You may remember that I’ve decided not to set monthly goals this year. Instead, I have a set of goals for 2011 that I am working towards all year.

They are:

• Complete all 12 10 remaining ornaments in my personal ornament-of-the-month club (one per month)
• Complete all 12 10 pairs of socks in my personal sock-of-the-month club (one per month)
• Stitch Joan Elliot’s 12 Days of Christmas for my mom
• Knit a cardigan for my mom to wear when she visits the Vatican in June
• Complete Victoria Sampler’s Christmas Treasures and have it mounted in its box before December
• Complete the five four Victoria Sampler alphabet samplers I have
• Finish Enchanting Lair’s Kitchen Blessing for my husband
• Finally decide on a birth sampler for Baby Man and finish it
• Improve my sewing skills

This month I did finish both my February socks (Kai-Mei) and the February ornament (Hollyberry Heart). I also did some work on 12 Days of Christmas, but not too much since I was struggling so much with the chart (I suspect that getting my new contacts will help with my problems; I am near-sighted, but I am so dependant on my contacts that they do have some effect on all of my vision, near or far.) I also finished up Kitchen Blessings, and I will share a picture tomorrow.

For March, as usual, I will work on my socks and ornament. I will also focus on finishing up the cardigan for my mom (one sleeve and about half the body are done). 12 Days of Christmas will also get some attention, although I suspect working on a Christmas design in March will be difficult.

I’d like to work on another Victoria Sampler alphabet sampler (S is really calling to me), but after finishing Kitchen Blessings, my husband asked if I would work on another piece for him. Several years ago I started Chinese Dragon from Pinn Stitch for him, but I haven’t touched it in ages. Here’s where it stood when I took a picture of it two years ago (and I haven’t progressed on it at all):

Chinese Dragon by Pinn Stitch (WIP)

So, that will be my second focus piece, along with 12 Days of Christmas. Do you notice a theme this year? I seem to be doing a lot of things for other people. And I haven’t even mentioned that hat I will be doing for my dad, or the Annis shawl for my mom. I think my theme for 2012 will be “All Mine!”

I also wanted to say thank you to all 41 of my followers. I really appreciate each and ever one of you. And, if I can reach 50, I’d love to host some sort of giveaway.

February Review and March Plans is a post from Reflections in the Pond

I’m really enjoying working on the 15-sided biscornu being offered for free by my sorta-LNS. I’m a little bit out of my comfort zone for a lot of reasons, including using a non-standard fabric colour that I picked without input from anyone.

15-Sided Biscornu - Part4

Again, I wasn’t able to get a true colour picture of it. For some reason this fabric is very hard to photograph. Notice I still haven’t added any beads. I’ve decided that I want to see what silver will look like. If I like them, I will buy a package. I’m justifying it by saying it isn’t stash if I use them right away. And, I would rather spend a few dollars on beads and have the colour I like, rather than use the beads I have in hand and ruin my project.

And that brings me to my goal review. You may remember that I’ve decided not to set monthly goals this year. Instead, I’ve set goals for the entire year, which I will work on every month. I have not bought any knitting or stitching stash, which is great. I have done a bit of swapping, but keeping to my rule, the number of grams out is equal or exceeds the number of grams in. (I did have some yarn RAK’ed to me, and I believe that is a happy exception.) As of this morning, my yarn stash sits at 253 balls of yarn, with an expected five balls in the mail on their way to me (three of which are from RAKs).

I managed to complete both my January ornament and my January socks. I also did a little bit of stitching on Kitchen Blessings, and on Saturday I finally got started on Joan Elliot’s 12 Days of Christmas. (More about that last design in a few days.) I also completed the H Sampler from Victoria Sampler. Not a bad start to the year, I think. I hope you are doing just as well complete your goals.

15-Sided Biscornu – Part 4 and Goal Review is a post from Reflections in the Pond

After looking back on my unfulfilled 2010 goals, I’ve decided that I need to be a little gentler with  myself this year. Cross stitch, knitting, and the like are about enjoyment not meeting deadlines and filing quotas. (Except, of course, when they are. Like when I knit socks for other people. Oh, and Christmas knitting.)

I wanted this year’s goals to focus on things I really enjoy doing. Hopefully, when I look back in December, I will have a big pile of finished items that I had a great time working on.

2011 Goals

• Complete all 12 remaining ornaments in my personal ornament-of-the-month club (one per month)
• Complete all 12 pairs of socks in my personal sock-of-the-month club (one per month)
• Stitch Joan Elliot’s 12 Days of Christmas for my mom
• Knit a cardigan for my mom to wear when she visits the Vatican in June
• Complete Victoria Sampler’s Christmas Treasures and have it mounted in its box before December
• Complete the four Victoria Sampler alphabet samplers I have
• Finish Enchanting Lair’s Kitchen Blessing for my husband
• Finally decide on a birth sampler for Baby Man and finish it
• Improve my sewing skills

I do have one more goal, and it is kind of a big one. I’d like to try to stitch from stash this year. Oh, I know it is deadly to say that out loud. I’ve just about guaranteed my failure. But, if I allow myself two small shopping excursions (Gitta’s Getaway Needleworkers’ Marketplace and the CreativFestival), then I think I can manage. And, of course, any potential release by Teresa Wentzler.

Truthfully, this last goal is already killing me. I’d love to have the new Cherry Wood Design Studio limited edition design, but I’m trying to convince myself I can live without it.

2011 Goals is a post from Reflections in the Pond

I have to admit, I haven’t been looking forward to reviewing my 2010 crafting goals. I know I didn’t even accomplish even half of what I set out to do.

My goals were:

• Finish Baby Man’s birth sampler
• Finish Enchanting Lair’s Kitchen Blessing for my husband
• Finish the Celtic Thunder bourse and put a little stitching kit in the living room
• Finish up at least half of the Creativ Festival class pieces I have left over (Delightful Dragon, Tiny Torture Sampler, First Dragon Encounter, Dragon Lullaby, Celtic Thunder, Tiny Dragons, Cutwork Compass Rose)
• Stitch another stocking (for Mom?)
• Finish one of my felt kits
• Knit socks for others (and maybe a couple more pairs for me)
• Get up to date with and stay current with Papillon Creations Castles in the Air
• Do some punch needle projects
• finish a wedding gift

I didn’t accomplish very many of these things. Kitchen Blessings still isn’t done, nor is Baby Man’s birth sampler (right now I’m not even sure what I am going to do, since I’m no longer in love with the one I have started), etc., etc. I did knit more socks. Eight and 3/4 pairs in fact, with three and 3/4 of those pairs for other people. I also tried punch needle, and really enjoyed it after I got the hang of it. And, I did finish that wedding gift.

I wouldn’t say this year was a bust, though. I did finish twenty-five cross stitch projects (two large, one medium, eight small-ish, and the rest were ornaments). I managed to remember to take pictures of all of the projects except three. (One is on its way to someone, and the other two are hidden in the closet waiting to be finished into usable items.)

I also finished about thirty-five knitting projects (some of which I didn’t get pictures for).

And, I completed about twenty or so crochet projects, all of which I actually took pictures of. (Amazing!)

I also tried my hand at a few sewing projects. And, sadly, my sewing skills aren’t at the same level as my cross stitch are knitting. One of my 2011 goals is to work on improving them. I shared the picture of the vintage-style dog I made, and I also shared a pouch in the same post (I’ve made two more since).

So, even thought I didn’t accomplish my goals for 2010, I still think I had a very successful year.

2010 Review is a post from Reflections in the Pond

You might remember that at the start of November I set goals for the months of November and December:

• Stitch and finish six ornaments
• Knit six gifts

Half the time has passed, and I’m halfway there. I did change my mind about one gift I was knitting. I think it is too big to get done in time for Christmas. But, I’ve substituted another, small item and haven’t really gained any time in that respect. Also, being overconfident and greedy when it comes to books, I agree to knit a pair of lovely anklets for a lady on Ravelry. I’m about halfway through the second sock, and with some hard work, they will be in the mail next week.

I’ve also been thinking quite a bit about my stitching goals for next year. I do have my self-imposed sock club and ornament club (December’s ornament is underway and miles of buttonhole stitch are kicking my butt). But, that isn’t enough to keep me busy for the whole year. So, I’m leaning towards making 2011 the year of Victoria Sampler. Surprising, eh? Not who you’d think I would stitch for a whole year, but I do have a lot of their designs (all Thea Dueck’s).

My tentative plan is to work on finishing up Christmas Treasures so it is in the box and ready for display next Christmas (two years after I wanted it finished). I also want to work on H is for Homemaker, M is for Mother, S is for Stitcher, W is for Witch; all of which I will be doing on 30 count linen banding. And then there is Gingerbread House, the kit for which I managed to get at an amazing deal.

I also have Harbour Village Sampler, Heirloom Stitching Sampler, Heirloom Baby Sampler, Heirloom Nativity Sampler, Beautiful Finishing 1, O Canada Sampler, Cottage Garden Sampler and Spring Sampler. I have the thread kits for many, but not all. And fabric, well, I’ve got plenty of that too. And maybe I shouldn’t mention that I would love to get K is for Knitter and Santa’s Village Sampler. Yeah… and I wouldn’t even list VS as one of my top five favourite designers. Weird, eh?

So, a year of VS? Broken up, of course, with maybe a couple of TW smalls, some Enchanting Lair, and some class pieces from the Creativ Festival (which would be TW, Enchanting Lair and Dragon Dreams).  Am I crazy?

End of Year Goal Review and a Look Forward is a post from Reflections in the Pond

I’m really intrigued by the idea of sock clubs. Fabulous yarn and a pattern written especially for it arriving in my  mail box every month? Yes, please! Unfortunately, non-wooly sock clubs are few and far between, and the shipping costs to Canada are often prohibitive.

Now, I’m sure most of you who knit know that the Yarn Harlot created a self-imposed sock club for herself this year. And, let’s be honest, I have more than enough sock yarn to do the same for myself. So, yesterday, I put the final touches on my 12 in 2011 self-imposed sock club.

Winding some Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Candy

Most of my sock yarn is in balls, but I did need to wind up my two skeins of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Candy. The swift was made by my dad, and works really well. I figured it was best to wind them now, rather than when I got around to knitting with them.

Final two balls of yarn ready, and my ball winder from Knit Picks

And here are the two balls of yarn ready to go, along with my Knit Picks ball winder. The winder gets the job done, but it is a little janky. If there was one piece of my knitting equipment I would replace, my ball winder is it.

12 in 2011 Self-Imposed Sock Club

And this is a box with all the yarn matched with their patterns. I’ve got all the patterns listed in my Ravelry queue in slots 1-12 (link requires Rav membership to view). At the beginning of each month, I’ll just run the random number generator to pick which one to work on.

How’s that for an ambitious plan? For comparison, I made six pairs of socks this year.

A Plan for Socks is a post from Reflections in the Pond

Happy November! I hope you survived the ghost and goblins of last night, and still managed to hang onto a little bit of candy for yourself.  We didn’t take Baby Man out. I think he is still too small, and he isn’t a big candy eater anyway. He prefers baked goods.

For many of you, November begins the busiest time of year. Up here in Canada, we have already had our Thanksgiving, and there is only Remembrance Day to observe this month. It is an important day for us, and an excellent start to the season of friends and family. But there is something about waking up on November 1st that gets me thinking about Christmas and the holidays. No decorations yet! But all the Halloween stuff with be down shortly, with just a few autumn pumpkins and the like left out.

Christmas and the gift giving season is coming up very quickly, and that means that I will be focusing on stitching and knitting gifts for the next two months. And that also means fewer posts and pictures. With all of that in mind, I thought it would be better to write my goals for November and December, since  it is all going to blend together anyway. So, my goals:

• Stitch and finish six ornaments
• Knit six gifts

How’s that? Wish me luck!

November and December 2010 Goals is a post from Reflections in the Pond

Happy Halloween! Another month is nearly over, and this one ends with candy. What could be better?

Victorian Halloween Postcard

And being the end of the month, regardless of the festivities, it is time to review my monthly goals. I wanted to:

• finish second pair of slippers for charity
  
• knit at least one bewb for charity/Ravelry KAL
• finish Halloween ornament (the Ink Circles one from this year’s JCS Halloween issue)
• start Kai-Mei socks, and finish at least one (they are the green pair in the small pictures at that link)
• make significant progress on the outer border of Kitchen Blessings
• finish TW’s Playful Kittens

Not bad! I do have one of the Kai Mei socks done (I do still need to Kitchener stitch the toe, however), and the second sock is just about to have the heel turned.

I didn’t get quite as much done on Kitchen Blessings as I wanted, but I still made a good progress.

And, sadly, By the Full Moon still needs its moon stitched. I also didn’t finsih the jack-o-lantern ornament into an ornament for my wee Halloween tree. I think I need to remember that October is just too busy for that sort of thing, and that I should have all of my Halloween ornaments done before October, or at least before the CreativFestival rolls around.

Don’t forget: today is the final draw for Missy Ann and Annette’s 31 Days of Halloween. Annette is hosting the draw today, but be sure to head over to Missy Ann’s to see what her package will contain. I wish you the best of luck in winning a fabulous treat today.

October 2010 Goal Review is a post from Reflections in the Pond

Just a quick post today. I’ve set myself a lofty goal for this month: knit this cardigan using this yarn in the natural/white shade 115 before October 23rd. Wish me luck!

And don’t forget to enter Missy Ann and Annette’s 31 Days of Halloween. Today is Missy Ann’s turn, and you can enter here.

Warm Shoulders is a post from Reflections in the Pond

One of my goals last month was to put together a monthly ornament club for myself. I unashamedly stole borrowed the idea from Erica of Erica’s Places. However, I didn’t get around to doing it last month because my printer lost its mind. My printer hasn’t gotten any better, but since I’m still stuck with this cold and not capable of doing much beyond knitting simple garter stitch slippers and playing video games, I decided to get out all my old Just Cross Stitch ornament issues to see what there was to see.

Since I have all 14 past issues of the “official” ornament issue, and there are also 14 months (not including this month) until Christmas next year (if you include December 2011), I thought it would be a nice idea to pick one ornament from each issue.  So, my list is this:

• 1997 – Santa Bellpull – Carol Emmer Designs
• 1998 – Hollyberry Heart – Sweetheart Tree
• 1999 – Hardanger Ornament – Nordic Needle
• 2000 – Holly Leaves – Jemini Designs
• 2001 – Home for Christmas – Julia Lucas Designs
• 2002 – Five Gold Rings – Flower Thread Company/Meg Shinall
• 2003 – Victorian Christmas Tree – Sue Hillis
• 2004 – Peace Tree – M Designs
• 2005 – Britty Christmas Kitty – Brittercup Designs
• 2006 – 2006 Santa – Vermillion Stitchery
• 2007 – Sugar and Lace – Victoria Sampler
• 2008 – Deck the Windows – Julia Lucas Designs
• 2009 – Gingerbread Scissors Keep – Victoria Sampler
• 2010 – You are My Gift – Dragon Dreams

Originally,  my goal was not to duplicate designers, but I couldn’t help myself. For some years it was really hard to pick an ornament that I knew I would still be excited about months from now. For one year I even had to have my husband pick an ornament since there wasn’t really one I was in love with.

We shall see how this goes, but hopefully I will have 14 lovely Christmas ornaments for my three next year. I still need to figure out fabrics and pick up a few minor supplies, but I know I will have this ready to go for November.

And to switch gears to Halloween, today is day 3 of Missy Ann and Annette’s 31 Days of Halloween. Head over to Annette’s blog to enter today’s draw.

An Ornament(al) Goal is a post from Reflections in the Pond