This is one of the books included in Kathryn’s 2025 birthday bag. I saw the idea on Facebook and decided to pass it along. On her birthday Kathryn received a bag of books (second hand that I’ve pre-read) each wrapped in brown paper. The idea is that once a month (on her birthdate) she can pick a book to read. Each book includes a bookmark of some sort.
This was her January (blind) pick.
Click here to see my book review.
January 4, 2025
Kathryn’s birthday is usually the first time I will write the new year – and then forget for a week or so after New Year’s Day. Her birthday present went in the mail yesterday and I think she will receive it before her big day.
I liked the idea of using the flower of the month for my cards this year. I was also making a card for Taylor and I put the stitching too close together. I didn’t have time to make another one for Kathryn so hers ended up being a bit of an odd shape!
Kathryn’s birthday present was from an idea I found on Facebook. I wrapped up twelve books in brown paper and she gets to pick one book each month. Whether or not she reads it doesn’t matter but I tried to find books that I enjoyed. I’ll admit that I read some of them before I wrapped them up, and some of them were rejected. Each book comes with a little surprise inside.
January 1, 2025
Without even making a plan my crafting year is filling up.
My current Tuesday/Guild project is a mystery. I’ve finished two clues (yes, one of them had two blocks) but I have no idea if this will be the layout. Up to now there has been quite a gap between revealing the clues so in the meantime I’ll continue to work on my Dream Path quilt and my Leader and Ender project – my postage stamp quilt.
It will take a couple more weeks to finish the top of this Thursday project. It looks so simple but I don’t think Gail and I have struggled as much with any other project. When that is done we have a series of hand stitching projects that Gail bought from the internet. We’ve also talked about doing a block once a month, based on patterns and pictures she has found online.
Our Guild’s quilt show is in March and I still have three projects to complete. They are all pieced but need to be sandwiched and quilted. When I’m home I’ll be focusing on them. There is no shortage of UFO’s that I can work on when they are done – both piecing and quilting.
For the rest of the Christmas season I’m going to be working on this cross stitch. I probably won’t get it done but it seems like “the thing” to be doing this time of year. It was a project Mum started and I’ve taken on the finishing of it. I can only take credit for “7 Swans a Swimming” and “8 Maids a Milking”.
Stacia, Deloise and I have already picked a sewing date for January to work on our small projects. I am a bit behind the others with 15 patterns remaining. I missed a few times when I was in treatment and recovery so I got behind. I’ll have to speed things up if I want to complete them all this year.
I will sign up for another 30 books with Goodreads with the intention of surpassing it. Always better to aim low I think. This is the stack of books I’ll be working my way through; I already know there will be library books to add as I’ve been finding lots of titles on Facebook.
I’ve been itching to get back into some knitting or crocheting and have a couple of projects in mind for the yarn I have – another afghan and a wall hanging made from wool I purchased in Donegal.
I have signed myself up for a year-long block of the month; we will meet for a day once a month to get a new pattern (all different trees) and, I’m hoping, to get some hints on what to do with them. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. These are samples of the first two blocks.
What are your plans for the year?
December 31, 2024
At this time of year I reflect on the things I have accomplished over the past twelve months. In some cases it is more than I thought but in some cases much less than I would have liked. So here are my totals (of the things I keep track of).
I read 41 books, a few over my Goodreads goal. In that group were several that I re-read and the surprise was that for some of them I didn’t think as highly of them on a second reading as I did the first time through.
There were 27 cards sent out – that is more than I would have thought. I added quite a few cross stitch cards this year but there were still a number of quilted ones.
The bigger surprise was that I completed 6 knit and crochet projects. I’m anxious to get back to some knitting in the new year – I still have a couple of bins of yarn to work my way through.
As mentioned I’ve done more cross stitching this year than I have in the past. There were 13 projects that included needlework of one kind or another.
Thanks to the monthly sewing dates with Stacia and Deloise I’ve managed to finish quite a few quilting projects – 11 of the 16 projects I completed were from the collection we’ve been working through.
We’ve been in our home in Powell River for 14 years and we spent a lot of money on it this year; a new fence this summer and a new heat pump/furnace combo this fall. I’d like to think our maintenance was done for a while but I know we will soon need a new drier and, to keep things matching, we’ll likely add a washer at the same time.
To add to my year of projects I’ve also spent some time working on my own self. I needed to reach out to a counselling service, both one-on-one and in a group, and it has really got me back to my “normal”. I’m attending regular fitness classes at the pool. Once a week, if the times work out, I meditate one evening and attend a yoga class one morning. All of this in an effort to feel better. Is it working? Hard to say, but I’d probably be worse if I didn’t do it.