donated cord.

Of course I did buy new materials and I listed them throughout the year to keep myself in check:

4 balls of patons smoothie in red for a school jumper (need)
2 balls of alpaca wool for a baby knit (caved in)
1 10m roll of bias binding to finish the quilt (need)
1 skein of rainbow Merino (too darn pretty)
1 sockwunder circular needle (to try)
1 stitch ripper (lost mine)
1 roll of dressmakers tracing paper (ran out)
3 balls of stylecraft white DK (to finish a baby blanket)
1 bale of quilt wadding (need)

*Adrifil yarn for my big girl to crochet so not for me!



There was a double edged reason to do this task. Financially, we used the money I would have spent on frivolous craft stash to fix or replace things which we have been living with that are broken or no longer working. Our ten-year-child-rearing dip without doing any house maintenance finally caught up with us. I listed these each month too:

JAN - replaced broken yarn winder, paid for our holiday to France

FEB - new frying pan, jug, microwave and stick blender

MAR - New shower head and serviced my overlocker blades. Paint for three rooms in the house.

APR - Bought drawers for our recycling, windows 10 software, bobble buster for saving knits, replaced 3 cracked drawers in the freezer

MAY - a new cooker and a new cutlery basket for the dishwasher, a new hose that reaches the part of the garden we need to water.

JUN - A new grill pan handle, drawer knobs for all the ones that have fell off on our bedroom furniture.

JULY - Had the carpets cleaned - all of them!

AUG - An adult mattress for our 10 year old girl instead of a toddler one, a sisal rug to cover the worn bit of carpet in the front room that the cleaning couldn't save.

SEPT - A new hoover that actually works

OCT - Garden shrubs to replace the ones the dog has eaten. New garden fence from a neighbourly driving accident!

NOV - New shower taps which were dripping, painted the kitchen.

DEC - Repair the spin on the washing machine and Christmas!

I know it doesn't make for riveting reading but I wonder how many of us put up with broken things and finally decide we have had enough, we made it our 2017 mission. 

So I have to make some new ones don't I? Well I will have to have a little think about that. 

Thank you for following along this year. I have loved having you here to cheer me on in my crafty shenanigans. Jo xxxx