Looking Back and Ahead: Goals for 2017 & 2018

As 2017 winds down, it's time to take a look back at the general goals I set for the year. (I'll post the monthly recap and stash report for December later.)

1. Use at least as much stash fabric as newly acquired fabric. Yes, I used over 17 yards more than I acquired in 2017.

2. Complete at least four donation quilts (or tops for Heart Builders). Yes - Completed two quilts for Hands2Help, and three for Project Linus. Also made three Little Dresses for Africa for STLMQG and 10 pillowcases for Hurricane Harvey relief.

"Welcome Home" for H2H

3. Log WIPs and UFOs and finish as many on the list as possible. Or if appropriate, get rid of any project that I know I'll never finish. Completed 6 WIPS that were started in 2016 and 2017 and one UFO from 2015. Added more new WIPS to the list. Still have 7 UFOs from 2016 or earlier. 

Dancing Plus II (finished WIP)

4. Participate in Hands 2 Help. Yes, I provided two quilts to the International Institute of St. Louis, "Welcome Home" and a modified race quilt. 

Modified race quilt for H2H

5. Participate in 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop. Yes - Created a Christmas Tree wall hanging at my son's request and posted a tutorial for it.

12 Days of Christmas in July

6. Blog at least twice a week; continue posting monthly goals and stash reports because they keep me focused and accountable. Yes, most weeks I posted two or three times a week. 

7. Design a block for FabriQuilt or other new block design blog hop. No, didn't do this, but wrote a tutorial for the existing Propeller Block so my bee friends could use it to make blocks for me.

Propeller Blocks

8. Publish at least one new pattern. Did not publish a stand-alone pattern for sale, but published several tutorials on the blog: Snake Block with Templates, Machine Binding with Glue Basting, Christmas Tree Wall Hanging, Scrappy Nine-Patch Stars QOV.

Snake Block

Scrappy Nine-Patch Stars QOV top

I feel like it was a pretty productive year. In addition to the projects pictured above, I also had some other finishes:

LCT QOV

Boomerang Patches baby quilt

Alaska quilt for SIL to give to a friend

Seasonal Migration

Marty's quilt, Four Corners from Cut and Shuffle Quilts

Gary's Flannel Quilt

Original Log Cabin Triangles

Scrap Scramble donation quilt

Can 2018 top that? Several of my 2017 projects were donation quilts, dresses, and pillowcases. In addition, I made and gave a quilt for my SIL to give to her friend in a remote village in northern Alaska. I also made a comfort quilt for my brother when he was having health issues. I would like to continue the donation theme in 2018, partly for the pleasure of using stash and the enjoyment of making quilts, and also because we really don't need more quilts around here.

Here are the goals I'm planning for 2018:

1. Use (or give away) at least as much fabric as I bring into the stash.

2. Blog at least twice a week; continue posting monthly goals and stash reports because they keep me focused and accountable.

3. Piece and/or quilt one donation quilt per month for a total of 10 donation quilts for the year. Could be in conjunction with other charity projects such as guild or H2H.

4. Red Project: continue working on this as a BOM to a completed flimsy, then get it on a long-armer's list for quilting.

5. Pickle Dish: continue working on blocks and progress to a completed flimsy, then get it on a long-armer's list for quilting.

6. Finish Roman Road UFO to a flimsy and get it quilted.

7. Review list of UFOs and determine whether to keep & finish or get rid of each one. Finish at least two of the projects on the list.

8. Send unquilted donation tops to someone who can/is willing to quilt and donate them.

9. Participate in Hands2Help.

10. Post at least two new tutorials.

That should keep me busy. Notice I'm not promising that I won't start new projects or that I'll reduce the overall number of UFOs. Gotta be realistic here...


I also want to say a big thank you to all of you who have been with me so far on this quilting & blogging journey. You always have good advice for me when I ask. Your visits and your comments mean a lot to me and I enjoy connecting with and being a part of the larger quilting community.

Thanks for visiting, and
Happy New Year 2018 -
Jan


Linking up with Yvonne's 2018 Planning Party at Quilting Jetgirl