2023 Wrap-up and plans for 2024

It's the end of yet another year and time to check in on the stitching that I managed to do in 2023. Considering that all of the WIPs that I had pictures of in last year's wrap-up are not only still WIPs, they are WIPs with the exact same amount of stitching in them since I didn't touch any of them... that gives you a bit of a clue as to how things went in 2023. But I did manage to do some stitching - and even finished a few things - and started a couple of projects that will just get added to the WIP pile as we head into 2024. One other thing I did this year was to keep a stitch diary on a spreadsheet (as opposed to a written journal) which made it much easier to track what I stitched this year so I could do this write-up! There was a fair amount of stash aquisition this year, but a lot of it was for organizing things (mostly threads and beads). Once I get it all finished, I'll post some photos!

Other than the magnets below, this was my only FFO for the year (stitching finished in 2022) - it's probably going in my office at work.



Although it took me a whole year to post about it, I did finish "Autumn" from The Cricket Collection not too long into the new year (February), so it is hanging the closet with a bunch of other things waiting to be fully finished. Here's a photo of the completed stitching (click for larger version):



And I did Caterpillar Cross Stitch's "British Isles Sampler" stitch-along and mostly kept up with it month-by-month. Sorry that the color of the background fabric gets a little weird toward the left... I was trying to get it into some natural light for the photo but I couldn't quite get the whole thing in. It's also hanging in the closet waiting to be framed - maybe something to try to concentrate on in 2024! (click for larger version)



One little thing I did was "Moonlight Nessie" by Lola Crow Cross Stitch (purchased on Etsy). Since this one was on a very dark fabric it prompted me to finally buy a new magnifying lamp that was brighter and had more magnification than my old one. This one is also waiting to be fully finished (once I decide what I wante to do with it).



And finally, I started doing each month of Tiny Modernist's "Folk Calendar" on perforated paper to make magnets to put on the giant metal filing cabinets in my office. I back them with felt and then glue a ~1-inch long section of a strip magnet on them. Here are the four that I've finished (and fully finished!) so far:



And the new starts from this year that will finish 2023 as WIPS are:

"Spring" by The Cricket Collection - not much done here yet! The fabric has slightly more of a greenish tint than you can see in the photo.



"S'Mores Anyone?" by Lola Crow - this one benefitted from the new craft lamp! I stalled on it a little when I got to the part with the blended threads (not my favorite). But I expect to get back to this one in 2024 and hopefully finish it. (Wow, you can really see all the lint on that black fabric...)



And finally, I started "Hayride Happenings" by Blue Ribbon Designs when I was in the mood to stitch something autumnal after Halloween. But I didn't get a lot of stitching time for the rest of the month, so I didn't get too far.



Plans for 2024

To be honest, for the first few months of 2024, my goal will be to find some time for ANY stitching. I realize that a very busy and stressful time is exactly when I should try to find more time to stitch, but who knows if I'll manage to make it happen. If I do actually get any stitching done in early 2024, most likely I'll keep working on the Tiny Modernist "Folk Calendar" magnets since they are small and go fast, so I'll feel like I've actually accomplished something. After that - who knows? I think I'll just work on things that I feel like stitching on instead of trying to follow a plan. Maybe if things ever manage to slow down at work (HA!) I'll try WIPGO or something like that in the years to come.

I think that's about it for 2023 - Happy New Year!