Thursday, December 28, 2017

2018 in the Sewing Room

Yvonne, at Quilting JETgirl hosts a goal planning linky party every year. Most people go over last year's goals and then make new goals. Since we were living in a tiny duplex and all my quilting stuff was in storage, I didn't make any goals for 2017. I barely sewed anything in 2017! But that must change in 2018 even though I don't officially have a sewing room here yet.

2018 Planning Party


Since I don't have any 2017 goals, I'll go straight to the 2018.

1. Organize my sewing space. I cannot work in disorder, and proved it to myself this month when I tried to make a quilt in a short time. And failed. Even though this is my number one priority, it is also going to be the hardest, so will not likely be the first thing completed. I know I need to put together some shelves, possibly even build some. (See, there is a good reason to be both a woodworker and quilter!)

2. Find and list my UFOs. I have no idea how many UFOs I really have because they are tucked into spaces here and there, and of course, still packed away too. Once I find all them, I need a plan to finish them. Melissa, from Sew Bittersweet Designs used to host a monthly UFO finishing party, and that helped me a lot a couple of years ago. I need to find someone else hosting a UFO finishing party to make me work harder.

3. Pull out fabrics bought to make specific quilts and put them in boxes with the patterns, thread, and everything needed to complete the quilt. I hope that will eliminate all the last minute trips to town and gnashing of teeth when I want to work on them.

4. Organize scraps by color and participate in scraphappy's Rainbow Scrap Challenge. My scraps are totally out of control and I need to use enough to get the remainder in tubs that will fit on the shelves.

5. Participate in 2018 Monthly Color Challenge at Patterns by Jen.

6.  Start the cross-stitch quilt block project that first made me want to learn to quilt.

7. Take up Kate's unofficial 15 Minute Challenge. I find when I make myself put in fifteen minutes, it soon turns into thirty and my lagging enthusiam is back.

8. Limit my current projects to four. Any more than that going at one time and I get overwhelmed and scattered. Current month machine project, scraphappy'sRainbow Scrap Challenge forleaders and enders project, hand quilting project, Patterns By Jen for BOM.

9. Start Christmas projects in June.

10.  Go to guild meetings.

11. Last, and most challenging, is that I want to find a quilting machine. I've decided that a Sweet Sixteen fits my needs best.

Other sewing goals:

12.  Take a Craftsy fitting class.

13. Make a clothing project once a month.

Woodworking goals:

14.  Build something for the house every week until the cabinets and organizers are done.

15.  Take a scroll saw class.

Now for other goals:

16.  Exercise 15-30 minutes a day.

17.  Cut out sugar and find 15 good autoimmune recipes by the end of January

18.  Stick to an autoimmune diet in February and then re-evaluate for March.

19.  On days that are over 50 degrees, work on landscaping 15-30 minutes.

20.  Join a book club.

I would set goals for the house build, but since Hubby is doing the wiring right now at his pace, there is really nothing I can do to speed it up.  So for house building goals, I'll reserve the right to add my goals when that is finished.

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Quilting Gail is also having a UFO completion challenge. Hers is called PHD in 2018 for Projects Half Done. Her challenge is a bit more, um, challenging as we have to completely finish the quilt, right through the label and binding.  I hesitated to tell her I wanted to do it, because I just don't have a machine that will quilt anything bigger than a twin. But since one of my goals for 2018 is to buy a machine that will quilt bigger quilts, I thought it was worth a try. Details for her challenge are here. The only thing that might derail me is if my eyes continue to deteriorate or if I have eye surgery.
I'm not sure if I signed up in time to participate in it though.  I'm not on the final list.

American Patchwork & Quilting also has a UFO challenge for twelve quilts. The details for that challenge are here.

Here are the UFOs I want to completely finish this year and the state they are in now:
1. Cars. The flimsy is done, backing bought and washed (it's flannel), and batting bought. I need binding and quilting thread.  DONE
2. Trailer Quilt. I have nine of about thirty blocks made and need border fabric, backing, binding, batting, and thread.
3. Second Saturday Sampler. Eleven of 12 blocks are made. I need border fabric, backing, binding, batting, and thread.
4. Christmas Among Friends. All blocks are made, border is made, and binding is done. I need backing and batting.
5. Antique Tile. All blocks are made. I need two or three borders, backing, binding, and batting.
6. Gairden Walk. The flimsy is done and the backing is pieced. I think the binding is done too. I need batting and thread.
6.  Replaced with: Orphan Glory Box.  I want to make this into a wall hanging.  I need to design borders, need backing, binding, batting, and quilting.  DONE
7. Depression Blocks. Twenty-five of the seventy-five blocks are made. I may have border pieced. I need backing, binding, and batting.
8. Baby Bow Tie. The flimsy is done. I need backing, binding, and batting.
9. Double Irish Chain. The top is a flimsy. I think. I know I need backing, binding, and batting. I may need borders too. DONE
10. Raggedy Hearts. Five of twelve blocks are done. I need borders, backing, batting, and binding.
11. Sweet Sixteen. I have twenty of fifty-two blocks done. I need borders, backing, binding, and batting.
12. Summer Crossroads. I have blocks made, and four rows together. I need borders, backing, binding, and batting.

Pictures for most of these are on the right sidebar. The challenge now is where to find all these UFOs.


Linking up to:
2018 Planning Party at Quilting JETgirl
Quilting Gail

6 comments:

  1. This looks like a great list of goals...mostly focussed on organization. Tish of Tish in Wonderland is holding a UFO link up this year.

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  2. Beyond Tish's linkup that Lisa mentions above, I would suggest considering Patty from Elm Street Quilts' "One Monthly Goal" linkup which encourages you to set a goal every month. Thank you so much for sharing and linking up, and I hope that you get settled into your new space and have a peaceful 2018 with much quilting joy.

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  3. Glad you are now to the point you can think about your quilting stuff again. I second Yvonne's pitch for the One Monthly goal over at Elm Street Quilts. I find it helps me focus on one project during the month. If you specifically want a UFO challenge, Judy at Patchwork times is doing one, but she's mainly focused on knitting these days, but quilters are welcome to participate. I decided to try the American Patchwork and Quilting 2018 UFO Challenge. You can find the challenge details on the All People Quilt web site. They have a very active Facebook page for accountability.

    Looking forward to seeing your progress and finishes next year. Good luck!

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  4. Proud of you for making your list!

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  5. Great list, more that I can handle. I'll have my list by the dead line. I'm trying to truly make it reachable for me. I'll be doing OMG as well

    The last time I came to visit you were putting up large doors and I think a storm was playing havoc with them.
    I could not see anything on the finish. but the latest post leads me to
    think that it is finished. Gorgeous trailer.
    Where do you get all that energy? And thanks for asking about me.
    It made me feel good.
    Again Happy New Year.

    ReplyDelete

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