2018 Quilting Goals

I realize I'm a little late to the 2018 quilting goal-setting party. I've seen posts by several of my quilty friends, but my own goals have been so to percolate, so rather than sharing them as part of a link up with others more on the ball than me, I will simply share them here.

If I were to make a sweeping generalization of my 2017 quilting goals--though I never actually made any formal goals--it would be that I aspired to be a more social quilter. And I did that quite well. From my very first mystery quilt, Bonnie Hunter's En Provence, to my Lovely Bee swarm, joining several block of the months, to entering my first contest, I was a very busy girl!

One downside of participating in all those block of the month projects is that is that now I have several quilts ready to be finished. And I'm hesitant to join too many other new things until I finish what I started.

So here I am at mid-January with a goal be a little less social. I'm not going to be completely anti-social, just less social. I enjoy making my own patterns. I enjoy having time to make something on the fly as I feel inspired. I want to make some quilts that have been on my to-do queue for a long time. I want to make more baby quilts and quilts for those who mean a lot to me and my family.

So, in no particular order, my goals for 2018 are to:

GENERAL GOALS:

• Finish 18 quilts. I made 22 last year, so this should be a problem. Especially if I finish some flimsies.
• Of those 18, I'd like at least 12 to be quilts donated to my local quilt group.
• Use my stash. Make more scrappy quilts to reduce my overflowing scrap bins.
• Quilt through my favorite quilt books.
• Write up one original pattern.

QUILTS CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS:

• Piece and quilt the blocks received from my Lovely Bee swarm from 2017
• Fully participate in my 2018 swarm. My month is December so I will not complete my quilt this year.
• Make all 365 blocks as part of the 365 Block Challenge hosted by Kathryn Kerr.
• Quilt Quilting Jet Girl's Wayward Transparency quilt.
• Complete Blossom Heart Quilt's Milky Way Sampler
• Complete Pat Sloan's Grandma's Kitchen quilt.
• Complete Bonnie Hunter's On Ringo Lake quilt. 
• Complete the PEI MQG Mystery Quilt.
• Complete Meadow Mist's Magnolia mystery quilt. 
• Complete Sewhooked's Rainbow Cascade quilt.
• Send out churn blocks to my swap group
• Complete the 3 charity quilts pieced for my local quilting group (Good night Irene, Good morning Irene, Red)
• Finish Jamie & Toben's wedding quilt.
• Finish Niels' weighted blanket.
• Finish University of Akron Quilt

QUILTS ONLY MENTALLY STARTED: (pardon my vagueness, I don't generally announce who is getting a quilt).

• Amelia
• Molly
• CJ
• Molly Apron
• Landon
• Phoenix
• BELL
• Color blocks (Red is included above. Same quick pattern in Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Teal, Blue, Purple, Pink, Black, Gray, Brown, and Neutrals.
• Labyrinth Walk
• Contribute 70723 Blocks
• Awesome Ocean
• Little Amsterdam
• Dutch Scraps
• Rings of Kerry BOM
• Dogs in Sweaters
• Lisa Unicorn
• American Soldier
• Bright Birch Tree
• Drunk Zebra
• Bubbles
• Storm at Sea
• Dog Daze
• Antelope Canyon
• Master Bedroom 
• Mike
• Ashley
• COWS
• Thin Blue Line
• Catan
• Hemza
• Dutch/US flag
• Snowflake
• Dutch Orange
• Oops quilt using Quilt as you go. 
• Molly Apron
• Starry Night
• Brutus
• Violet Craft Elephant

As expected, I have many more quilts in my queue than I will be able to make this year. And I have many more quilts on another list, but I decided to cap this public list at quilts that I am actively working on or have at least designed/pulled fabric/prepped to begin. 

Fourteen Years

It's been fourteen years since I broke my brain. I wrote more about it here. 

PEI Modern Quilt Guild Mystery 2017: Clue 5

Most of my quilt alongs from last year are finishing up, but my PEI Modern Quilt Guild mystery is still plugging along. Clue #5 was half rectangle triangles. I've never made them before but the directions were great and I was really happy I had the Tri-Rec ruler from last year's Bonnie Hunter mystery, En Provence.

I made the decision not to do as many quilt alongs this year, in large part to make sure that I finish the ones I've started, I have to admit that it's really fun to have a quilt come together slowly like this. A perfect no-stress project!

Linked to:

PEI MQG

#96: Project Linus Mystery Quilt

Midway through January and I have my first finish of the year! Last fall, as my to do queue was filled with mystery quilts and quilt alongs, I learned about the Project Linus mystery quilt. Project Linus is an organization that gives homemade quilts and blankets to kids who are seriously ill or traumatized. 

This was my first year doing the mystery, which is an annual two-part fundraiser. The first part is the quilt along. In order to receive the weekly clues, quilters give a $15 donation to Project Linus. Once all the quilts are complete, the second phase of the fundraiser is a contest where the public can vote for their favorites. 

From the Project Linus website:

From all entries received by the deadline, anyone can vote for their favorite quilt(s) from a link on our website, and voters may vote more than one time. Each vote is $1 with a minimum of 10 votes ($10) per instance. Voting begins on 12:01a CT on Saturday, February 3, 2018 and ends at 11:59p CT on Friday, February 16, 2018. All funds collected through the voting process are also considered a tax deductible donation to Project Linus and will go to National Headquarters to benefit all chapters.

This year's theme was "Exploring the World with Ethan." The blocks are a combination of traditional piecing, paper piecing, applique, and even a few 3D elements. Each block had a different geographical theme. As an international family that frequently opens our home to guests from around the world, this theme was just my style!

Lantern from China:

Three weeks in China changed my life. 

Ship in Oceania:

Whale in the Antarctic:

The leaning tower of Pisa, Italy.

I was there on a VERY hot July day.

The castle was intended to be Neuschwanstein in Germany.

But I modeled mine after Helmond Castle in my husband's hometown in the Netherlands.

A tipi for the North American plains. This was my first time making a 3D element. 

A plant for the Amazon rainforest in South America. 

The pyramids in Giza, Egypt.

Koala for Australia. One part of the world still on my bucket list. Especially as I find more and more quilters down under. I started embellishing my blocks a bit at this point. I added the body of my koala so his head wasn't floating in my block. 

              

A penguin for Antarctica. I added the water and iceberg.

The star of the quilt is Ethan, an African elephant named after a grandson the quilt designer, Mary Balagna. 

The final block is a stack of books to read more about our beautiful world. This was a fun block as it reminded me of the library quilt I made last year. 

When Mary announced the fabric requirements of orange and blue, I knew I had the perfect background fabric in my stash. I bought both prints a year ago while visiting Holland, Michigan. Look at the little Dutch girl! And the verbage print includes Dutch, too!

I'm so happy I found the perfect quilt to use these prints.

As always my son wraps his love in my quilt. 

I hope that whoever receives this quilt will feel love and support in whatever they are facing and that the bright colors brighten their room and their spirits. 

Linked to:

One Monthly Goal :: January 2018 Update

It's a new year and I'm already behind. Sigh. I'm writing this post on January 8, one day after the link up for Elm Street Quilt's January OMG closed. But I'm posting it anyway, now, because I'm still going to work on it. 

My brain injury has been giving me grief lately. I've been dealing with blurry vision and vertigo for the last few months, which has made my regular headaches worse. The culprit seems to be that my saccadic dysmetria has gotten a lot worse. This video explains it better. 

Long story short, my medical team is adjusting my meds, as well as my contact prescription. We'll get there, but the adjustment is kicking my backside. 

Excuses aside, my goal for this month is to finish my Project Linus mystery quilt, Exploring the world with Ethan. The top was completed as part of the quilt along, but now it's time to get it quilted and bound. 

This was my first year doing the mystery. The annual fundraiser for Project Linus consists of two part. The first part is the quilt along. In order to receive the weekly clues, quilters give a $15 donation to Project Linus. Once all the quilts are complete, the second phase of the fundraiser is a contest where the public can vote for their favorites. 

From the Project Linus website:

From all entries received by the deadline, anyone can vote for their favorite quilt(s) from a link on our website, and voters may vote more than one time. Each vote is $1 with a minimum of 10 votes ($10) per instance. Voting begins on 12:01a CT on Saturday, February 3, 2018 and ends at 11:59p CT on Friday, February 16, 2018. All funds collected through the voting process are also considered a tax deductible donation to Project Linus and will go to National Headquarters to benefit all chapters.

So, I am motivated for a great cause, even if I posted my goal late!

Linked to: