Stitch from Stash January 2015

It's time for my first 2015-A Stitch From Stash Check In!

Month: January
Spent: $32.30
 Earned: $8.00

So here's a breakdown of what happened this month.  I started out totally determined to not buy any more patterns and save my stash budget exclusively for items that I ran out of (threads/beads/fabric/etc).  

Unfortunately I did succumb to buying more stash despite my best intentions not to at least for the first month (hangs head in shame).  A friend and I split up several of the Brooke's Books overstock sale lots.  So luckily by only taking some of the charts, I managed to keep my spending lower.  So that's something, right?  Here's what I ended up with:

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy from Little Women - $6.80
Alice Dress Up - $1.70
Spirit of America - $1.70
Sugar Plum Fairy - $1.70
Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, Future - $5.10
Crystal Critters - $1.70
Spooky Critters I  - $1.70
Sweet Treat Angels of Peppermint, Gingerbread, Plum Pudding - $5.10
Spirits of Love, Hope, Peace, Joy - $6.80

Total: $32.30

Hey, I said the spending was lower, not that I didn't go over budget...

*sigh* so yes, I am technically over budget by $7.30 this month.  Not a good way to start off the year.  I'm a newbie at this whole, "not stashing" thing, and I couldn't resist the sale.  But I am determined to do better next month!

However, thanks to the two finishes I did this month for World of Charity Stitching (free patterns, yay!) I can count both Leopard Print Mitten and Giraffe Print Mitten towards my budget this month.  Both are 43 x 43 stitches, so they fall into the second earning category, which means I get an extra $8 to spend for finishing those.  So with this very generous bonus option (thank you Mel!) I actually didn't do too bad.

Here's the final tally:

Starting balance: $0
January budget: $25
Finish bonuses: $8   
Total:  $33 to spend in January
- Total stash purchases: $32.30

Ending balance: $0.70

Phew!  I just barely squeaked by.  So with renewed determination to do better next month, here's to February.  I know I will have some purchases, since I need to pick up 3 Mill Hill kits for presents, and I need to get some more threads for projects that I thought I had, but can't find anywhere.  Ugh.

So until next month!