Goals for 2017

Hi, y'all! With 2016 almost behind us (thank goodness), it's time to start thinking about yearly goals again.

Setting a yearly goal and then working on a project in the finishing stages at least once a week worked so well for me last year that I want to continue in the same vein this year. So with that in mind, I listed all of my projects and thought about how I wanted to approach getting them done. Eventually, I would like to work on at least one finishing project, one quilting/binding project (as opposed to piecing a quilt), and one of my own designs each week. Once I've done some work on each of those, I'd then work on whatever I felt like. I'd also like to have just a few projects for each type of needlework that I do. Over the next few years, I plan to focus on reducing my UFOs so that I don't feel so overwhelmed by the excessive number that I currently have.

I'm not going to worry about reducing the number of projects that are at the finishing stage or the number of quilts that are at the quilting/binding stage because if I keep working on those for a bit each week I should be able to keep on top of them. I'm also not going to worry about Christmas projects since I only work on those during the month of December and I only have a few anyway. Also, for the sake of brevity, in this post I'm not going to bother with images for each project; I'll just list the project names (I promise to properly credit the designers in future posts).

So, without further ado, here we go:

Swedish Weaving:

I would like to have just one Swedish weaving project. Currently I have the following:

Baby Babbles

Goal already met. Yay!

Blackwork:

For blackwork, I would like to have at most one of my own designs and one project designed by someone else. Currently I have the following:

Da Capo

Goal already met. Yay!

Knitting:

For knitting, I would like to have one summer project and one winter project. Currently I have the following:

Shawl
Soft Shoulders

Soft Shoulders is perfect for a winter project. I would prefer to have something knit with cotton or linen for a summer project, but the shawl, which I'm knitting with a laceweight yarn, isn't too heavy so it will do. I'm calling this goal already met. Yay!

Crochet:

For crocheting, I would like to have one summer project, one winter project, and one scrap-eater project. Currently I have the following:

Plum Granny Ripple
Step Afghan
Granny's Daughter
Country Quilt Footstool Caddy

Plum Granny Ripple is a good summer project and the Step Afghan is a good winter project. Granny's Daughter is a scrap afghan consisting of 1 1/2" one-round granny squares crocheted together with a main color. It's a perfect project for using up scraps that are too small to be used in other projects.

So, to meet my crocheting goal I'll need to finish the Country Quilt Footstool Caddy.

Quilts - Piecing:

For quilts that are in the piecing stage, I would like to have one of my own designs and one project designed by someone else. Currently I have the following:

Hidden Stars
Old Mill Pond
Around the Town
Snuggles Quilts Block-of-the-Month (BOTM) (the designer never gave this a name)

Hidden Stars is my own design. That leaves 3 designed by others. Old Mill Pond will take the longest to finish, so in order to meet this goal I plan to finish piecing Around the Town and design a setting (I didn't like the designer's) for the blocks in the Snuggles Quilts BOTM and finish piecing it.

Cross Stitch:

For my cross stitch projects, I would like to have one of my own designs and one project designed by someone else. Currently I have the following:

Bright Feathers
Mask of Colors 1
Fish City
Noah's Sub
Joy of Computer Work
Brilliant Butterfly Celebration
Kitty Litter
Elements of Nature I
Elements of Nature II
Celtic Gilt Sun
Serenity
Starry Night
Planetarius
Dolphins' Domain
Rose Cross

Yikes.

Now, Mask of Colors 1 (and its companion piece), Fish City, and Noah's Sub are all giant projects that will take me years to finish, so I'm not going to worry about them; I'll just make sure not to start any more giant cross stitch projects.

Bright Feathers is my own design.

That leaves the following projects by other designers that need to be whittled down to just one:

Joy of Computer Work
Brilliant Butterfly Celebration
Kitty Litter
Elements of Nature I
Elements of Nature II
Celtic Gilt Sun
Serenity
Starry Night
Planetarius
Dolphins' Domain
Rose Cross

Obviously, I'm not going to be able to finish all of those in just one year. I'll need to spread them out over a few years, starting with the smaller ones so that I feel like I'm making progress.

So finally, after reviewing the above, I've decided to finish (or at least get to the finishing or quilting/binding stage) 6 projects this year. That's 2 months per project, which seems reasonable. I'll do the projects needed to meet my goals plus enough of the cross stitch projects to make a total of 6.

My goal for 2017 is to finish the following:

Country Quilt Footstool Caddy
Around the Town
Snuggles Quilts Block-of-the-Month (BOTM)
Elements of Nature I
Serenity
Rose Cross

So, my plan for this year is to work on one finishing project, one quilting/binding project, and one of my own designs each week, and then focus on the 6 projects listed above. If I do that, then by the end of the year I should have reduced my UFOs to a reasonable number, except for the cross stitch projects, of course.

Batik Cascade

I finally finished Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs.

And now we are so happy, we do the dance of Joy!

I pieced and quilted this all by hand, and at 43" x 50 1/2" it's the largest quilt I've completed to date. It's also the first quilt top I ever finished. Furthermore, by finishing this project I've met my goal for the year. Yay!! :)

Unless I manage to finish something else by the end of the year (doubtful), my next post will be my yearly goal-setting post and should be up late December or early January.

Potholder, Changes

Hi, folks. This is just a brief update to let you know that there are going to be some changes here on the blog. Posting weekly updates is no longer working for me, so from now on I'll only post when I've finished a project. I'll also write an annual goal-setting post sometime in January. Since there's no telling when I'm going to post, probably the best ways to keep up with the blog are going to be to subscribe to it through Blogger, use an RSS feed or similar service, or follow me on Twitter @RosCeilteach.

That said, I've finished my final potholder.

There will probably be at least one more post before January since I anticipate being able to finish binding Batik Cascade before the end of the year. See you then. :)

Bright Feathers, Rose Cross, Elements of Nature I, Hidden Stars, Hand Towel, Potholder, Celtic Jewel Bookmark, Country Quilt Footstool Caddy

Finishing:

I finished the Celtic Jewel Bookmark from the Textile Heritage Collection.

Now I've got just one more project left to meet my goal for the year.

Quilting:

I layered, basted, and started quilting my potholder

I also did some more work on the 3rd block of my Hidden Stars quilt.

Knitting:

I did some more knitting on my hand towel.

Cross Stitch:

I did some more stitching on my Bright Feathers design.

I also did some more work on the Rose Cross by Irene O. Thomas.

And I pulled out Elements of Nature I, which is adapted from the artwork of Jennifer Pugh and did some more stitching on it.

Crochet:

Finally, I did some more crocheting on the side of the Country Quilt Footstool Caddy by Karin Strom.

Blackwork Chessboard, Bright Feathers, Brilliant Butterfly Celebration, Country Quilt Footstool Caddy, Hand Towels, Hidden Stars, Mask of Colors 1, Celtic Jewel Bookmark, Potholders

Finishing:

I finally finished the Blackwork Chessboard by Anne MacGregor.

And now we are so happy, we do the dance of joy!

My next finishing project will be the Celtic Jewel Bookmark from the Textile Heritage Collection. So far I've just washed and pressed the needlework and the felt backing.

Quilting:

I also finished my potholder.

And then I started and finished piecing my final potholder.

I did some more work on the 3rd block of my Hidden Stars quilt.

Knitting:

I finished my hand towel.

I also started started knitting the next one. This will be last of these too.

Cross Stitch:

I did some more stitching on my Bright Feathers design.

I also did some more work on Mask of Colors 1, a Colray Crafts chart by Michele Sayetta* of Heaven and Earth Designs* based on artwork by Linda Ravenscroft.

*I do not endorse this designer's products.

And I pulled out Brilliant Butterfly Celebration (designer unknown) from The Gold Collection by Dimensions and did some more stitching on it.

Crochet:

Finally, I finished the bottom of the Country Quilt Footstool Caddy by Karin Strom. Again, I haven't finished it off just in case I want to make size adjustments later.

I also got started on the side.

Blackwork Chessboard, Bright Feathers, Hand Towel, Hidden Stars, Mask of Colors 1, Potholder, Country Quilt Footstool Caddy, Rose Cross

Finishing:

I finished the 3rd binding strip on the Blackwork Chessboard by Anne MacGregor and started on the 4th.

Quilting:

I finished the 1st binding strip on my potholder and started on the 2nd. I've been doing single bindings, but I decided to try double/French bindings on this project. I'm finding the double bindings easier to make and will probably do them in the future unless I'm short on fabric.

I pulled out my Hidden Stars quilt and sewed the first 2 blocks together. Now you should be able to see why I named it Hidden Stars. :)

I also started piecing the 3rd block.

Knitting:

I did some more knitting on my hand towel.

Cross Stitch:

I did some more stitching on my Bright Feathers design.

I pulled out Mask of Colors 1, a Colray Crafts chart by Michele Sayetta* of Heaven and Earth Designs* based on artwork by Linda Ravenscroft and did some more stitching on it.

*I do not endorse this designer's products.

I also did some more work on the Rose Cross by Irene O. Thomas.

Crochet:

Finally, I did some more crocheting on the bottom of the Country Quilt Footstool Caddy by Karin Strom.

Bright Feathers, Blackwork Chessboard, Rose Cross, Hand Towel, Country Quilt Footstool Caddy, Potholder

Finishing:

I finished the 2nd binding strip on the Blackwork Chessboard by Anne MacGregor.

Quilting:

I started a new set of potholders. These will be small and single-layered -- no pockets. I decided it was about time that I learned how to do curved seams, so I found a template for a drunkard's path block and added a border to make it big enough. I've finished piecing and quilting the first one.

So, here it is: my very first curved seam. I'm rather proud of it. :)

Knitting:

I did some more knitting on my hand towel.

Cross Stitch:

I did some more stitching on my Bright Feathers design.

I also did some more work on the Rose Cross by Irene O. Thomas.

Crochet:

Finally, I finished crocheting the cover for the Country Quilt Footstool Caddy by Karin Strom and started on the bottom.

Here's the cover by itself.

And here it is on the bucket lid. It doesn't lie flat in the center, but it should look okay once I've put the cushion under it. I haven't finished off the end in case I want to make size adjustments after I've made the cushion and seen how it looks.

And here's the bottom, so far.

Regarding Copyright

Hi, folks.  This is just brief reminder that I do not share copyrighted patterns.  I don't care how much trouble you're having finding a pattern or how much you're willing to pay me.  It takes a great deal of time and effort to create a needlework pattern, and I will not steal from my fellow designers who deserve to be paid for their hard work.

I list the designer of the pattern (if known) with a link to their website (if I can find one) in every post.  Please use that information to find and legally purchase your own copy of the pattern.  If you need more information, such as the publication where I found a pattern or the store I purchased a kit from, please leave a comment and I'll be more than happy to help you if I can.


*edited to correct a typo

Country Quilt Footstool Caddy, Blackwork Chessboard, Bright Feathers, Hand Towel, Potholder

Finishing:

I finished the 1st binding strip of the Blackwork Chessboard by Anne MacGregor and started on the 2nd.

Quilting:

I finished my potholder. This is the last of these pocket potholders made from wonky old blocks.

Knitting:

I did some more knitting on my hand towel.

Cross Stitch:

I did some more stitching on my Bright Feathers design.

Crochet:

Finally, I did some more work on the Country Quilt Footstool Caddy by Karin Strom.