As we head into another year I like to reflect on the goals of the previous year and how that reflects on the person that I am now and where I would like to see myself in the upcoming year. I would like for this upcoming year to be a year of growth through minimization.
Now you might be thinking -- what? because quite frankly when I looked at my goals they seemed in conflict in several areas and I realized that if I took a different perspective on the pieces that I could combine the goals and perhaps accomplish this overall goal.
In the area of minimization, many of the concepts are the usual suspects -- use more stash than brought in, purge scraps, complete UFO projects. I want to also do this with patterns and books that I have purchased and never used -- see if I can learn some new skill or bring those patterns to life using scraps or stash for a gift quilt or charity project.
I did quite a bit of pattern testing last year to promote stash usage and it felt good to move things out that had been in the cabinet for quite a while so maybe I will continue with that journey as well. Though the drama around pattern testing right now is a bit high on Instagram so I am unsure how this will impact the number of people willing to ask for help when creating patterns -- and I have a lot of thoughts about that but this is not the post for that.
I also wanted to take this a step further and start using tools I have had for years and either bringing them into something I uses regularly or purge them to a new home later in the year.
In the realm of growth aside from skills and trying new patterns and tools, I want to continue to expand my long arming business. In the last 3.5 years that I have been offering hand driven edge to edge services I have quilted an average of 2-3 quilts per month for others, last year I did 36 quilts. I would like to see that number closer to 50 quilts this year and as things are expanding now that I have gone digital with my long arming I see that as a possibility.
I'm also hoping to start blogging more frequently and build my Instagram community -- the goal is to reach 1500 followers by years end. I hope to also make weekly videos and hold several raffle opportunities to win quilting services throughout the year.
So what UFO's am I taking into 2024?
- Ghastly NY Beauty Quilt -- started in early 2023
- Blue and teal orphan block scrap quilt
- All Solids Pickle Dish -- started in early 2023
- Candy Cats -- started 2018 (4 of 12 cats made)
- Slow going blue and pink pineapples -- started mid 2022
- AMH Octo Zen Quilt -- started Dec 2023
- Starry Cabins -- 2023 bee block
- Georgous Gertie -- 2021 bee block (ready for quilting)
- Traveling Wonderland Quilt -- started 2016, top finished 2020 (waiting for quilting)
- Skull Quilt -- Assembled 2021 (needs quilting)
- Bear Claws Quilt -- 2022 bee block (needs quilting)
- Winter quilt -- fabric pulled, no pattern picked
- September Moon Glow Quilt -- fabric pulled, no pattern picked
- RSS / CS Giant Sisters Choice -- needs binding
