2015 In Review: A Year of Craftiness (part two)

Time for part two of my look back at the crafty, bloggy things I got up to in 2015. You can read all about what I got up to in January - August in part one. 

In SEPTEMBER...

 

... I started #Crafting365, doing something crafty each day and sharing a photo of it. This sadly didn't last the whole 365 days (or anywhere near it!) but it did lead to a highly enjoyable burst of creative energy this autumn and a whole flurry of making.

I worked on some colourful felt cushion covers, did lots of knitting and embroidered some text; I cut and stitched lots and lots of felt flowers and re-knitted lots of blanket squares; and I dabbled in embroidery, making envelopes, playing with paint, experimenting with yarn and knitting mini squares.

 

I also made gift boxes, added pompom gift-wrapping packs to my shop and blogged about a new kids craft book, Sewn Together, which includes fun felt headbands designed by me.

In OCTOBER...

 

... my daily crafting continued, with knitting, quilting and embroidery, plus scrapbooking, cross stitch, felt crafting and a DIY haircut.

I shared tutorials for making a starry skies brooch and a felt bow brooch, and I spilled the beans about making a Christmas quilt (this wasn't finished in time for this Christmas but it WILL be in time for next year!).

I blogged about old puzzles and games we found in the attic, a bear I made for my sister when I was about eight, and a set of felt Christmas ornaments I designed for Creativity magazine (which were so much fun to make).

 

 

I also got to let the cat out of the bag about several exciting projects. The eight festive projects I designed for 'Tis the Season to Be Felt-y! The four plush animals I designed for Sew Sweet Creatures! The partridge and pear wreath I designed for the cover of Mollie Makes!

It's funny how often projects you've been working on for ages, all at different times, get revealed in a cluster like that. Anyone reading my blog in October must have thought I was some sort of crafty superwoman, but there were many months of keeping secrets and many, many hours of designing and drawing and stitching behind the scenes before that cluster of slightly over-excited posts saying "look what I made!!!!"

In NOVEMBER...

... I got crafty with felt leaves and glitter and did colouring in and lots of autumnal knitting, I finished the Christmas quilt top, made things from craft kits, stitched lots of felt flowers and doodled in cafes.

I got a crafty tattoo (well, kind of), shared a tutorial for making stripy cards from colourful scrap paper, and created a DIY Advent calendar with a twist for Tesco Living.

I also shared a tutorial for making embroidered felt Christmas baubles, and blogged about a couple of magazine projects: fabric hydrangeas for Mollie Makes and a reindeer jumper for Creativity (complete with jingle bell antlers and a pompom tail!).

Finally, in DECEMBER...

... I blogged about my visit to Renegade London (aka the best craft fair ever), reviewed an evolution-themed colouring book (fun!) and made plans for finishing my rainbow blanket and my mini patchwork squares blanket.

I also did a lot of simple knitting and not much else, so I decided to press pause on my #Crafting365 project. As a "professional crafty person" it was quite embarrassing to admit to going through a creative dry patch, but I always think it's important to be honest about these things and it was a huge relief to remove that (entirely self-created) "obligation" to be posting daily updates about my creative projects.

I ended up taking a break from social media and blogging over the holiday season and I found it very refreshing! I will continue to make stuff and share it online in 2016, of course, but at a pace that fits better with my life and the ebbs and flows of my creativity.

I hope you'll stick around to see what crafty projects the next twelve months will bring :)