It’s become somewhat of a tradition for me to spend some time in December thinking about crafty/quilting/sewing goals for the next year. (And also looking back on what I made this year!) Today I’m joining up with Quilting Jetgirl’s #2018PlanningParty to do some “thinking out loud” about what I want to focus on in the new year.
First things first, there are several things I’ve already committed to in some form or fashion, so they will certainly happen.
Enjoy my first QuiltCon and participate in the Modern Quilt Guild swap. I’m excited for this! It’s my first trip to QuiltCon, I have two quilts in the show, I’m taking two classes (both with Karen Lewis) and will be participating in this year’s MQG swap –and making the actual swap in person.
Finish the quilt I started for Charlotte a year ago. I have no good reason for not having finished this one yet other than pure procrastination, and letting myself put other projects higher on the priority list.
Make Rebecca Bryan’s Triangles Mystery Block of the Month. I’ve never made a mystery quilt, and have been meaning to play around with the patterns in Rebecca’s book, so her BOM seemed perfect.
Make a baby quilt. I keep thinking I’m getting out of the “friends having babies” stage and I keep being wrong. Ha!
Finish 3 “secret sewing” projects. I can say that two of them are for Craftsy, with details to come later in 2018. The third is for something else and still on a TBD timeframe (but definitely in 2018).
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If I do nothing beyond these items, 2018 will already be a successful year! I’m definitely sticking with the 3 goals I set last year: create with intention, create consistently, and have fun. These mini-mantras have proven to be pretty helpful whenever I start to take on more than I should, or am tempted to do something “just because.” That said, I’ve got a ridiculously long list of assorted things I’d like to do or try, such as:
Have a pattern published in a magazine. 2017 was definitely a year of new-to-me quilting experiences, with my MQG Quilt of the Month and Craftsy collaboration. This year I’d like to try getting something published in a quilting magazine! I have a general idea of how to do this — send an idea, wait for a response, proceed from there — but I need to obviously figure out some specifics. Which magazines are my favorites? Which of my ideas do I want to develop and propose?
Make another epic quilt. I’ve really enjoyed my experiences with making my Long Time Gone and Gypsy Wife quilts this year — the process was slow-but-steady and immensely satisfying in the end. As a result, I’m feeling really pulled towards tackling another huge and labor intensive project. Part of me thinks this is totally insane, but I have to admit that the big quilts full of tiny pieces never fail to draw my attention at quilt shows. In the last few weeks I’ve given some thought to the Dear Jane quilt, several of Sue Garman’s designs (seeing the exhibit of her work at Quilt Festival was so inspiring), the Technicolor Galaxy quilt (which I have most of the supplies for), focusing a lot more attention on my version of La Passacaglia, and even coming up with my own epic pattern. I only have bandwidth for one epic quilt at a time, but…which one?
Make something with the girls’ baby clothes. I have a diaper box crammed full of my favorite clothes that both girls wore from birth to around a year old. It’s time to either turn them into something or let them go.
Free motion quilting. I’ve played around with it once or twice and have read many posts and watched many videos so I’ve definitely got the concept! 2018 might be a good year to push through the intimidation factor and really spend some time practicing FMQ.
Garment sewing. I’ve made a shirt here, a skirt there, and several pairs of pajama pants, but I’d like to take a serious stab at making myself a few quality pieces. And with knit fabrics! It’s the knits that are a roadblock — just like free motion quilting, it all boils down to plain ol’ intimidation about trying something new and fear that it’ll fit poorly or look like crap. But I’m really wanting to make things like the Cocoon Cardigan and several other pieces so that I have clothes that are just right for me in fabric that I love.
Do another 100 day project. I enjoyed my 100 days of patterns last year and have thought about doing it again, but need to give it some careful thought first. They key to this project (in my opinion, anyway) is picking something that’s both meaningful and manageable — i.e. something that’s worth my time, but simultaneously only takes a little bit of time. Patterns were a perfect project for me. Off the top of my head, I don’t have any great ideas yet (but it doesn’t start until April, I think).
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But also? I CANNOT DO ALL THE THINGS. Clearly some prioritization and narrowing down of this list is in order. If I’m honest with myself, I know that I really should pick one of those items, make that “the thing” for now, and let the others go. But…but…but…
We’ll see, I suppose.
Between my barn quilt blocks, writing one of the Craftsy patterns, and some freelance work, I’ve been spending a lot of my quilting time in the last month on the computer instead of at the sewing machine — and I’m getting a little burned out on computer work! I’ll be wrapping up my Gypsy Wife quilt top this weekend, and we’ll be doing some travelling over the holidays. That should give me time to really think about my plans.
p.s. I’m doing a 31 day blog writing challenge!
So rather than make another blanket with girls baby cloths (which I am sure you have many many blankets :)), why don’t you consider making stuffed animals? You can gift them to your eventual grandchildren. I have a stuffed bear made from my favorite childhood bathrobe that was gifted to me by my great-grandmother and its one of my “this is coming with me if the house burns down I will go back and get it” possessions…
Also, if that’s the plan, the project can wait, oh, say 20-30 years 🙂 until you have some free time…
I’ve never been totally sold on the idea of making a blanket or quilt — that’s part of why I haven’t done anything yet! I saw one person who made a cute throw pillow out of small squares from several outfits, and I like that idea. The stuffed animal is good too, although I think I’d prefer something that would use several different scraps so maybe a patchwork stuffed animal? I keep hoping I’ll have a “eureka” moment about what to make but it hasn’t happened yet.
I’ll send you a picture of my stuffed animal. It is patchwork in that the arms and legs and head and nose and ears are all clearly made out of different parts of the fabric. (It was one robe, but multiple colors). It looks a little like this, but maybe not as well coordinated: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/199706564701859548
I really appreciate the honesty that you share with, Sarah. I hope that the process of “thinking out loud” about all the things you dream of making in 2018 helps you find that sweet spot of balance and understanding of what you want to focus on for the year ahead. It definitely sounds like you have some really exciting plans, and I look forward to seeing what you create. Thanks for linking up!
Dear Jane is pretty spectacular, but I’m not sure it’s really your style. It’s so traditional.
It’s definitely super traditional in terms of blocks…but I wouldn’t use traditional fabrics. If you google “modern dear jane quilt” you can see some done in solids, rainbow colors, and even a few monochromatic palettes that look pretty cool.