Friday, December 12, 2014

Stitch from Stash - December report!

aka the final stashinating of 2014. :)

New starts from stash:
- Christmas Ornaments (Nora Corbett)

Though it doesn't really count since I also purchased it with this month's budget. I needed a small and elegant pattern for my MIL's Christmas gift and at $2 for the PDF download, it was perfect!

WIPs or UFOs worked on:
- none, I've been slacking on stitching for a while :p

Amount spent:
I said I wasn't going to spend much of my remaining $129.48 budget (includes the $50 year end bonus) buuuut... okay, don't hate me, but I'm fortunate enough to have not just one, but TWO LNS. (LNSes? I don't know, haha.) They're 3 Stitches and ABC Stitch Therapy, which are oddly located within walking distance of each other, which I think is stupid and not a coincidence, but I'm not here to complain about that...

ABC is having an in-store only special until the end of the year - 30% off everything, plus some other items at 40% off. So this happened:

Mermaid Verde (Nora) & the Just Nan ABC exclusive:

40% off fabric! Got a FH of lavender Belfast for only $22.
I'll use it for Chatelaine's Sparkling Peacocks!

40% off these cute Shephard's Bush kits that my wife wanted. :3

And this amazing Crossed Wing fabric (Autumn Oak) because... well, LOOK AT IT.
And this isn't even a good picture.

Ahem. So between that and the two PDF charts I bought earlier this month, I spent $127.14 total, leaving me with about two bucks for the rest of the year. Haha. And I DID actually put back a bunch of things I'd picked up at ABC, including making some changes to my order right at the register to make sure I stayed within the budget and bonus!

Since I'm going to be co-admin of Stitch From Stash next year, I thought it would be mighty hypocritical if I failed out of this year's challenge at the last minute. :p

And so, I feel like SFS has really made a difference for me this year! Not just for me, but for my wife as well... I did end up spending ALL of my budget, but I STUCK TO A BUDGET. In the past, I'd just go nutty and get whatever I wanted without thinking deeply about it. This year, I had to make careful choices about what I was buying, watch for sales, and try to save up my budgeted amounts from month to month.

I know this is basic stuff for many people, and that with $25 a month, that's still $300 a year for stash, which is more than a lot of stitchers have for hobby money. But, er, in the past, my wife and I could blow $300 a MONTH between the two of us (yarn's not cheap either! if you get the good stuff, anyway, haha), so I'm really happy with the changes I've made. We're very fortunate to have low expenses and a lot of "extra" cash - or at least we DID until I got sick and couldn't work for a while. I'm still not working, but maybe that will change in the new year as well. :)

Well, this is getting pretty long so I'm going to stop now... :)

9 comments:

  1. Congratulations to keeping withing budget for the whole year! You've got some lovely stash for a year-end treat, especially the fabric. Wow! See you in SFS next year! :)

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  2. Great stash and well done for staying in budget.

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  3. Congrats on staying within budget and you've got some lovely stash there x

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  4. That's good !! I usually cut down on my budget many times and it's such a good feeling when we value the little number of things we buy rather than when we buy too many in bulk.
    Your stash is lovely :)

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  5. So jealous and impressed with your haul! (that sale, omg, that sale!).

    I didn't know/realize it before, but you can't be located far from where I grew up and spend most of my life. Wow! I actually shop ABC when I'm purchasing online so I can at least support a "local" store (none here).

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  6. I signed up for stitch from stash A so I am glad someone local is administrating. Those at my "local" needle shops too, though I live on the south side of the city so it is a pretty good drive.

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  7. I signed up for next year too. Great stash report :) I am looking forward to the challenge.

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  8. Lovely new stash and well done on sticking to budget!

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  9. Well done on sticking to budget. I think I would find it harder if I had an actual LNS nearby. Especially the fabrics, I spent very little on them this year but it's different when you can fondle them in person!
    I found the £15 is actually pretty close to my disposable income anyway but listing it all made me more aware of what I was spending it on. Looking forward to next year.

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