Happy New Year, 2025

 Yeah, that's right only one post for 2024. Ugh. Best laid plans and all.

I've been working on a TON of projects, but haven't written about them At All. Trying again to do better this year. Again. Documenting my crafting journey seems to be a consistent new year's resolution for me, with varying degrees of success.

Carl gave me this book for Christmas:

Add your projects!

SO the plan is, add projects into this book, or at least take advantage of its organization, to help me keep track of blogging about them in here. I have So Many Projects in process! I think this will help! 

Right now, there are three main places that I do sewing/crafting.

     My craft room. Yay! I have one, full of projects and supplies. I love going in there to sew, and it counts as using my craft room if I'm planning or working on a take-along project. Whether I'm taking it into the living room to work on while I watch TV, or to whatever place I may need to spend some time at, IT COUNTS! This week, I have been doing some organizing and cleaning in my craft room. It needs it. It almost always needs it to some degree. I work on projects and leave the supplies out handy, but eventually they must be dealt with. People give me crafty supplies and stuff (Yay, people!) and I have to incorporate it into the room (I very nearly put "mess" there, but really, I must incorporate new stuff into the organization.) Things need to be organized and on occasion, reorganized. For instance the patterns are all over the place. I have an organization system, but at the moment there is chaos. I also need a new storage item, either shelves that I can put containers on, or drawers. The drawers I have are plastic, and are drooping badly. They may have reached their useful lifespan for me. I'm looking and thinking about what they will be replaced with.

     Cruces Creatives. The local makerspace. I love it there! I'm so happy to be a member, and have access to their supplies and tools! While I am a frequent user of their Textile Space, I have also taken classes in resins, and did some playing with the Art Supplies Area. I worried about Cruces Creatives through the pandemic, and after, but it seems to not only have recovered, but thrived and grown! One of my main ways to be involved is Charitable Crafting. This group is made up of volunteers that find a need and try to fill it. We have made kids clothes and donated them to the kid's clothing room that was run by Gospel Rescue Mission. We've made SO MANY tote bags for various groups who could use them (this is also kind of an ongoing project, so if you don't know what to do, make a bag. Someone will need it). Lately we worked on a community quilt building project, making a twin sized quilt to be donated to a project which works on housing people who are in need. We completed one quilt, and are getting ready to start another! One thing that I have learned from my time at Cruces Creatives is that I really enjoy social crafting. Whether you are working together to create something, or just occupying the space while working on your own projects, it is nice to talk and share ideas, projects, feedback, and knowledge.

     Sewing With Roxanne. Rosanne and I have sewn together off and on for years. Sometimes almost every week, sometimes not. In 2023, Roxanne suffered a spinal cord injury, and her mobility was impaired. It has been a journey for her to go through various therapies, and to learn what her life will be like now. One of the things we have been doing is sewing together again. It is a physical therapy for her and a mental and emotional therapy for both of us. We have worked on quilt top building, a project we started on years ago, and are really making progress on now! We have the blocks made and are working on constructing the quilt tops with them for each of us. Her mom wanted in on the action, too, so we are working on blocks for her as well. We made fabric boxes for Christmas to give to friends and family. She's also helping me with a table runner that I was making for Ron's sister, that I got stuck on. It is almost done now!

Some of my projects are focused on one of these places, and others kind of leak over into multiple. Either way, there is learning, creativity, problem solving, sharing and satisfaction involved. Here is where I begin for the new year of 2025.