In 2012.

2012 was a strange year, I think. It was a quiet sort of year, in which my family had some celebrations but a lot of heartbreak, too {it seems to have been that way for a lot of people}. These are a few things that stand out to me, in the rough order that they happened:

-I finally finished my very first quilt! It took me about five months and quite a bit of frustration, but I love it. It's been on my bed since the day I finished it.

-I participated in an embroidery swap for the first time. It was so much fun.

-My little brother got married. How did that happen?? I feel old.

-I started sponsoring a child through Compassion. I know I haven't written about this here, but it's been a really amazing experience for me. Getting a letter from Aida, a beautiful little girl in Bolivia, completely makes my day (it just doesn't happen enough! It takes at least two months for letters to get back and forth).

-My aunt Betty passed away after a seven month fight with a brain tumor.

-I faced my fears and knit a pair of socks for the first time (more on that in a later post!).

-I started learning how to spin yarn.

You might remember my big lofty list of resolutions for 2012. And here comes the rather icky part of making resolutions: admitting if I was able to keep them or not. :)

I was actually doing really well until about June or July. I was only buying two books a month, walking religiously five days a week, not buying many DVDs at all, finishing my quilt, and getting Mom to give me cooking lessons. Everything was going beautifully.

But then it wasn't. :) Summer is really not my favorite time of the year at all. It's awfully humid and I quit walking consistently because I hate mosquitoes and snakes and other things that summer includes. Then I started buying more books. Then I broke down and bought the entire Lark Rise to Candleford series on DVD. And it was mostly downhill from there. {Confession is good for the soul, right?}

But there were quite a few things that I did accomplish! I finished my quilt. I didn't knit a sweater or learn how to crochet, but I spend most of the year obsessed with improving my knitting (besides other things, I made my Penelope scarf and learned how to knit socks).

I was more diligent and careful about the clothing that I sewed. I made garments that I've been wanting to make for quite a while. In total, I sewed seven items of clothing for myself this year. The red blouse, the denim skirt, another swing dress, a blue blouse, my Penelope coat, and two Crepe dresses. The only failures were the Crepe dresses- the fabric I chose was wrong for them and the fit wasn't flattering on me. That's why there are no pictures of them. :)

I kept a notebook with every single purchase I made this year. It was very eye-opening. {Ironically, success with this resolution showed me how badly I failed on my book limit. Because I have every book I purchased documented. I bought 55 books and 6 picture books this year. Ouch! To be fair, a huge majority of those were thrift store or bargain bookstore purchases that only cost a couple of dollars or less.}

I didn't learn how to cook very much, but I did try out a few new things and started a recipe box. Under my mom's guidance, I made my first meatloaf. :)

I tried to declutter and get rid of some things. I weeded out my bookshelves, records, and DVDs. I sold some of them on eBay, traded in others for an Amazon gift card (which I used to buy another book *ahem*), gave some to Goodwill, and donated several of the books to our town's new Little Free Library.

So overall, it might sound like I failed miserably with my 2012 resolutions, but I'm pretty happy with how I did. I learned that writing out very specific rules is helpful to me, as it tacking them on the wall right above my desk where I see them every single day. :) I also realized that if, on Sunday nights, I write a list of things I want to accomplish over the next week, it helps me a lot.

I've already written out my 2013 goals...I'll be sharing them in my next post. :)

 

How was 2012 for you? Did you follow through with some of your resolutions?

 

P.S. Speaking of books, my family is only encouraging my addiction. I got these for Christmas. This is what comes from finding amazing cheap books while thrifting all year and not so subtly requesting them as Christmas gifts (and having an Amazon wish list :). This is also why I'm begging my dad for a built-in bookcase in a corner of my room.

 

 

Also, I don't think I've mentioned this before, but all year I've been collecting little bits and pieces of the Corelle Crazy Daisy (also called Spring Blossom Green) dishes while thrifting. For Christmas, my mom and grandma gave me so many pieces that I very nearly have a whole set (except for bowls. I can never figure out why bowls always seem more likely to be missing from dish sets). I think they're so cute. If they look familiar, it's because your grandma probably had these dishes at one point or another. :) Both of mine did, apparently.

 

 

And three of the Pyrex nesting bowls to match!

{No, there's no Mr. Right yet and I'm not planning a wedding or a home or anything. I'm just collecting. That's why it's called a hope chest, right? :) }

 

 

Until next time,