Well, a third of the year has gone by!!! So in theory I should be a third of the way through my challenges…in theory!
- 1 Etsy store opened; Still at the thinking stage!
- 2 Tutorials; Nothing as yet.
- 3 Sessions a week in the garden;This is one challenge I have pretty much stuck with so far this year and the garden is definitely looking better for the early start.
- 4 Quilts; I’ve finished piecing my Down the Rabbit Hole quilt, but I’ve still to quilt it, maybe I’ll call it a half finish, so tha’ts 1.5 quilts finished – just over a third 🙂
- 5 Craftsy Classes; I’ve started watching a Leah Day class on free motion quilting. I’m pleasantly surprised just how long these classes are, there must be several hours of tuition. I’ve just finished the basting class and whilst I don’t intend to start using safety pins I have picked up quite a few tips already. I’ve bought a beautiful peacock panel which I’m hoping to use as a practice piece.
- 6 New Patterns; This stays at two, but I have just cut out an evening dress in taffeta and sequins for a ball I’m going to in a couple of weeks time, so I’d better get a shiftie on that one!
- 7 Kits stitched; I finished two kits last month, just little ones. One of them had been in my stash for several years.
- 8 Pages in my stitch sampler book; I stitched another two pages in the second half of our holiday, so six pages this year. I just need to start stitching them together.
- 9 Pounds Lost!!! Lost the plot on this one a bit, like I’ve still not lost what I put on on holiday!
- 10 Mini Embroideries; I started my travelling sketchbook off by finishing a little wool embroidery, I was pleased with how this came out. Total for the year is now four
- 11 Letters to friends; Just one so far this year, I really need to get cracking on this.
- 12 Boxes or Drawers sorted in sewing room; I had a good session reorganising boxes in my sewing room this month. I’ve got quite a few of those nice boxes you can get at TK Maxx, I’ve stuck to a theme of peacocks to give a bit of continuity! I had one box with embroidery linens and UFO’s in and another with current projects in, it was all getting a bit mixed up and confusing. I now have one box with completed cross-stitch or cross-stitch sections, such as pages of my stitch sampler or a side of my Etui. Another box just has evenweave linen in and a third box just has Aida, I’ll probably review this soon as I rarely use aida, but I got lots from my mums house. At least it’s a bit more organised. I also had a big sort out with my bead box, it was over flowing so I’ve moved it to a bigger box and managed to get most of the little packets into connecting containers. So my running total here is seven.
- 13 New Recipes; This month I tried an adaptation of a recipe, so I’m classing it as a new one. I’ve a recipe for slow cooked leg of lamb in lots of garlic (like three BULBS!!) it cooks over about eight hours. Instead of the garlic I used red wine and redcurrant jelly with a sprinkling of rosemary, I wrapped it in foil and cooked it on a low heat for eight hours, it was beautiful, fell off the bone. It was so nice that when we had friends round for dinner at the weekend I did it again 🙂 So that’s two recipes, I need to try harder with this one as it’s really one of the easier challenges!
- 14 Less Lengths in my stash! I’ve not reduced it this month, but then I’ve not increased it either! My evening dress will take up two lengths and hopefully I’ll make other stuff as well this month.
- 15 Posts a month; I actually managed 22 posts this month!
- 16 cross-stitch smalls; I’ve finished five this month but two still need making up so I’ll count those in May! I’d almost finished a few on holiday, so those finishes helped boost my tally, so my running total is now seven.
- 17 items of clothing made. This stays at two, but my Chanel jacket is just waiting for buttonholes and trim and I’ve my evening dress cut out, so progress is being made.
- 18 Walks; We’ve not done well on this one so far, but my friend and I have now booked our walking holiday for September, we’re walking St Cuthberts Way from Melrose to Lindisfarne so we need to start building ourselves up again. WI walking club has restarted too so I’ve a walk planned next week. So my tally stays at one but will hopefully improve this month.
thecraftycreek 
Fun post and you truly have accomplished quite a bit – the peacock panel is gorgeous – I call it outline quilting and do it all by hand…I say forget the video’s jump right in and start in the middle, work your way out – outlining any and all elements of the design (just an idea) weather by hand or machine it will be beautiful
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, I’m hoping to learn different quilting patterns and do each one in a different area, that’s my plan anyway!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it’s a pretty amazing tally!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Anne 🙂
LikeLike
I’m loving all your peacocks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved reading about all the things you have been doing. It’s an ambitious list, but obviously full of things that you either do now or want to do. And you have been so busy in the garden ~ which is looking great! Your Chanel jacket is going to be very stylish and I am impressed by your plans to create an evening gown ~ way beyond my sewing skills.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Anne, evening gowns aren’t as tricky as people think, ok it’s different fabrics, but there’s no collars, sleeves, buttonhole plackets, all the things that can make something look homemade 🙂
LikeLike
It sounds like you’ve made quite a bit of progress on your goals! It makes me feel lazy by comparison, lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Kate, I’ve been pretty busy 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
How do you find time to get everything done
LikeLiked by 1 person
The short answer is I don’t watch TV (or do as much housework as I should!) 🙂
LikeLike
I think I need or organize my time more. A good thing to try
LikeLike
A very successful and productive month for you. Such a happy post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you 🙂
LikeLike
Oh my gosh, you have been so busy. I love all your stitchings and the peacocks are all just fabulous. We all need more of the peacock in our lives I think.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Cathy, I love peacock colours 🙂
LikeLike
Wow you’re definitely cracking on and getting a lot of stuff done!! Far better than me, I’ve managed one thing from my make nine list at that had a lot of help from my sister!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, I tried my make nine last year and failed miserably 🙂
LikeLike
When you list everything out like this, it’s amazing and a little overwhelming, both how much you’ve done and how much is left!
LikeLiked by 1 person
How much is left is a bit overwhelming to me too ! It’s only a challenge, I’m not going to lose sleep over any of it 🙂
LikeLike
A nice list you are working through!
LikeLike
Many visual delights in this post! Congrats on your progress 🙂
LikeLike
Fabulous progress! You have inspired me to revisit my list of things I intend to do in 2018 – a couple have gone off the boil, like you, but it is only a third of the way through the year! At least you weren’t writing this/I wasn’t writing this in December!!!
LikeLike