Q3’18 FAL – Goal Setting

July 18, 2018 - Ann Petersen 1 Comment

New quarter, new goals! (actually some not so new goals, but I’ll get them done!

Dog Gone Cute Bee Quilt – these are the blocks from my Bee group in 2017. During Q1’18 I added 2 more blocks to fill it out and during Q2’18 I finished all the sashing to complete the top. Just need to quilt it now.

Bjorn the Bear – I finished this quilt top during my June group quilt retreat. I need to put glasses on one of the bears and get it quilted up.

Hawaiian batiks – Another quilt top that I got finished during my June quilt retreat – ready to be quilted.

Study from my Bill Kerr Workshop – this was really such a great workshop. It was really thought provoking and helpful to further design ideas. The top is all done – just need to quilt it (and name it!)

Angela Walters Challenge #3 Quilt – I bought the kit for this guy because I really loved the polka dots. I really enjoyed the Challenge #1 as it gave me a great opportunity to really practice my quilting. I look forward to the same with this quilt!

Summer Sampler 2018 – Honestly I was kind of stressed out at work and really needed some pretty fabric and a pattern to follow, so I bought all of it! I have a few blocks done, but this is unlikely to get done this quarter.

Some good goals for the quarter – I look forward to getting these done

Linking up with the Q3’18 FAL site.

Mid Year Goal Check In

July 11, 2018July 10, 2018 - Ann Petersen 4 Comments

Well here it is July, and so we are halfway through the year. I find this both surprising and overdue – I can’t believe it’s mid-year already, but it also has been a pretty long year so far. I had lots of good change – I got to make a move in my job that I think will eventually wind up to be a very good thing, but I haven’t quite gotten through the transition and it has been a lot of work. I’ve also had problems with my foot which has been painful and a battle, and my poor dog Leo (Mr. Brown Paws) has had a rough year. But overall we are good, and I am looking forward to fall!

These were my goals for the year, along with a status update:

Looking Forward – 2018

For 2018, my word of the year is Grow – as in build or develop. I feel like I set up a good base in 2017 and now it’s time to really branch into some new things.

Long Term Goals – keeping these the same, because they are pretty good ones!

Find a good balance between work and life and make sure I keep making time to sew. Getting a bit more physical activity and losing a few pounds wouldn’t be a bad idea either! UPDATE: Still a work in progress. I made a work change that will be a good thing, and I did start doing yoga again about a month ago. Hoping for more progress here in the latter part of the year.
Continue to try new things with my quilting. Learn new skills, make things that are outside my norm and my comfort zone. UPDATE: Kind of so-so here…I spent more time on my long arm and used the Angela Walters quilt-a-long to really try some new things. I’ve also done more client quilting, which was really scary at first, but is getting more comfortable.

Short Term Goals:

Design some quilts. I’d really like to push myself and make some original things this year. I think I have a mental block about designing and am making it too hard. This year I want to push myself to get over this hump. I am the Queen of my Bee group in February, and this year I will design my own block. UPDATE: Eh. Not so great here. I kind of designed a block for February, but haven’t done much since. I did take a great class with Bill Kerr from Modern Quilt Design Studio, and I think I got some good ideas there. This is the study I completed during that class:

2. Submit my designs, either full quilts or just blocks, for publication. I don’t care if they are accepted or not – I just want to get them designed, created, and put myself out there and submit them. UPDATE: No progress 🙁

3. Build my long arm customer base. I’ve started my business and have had a few customers, but I’d really like to do more. UPDATE: I did ok here. I’m not booming with business, but I did have a few more clients this year. I could still grow some more. Here are some great customer quilts from so far this year. All of these were done using the Pro Stitcher on my Handi Quilter Avante.

4. Learn to use my new camera. I got a new DSLR camera for Christmas to help me take better photos. I have absolutely no idea how to use it, so it fits well into my ‘grow’ mantra for the year! UPDATE: I’ve taken a few classes and done a bit of practice, but more progress to be made.

Projects on the list:

Finish the Bee-u-tiful Quilt along quilt – it is on the frame now and close to done. – DONE
A secret project that I need to get done by mid-March. I get to use my Alison Glass stash, so it will be cool! DONE
My Hazel the Hedgehog quilt. DONE
My Hawaiian Batik blocks – need to figure out how I want to put these blocks together and get the top done. Quilt top is together now – just need to quilt it.
Another baby quilt – I think I have until June…? DONE – this was the One Fish quilt.
Finish and quilt up my Dog quilt from the 2016 Bee Inspired group. Quilt top is together now – just need to quilt it.
Work up the Cat Quilt. Haven’t started 🙁
From there, my docket is clear to design new things. Now to just generate some ideas…? Still looking for ideas!

I didn’t get as far with my goals as I’d like so far this year, but I did have a big shift at work that kept me busy. Right now I’m just happy doing a bunch of sewing for relaxation! And maybe I’ll figure out how to do some designing too…

Linking up with the 2018 MidYear Review.

Q2’18 FAL Wrap Up

July 6, 2018July 3, 2018 - Ann Petersen 1 Comment

End of Q2’18! Already. I think I made some good progress.

Dog Gone Cute Bee Quilt – these are the blocks from my Bee group last year. They are so cute! During Q1’18 I added 2 more blocks to fill it out and decided and started on a layout and sashing plan. I’m hoping to make some good progress at my Quilt Guild sew in this weekend.

UPDATE: Top is done, which was a big accomplishment with all the sashing. I should quilt it soon.

Red and Blue Squares – all the little squares are cut out and ready to sew together. Lots of squares and seams to match up. At this point I have the top mostly pieced so I should get it loaded and quilted soon.

UPDATE: Done! Posted about it here:

Hawaiian batiks – I finally bought the sashing fabric, so this guy is ready to be finished. I cut all the sashing out but I still think the layout is not quite right, so I have some more work to do before I’ll get this guy done

UPDATE: The top is all done and ready to be quilted. I finished it at my quilt retreat in June!

Sewing Machine Bag – I won 2 bag patterns from Sew Sweetness in the 2017 FAL, which was so cool! One of them, the Aeroplane bag, is the perfect size for my new lightweight sewing machine that I bought for classes. I’ve made a good start on the bag and should finish it soon.