The 2011 Creative Year in Review

Well . . . it's 2012.  I rang in the new year with some of my favorite friends of all time, as is the tradition.  It was fabulous.  If you had even half the belly laughs that I got in during this past weekend, I think you're starting off the year on the right foot.  :)  In crafty news . . . well, there isn't any.  Well, no *current* sewing news other than the fact that I have some generous gift money that I was told I MUST use on sewing related things.  I mean - - if you twist my arm . . . ;)

And now that we've discussed how we are all moving forward, what better moment to take a quick look back? - -

So here it is . . . the Skooks' Playground 2011 Year in Review!

Bought:

1. FABRIC!  It was kind of a fabric blowout in 2011 for my birthday.  :)
   

Swapped:

1. Vintage Sheet Quilt Blocks: In 2011, I hooked up with Bee Vintage and replaced one of their members who had to bow out early.  It was an awesome experience, and I met some lovely and generous new friends.
2. Kona Fat Quarter Solids
3. Sew Fresh Fabrics Scrap Quilting Bee Block: Maybe this shouldn't be under swaps, but I made them a block for a charity quilt and in turn I got to keep the remainder of the scraps they sent me.  LOL.
4. Japanese Import Fabric Charms

Giveaways:

1. HOSTED: The Curvy Clutch Giveaway as part of Sew Mama Sew's May 2011 giveaway day.
2. WON:  
1. My new favorite sewing + style book, Signature Styles by Jenny Doh 
2. Probably one of the sweetest magazine project books I have ever seen: 101 Patchwork Projects 
3. A boatload of awesomeness on Giveaway Day 

Organized

1. My fabric!  On comic book boards . . . who knew?
2. All of my ribbons and trims.  This was a long time coming and it's so concise and lovely now.  :)
3. My Kona fat quarters, in a revamped box.
4. DIY Design Wall - so I don't have to spread all my quilt blocks out on the floor to figure out the best arrangement
5. THE SEWING ROOM!! - Some of this covers the above bits I already outlined, but encompasses putting the whole room together (or rather, re-putting the whole room together by changing my mind about how to organize almost everything) . . . a room that I might be losing in this form in the near future when Baby #3 arrives.
6. All of the many interfacings that I was unwittingly ruining with my old method

Sewing Notions Reviewed (You can check out all the "Tools of the Trade" posts I've done since this blog's inception right here):

1. Wonder Tape
2. Quilter's Grid

4 Things Friday:

• This seemed like a great idea until I only did it once.  Hmm . . . maybe should re-evaluate this as a regular "feature".
  

Your Questions Answered 

1. Thread and Tension Issues - I tried with this one . . . some good ideas came in the comments from more experienced sewists as well.
   

Toddler Crafts (we did much more than this, but I got super lazy with photo-documenting and blogging this kind of stuff in 2011 - - oops):

1. Little Miss did our first mother daughter drawing-to-fiber collaboration . . . a little hoop for our friends' new baby
   

I was Featured:

1. Cool Mom Picks - yeah, I was completely shocked too
2. Made By Rae - she liked the quilt I made for my nephew!
3. mmmcrafts - starstruck . . . absolutely.  Larissa featured the monkeys I made for the kiddos using her patterns.  :)
4. Poppyprint - I made her crop circles table runner
5. Crafty Storage - one of my favorite craft room inspiration blogs picked up on my sewing room reorganization movement
   

I Made Some Treasuries for the first time . . . they are lots of fun and I should definitely make more  (Of course, I also made friends with Pinterest in a major way this year and kinda went crazy on that venue):

1. Green Me Up, Scotty
2. If I Lived in a Wee Little House
3. Orange Teal-light!
4. The Fox ROCKS
   

And as is the custom (apparently) . . . The Down and Dirty Projects Completed 2011 Stat Sheet:

1. Quilts/Blankets:
1. Glow Happy Quilt - almost there! 
2. Vintage Sheet Freedom Bee Quilt - top done . . . waiting to be quilt and bound
2.  Softies:
1. The Deer/Stag
3. Accessories:
1. Little Elephant Baby Doll Carrier
4. Home Decor:
1. Mi Amor, My Love Valentine banner
2. Tissue Paper Poms - Another V-day special that we saved and re-used for Little Miss 4th birthday party
3. Bench Cushions - for Mr. Skooks' aunt
4. Crop Circles Table Runner - a gift for my newlywed superfriends
5. Curtains for the Kids' Room
6. Stitch Sewing Machine Cover
7. My really cool until it totally broke and won't keep the correct time - sewing room clock
8. Cherry Blossom Throw Pillows for my sister's apartment
5. Bags:
1. A new backpack for Little Miss
2. Aviary Damask Purse set
3. Fancy Beach Bags - painstaking lessons learned in zipper-land, but the end results were pretty special

I feel like I crafted less and less as the year wore on . . . it's nice to make that list and see that I did make stuff actually.  And that gets me excited to make more.  Hurray!  After I spend my "mandatory sewing moneys" (whee!!), I'm planning on going on a Craft Burn of sorts . . . a whole lot of use what you've got . . . and I hope some of you will join me in that.  Looking forward to more making over here, welcoming my little peanut, and seeing all of your sweet projects in 2012!

Happy Craft-y New Year, everyone!