Time sure flies... I'm coming up on my 4th blogiversary. As I close the book on 2017, I've spent some time reflecting on the last year and looking forward to the coming year. In short, I'm excited!

2017 Goal Review

My goals for 2017 were Finishes, Patterns, and Tips & Tutorials.

Finishes

In 2017, a total of 25 quilts were finished by my household. I keep a list of my WIPs (latest is the start of Q4 2017). I like having the list, knowing all in one place what is in all my bins and drawers of my sewing room, but it's also easy to get hung up on the number of WIPs. I'm not even going to figure out what number of my finishes in 2017 were from the WIP list and which were new projects, because I just don't care. I worked on quilts which I enjoyed, and I finished a bunch. That's what matters. So, those 25 quilts that were finished last year...

• 3 were made by my kids (with, let's be honest, a fair amount of help from me)
• 22 were made by me, and of those there were:
  • 10 for quilt challenges (those deadlines sure help to get them done!)
  • 4 for Sarah Goer Quilts patterns
  • 15 mini quilts
  • 4 baby quilts
  • 3 lap/throw quilts

Here are nine of the challenge quilts:

And an assortment of the other quilts:

A few more are shown below, a few haven't made it onto the blog, and one is still a secret. :-)

 

Patterns

I wrote numerous patterns in 2017. My first pattern, Knock Knock, is an exclusive baby quilt pattern written for my newsletter subscribers and based on the Hummingbirds quilt. I wrote three patterns for Modern By The Yard. Summer Splash was in issue #5 and Fall Fleurish was in issue #6. The third quilt will be out in issue #7 of the e-zine. In October, I released my first pattern for sale on Craftsy, the Back and Forth baby quilt. Lastly, I wrote three patterns which I look forward to sharing with you in their release later this quarter. These three patterns are modern designs, created with solids in mind, but flexible enough to feature print fabrics. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter if you aren't already a subscriber so you don't miss the release (and sneak peeks) of the new patterns.

 

Tips & Tutorials

My most popular blog post of the year was my Ombre HST Quilt Pattern tutorial from February. I originally designed it for my friend Mary to use, but I've gotten a ton of lovely feedback from people. I also shared tips and tutorials for machine binding, accurate fabric cutting, triangular meander quilting, and the quilt block I used in my table runner. One tip or tutorial post every couple months is probably a good pace for me since these are the most time intensive types of blog posts.

 

2018 Goals

As I enter a new year, I'm thinking about what my goals are for this year. We're gearing up for a remodel at my house (I think that makes my word of the year chaos!), so I'm weary of making too many big goals. But I can't really help myself.

Teaching

I really loved teaching this year and want to do more of it. I plan to participate in two Meet the Teacher events in California this Spring. I'm currently available to speak and teach within 50 miles of San Jose, California, and regionally in the Western US starting mid-2018. See more on my teaching page. I'm also intrigued by the idea of doing online teaching. I may not have the bandwidth for that this year, but I'll be thinking about how to get that going.

 

Patterns

The three patterns I mentioned above are in various stages of testing. (Thank you to my testers!) I will release these patterns in Q1 of this year. I'd like to add a store page on Sarah Goer Quilts to coincide with that release.

 

Design

I have a few focuses for my design work this year. I want to use more solids. I intend to continue with my Planned Improv design theme. I also want to work with modern traditionalism design. And lastly, I want to use letters of the alphabet as inspiration for my quilt design. The first of these projects is already underway!

 

Challenges

I will continue to participate in quilt challenges (starting with Project Quilting on Sunday - join me!), but I'll be adding a layer onto these challenges by incorporating my own design goals from above.

 

Garment Sewing

I've sewn garments for the kids, but I haven't sewn anything for myself (as an adult). I missed participating in Bernie's Summer Sew Along due to technical difficulties (I ordered the wrong size pattern), but I'd still like to make the top. Living in California, I'm in short sleeves year round, so this may be some winter sewing. In general, I'd like to be thoughtful about what pieces I add to my wardrobe so they will be clothes that actually get worn. Right now I'm mostly taking some notes for potential makes. What are your favorite garment patterns?

 

So there it is. My biggest goal for the year will involve letting things go when life gets in the way of my quilting and business goals. Happy New Year!

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

As a quick review of 2017, I'm sharing my five most visited 2017 blog posts here. Number one is the Ombre HST quilt tutorial I posted in February which has been very popular on Pinterest. Numbers 2-4 are all finished quilts, one of my son's and two of mine. And number five is the first week I shared my block a day project. I completed all 100 blocks during the sew along and hope to finish that quilt in 2018.

Top Five 2017 Posts

1. Ombre HST Quilt Pattern - 12,818 pageviews
2. Ocean Quilt: Made by My Son - 691 pageviews
3. Star Light Star Dark - Finished Quilt - 629 pageviews
4. Van Gogh Cherrywood Challenge: Vincent's Ear - 563 pageviews
5. 100 Blocks in 100 Days: Week 1 - 332 pageviews

Visit my Best of 2015 and Best of 2016. And check out my Best Nine of 2017 on Instagram.

Thank you for visiting!

I'm linking up with Cheryl's Best of 2017 Linky Party.

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave