Crafty Goals for Fall

2017 Crafty Goals

I know it’s cliche to make regular “time is flying” statements, but seriously, how it is October already? I’m glad fall is finally here though, and am very ready for some lovely cooler weather. It hasn’t arrived yet…but I know it’s out there somewhere. I had a relatively small list of goals for the summer and I happily knocked off three of the four…plus several other projects!

• Barn Quilt Block of the Month. Done! July, August and September.
• Long Time Gone Sew-Along. Done!
• Baby quilt for my new nephew. Done!
• Finish Charlotte’s stocking. It’s hard to tackle a Christmas project in the middle of August. Ha! The cross stitch still needs to be turned into an actual stocking.
• Not originally planned but done anyway:
  • Began a Gypsy Wife quilt as part of another Gnome Angel sewalong.
  • Made a Corner Crest quilt that I haven’t posted about here yet.
  • Made Jose a new pair of PJ pants (from the same pattern I used 6 years ago but this time with Game of Thrones fabric that he picked out) that I also haven’t posted about.
  • Tested a PJ pants pattern for Patterns 4 Pirates that I probably won’t post about, because I picked a size too big so they don’t fit Emma (yet).
  • Began working with my first official quilting “client.” I am helping her prepare several patterns for print in advance of Quilt Market later this month. It’s been a fun experience so far and possibly the beginning of a little side hustle for me, since I hope to do more of this in the future.

Considering everything else that went on in the last 3 months — vacations, kid birthdays, a new school year, a hurricane and flooding — I think that list is downright impressive. Pat on the back, self! I also ended up liking how keeping my goal list relatively small left room for me to pick up a lot of other projects along the way as the mood struck me.

I’ve got several things to work on through the end of the year. Here’s my current plan:

• Halloween costumes for the girls. Emma is going to be Poppy from Trolls (of course) and she has decided that Charlotte should be a ladybug (like she was 2 years ago). The ladybug is pretty easy with only the small DIY component of adding spots to a red shirt. But I need to figure out how to make a Poppy dress pronto…
• Finish Charlotte’s stocking. Because Christmas season is almost here!
• Make myself a Range backpack. I’ve had this on my want-to-sew list since the pattern came out a few months ago. I ordered all the supplies and am ready to get started.
• Barn Quilt Block of the Month. To be honest, I am feeling a bit burned out with this project. I enjoy making the block itself, but the pattern writing has gotten pretty repetitive. I do want to finish the year though, and turn my 12 blocks into a small quilt.
• Gypsy Wife Sew-Along. I posted my progress-to-date a few weeks ago, along with a mockup of my plan for the whole quilt. The sew-along should wrap up in right around Christmas!

Onward!