Recapping 2016

When I saw that Yvonne@Quilting Jetgirl was hosting a 2017 planning party, I felt compelled to go back and read my 2016 Goals for Quilting and Blogging and 2016 Mid Year Review posts. Overall, 2016 was a productive year. I met my Stash Bee and Bee Hive commitments (see my Quilting Bees 2016 post for pics of all my blocks with links to the tutorials), went to QuiltCon and Glamp Stitchalot 2016, made my Terra Australis quilt for my bed, a Meditation Quilt for my brother, a Breaking Bad Wall Hanging for my great nephew, the Diamond Stars Quilt for my best friend, and my Charming Plus Kitty Quilt. My longest UFO, my Birthday Gifts Wall Hanging, that was 18 months in the making, was finished in October. I also designed two new blocks, my Midnight Starfish block (included in Late Night Quilter’s The Quilter’s Planner 2017) and my Berry Blossom block. I participated in two mini mini swaps, improved my paper-piecing skills, made a few tote bags, sewed my first zipper pouch, and most recently sewed some pillow covers. My over-arching goal for 2016 was to feel by the end of the year that I was an intermediate quilter as far as my piecing skills go, and I do believe I’ve met that goal. But there’s still plenty of room for improvement 😊.

2017 Goals

Though I have a number of quilts that I want to make in 2017, I want to feel less busy and pressured than I did in 2016. That’s the main reason I did not sign up for any online bees for the coming year though I will most likely sew some blocks for the Honey Pot Bee organized by Molli Sparkles. No blocks will be swapped, no deadlines have to be met, and I get to keep any blocks I sew. Sounds good to me!!!

The first quilt I plan to make in 2017 is a lap quilt for my sister-in-law’s 65th birthday in April using blocks from Elizabeth Hartman’s Fancy Forest pattern. I’m leaning toward just using foxes, hedgehogs, and thistles, but that could change.

My great-nephew, Jimmy, and great-niece, Rachel, are graduating from high school in June, and I want to make a lap quilt for each of them to celebrate this milestone. For Jimmy, I’m leaning toward an ombre HST quilt in shades of blue, and for Rachel, I’m planning to use my hoarded Imprints fat quarters. I’m not sure what the pattern will be, maybe Thimble Blossoms’ Fireworks. I’m not planning to quilt any of these quilts myself, so I want the quilt top for my sister-in-law to be pieced by mid-February and the quilt tops for the twins by mid-April.

Other projects that I would like to complete in 2017 (not in any particular order, and none of these HAVE to be done next year)

• Make pillows for my office to replace the ratty Pier 1 pillows that have been there for almost seven years
• Finish the Bow Tie quilt that my mom started in the 1990s for my sister
• Make an HST quilt using a quilt kit of Moda flannel fabric
• Finish my Berry Cross quilt
• Sew my Quatrefoil bee blocks together and have it quilted by ThreadBear
• Finish my Gratitude Lanterns Wall Hanging for my office by hand-quilting it
• Make another Christmas pillow because I had fun making this Christmas pillow
• Make a more complicated bag than a tote bag
• Continue to improve my paper-piecing skills, perhaps by using Carolyn Friedlander’s Glamp Stitchalot paper-pieced pattern to make a wall-hanging or small quilt
• And maybe, just maybe, buy a good sewing machine (I’m thinking about a Juki)

I’m not planning to go to any quilt conferences or workshops this coming year though I may fit in a nearby class or two. Participating in any swaps is a low priority, and I’m going to try to stay strong and not get enticed to participate in any Quilt-Alongs (but I’m not making any promises!).

Linking up to Quilting Jetgirl’s 2017 Planning Party.