Yvonne/Quilting Jetgirl is hosting her annual planning party and blog linkup! It’s my first year participating. Here’s a quick recap of my 2018 goals and a look at my quilting-related goals for the #2019PlanningParty!
2018 Recap
I set three major goals for myself early in 2018: relocate our household to Seattle, where my husband has been living since he took a job there in mid 2016; get our son safely off to college; and focus on quilting as a way to keep myself balanced and recover from over-extending myself at work. I’m happy to say I hit all three.
Relocating to Seattle
The biggest of those projects was the move. We had to downsize for practical reasons (moving from a house to an apartment) but we also wanted to reduce the amount of stuff that we own, especially getting rid of things that were just hanging around with no purpose. Between April and August, every single object in our home and garage passed through my hands. Somewhere from one quarter to one third of it got donated to charitable organizations. Another quarter was either trash or recycling (so. much. paper) and the rest was divided between what to take and what to store.
I Have a Kid in College
A whole lot of my mental energy was bound up in this goal. In late August, I dropped our son off at college. He comes home today and it’ll be the first time we’ve seen him since then. I’m so interested in finding out what he’s like now, after his first semester.
More Time for Quilting
Packing and moving took a long time, partly because I was purging as I went but also because I honored my third goal by giving myself permission to quilt almost daily. It was wonderful. I could explore and experiment and not feel rushed. I could spend time organizing my quilting supplies and figuring out what really worked for me in terms of space and layout. I watched quilting videos, read blog posts, and made lists of projects I wanted to make. I set a goal for myself to lose my fear of free-motion quilting by practicing and learning, and I succeeded over the course of 3 months. It was so refreshing to allow myself to expand into that space and to have the time to follow my interest. I completed three bed-sized quilt tops in 2018, including making the Tula Pink City Sampler as part of a sew-along where I shared one photo every day for 100 days on Instagram. I kept to the schedule all through the move; I remember pressing a set of finished blocks on the kitchen counter the night before the moving truck came, so that I would have enough to post daily until I could set up a temporary sewing table in the apartment.
September and October were devoted mostly to getting settled and unpacked. In November, I reworked my quilting studio and I just love it now. It’s a beautiful, functional space where I can play and sew and explore.
Looking Ahead to 2019
Now that the move is over and 2019 is just over the horizon, I’m looking forward to spending even more time in my quilt studio. I’ve set some specific quilting-related goals for 2019:
- Finish five quilt tops that are ready to be quilted (a baby quilt I began in… um… 1996?, a throw, my City Sampler, Bright Sisters, and a king size quilt called The Color of Time).
- Finish the commissioned wall hanging I’m working on.
- Make a new quilt for my brother— I’ve chosen the pattern Boomerang by Jaybird Quilts for this one.
- Make at least one improv quilt using up some of my scraps — I want to explore this method.
- Make progress on two of my three long-term projects, both hand appliqué quilts.
- Enter at least one quilt in a show or competition.
- Practice free-motion quilting until it is comfortable.
- Figure out a good way to take photos of quilt tops… you’ll see below that I have not yet mastered this 🙂
WIP Photos
Here’s a peek at some of the tops that need to be quilted:
And here’s a peek at the wall hanging:
Welcome, 2019. Let’s make some quilts!
I love that you gave yourself permission and space to take care of you through a very busy 2018. I wish you a lot of quilting joy and growth in 2019 and thank you so much for linking up with the 2019 Planning Party!
Thank you, Yvonne! Thanks for hosting it and inspiring us to reflect and plan!
You’ve accomplished quite a lot in 2018. Here’s to organization and exploration in the year to come!
Thank you, Afton! Have a wonderful 2019!
That sounds like a very productive 2018! Good luck with your 2019 goals. You have some beautiful quilts to work on 🙂
Thank you, Leanne! I had a peek at your quilts on your planning page, and they are just lovely. Beautiful color choices. Happy new year!
Way to take care of you! Love it!
Thank you, Mitzie! Have a happy new year!
Great quilts! I love that you made it a priority to quilt daily. Something I need to think about for 2019! 🙂
Thanks, Kristie! Good luck with your WIPs and quilting all those flimsies you made this year. Happy new year!
I love your quilts. Good luck with your goals in 2019.
Thank you, Sherry! Good luck with your goals too. I think it’s wonderful that you are planning to make some charity quilts this coming year. Happy new year!
All so pretty. I especially love The Color of Time. Yes, let’s all do some quilting in 2019!
Thank you, Danice! Good luck to you in 2019!
Thanks for sharing all this wonderful rainbow goodness. Good luck with your goals.
Thank you, Lisa! It’s funny, I didn’t realize how many of my quilts have rainbow color schemes until I put them all together for this post. I have been really drawn to that this year and last year. I’m starting to experiment with different color schemes now, so maybe next year’s post will look a little different. Happy new year!
Your quilts are beautiful! Moving is such a huge stress and having your son leave for college too, glad you had quilting to do each day to relax! Have fun achieving your goals and I’d also love to know the answer to taking good quilt photos!
Thank you, Lucy! It was a very full year 🙂 I will definitely post whatever tips I come up with here on my blog — I hope you can stop by again! Happy new year!
Frist, that move sounds huge – but I love your strategy to evaluate everything beforehand. Most want to but never stick with it. Very impressive! I am not moving but decluttering and re-evaluating is always on the agenda 🙂
The rainbow pictures of your quilts are so gorgeous. I wish you the best of luck with your goal to finish them and hope you have lots of fun doing so.
Thank you, Melanie! The move was a piece of work and I’m glad it’s over, I’ll admit it. Good luck with your decluttering, and I hope you find lots of time for quilting and other things that you love this year!