Tag Archives: goals

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Happy New Year! First, a quick look back at my goals for 2024. Lots of teaching, check! This was a record year of teaching for me. And I developed 5 new classes that I taught as my Quilts from the Toolbox series. Thank you to everyone who joined me for a workshop or attended one of my lectures. New studio, new longarm, new classes, check check check. Sewing with community, check. But more time for creativity and finishing quilts, not so much.

Overall, I had a lovely year of teaching and connecting with the quilting community in a variety of ways.

I taught 17 workshops this year. This included guild workshops (both in-person and virtual) as well as open enrollment Zoom workshops that I hosted myself.

I also delivered 18 lectures, the most popular of which was Rules and Options of Planned Improv Piecing, where I talk about how I set parameters for myself while doing improv quilting. Most of these lectures were for guilds (both in-person and virtual) and two lectures were for QuiltCon in Raleigh, NC in February.

I created 15 bee blocks to send off to members of Quilts Unscripted Bee, many of which I still need to show off here on the blog. I love the creative exercise of what to create for each month's prompt as well as seeing what everyone else does with the same prompt, and eventually how it all goes together to become a finished quilt. But mostly, I cherish the relationships with those friends.

In January, I presented a live demo at Northern California Quilt Council's January Jumpstart... actually, I delivered the same demo, Cutting Fabric for Improv Piecing, eight or nine times (back to back, what a whirlwind!). It was so fun to start the year connecting with quilters in person. I chose improv house blocks for this demo and came home that day with a pile of pieces that were essentially block kits for me to sew together into some of the blocks you see here. And then I just kept going! There are so many ways to play with the geometry of a simple house block. This completed neighborhood of house blocks will be a finished quilt in 2025, and I've started another set in a different color way.

The main work on my studio was completed earlier this year and I promptly moved my essentials into the space and started working in here. In April, my longarm was delivered. While the space is lovely and totally usable, I'm still working through sorting everything coming from my old studio space and reorganizing fabric and supplies. I'm focusing on only keeping what I'll use. I have two more large cabinets to deconstruct so that I can move them into the new space and I'm figuring out what kind of shelving I want to put up. Lastly, I want to build rolling frames to put my 4-foot by 8-foot insulation board design walls on. All in good time, this will be a project that continues for a while, but I'm committed to continuing to chip away at it.

Goals for 2025

My biggest overarching goals for the year are to teach a bunch, connect with the quilting community, and to spend more time doing creative work, finish more quilts, and use my longarm more regularly.

In the first quarter of the year, I will be focusing on completing my move into my new studio, getting back to regular (if not daily) creative work, and setting some intentions around my quilting time. I will be participating in the Project QUILTING one-week quilt challenges, the first of which kicks off on January 5, as well as the Frightful Fun Halloween Block of the Month, which begins January 3. I will be making my MQG mini swap quilt and attending QuiltCon in Phoenix, AZ in February. I'm traveling to Washington state in January to teach, and have 5 virtual events with guilds in Q1. (See my full schedule here.)

Not sure when we'll get started, but my daughter has expressed an interest in getting back to quilting. Maybe she will be inspired by a Project QUILTING challenge.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and safe 2025 filled with community and creativity!

I'm linking up with Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl for her #2025QuiltingPlanningParty. I plan to linkup with her quarterly check ins to share more details my goals for each quarter.

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My tradition is to post my goals for the new year on December 31. Plans... Goals... Resolutions... I seem to be in good company with people who are feeling like planning is hard to do at the moment. I seriously considered a blank post here. Hats off to you much more ambitious folks.

Okay, here are some thoughts. They aren't grandiose. In many ways they are continuing status quo.

Life

  • Walk daily.
  • Read daily. (I read 33 books this year which was awesome!)
  • Watercolor and other creative pursuits multiple times a week.
  • Board games 5-7 days a week with the family.

Personal Quilting

  • Finish some quilts.
  • Start some quilts.
  • Use pretty fabric.
  • Give quilts as gifts.

Blog and Newsletter

  • Continue the Show Me Something monthly quilt linkup (of current and past finishes). These will generally be posted the 1st of the month. Or maybe the 2nd or 3rd. ;-)
  • Blog multiple times a month.
  • Get back to a more regularly scheduled newsletter.
  • Update my quilt galleries. (Stretch goal.)

For My Business

In reality, I'll probably set short term goals as time and life allows. Like my current 100 Day Project. It works well for me to have a 15-minute a day sewing goal.

 

2021 Planning Party

 

I'm linking up with Yvonne's 2021 Planning Party and this is my final post for Cheryl's 31-Day Blog Writing Challenge.

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I had three overarching goals for 2020. I know I'm in really good company about how the Covid Pandemic really upended any plans for this year. It's amazing to me that the last time I went anywhere fun was March. I'm thankful to have my family to spend time with and technology for connecting with friends and extended family.

Mostly, I'll be re-evaluating those goals that fell by the wayside and perhaps rolling them forward. (Or maybe not?) This year has mostly taught me to try not to sweat the small stuff. And to focus on the positive, even when it's so easy to dwell on the negative. So here's the biggest positive of those 2020 Goals.

Connecting with the Quilting Community

While this may not have looked exactly like I expected, it played out well. My teaching engagements that had been scheduled for in-person events mostly pivoted to Zoom lectures and workshops. I've stayed involved with my local guilds, Bay Area Modern Quilting and Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association, as well as my Local Connections group of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) and my local small quilt group through regular Zoom meetings. I've blogged semi-regularly (though my newsletter took an unplanned hiatus -- one coming later this week!) and have enjoyed staying engaged with the quilting community on Instagram.

Most months I ran my Show Me Something quilt linkup. I will continue this in 2021. What were your favorite themes from Show Me Something in 2020? You can find links to all of them in the sidebar at the right, or scroll down to the bottom if you're on mobile. There's still a couple days to Show Me Something That's a Gift! for December's linkup. (Apologies to participants that my follow-through on posting a wrap-up post each month was lacking. I'm thinking about how to improv that in 2021.)

And come back here Thursday to see my 2021 Goals. ;-) It's my tradition to post my goals on New Year's Eve and linkup to Yvonne's Planning Party.

Just two more days left in the 31-Day Blog Writing Challenge with Cheryl. Thanks for visiting!