2020 Goals and (hopefully) a PhD

It's that time of year...Santa checked his list twice before he headed out on his journey and now it's time for me to take a look at some of my lists.  I am joining Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl once again for her planning party.  Before we jump into my upcoming goals, let's look at 2019.

I had hoped to earn my PhD with Gail at Quilting Gail.  That was not to be.  I had visions of UFO's landing never to fly again.  Of my list of committed UFO projects only one saw a finish...one is better than none.

The Bundle Buster Baby Quilt was able to see completion in April.

Of the 19 projects I started in 2019 (or Dec 2018) I was able to finish 13 of them (the 6 have been moved to the UFO list).     

These are the rest of my 2019 finishes (minus the 3D challenge project because it's technically not quite finished at the writing of this post).  You can find out more about these quilts on my Quilt Gallery Page.

Now let's talk 2020.  I plan to join again with Gail and her 2020 PhD.

Simplified...you commit to working on 12 UFO's you have flying around and finish all the projects you start in 2020.  You can read more about it here.  Technically we are suppose to write a post telling which 12 projects we will work on, but I'm going to do it a tad bit differently.  Instead, I have listed all my UFO's (that I can think of) and I'm committing to pulling 12 off the list and finishing them.

I may decide to simply pick one, use a random number generator or have  stranger pick what I work on but I'm just going to let the project list speak to me.

I also have made a list of all the "quilt kits" I have stacked in my quilting room.  By quilt kits I mean either purchased kits or fabrics I have purchased for the soul purpose of making a specific quilt.  That crazy list looks like this.

If you have any of these and would like to virtually sew on them together, let me know.  I'm in!

To help stay on track I'm going to participate in Patty at Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal linky and Roseanne and Sue at Home Sewn By Us To-Do Tuesday linky parties.  Hopefully, these ladies can keep my monthly and weekly goals in check.  I also will be enlisting the help of an in-person accountability sewing friend.  Through out the year, we hope to have monthly (if not more) sewing sessions.  If this doesn't keep me on track I don't know what will.

My overall goal this year is a pretty easy one...relax and have fun both in sewing and my personal life.  I spent most of the past 20 years worrying about how to keep others happy I completely forgot about myself.  It's okay to include yourself on the list of people you love.  I look forward to only tackling projects and fabrics that make me happy in the moment.  Embrace the moment.  

I will not be returning as an Island Batik Ambassador this year and that is okay.  I had so much fun sewing with the amazing fabrics they sent me over the last year.  Their program was exactly what I needed when I needed it.  It kept me focused with deadlines and encouraged me to be creative at a time when, maybe I wasn't always on my A game or felt creative.  I hope to become more involved in our online community and connecting with other quilters.  

So my goals are not a lengthy list for 2020.  2020 will reveal itself to me as it unfolds. 2020 the year of clearer vision.  I'm just going to sit back with a fruity drink and let her show me the way.

2017 Best Of and Future Goals

It's always good to reflect on the past year and think about how your next trip around the sun might playout.  I love that Cheryl's Best of Party ties in with Yvonne's Goal Setting Party.  I've joined in with them since they've started the parties and decided this year should not be any different.

I'll start off with my top five best of posts.

1.  My number one post with the most page views to date is a quilt I created for the Autumn Abundance Blog Hop hosted by Bernie at Needle and Foot and sponsored by Paint Brush Studios back in 2016.  The quilt was called Autumn Blooms and is a variation of my Watermelon Taffy Block.

2.  So, it's kind of fitting that my second most viewed post on the blog is the Watermelon Taffy Block Tutorial for the Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog hop back in 2015.

3.  Number three on the list is a baby quilt I made from Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs pattern for Moda Bake Shop called Building Blocks.  I called mine Hello Darling Building Blocks because I used Bonnie and Camille's Hello Darling fabric line in the quilt.  This one was super fun to quilt.  Keeping with the theme in the fabrics, I added lots of fun orange peels to the blocks and yummy ribbon candy.

4.  Number four is a very special one for me.  It was the release of my first for sale pattern Star Blossom available for pdf purchase in my Craftsy Shop.

5.  For number five I have went rouge and chose it myself.  It isn't one of my top viewed posts, but maybe a forgotten one.  It is a tutorial for connecting tails when doing a flanged bindings.  There are several great posts out there for making the flange binding, but mine focuses on exactly what to look for when trying to get the flange and the binding itself connected.

Now let's switch gears a bit and talk about goals for the upcoming year.

Reflecting on my post from last year, I had five main goals for 2017:

1. Tackle UFO's and quilt kits--really a fail.  I think I created more UFO's and kits more than anything.  Does that count as tackling?  I made more!
2. Quilt Alongs--I think I knocked this one out of the park.  I participated (and kept up with) so many quilt alongs I lost count.
3. Get juried into a local group of artists--I didn't actually try to complete this goal.  I'm not quite ready yet as it will come with an 8hr a month commitment attached.
4. Release a pattern--this one was very successful.
5. Collaborate with quilty friends--life happens and unfortunately, this one didn't quite go the way it was planned out to.  There is always 2018

So what would I like to be on my horizon in the coming year?  I do want to keep the year kind of simple.  2018 will start with some changes that I'm not sure time wise how it will play out and end with the start of my daughter's senior year of high school.  So I know family needs to be a focus as well.  But so does down sizing and finishing things I've started.

1. Tackle UFO's and quilt kits--reducing the numbers, Tish, not adding to them.  I plan to finish quilting a boat load of quilt tops laying around the house, either to sale or give away.  Quilts are like rabbits I think.  Turn your head and they multiply.
2. Now that I feel a bit more comfortable with pattern writing, I would love for David and I to collaborate again and release another pattern.  Talks are in the works to make this happen.
3. Create a blog with David--I love my Tish's Adventures in Wonderland blog and I would never abandon it, but we have talked about starting a project together.  Still in the works, but excited to see if it goes anywhere.
4. UFO Busting Linky Party--We've started out with UFO confessions (thank you to everyone who commented or linked up), now it's time to start tackling those projects.  Originally, I intended for this to be a monthly party, but I'm thinking let's go weekly and see how it goes.  Let's start busting those projects next week!
5. Collaborate with quilty friends--This one will probably stay on the list.  I do know I have some things on the horizon I just can't talk about them quite yet.
6. Scale back on the QAL's---Oh my goodness, ya'll!  It's not even January and I'm already starting to twitch!  I'm going through withdraw.  Typically, I participate in Pat Sloan's yearly BOM and the Aurifil BOM but I'm not sure I'm going to this year.  I really don't want to distract from the task at hand.  I do however need to reign myself in and not go so crazy.

I think I'm going to leave my goals at that.  The UFO goal is a biggie that will require a whole bunch of mental energy.  I look forward to cheering you on and hearing about your UFO finishes and struggles.  Quilting is an addiction.  I'm not looking for a cure, but a better way to manage all of it.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Years!  I plan to ring mine in with family, food, a bit of wine and of course quilting.  

Is A Goal Enough?

The last quarter of 2016 was the first time I set down and made a list of goals and was successful in completing most of them.  So, this has me thinking, what about this list made me so successful?  I've made lists in the past and was quite happy to ignore all those neatly numbered items.  Last time was different.  Why?  Because without really noticing what I was doing, I didn't just write down goals, I also wrote down a plan.

Dave the Quilt Engineer loves to listen to audio books about leadership, motivation and achieving goals and usually plays them when we go on long car trips.  I'll be honest I'm usually sitting in the passenger seat, running tunes through my head, bored.  Although, I must be paying attention more than what I think I am.  I do recall hearing a statistic that most successful people do not just set goals, but map out the the steps they need to take to reach those goals.  Which makes sense.  If you are heading to the west coast from the east coast, you will get there quicker if you look at a map instead of driving aimlessly and hoping to get there.

When I say a plan, it could be a detailed two page dissection of every single thing that needs to be done, or just as simple as piece, quilt and bind.  Just something to keep track of the steps to completing your goal.  Crossing off those simple tasks will feel just as good as crossing off that final project.

My list of goals for this quarter include quite a bit of quilting quilts.  UFO's from the beginning of my quilting addiction journey.  I needed to devise a plan to set myself up for success.  I dedicated and entire evening to cataloging all my UFO's into the "Planning" section of my 2017 Quilter's Planner.  My cataloging included writing down each quilt and it's measurements.  Having the measurements handy would make getting batting and backing much easier than having to drag the quilt out every time I thought about finishing it.  I also took a picture of each quilt to have on my quilting jump drive.  Let's face it, when I quilt has been in hiding for a few years, you can forget what it looks like.

Looking at those pictures can help me decide if a quilt will receive a personalized custom quilting or a good ol' overall design.

So I ask you, if you have set goals for yourself, yearly, quarterly or monthly have you actually wrote down the steps you need to take to finish the goal(s)?

2017 Planning Party

When I reflect on 2016, I have to admit that the last quarter of the year was by far my most productive and I don't think that it is a coincidence.  It was the first time (ever) that I actually set down and wrote out a list of things I wanted to accomplish within a specific time period.  I knew that my list, more than likely, contained more projects than I could finish in three months, but it gave me a variety of things to work on, so I didn't feel too constricted.  I will give an over all up date on that original list of 14 items closer to the end of the year, I hope you'll be impressed.

Julie at Pink Doxies and Beth at Cooking Up Quilts are pairing up to be accountability buddies for the upcoming year.  I think this is a fabulous idea...and so does Sandra!  So she and I will be teaming up to help each other stay on track when it comes to goals.  I'm sure there will be lots of praise and a bit of, "hey, get on track, sister!" going on.

We started off with a FaceTime session last night to discuss where we would like things to go.  I can't give you all of the future plans, but I can give you a rough draft of them.

1. Quarterly Goal Setting (most important)

     I think this will be one of the keys to a successful 2017.  I can tweak my long term goals every three months to reflect on my progress.  Hopefully, Sandra and I can plan face to face chat sessions to regularly check in and motivate each other or trouble shoot.

This is also where the 2017 Quilters Planner will come in quite handy.  Stephanie at Late Night Quilter has left nothing out of this baby.  It is the ultimate quilt planning tool, and I can't wait to have it completely full at the end of the year.!!

2.  Tackle UFO's

     This year has to be about the UFO's for me.  Period.  I currently have 23ish unquilted quilt tops laying around the house.  That just seems insane to me.  I ended up with so many of them because I just couldn't decide how to quilt them.  No more, I say!!!  It is time to drag them out, one by one, and give them life.  Are you in the same boat as me?  Let's do it together.  Maybe we can help get unstuck.  I think I can feel an idea bubbling around in the back of my head somewhere.

3.  Quilt Alongs

     I LOVE quilt alongs and I cannot lie!  This may be my weakness, sewing with others.  It's just so much fun!  I plan on participating in a few through out the year.  I'm hoping these small monthly piecing projects will help scratch the itch to make a quilt all at once.  Maybe, break up all that quilting.  Here is the small list I would like to take part in.

Meadow Mystery at Meadow Mist Designs.  This one is already underway and should wrap up in early spring.  So far I have been able to keep up to speed and do not see myself slowing down anytime soon.

Pat Sloan's 2017 Children's Library Mystery Quilt  To date I have participated in all of Pat's mystery quilts (Globetrotting, Vacation Time, and My Secret Garden) and have loved each one.  This years quilt is scrappy and the perfect excuse for me to start cleaning out some of my fabric bins.  The first block will publish January 1st.  If you click on the link above you can check out the supply list.

Blossom Heart Quilts The Milky Way QAL  I'm kind of excited about this one.  It will be a paper pieced quilt along with one block coming out each month.  That is way more than just doable, it's completely achievable!  This one kicks off January 1st.

Garhering 2017 Mystery Quilt at Cora's Quilts  This one doesn't kick off till around the end of March or April, which is perfect for me because it would give me time to finish piecing last years Beguiling mystery quilt.  This year she is offering three different sizes; toddler, throw and queen.

I'm sure these are not the only quilt alongs I will do this year.  They are just the ones I can see on the horizon.

4.  Along with a crazy amount of UFO's, I seem to have collected quite a few quilt kits...around 11.  By this I mean actual kits I have purchased or patterns that I have bought fabric for and are waiting to be made.  We shall call them the "Good Intentions Club."  It sure would be nice to see some of these come to life and move on from my shelves...fly little birds, fly!

5.  Be juried into a local group of artists at The Artistry on Main Studio.  This is a studio for local artists to display and sale their works of art.  To be considered I must submit three pieces and an application and be accepted into the fold.  The gallery does not contain any quilted pieces as of now.  So the goal here...create three pieces and submit them.  Pretty straight forward.

6.  Release a quilt pattern.  I'm so close to completing this one, it just isn't funny.  The pattern has been written, I just need to test it and have it proof read.  I may be putting out a call for pattern testers soon, just saying.

7.  Collaborate with quilty friends.  This one makes me super happy.  Sandra and I have been bouncing ideas off each other about different projects we could collaborate on.  I can't share too much on this one yet, but we are working on a few things.  Hopefully, other opportunities present themselves through out the year.  I'm always up for a quilty good time.  I'm pretty sure my name and number are written on a few quilt shop bathrooms (just kidding). 

So for now, I think I shall end my list.  I have quite a bit to think about and accomplish in this next year.  I look forward to those things I know I need to do and all the little squirrels that pop up along the way.  So here's to all of my amazing quilty friends and to making new quilty friends.  I love you all and look forward to a great year will all of you!

Have you thought about your 2017 goals?  It's never too late.  Give it some thought, write them down and join us all over at Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl for her 2017 Planning Party!  It's a great way to send off 2016 with good friends.  I'll bring the wine ;)

Today I'm linking up with 2017 Planning Party and Main Crush Monday.