2014 Goals

Happy New Year to you all !!
We are 3 days into the new year already and I've been setting up my goals.
At the end of last year I said I wasn't going to commit to too much that I might regret later in the year - well that one has flown out the window already!

But, ignoring that for the moment, here are my goals:
1. Learn, learn learn. I'm at my most happiest when I'm learning something new, no matter how small it is. I walk round with a smile on my face when I've achieved something for the first time. So I'm really going to try out a lot of new techniques in 2014. This means I might not finish a lot of quilts or knitted projects, but I'll try out new ideas, and be happy with just making a block or two. They can me made into something later on when the whim takes me.
I do have one quilt commitment - a quilt for my middle son, and I would like to make a medallion quilt
Maybe like this ?

2. Make more of my own clothes. I've been able to dress make since I was a child, but I don't do enough of it, nor do I knit enough items for me. I have good intentions and I buy the fabric and pattern or yarn, I just don't get round to making them !! So this will be a bit of a stash buster for me at the same time. First up is this top.

3. Have less chemicals in my life. Some of you may know how keen I am on organic cotton and that I grow my own organic veggies. I'm getting more into this way of life this year, trying to use only eco friendly cleaning materials, and eat a more simple and natural diet.
I've been experimenting with making my own body washes!

 I was going to start a second blog to talk about this, but I think it will be too much work. Instead I'm going to share my successes (and failures!) pictorially on Instagram. There's a link to my Instagram at the top of the sidebar if you're interested in following, and that way it won't distract from the blog, if you're not !

4. Set up a list of Block Tutorials on my blog
This really goes hand in hand with the learning goal. As I make blocks just for the experience of trying them out, I might as well do a tutorial on them at the same time. That way I get to record what I've made and anyone liking the block and wanting to have a go, gets to see how I've made it.

Now I have to confess that this goal is not what it was going to be originally - it was going to be a block linky party, but I got cold feet !! I spent so long trying to get the button made, and fretted so much as to whether anyone would link up, and whether I would have the commitment to keep it going, that in the end I chickened out !!

I think I've made the right decision. There are a lot of linky parties in the crafting blogland already ( I know I sometimes don't bother to link up even when I have something that would fit).
If I had got the button with the text underneath it to work, I think I would have gone ahead, but after 12 hours (yes, 12 !!!) I gave up.
If you think I've made the wrong decision, and you would honestly support another, let me know. I could be persuaded to give it a go if I knew there was enough enthusiasm.
In the meantime, I hope to post about my blocks on a Sunday, calling it Block Buster Sunday. I've left the button, minus the code box underneath (Grrrr!) in my sidebar. Feel free to add it to yours if you want, it will be a quick link to view what I've come up with.

There was a lot of fretting involved in the decision making, and the best way I knew to relax was to do some slow and easy hooky. The result - Linky Party 0 -  Stash Busting 6

What are your goals for 2014?