Tag Archives: goals

• 15 Comments

•

Today I set up a gallery of my completed quilts. I have completed 19 quilts since I started quilting in 2002. NINE of them were in 2014. That feels great! Of those nine, four were old (two really old) WIPs. I also made progress on some additional WIPs that I hope to finish this year. Here are some of my goals for the year.

On the quilting front, first and foremost, I want to cut my # of WIPs in half by the end of the year... taking care to reduce the number on my list quarterly (um... currently 21). I tend to have 6 new ideas for every one quilt I finish. I need to finish more projects and have exciting ideas that are faster to implement. ;-) It felt really good to finish a 2003 and 2006 quilt this year. I think my new oldest project is this baseball quilt I "gave" to my brother for Christmas in 2004 (see below for him modeling the "quilt" back in 2004). It was a wrapped up "see what I'm working on for you... I'm totally gonna finish it soon" kind of gift. Um... soon? I just missed the ten year anniversary of giving that gift.

baseball quiltThere's a weight that comes with an old project looming over us. I think it makes it feel even better to check it off the list when it's something that old. Of course, I'm also a fan of reassessing whether it's really still important to finish, or if you should decide to sell, give away or re-purpose a project that you really don't still have a passion for. I've decided this project is still important to me, but I will probably have to change my initial plan a little.

I'm excited this year to be participating in some Bees and BOMs for fun and skill-building.

As of November 2014, I'm a member of the Promise Circle of do. Good Stitches. Our group of this charity bee creates quilts to benefit Threading Hope. Here are the blocks I've made so far for do. Good Stitches.

I've also joined the Stash Bee as a member of Hive 1. I have my fabric pull all set for those blocks.

I've joined Leah Day for her 2015 quilt along, Dancing Butterflies. I'm totally inspired by her amazing free-motion quilting and wanted to ensure myself regular practice of my FMQ skills as well as push myself to try new patterns.

I've signed up for the Patchwork City Metro Area Block of the Month from Intrepid Thread. I saw the purple and green piles of fabric when I was in the shop and asked what they were for... then I couldn't stop thinking about it! I'm excited about the great color and fun fussy cutting in this project.

I'm drooling over the 2015 Skill Builder BOM at Pile O' Fabric, but I think I may have my hands full with everything else. I'm keeping a mental note in case I just don't have enough quilting work. ;-)

I'll continue participating in ALYoF and Finish Along to help with monthly goal setting. I'm also joining in on #SewMyStash2015 on IG (while I'm not committed to stop buying any fabric, I'm excited to start using more of the stash I've been building for the past year).

A Lovely Year of Finishes

2015 FAL at On the Windy Side

Details from ProjectLeasa

Some other sewing goals I have are knits and zippers. Not together. I'd like to start with some knit jammies for my kids. And some simple zipper pouches (I made a few in 2009, but that was so long ago!) as a gateway to some more involved bags.

On the blog, I'd like to work on getting some more tutorials posted. Part of the reason that I blog is to inspire others and I think this may be just the thing to help do more of that.

In 2015, I strive for better balance in life in general. I want to sew every day. And do something active every day. I also want to eat more salads. ;-)

• 6 Comments

•

I found A Lovely Year of Finishes in May of 2014 and joined in setting my first goal in June. I'm proud that most of these were very old WIPs. It feels good to have gotten some old projects done. 2014 ALYoF mosaic1In June, I finished a pile of lined drawstring bags for teacher gifts (and a few extras). This one wasn't a WIP, but it did use some older fabric from my stash.

In July, I used some decade old orphan blocks to make a 4th of July table runner named Frieda.

In August, I finished Goldfish, a mug rug that I made specifically to learn the new skill of machine turned-edge applique.

In September, I finished Candy Shoppe, a mystery quilt I started eleven years prior. I love it so much it got a second photo shoot. ;-)

2014 ALYoF mosaic2In October, I finished the guild philanthropy dinosaur quilt I'd had in my possession for longer than I care to admit.

In November, my goal was to finish the quilt top for my #IGminiswap quilt. I finished and mailed the mini quilt the following week.

In December, I finished an 8 1/2 year old WIP. Bold Blooms is a twin sized mystery quilt (with my favorite backing fabric ever!), a gift I look forward to giving to a friend.

Linking up my 2014 finishes with the ALYoF 2014 Finale Party.

 

For January, I've decided my ALYoF goal will be to Finish my Stellar Winds quilt. The top and back have been finished since August(!) and the binding is even made. Now to sandwich it together and get quilting. Oh! I can use my new Aurifil color card to choose just the right thread color! :-) I'd like to do something a little decorative with my quilting instead of an all over pattern.

Also linking up to the ALYoF January Goal Party.

• 12 Comments

•

It has felt really good the past few months to get into a groove of regular sewing and finishing projects. A Lovely Year of Finishes and Finish Along 2014 help me stay focused and motivated.

This month for ALYoF I'd like to I'm going to finish the Dinosaur Philanthropy Quilt that I started quilting... um... in 2012. (Not too bad since September's ALYoF was a UFO from 2003.) The quilt was pieced by another member of my guild and I'm quilting it with a sample of Leah Day's FMQ patterns since I was just starting to free motion quilt when I started working on it. It's been on the back burner for a long while, but I only need to quilt 12 more squares and bind it. :-) Pathetic that I haven't finished that up yet, huh?

I finished 8 of my 18 Q3 Finish Along Goals, and seven of those have rolled forward to this month. Plus I've added a few more UFOs I've run across and some new projects I've started or planned in the last month. (I'll add links to the list below as I finish these projects.)

  1. Dinosaur SCVQA Philanthropy quilt (FMQ partially done -- see above)
  2. 2006 (red/black/white) mystery quilt (one step left to finish the top)
  3. Ocean quilt for The Girl (top pieced, but needs applique done)
  4. Batik SCVQA philanthropy quilt (sandwiched)
  5. Roman Stripez with butterfly backing (some blocks pieced)
  6. Roman Stripez with turtle backing (some blocks pieced)
  7. The Purple Ninja Quilt (fabric selected)
  8. 2004 Baseball Quilt (some blocks pieced)
  9. Little Letters in Brights Quilt (A-F pieced)
  10. Little Letters in Blues/Greens Quilt (A-F pieced)
  11. Memory House Vol. 1 Quilt (2 houses complete)
  12. Giant Wonky Star Quilt (front and back pieced)
  13. Winnie the Pooh Skirt/Shorts for The Girl (fabric purchased)
  14. Minnie/Mickey Dress for The Girl (fabric purchased)
  15. Vehicle Baby Quilt (fabric pulled from my stash, started cutting -- see below)
  16. Pirate Quilt (pre-cut fabric selected)
  17. Lazy Susan dress for The Girl (fabric selected)
  18. Christmas Mini Quilt (using 4 orphan blocks I somehow acquired)
  19. IGminiswap quilt (some design ideas on paper)

Some more goals that aren't finishes:

My newest project is a vehicle baby quilt, using fabrics pulled from stash. I'll be making yellow and red 4-patch blocks to go with the feature fabric blocks.

What are you working on this month? What's your most neglected UFO?

I'm linking up on the October ALYoF Goal Setting Party and the Q4 Finish Along Goal Setting Party.