Many thanks to Yvonne@Quilting Jetgirl  for hosting another review/planning party. Since December 2015, I’ve joined five of Yvonne’s Planning Parties or Mid-Year Reviews (and just went back and tagged them all “Quilting Goals”). I really like participating in these opportunities to reflect, re-evaluate, re-prioritize, and plan my quilting projects. I feel like I know myself so much better as a quilter and am able to make more intentional choices when I take the time to engage in this process 1-2 times yearly.

Looking Back at 2018

I just took a quick peak at my 2018 Quilting Goals post. In that post I identified that my number one priority was to increase my free motion quilting skills. Well, that didn’t happen. The only quilting foot I used in 2018 was my walking foot, which allowed me to do basic, fairly minimal, and not-too-time-consuming quilting on my smaller projects (I’ve had all my bigger quilts longarm-quilted primarily to reduce strain on my balky shoulders). My 2018 Mid Year Review post reflects much more of my current quilting priorities, and my Four Years of Quilting post shows some of my favorite 2018 quilts along with quilts from previous years. I’ve started to use more vibrant solids and have a better feel for colors that work well together. I have become proficient enough with paper-piecing to call myself an intermediate paper-piecer, and I’ve done some very basic paper-piecing design and re-designs.

 Piecing is in My Blood

One of the things that I have said repeatedly to my mental health therapy clients over the years is that we all have limited resources: time, money, physical stamina, and mental energy, and not one of us can do it all, all of the time. I work full-time as a Behavioral Health Therapist Supervisor (and frequently have to provide direct services when my agency is short staffed). I have become very clear that becoming proficient with free-motion quilting is not something I have the time or energy for at this time. In the best of circumstances, I have about 20 hours a week of prime, focused energy to devote to my quilting endeavors. So like my mother who sent her quilt tops out to the Phillipines in the 80s and 90s to be long-armed quilted (I so wish I could talk to her about that process!), I am choosing to prioritize designing, cutting, and piecing my larger quilting projects (and no longer allowing myself to feel guilty that I’m not doing the actual quilting of these projects). I feel like I should change the name of my blog to Piecing is in My Blood, but I don’t think I will do that!

A Significant Shift

Recently I decided to make another rather significant shift in where I want to go next in my quilting journey. Early in the coming year I plan to start using EQ8. My best friend is getting it for me for my birthday in March. I’ve been starting to read more blog posts about designing with EQ8. I will be participating again this coming year in the IG Honey Bees swarm that chooses from 25 different Bee Hive blocks, and I’ve chosen the Treasure Hunt block when I am the queen bee in March, and have found inspiration from Alyce’s Using EQ8 to Plan for a Quilting Bee post to choose a palette for my 2019 Treasure Hunt quilt. There are similarities with Alyce’s (mustard, teal, aqua) but mine will have dark pink, light grey, and dark grey. I used paper and pencil to make my design choices for this project. I’m pretty sure that I’m going to like the arrangement of my color choices, but I won’t know for sure until I sew up some example blocks. I can’t wait to get EQ8 and start playing with it to be able to know better how color schemes and designs will work. I’ve started to pull fabric for this project. Below is what I’ve pulled so far:

Block of the Month Participation

I’m also planning to use the above palette (and some of the same fabrics) for the Perfect HST 2019 Block of the Month  hosted and designed by Lee Heinrich. I used Lee’s Perfect HSTs for some of the HSTs used in the Wedding Whirl quilt that I made for my stepdaughter, Alisha, and her new wife, Wendy. I also used them for all the HSTs used in the coordinating Teal/Turquoise Whirls pillows for their 2018 Christmas present. I really enjoy not having to trim these HSTs and having less wonkiness with smaller size half-square triangles.

The other 2019 Block of the Month project I will be participating in 2019 is Rebecca Bryan’s Stargazer BOM. I am planning to make the lap-size quilt in the main color way: Blue/Green/Lime. I’ve had Rebecca’s Modern Triangle book for awhile now, and I’m really looking forward to making this stunning quilt.

I have been participating in one other Block of the Month program through my local quilt store that started six months ago. Well, not exactly participating. In June 2018 ThreadBear started the 13-month Incandescence Quilt BOM featuring Maywood Studios Gelato Ombre fabric. All I’ve done so far with this project is pick up the monthly instructions/fabric and put them in a bin. I hope to get caught by March. We’ll see!

Donation Quilts

One of my first projects in 2019 is to make a Mercyful Quilt that can be given to a hospice patient at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento, California. Bernie with Needle & Thread has been organizing this quilt drive, and it has a personal connection to me as I grew in Sacramento, and my mother was a pink lady there (the adult version of a candy striper). I’m thinking of using my Carolyn Friedlander Doe layer cake to make a gender-neutral quilt.

I also plan to make a quilt top that will be quilted by @katikat21 on Instagram for “quiltsfordelhi”. The quilts are for children in a shelter in Delhi, and specific sizes are requested (36”x48”, 36”x60”, and “58”x72”) to correspond with the sleeping mats at the shelter. See Quilts for Delhi for more information. Again, I’m leaning toward making this quilt top gender neutral.

Other Quilts

There are four other quilts that I plan to make or at least work on in the coming year.

1. It’s time for a new quilt for my bed. I have five yards of beautiful turquoise ombre fabric and want to make Hunter’s Design Studio’s Ombre Star Quilt. I love the description on the front of the pattern that says another “so much easier than it looks” pattern.
2. My friend, Kristen, will be getting her master’s in Social Work in May ‘19, and when I saw this Memoir Quilt Kit on Hawthorne Supply Co., I thought the Memoir quilt would be the perfect gift to commemorate this fantastic accomplishment. 
3. I’ve been thinking about making a Temperature Quilt for several months since I saw them popping up on Instagram. Patty at Elm Street Quilts wrote a great Tutorial on making different kinds of temperature quilts. I’m leaning toward making one with 2”x 4” flying geese with the geese part designating the high temp for the day and smaller triangles showing the low temperatures. I’m still figuring out the colors that I will be using.
4. I’ve had a fat-quarter bundle of S’more Love fabric for three years or so thinking that I would make a throw-size quilt that my brother and sister-in-law can use in their motor home. When I saw Sew Shabby Quilting’s Camping quilting pattern, I thought it would be the perfect quilting motif for an RV quilt. I’m leaning toward using paper-pieced economy blocks for the quilt top and a grey grunge fabric on the back that will show the awesome camping quilting pattern and will stand up to the dirt and grime that sometimes accompanies camping adventures.

Other Projects That Have Peaked My Interest

• Hummingbird Paper-Piecing Sew-Along hosted by Home Sewn By Us
• Dimensions in Dusk Quilt, pattern by Nydia Kehnle
• North Quilt, pattern by Giucy Giuce

That should do it for now! Here’s to a creative and joyful 2019!

Linking up to Quilting Jetgirl’s 2019 Planning Party.