If you have read this blog for a bit, you probably noticed I like looking at the numbers. They don’t mean much, if anything at all, but I find it interesting. For instance, in 2023 I wrote 47 posts. The post show the most hits was Comfort Quilts, Who Really Benefits. The stats show this post was read (or at least opened) 6,769 times. For my posts this is crazy. So much so, I am not sure it is ‘real’. When I saw it was getting that many hits, I tried to figure out where they were coming from. Sometimes if a more popular blog links back to a post, it will drive a lot of traffic but not this much. So – I am attributing this to some sort of robot activity and don’t honestly believe it was regular blog readers. (I did like this post though as well as the comments many of you left on it). Let’s look at a few more numbers to see what the year was like for me!
I made or finished 11 quilts. Of the 11, I would say my favorite is the modern, circular wall quilt you see in the center, made with solids. I love seeing the quilt hanging above our bed. It is just what I wanted it to be when I started and this doesn’t always happen!
Other than quilts, I made a number of fun projects. Doll clothes, hospital gowns for A Doll Like Me, doll quilts for Carole’s holiday project, and tree skirt for Julia to name a few. There were four pair of pants (joggers, pjs and more) as well as a dress and two shirts for me. I didn’t post about all of these garments because it is a pain to take pictures of me wearing them and sometimes something looks weird just hanging on a hanger. I suppose I should work on this going forward so I can share more of this sort of thing.
Let’s dig a little deeper here and talk about project fails. There were a few!
For instance, I was making this cute dress for A and I lost the sleeves. What??? How did this even happen. The worst part is not only did the sleeves go missing but the pattern piece attached to the sleeve also disappeared. I have to think I threw them away accidentally. I really annoyed when this happened and tore the sewing room apart. Now I think I will try to make the dress sleeveless because it could be so cute – or – I will leave it sit on the shelf forever, find it in ten years and toss it. (hmmmm, which is most likely??)
The dress I mentioned above isn’t a total fail but it fits weird. I am fairly certain I can modify it but haven’t done so yet. It has be be in the fail category until I can actually wear it! Look at the fabric though – it is so pretty. I feel very motivated to get this one fixed so I can use it.
Also included in this category are the pjs I made for my grand daughters. Both were too small and thus didn’t get worn. To me, that’s a fail. I see these girls all the time! I should have a better bead on their measurements. (Except those measurements do change on a daily basis so ….. it isn’t easy!)
This number is pretty fun – I worked on three new-to-me quilt skills. With the assistance of my friend Sophia I re-learned how to paper piece. She also helped me figure out spray basting. That was such a win! Spray basting takes the yuk out of preparing a quilt. It is so quick compared to pins and my backings look much nicer. Finally, ruler quilting! I splurged and got a ruler foot plus two sets of rulers. It has been so fun to practice with these. Sure it feels awkward at first, but I think I am getting the hang of it.
Quilt tops – here is another number I try to track. Currently I have three quilt tops I need to finish. Two were made by me and another was given to me to finish for Mercyful Quilts. I feel like this number is not terribly unreasonable. I will be able to get these finished up (2024 goal!)
Other numbers I keep track of are my exercise stats. This is to keep me honest and motivated to be healthy. All year long I kept this printout on the fridge. For each day I exercised a minimum of 30 minutes, I colored in the day. So the blank days mean I didn’t exercise or it was less than 30 minutes. Turns out I exercised for 242 days in 2023. Not too bad but I hope to improve this in 2024. The 2024 sheet is on the fridge and will motivate me going forward. (I didn’t make the sheet and cannot give credit because I can’t remember where I got it. If anyone knows who made this, please let me know so I can update this).
UPDATE: Thank you Kathleen!! She pointed out that right near the July section there is a notation. I was able to enlarge the photo on my phone and find the maker of this habit tracker. If you are interested in something like this, it was sold at The Lost Button on Etsy. I feel so much better! I ordered a digital copy of the 2024 sheet because this is a leap year (which I didn’t know).
I also like to track my miles walked – this year the total is 328! Not too shabby. I started to run back in June. The total miles ran is 133. This makes me happy and I am positive I will increase this number because I am just getting started here. By the way, if you wear an Apple watch to track your fitness, there is a fun app called Fitness Stats available. I just bought it to be able to see my totals. So if you are wanting a way to see what your activity levels are, this is helpful.
All in all, it was a good year! Busy with family activities, friends and family visiting, playing with grand daughters and more. The start of a new year feels good – it is fun to think of what the year will bring. It is my hope it brings all of you good health, much joy and many, many hours of creativity!!
Linking up with Cheryl at Meadow Mist for her annual Best of 2023 party.
