"Live well, Laugh often, Love much."
~Bessie Anderson Stanley~
We were in bed well before the clock struck midnight...what about you? I've pretty much sworn off New Year's Resolutions, but I did start my annual diet the day after Christmas. I'm not really expecting results because my "resolution" is never very firm. Besides, there's bread. And that's probably all you really need to know about my annual goal to lose weight.
So let's see how I did with my December goals.
1.
Quilt and bind the Gingerbread Square quilt.
Complete!
This one is my choice for
2. Stitch in the details, quilt and bind the Barn Quilt. I'm determined to get this oldest UFO finished. Complete! Yay!
WIP's
3. Make the first appliqued and embroidered block for Summer Holiday. Here's the picture from the book. This one is called Packing the Suitcase. Complete!
4. Complete the fifth and final section for A Quiltmaker's Garden. In Progress. As you know, this quilt continues to be the bane of my existence. One of these days, I'll finish it and then I'll have to find something else to whine about. Still working on it, but this is the most recent picture of my progress.
5. Depending on the block, I'll make a block for
blocklotto.com
Complete!
So, I was close, but no bonus points for me this month.
And that brings me to the new year.
As I said yesterday, I'm rethinking my goal-setting in 2017. For one thing, these posts take a long time to write, and I don't want to do it any more. Besides, when I make a long list for myself as I have been for a couple of years now, it starts feeling like a lot of pressure. It's weird, I know. Occasionally, I have to remind myself that nobody really cares...not even me. Still, feeling as if I have to finish everything I set myself up to finish is a bad habit, and so I'm going to Goal-Setting AA...or just say "no," or something.
For now, my goal is to quilt one quilt and to sew one quilt into a flimsy each month. My hope...and my overall goal...is to get to the place where I don't have any projects that will fit into either category. By that I mean, any projects I'm working on will be new ones not far enough along to finish in one month. And the corollary is that there won't be any quilt sandwiches waiting their turn to be quilted. That's a goal I can live with. With that in mind, here are my goals for January.
Quilt Stars and Stripes. It's the last quilt in my quilts-to-be quilted pile...for now.
Edited to say that Stars and Stripes will be my project for:
Sew Wind in the Whiskers into a Flimsy. This one has been keeping me up at night. I'm hoping it will go together the way it's supposed to. And I've complained enough about this pattern that I probably don't need to elaborate. McKenna Ryan: Enough said. I've never laid all seven sections out together, but here's the last section I finished.
Here's the image from the pattern cover. There are a lot of pieces that can't be fused down until all the sections are sewn together.
See that big tree trunk there? And see that clothesline? I'm expecting trouble from those two. Keep your fingers crossed, okay?
Except for that, I'll just take things as they come. The Block Lotto will still get my attention, and I want to keep up with the Solstice Challenge. If the other two goals are accomplished, I'll work on some blocks from my other projects. And, phew, that feels like a light load to start off 2017.
18 comments:
Hi Barbara and Happy New Year! I think your last section is very good plan and goal for the year. Just take things as they come and sew what you feel at the time. There will always be some unfinished projects waiting to be finished but that's the way it is for makers and sewists. The quilt with cats is amazing and I'm waiting for to see yours finished! x Teje
Happy New Years Barbara - I do the goal setting too, and agree, writing the posts takes a long time. Amazing how long I spent on it this month. It does help me to stay focused to get things done - but I may be adapting a little less blogging about it in the future. :) Have a great weekend. Lynn
Simplify - with a new phase of your life coming into play, do what makes you happy without the stress.
I like you goals for 2017. They are simple and flexible and the year I had a goal like that, I did more sewing and completed more project than ever before or since. Good luck in the New Year!
Simplify.... there's new territory there. I think it sounds like a good plan. I try to get a lot down and then I feel like I am drowning. So silly. Happy New Year.
Happy New Year Barbara! With Mike retiring in a few months, I think you have very reasonable goals. I have never been one for new year's resolutions, not planning to start now!
I am looking forward to seeing what new adventures await us in 2017. ;-)
I think you'll enjoy your new goal, a little more of doing what you feel like and getting things done maybe a little slower. That sounds so good to me :)
Hi Barbara Happy New Year. I agree with you entirely. The goal setting each month did originally get me working on things but with the increase in my work hours the goals started to stress me. After all this is our hobby, something we do for pleasure. I set myself some year goals which are manageable but they are really just to keep me on course and not a problem if I can't complete them. I like your streamline goals and they make good sense.
Love your two goals for this month although I don't remember the Stars and stripes quilt top. Your whining over the Wind in the Whiskers quilt is very amusing and makes me feel so much better when I'm whining over far simpler quilts I'm piecing together.
Here's to a fun and happy and productive sewing year in 2017
Happy New Year! I agree about the time it takes to blog. I am finding that Instagram is a good alternative as it is quick and I can post more often.
Happy New Year! That is some quilt show! Good job my friend! Pet Sadie & Smitty for me.
Happy New Year! I think you should just roll with the flow and do whatever you want to do. That is how I usually go and it seems to work well for me. I recently had a bit of a water disaster in my house and had to move a bunch of my sewing projects in waiting upstairs while repairs were being made. This really made me think about going on a fabric diet and to sew up some of these many projects I have collected. No I did not count but I will guarantee you there are numerous. So the only goal I have set for 2017 is to sew up some of these current projects so I can again begin to replenish my supply. I do need a better way to store fat quarters but for now I am just thinking about sewing my stash. Love reading your post and can't wait to see the wind in your wiskers finished. I love that one. I made a McKinna Ryan pattern once and it did it give me any issues. It is still one of my favorite quilts I have made. I bet you feel the same once this one is finished...
Happy New year. I have never set goals for the same reason. I want to work on what I want to work on. I do have a habit of finishing a project before starting another. That is a throw back to my Mother! I do not have an active BOM at the moment, except the Bag Ladies. I have some old ones that I need to do and get them out of the totes!
Ugh! I had to set enough goals and meet deadlines as a teacher. Now I'm retired & I just make lists of things I'm wanting to make and whom they're being made for. I really only have a deadline if it's for a gift or needed for a certain occasion. I have started keeping somewhat of a journal of specific fabric I've bought (or need to buy) for particular quilt patterns I want to make. Otherwise I was starting to lose track of what I'd bought or wanted to buy and for what project! Lol. Oh and my daughter got me the "It's Quilting Cats and Dogs" for Christmas (I may have included it on my Amazon wishlist😉). Can't wait to do some of the designs.
Happy New Year Barbara!
Have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! Many adventures are ahead with Mike retiring and new quilts to make and finish. I'm slowly getting acquainted to my new sewing space. That has me making a plan in order to finish many projects which languished out of sight and therefore out of mind. It is easier to find my supplies as they have a dedicated home. Previously there were boxes and bags that had to be located to begin or continue a project. As a result I do have duplicates of many notions.
Enjoy your time in the blue hour and the lovely life you've built with your family.
Oh, I'd forgotten about Stars and Stripes. I really like how that one turned out. Good luck with your strategy for setting goals in 2017. Seems like you've got a really good plan for moving your projects along.
Happy 2017! Congrats on the new mind set. How much do you want to bet you'll actually accomplish as much if not more once you take the pressure off yourself? Oh, and thanks for getting me hooked into the Solstice Challenge! I'm doing the blocks so they finish at 3 inches, instead of 12 inches.
You sucked me into the Solstice Challenge too. Finished my first 2 blocks yesterday and posted pictures today. I think I'm going to go with a dot theme on mine. Hopefully I'll stick with it and now that I've finally got my printer communicating with my new router my chances are very much improved. Happy & healthy New Year to you, Mike & the kitties.
Happy New Year Barbara.
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