Quilty Goals for Fall 2023

Fall has arrived, and the QuiltCon deadline is looming. I didn’t make a lot of headway on the goals I set for the summer, but on the flip side, I did complete a lot of projects I hadn’t planned. Many of them were handwork projects — in my head, I’ve dubbed this past summer my “summer of hand stitching.”

In any case, first, a wrap-up of my goals for summer:

• Finish HMQG 2022 Block-of-the-Month. Big news! I actually quilted this late last week! Now it just needs binding and I can call it done at last.
• Finish my 100 day project. Done!
• Write my next pattern and make finish the cover quilt. I finished the quilt top, and have the pattern half-written. Slow going on this one.
• Finish one QuiltCon entry. I have a finished quilt top.
• Make Quilts Unscripted Bee blocks each month. I’m late on making September blocks, but have that on my agenda for this week.
• Also done:
  • Blackwork embroidery.
  • Cross stitch bookmark.
  • Astronaut needlepoint.
  • Needlepoint piece.
  • Fabric bowl top.
  • Crochet bee.
  • Made the rainbow quilt top you see below.
  • Taught 2 in-person workshops, gave 2 in-person lectures, and did 3 virtual lectures.
  • A healthy amount of tech editing.

This year — this life phase — continues to be challenging in terms of how much time I have to work on quilting projects. I am trying to make peace with the fact that my visible quilting output may be reduced for many months, or even years. It’s a struggle to come to terms with this, to be honest. But I am trying to accept that life is what it is, and live in the present as much as I can.

With all that in mind, here’s what I’d like to get done by the end of the year:

• Finish my QuiltCon fabric challenge entry. That’s a sneak peek above. I’ll be quilting it this week.
• Finish my Sunsparks quilt. I finished the top at least a month ago.
• Release the Sunsparks pattern. This goes with the quilt above, obviously.
• Make an item for the HMQG holiday swap. This will get done because I have a partner counting on me!
• Focus on finishes. I’d like to get 2 of the WIPs on the list below completed:
  • HMQG BOM
  • Diamond Flip (the rainbow quilt above)
  • Haralson belt bag (I cut fabric in March but never sewed)
  • Fabric bowl (the top/inside is already done)
• Make Quilts Unscripted Bee blocks each month. We take December off, which will be a nice break.

Happy fall, y’all! Hope it’s a good one for all of us.