New Year, Same Me!

I was going to call this Blog post “Year in Review”, but then I saw this Bitmoji, and thought it summed up more of my thought process…

I think it was quite fitting as this year I purposely decided NOT to make any huge resolutions to change myself physically or otherwise. “Why, because you think you’re perfect as you are Shawna?!?” On the contrary, but I’m just so darn tired of putting so much pressure on myself to be something I once was, be better than I was last year, be thinner, be happier…aye yi yi….it’s all just so much pressure! I mean, don’t get me wrong…do I want all those things? Of course, and I will continue to strive to be a better person cause I kinda think the world would be a happier place if we all did that but what I’m getting rid of is the pressure to do it because “you’re supposed to”!!!

Ok, well, consider that my first Blog ramble of 2023 lol! I hope you all had an amazing holiday and the beginning of your new year is off to a great start! Mine has been great, relaxed and full of family and friends, so perfect! I even completed 2 sewing projects within the first week of the year, which, of course, I’ll share in upcoming Blogs, but that brings me to my actual topic of this week’s Blog, which really is kind of a a Year in Review and what I’m doing for this year’s projects!

So I’m sure some of you will remember that last year I started off with the calendar that I would colour in to represent what I did that day, and I’m quite proud to say that I did indeed follow through with it for the full year! Here’s a picture of it that I took on the last day of 2022!

Isn’t she purty lol?!? I find it quite interesting to see how my interests changed throughout the year and how for days in a row, I would be productive and then nothing for quite a few days lol!! It kind of evolved throughout the year but overall I was happy with it and enjoyed keeping track of my crafting! So I’m going to keep doing it in a slightly different way!

I’m still going to keep track of what I do and on what days but I’m adding an element, I’m going to keep track of each sewing project! I always try to take pictures of completed projects and I’ll, of course, continue to do that but I’m also going to have some Project sheets that I’ll fill out as well! I decided to start a binder that will contain lots of information that will help me stay more organized, a Sewing Journal, if you will! I’m a girl that loves lists but I don’t always have those lists in the same place so I spend a frustrating amount of time looking for them! With this binder, they will all be in one spot for easy access!

Originally, I had imagined myself making up my new Sewing Journal sheets from scratch, which sounded intimidating and time consuming so I turned to Etsy, hoping that someone else had already done the hardwork lol! As it normally happens for me, I was soon overwhelmed by all the options, apparently my idea was not original lol! There were many choices and price ranges and after an exhausting search, I settled on one that provided me with the closest option to what I was imagining! The designer has included so many different sheets, most of which don’t apply to my needs but if my needs change, they’ll be there!

I’m not 100% done getting the binder in order but here’s some of the sheets I’ll be using!

I’ve already filled out a couple of them for the projects I’ve completed and I’m very happy with them. I think they will be helpful when remaking a particular project and being able to read my notes to see what I altered, if anything, and especially the summary section where I will note things I’d do differently next time!

Do any of you keep records like these, or do you think I’m crazy lol?!? What can I say, this kind of organization makes my heart happy lol! And I’m already excited to see the sheets accumulate with each completed project!!!

That’s all for now, my friends! I’d love to hear any tips or tricks you may have for my new little system, or just tell me about your own system, perhaps I’ll find something I need to add to my own!

Shawna