December WIPocalypse

It's time for the final WIPocalypse of the year - and once in a blue moon, I am actually on time as well! So are you ready to let go of 2023 with me and embark on new adventures in 2024? On the verge of the new year I am always feeling strangely energetic and excited, even though I now it's just a random date to base any change on. Still, it feels good to start over fresh, with new goals (and, as a crafter, with some new starts!). So naturally, the question of the month is Recap your accomplishments for the year! (Your finishes, your final before/after photos, etc).

When I introduced myself to WIPocalypse in January, I brought with me three projects that I wanted to make progress on this year. Now while none of them have been finished, they all have seen serious progress! Let's see where they are now...

My first project that you've been seeing all year long is The Loneliness of Autumn, which I am SALing with Rachel at a pace of roughly one length a day/ten hours a month. On this I fell behind a bit this year, have since changed my modus operandi from extreme cross country (by colour) to filling in pages, and thus won my mojo back, and I am pleased to report a full month of stitching in December. 1457 stitches this month brings us to page finish #3 and a new total of 95,282/118,800 stitches or 80.20% done:

Thanks to all those slow months on this, I only added 14% this year, but I still think a finish in 24 just *might* be possible as I am getting more excited for this with the finish drawing closer!

Another project I wanted to focus on this year was my oldest WIP, which I dubbed Medow Tablecloth (for lack of a better title). Last time I worked on this was for the July focus even, and it got so close I thought I'd be able to finish...alas, it's really hard to find motivation for this one!

On the other hand, it really is just a couple hundred stitches left to go...I think I will bring it with my to NYE-movie time at grandma's place and try to get a few stitches in, to set the right tone for hopefully an early 2024 finish. We will see.

Last but not least, I wanted to focus on my Guardian of Wayfarers...I did quite well on it for the first couple months, but then totally neglected this since June! In fact I only put in a couple stitches today to put it at a solid 110 hours of stitching total, so I can have a clean start for 2024. This guy is going to play quite a central role in my plans for the year...

He went from 32% to 49% done and, including back stitch, I need just 19k to finish him. Might be possible? We'll see!

I will talk more extensively about my plans for 2024 once the new year rolls around, but after a couple years of leisurely stitching I feel like I want some tangible goals again for 2024, so I am joining WIPGO, among other things. My board will have 12 slots for GoW and 12 for different WIPs I want to see some progress on, and I'm excited to get started!

A lot of my getting off course this year was due to a newly enkindled love for knitting and crochet, and I'm still feeling that, so my plans need to leave some room for yarn crafts too. Not quite sure how it'll all balance out, but we will see and adjust as we go, as usual! Nothing is written in stone and everything is supposed to be fun, relaxing and productive.

So that's it from me today, next time I post will be the new year...at least in Germany, depending on how long I sleep in, everywhere else as well! Hope you get there safely, my friends. Thank you for you continued support through another year of crafting and life :)