2022 Planning Party

Once again, Yvonne/Quilting JETgirl is hosting her #2022PlanningParty, a time to look back on 2021 and consider plans and goals for next year.

The Quilts

• I said this in 2020, and it's true agaon.... it seems that the biggest success of the year has been that I was still inclined to sew regularly. It's been another very unique year, and I'm glad I've had the consistency of creating.
• That said, I had an unspoken goal of at least one finished quilt project a month, and I was able to accomplish that, though having a December finish remains to be seen.
• Stash-busting was a priority at the beginning of the year, and I sewed right through 50 Days of Scraps, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
• New and unexpected was the opportunity to make liturgical quilts. Definitely a unique challenge each time.
• Continued entering challenges with the Improv Quilt Studio.
• For the second year, I logged every little bit of fabric I brought in and subsequently used up. Generous gifts of fabric near the beginning of the year threw off my stats considerably, so I kind of felt like I was playing catch-up all year. But the goal remained and I prioritized sewing from stash.

Handwork

• I definitely met my goal of continuing the handstitching focus I started last year in Alison Glass' Stitch Club! I stitched a slew of Dropcloth Samplers this year, and learned to do chickenscratch embroidery in Blair Stocker's Snowflake Sampler. I also started hand-piecing a quilt for the first time in years in Jenn McMillan's 100 Day Summer Sewalong.

The Community

• Blogging felt just a tad sluggish this year. Not terrible, still consistent, but not as inovative as I would have liked. My second year participating in the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge this month, though, has me on my toes, and I'm really enjoying it.
• The Scrap Basket newsletter settled into monthly publication, and the readership continues to grow, so that's all good. 
• I DID make my Instagram account professional, which mostly allows me to see insights on each of my posts. That's interesting, but can't say I'm doing much to evaluate that.  Stories still seem a bit of a struggle, but I'm trying.
• Another thing this year was needing to figure out a new way to get my blog posts to my readers who subscribe by email. After Feedburner quit supporting that option, it took a bit to figure that out, but my solution with Mailchimp has been working well, so thankful for that!
• Besides social media connections, my local Seattle MQG guild has been awesome in trying to keep us connected, and I've really appreciated that. Also, the VQG (Virtual Quilt Guild) begun in 2020 continues, and has been a good connection, allowing me to meet some new creative folks.

QuiltCon Together

• It wasn't quite the familiar QuiltCon experience, of course, but QuiltCon Together was still great fun. I had a quilt in the magazine for the first time, some quilts in the show, and took classes I enjoyed, so can't complain.

New Directions

• I honestly made no real plans for 2021, feeling the need to just take it as it came, and that felt like plenty

So considering everything, I'd say 2021 was successful enough, though pretty much more of the same. So on to 2022....

The Quilts

• More stash-busting and scrap-using is definitely in order. In fact, I'm considering starting 100 Days of Scraps, since I enjoyed my 50 so much this year. AND my scrap basket is truly overflowing. Again.
• There are a couple of key WIPs that I'm still working on finishing - my 2021 Summer Sampler quilt, and the hand-pieced bowtie quilt begun in the 100 Day Summer Sewalong. I expect the first to be a priority after the holidays.

• As usual, I plan to make something with 2022's Pantone color of the year, Very Peri. Once I get an official Pantone swatch, I'll work on figuring out fabrics. 
• The goal of at least one finished quilt project a month continues to encourage me along, so I plan to continue with that. I really think I want to continue to go with the flow, though, about what those quilts might be.... whatever brings me joy in the moment would be my preference, and discovering what that might be is a big part of the fun.
• Bee Sewcial, an improv and solid-only bee, is heading into our 8th(!) year together and I'm up again to offer a prompt come April.
• The blocks aren't quite done yet, but will be early in the new year, so I plan to make a quilt out of my Snowflake Sampler blocks, hand-stitched all through 2021.

Handwork

• I definitely want to keep up with the handwork I've been doing this year, and continue to be open to learning new techniques. I'm mulling over what new to explore.
• I expect I'll continue to stitch the occasional Dropcloth Sampler, and am looking forward to a new one that is coming soon!

The Community

Hope to do more of the same:

• Regular, frequent posting on the blog here and on Instagram. Don't expect me to try any fancy stuff though. ha.
• I'll take The Scrap Basket into its 7th year, and monthly editions seem to make sense for the time being. 
• I'm mulling over whether to focus more on entering quilts into shows. I really like that idea, though the process of entering doesn't bring me joy - ha. So we'll see. 

QuiltCon 

• I'm not going to make it to QuiltCon in Phoenix, having to settle on a couple of my quilts going in my place.

New Directions

• I've been debating whether to move my blog away from Blogger but need to consider my options. I've also been toying with the idea of adding a shop to my brand for the occasional (most likely small) quilt or other sewn item. Still debating.

Boy that all feels like a lot, doesn't it? One day at a time is my motto of late, so time will tell....

Linking up with Quilting JETgirl's #2022PlanningParty.