2020 Planning Party

So even though I'm still finishing up some 2019 wips and doing a bit of holiday sewing, it's time for Yvonne/Quilting JETgirl's #2020PlanningParty, so I'm taking a moment to look ahead. Well, ahead and back just to review the plans I made this time last year.

The Quilts

• My Summer Sampler and Homage Bee Sewcial quilt got finished early in the year, and as hoped, I participated in Meghan/Then Came June's I Heart You sew-along, and made the quilt for my grandgirl. Of course, that was only the start.

The Community

• I managed to blog two to three times a week most weeks, sometimes more, and kept up on Instagram too.
• The 88th issue of The Scrap Basket just went live. Publication has slowed just a bit but it is still going strong and readership continues to grow.

QuiltCon
Going to Nashville was a treat, that's for sure, and there was so much to love about this year's experience.

Trunk Shows
There were three, all went very well, though I get pretty nervous beforehand. Once I start, though, it's fun and feels good.

The Rest
The pattern I had on my mind dissipated, and the right time for hosting the next improv sewalong never came along. But thankfully, the spontaneous sewing was able to happen, so that was a good thing.

So on to 2020....

The Quilts

Knowing that making quilts is where I'll spend most of my sewing time, I do have several goals, most of which aren't much different from the past few years:

• Finishing a couple of wips is first on the list, namely my Begonia quilt and this year's Summer Sampler.
• Finish at least one quilt a month throughout the year.
• Incorporate both the Pantone and Kona colors of the year in at least one quilt, as a way to experiment with color.
• Stash-busting will be a priority, basically because it adds another element of challenge.
• Make a couple of scrappy quilts.
• Maybe make a Christmas quilt? Come December I always wish I had one for our bed, and I never do.

The Community

Again, mostly I want to do more of the same:

• Blog 2-3 times/week, hopefully expanding from just sharing what I make, but I'm not quite sure what that will look like yet.
• Have a goal of publishing The Scrap Basket every 3-4 weeks.
• Figure out some Instagram features like linking to posts etc.
• Definitely find time for another IG improv sewalong. They are so fun, and I've had so many questions about 'when can we do that again?' that I really want to make it happen.

New Directions

I love what I do, but have been feeling for a while that I need to tweak it a bit, though the vision for that is fuzzy at this point. A few ideas though:

• Do a new kind of challenge: a friend who happens to be a computer artist and I have talked about doing a challenge together from a single prompt. I'm hoping that can happen.
• Look into monetizing my blog in some way, basically to cover the rising cost of publishing the newsletter.
• Do more "surprise" making and gifting.

So I feel like I could mull over this list and tweak it till the end of the year, but I think I'll let it be what it is and move on. Creating isn't a science, and it doesn't need to be. Above and beyond everything written here, I want time for spontaneous sewing - letting the joy in it take me wherever it wills. 

Linking up with Quilting JETgirl's #2020PlanningParty.