It's time for one last monthly report for 2016, December! See past reports here.


Most of December was spent getting ready for our annual trek to Ohio and Maryland for the holidays. There was lots of gift sewing and knitting, which I will share next week finally! I also tend to make lots of sweet treats. This year I wanted to try making royal icing. I purchased an e-course from The Alison Show called Alison's Cookie Party. It was really helpful, and while we definitely need some practice, our first try was a success!


I packed my tiniest drawstring bag full of quarters to play claw games at the turnpike rest area's but was sadly unsuccessful this year. There aren't games in most of the stops this year, so I only had one chance to play. Oh well, maybe next time!


We were super excited to get to see the Cavs play on Christmas Day in Cleveland! It was a first, and an amazing game. They won by one point!!


Before we left for Ohio, I stitched up four laundry sized drawstring bags to wrap some large gifts in. They are so handy for that, and they eat up a lot of stash, which is good.


I've knit a lot in the past few months, but have been unable to talk about it because it was mostly gift knitting. I did squeeze in time to knit up a new pair of mittens for Michael. His other pair are convertible and worsted weight. For our cold winters he really needed another pair that was heavier, so I knit up this simple pattern in bulky weight yarn. More info on my Ravelry.


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I'm tracking my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track my here. Here is how I did in December:

December Fabric
Used up: 19 yards
Brought in: 15 yards
Net: -4 yards
Year to date: -250.375 yards

December Yarn
Used up: 848 yards
Brought in: 1440 yards
Net: +592 yards
Year to date: +2494 yards

Another month in the negative on fabric! I did buy more than I intended, but I let myself buy a quilt backing and a few other goodies. All those drawstring bags I made this month helped keep me in the negative, along with a lawn Emery Dress. I did a lot of gift sewing this month, I'm excited to share all those projects now that they have been received! I totally binged on yarn this month. We visited one of my favorite yarn shops, The Knot House while we were in Maryland, and Michael's parents gave me a gift certificate for Christmas. What was I supposed to do? :)


Other than working towards my fabric stash goal, I didn't make much progress towards my goals this month. I'm looking forward to getting back to all of that in January. I will be sharing my 2017 goals later this week!


Two George photos this month. Here is George's Christmas photo. He looks pretty miffed about being in that basket!


And one more of fuzzy bunny George. Getting all the pets, of course.

Have a great month!

2017 Printable + Desktop Calendars

Happy Thursday! I'm sharing my 2017 printable and desktop calendars early this year, because I have two extra calendars to share that may require a little pre-work before hanging. Get those colored pencils sharpened and ready!

Instead of doing the same calendar in two colors, I decided to do two completely different calendars. I thought it would be fun to do a few coloring book style calendars this year. I'm looking forward to coloring mine.

2017 Desktop Calendars

Download here.


Download here.

2017 Printable Calendars

Download here.


Download here. 

2017 Printable Color Yourself Calendars

Download here.


Download here.

You can download all the calendars in one fell swoop, here. For the printable calendars, print at 100% on regular paper or card stock. You may choose to trim it down to size (7.5"x10") or leave some white space. My printer won't print on card stock, so I print it on regular paper then I mount my print on card stock using spray adhesive. Afterwards I trim it down.

I hope you enjoy these calendars. I'm signing off for the year, to spend time with my family. See you in the new year!

Happy Holidays!

Tips for Making and Keeping Crafty Goals

As we come to the end of this year, it is hard not to have goal making on my mind. I for one can't help myself; I end up making loads of unrealistic goals I consequently can't keep. When it comes to crafting, I enjoy reminiscing about the past year's projects and dreaming up new ones. I am a planner, so the process of figuring out what I would like to make next is not only necessary, but also something I look forward to. On the other hand what good are goals and plans if you can't keep them?


Goal making can be very personal and I think we all approach it differently. My general life goals are to eat better, relax more, exercise, etc. Pretty run of the mill. For crafting though, I like to change things up each year to help keep myself creatively inspired. When I sit down to make craft related goals, I try to keep in mind that they need to be flexible. I think that's one of the hardest parts about keeping crafty goals. Sometimes you have to go where your creativity takes you.


In my opinion, goals should be measurable, specific and realistic. Let's make some goals together!

Measurable Goals

For me, the measurable aspect is the most important. It is so satisfying to feel like you are making progress and it can help motivate you to keep working. So, instead of a goal to "finish more projects", a goal to "finish 10 projects" is more measurable. It's important to measure your progress often throughout the year or time period. This may mean breaking your goal down into smaller, more manageable goals.

Specific Goals

Being specific about your goals makes them easier to understand and achieve. Rather than a goal to "finish 10 projects", a goal to "finish 10 throw quilts" is more specific, but still pretty vague. Think about mapping out projects you would like to make and think about what patterns and fabrics you will use. Consider pulling fabric for a quilt or project and taking a photograph to remind yourself of your choices. Pair it up with the pattern or instructions and you'll be ready to tackle your projects as you have time throughout the year.

Realistic Goals

Finally, your goals should be realistic. If they are realistic, you are more likely to meet them! Perhaps finishing 10 throw quilts this year is too high, evaluate your time and energy and arrive at a realistic goal, perhaps "finish 6 throw quilts". This doesn't mean you should undersell yourself, but being able to reach your goals will help motivate you work towards them.

There is certainly room for dreaming big and have moonshot goals too. I think finding a healthy mix of both kinds of goals is good!

A few other thoughts on making and keeping crafty goals:

Break it Down

So you've got your goals, now what? It's time to break those large goals into more manageable and actionable pieces. For our "finish 6 throw quilts" goal, we can break that down into a quilt every two months. To help meet that goal, you could choose to start a quilt every other month. Break down the steps within the project and assign them to certain weeks or days. This may involve some upfront work each time you start, to choose fabrics and a pattern.

This of course isn't the only way to work, but it can be a good way to get started, and thinking about your goals in a less overwhelming way.

Enjoy the Process

These are great tips for project-based goals, but what about the process? Consider making some non-result oriented goals, like "find more meaning in crafting". This could be a much deeper goal, which would take more planning and thought than a project-based goal. It's not quite as measurable, but adding a journaling component or checking in with a friend could help you track how you're feeling.

Make Goals with a Friend

Making goals with a friend is not only more fun, it gives you someone to help keep you accountable. This past year, Jacey and I had a number of goals that lined up together, and it was really motivating. Knowing that if I didn't follow through she'd be asking me about it was the little extra push I needed. On the accountability front, posting each month here on the blog about my goal progress helped a lot too. I didn't want to have to admit that I was falling behind or not meeting my goals.

Treat Yourself

Think about how you might reward yourself for meeting your goals or making progress. It could be a little fabric shopping spree, or starting a shiny new project. Consider what would help motivate you to work towards your goals!


As 2016 wraps up, I am taking time to reflect on what parts of my crafting really make me happy. Maybe it is a particular type of piecing or project. I also like to continue to grow my craft, so I like to come up with a project or technique that is outside of my comfort zone for the new year.

Do you make crafty goals? I'm looking forward to sharing my goals for 2017 soon!

Holiday PDF Pattern Sale

Happy Friday! It's time for my 3rd annual holiday sale! Take 25% off all PDF patterns in my online shop using code HOLIDAY25 at checkout. For EU customers, this code works in my Payhip shop too!

Sale will run from now through Sunday (12/18). It cannot be applied to previous purchases.

Happy Holidays!