2023 Quilting Q2 Check In

As a follow-up to her 2023 Planning Party, Yvonne @quiltingjetgirl is hosting a 2023 Quilting Q2 CheckIn, and I figured that might be a good idea! Since one of my goals for the year was to continue working towards at least one quilt finish per month, I'm happy to say that so far, that's happened. Here are my completed quilts in Q2:

A Neon Moment

Brown Crush

Verve

Afterthought

Hourglass

Duality

So on to my stated goals back in December. Note my current status/notes are in bold italics.

The Quilts

• More stash-busting and scrap-using is definitely in order. In fact, I'm considering starting 100 Days of Scraps (or maybe I already have??), since I enjoyed my 50 so much this year. AND my scrap basket is truly overflowing. Again. My 100 Day Project, 100 Days of Scraps, was completed on June 1. Not just quilts, but I'm more than pleased how much I was able to create from my scrap basket. And more to come!
• There's one quilt WIP that I'm still working on finishing - the hand-pieced bowtie quilt begun in the 100 Day Summer Sewalong. I actually have batting purchased -  a backing partially hand-pieced, and thread for hand-quilting purchased. So expect to see this one progress in the months ahead.
• Also on my list for next year is a quilt using the stack of Giuseppe Ribaudo's Entwine that I picked up at Quilt Festival. An impulse buy for sure, they are soft and lovely wovens, so I was thinking something I'd hand-quilt. We'll see. I kind of changed my mind about using the bundle in a single project, and have been pulling one out periodically to add texture to projects. First it was for my Pantone project, Verve, and I just pulled another for an upcoming project.

• As usual, I plan to make something with 2023's Pantone color of the year, Viva Magenta. Once I get an official Pantone swatch, I'll work on figuring out fabrics. So yes, I created Verve for that challenge, and with the scraps, Afterthought. Mission accomplished.
• 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. As I mentioned above, so far I'm on track with at least one quilt finish a month, deciding as I go along what those might be.
• Bee Sewcial, an improv and solid-only bee, is heading into our 9th(!) year together and I'm up again to offer a prompt come spring. You might remember that my prompt in April was "Albersesque," and I'm happy to say I've received all my blocks from my bee mates. Which means I need to create a plan for them one of these days. I haven't forgotten!
• And I plan to continue to participate in challenges with the Improv Quilt Studio, as I really enjoy the community and the challenges. My Duality for the latest IQS challenge was completed recently, and what a fun one it was. 
• A new (possible) goal is that I was approached about creating a trio of quilted liturgical wall hangings for our church. I know the basic colors and themes, but no specific design ideas yet. This project will take some dedicated focus. Unfortunately, still no progress on this one.
• A new project on the list is a smallish quilt for the Women of the ELCA Twelfth Triennial Convention in September. I have a rough idea, and the beginnings of a fabric pull. I'll share more as I make some progress.
• Another new project is participating in the upcoming Mini Plaid-ish Sewalong with @kitchentablequilting. It's kind of tradition, and of course, I still have scraps.

Handwork

• I definitely want to keep up with the handwork, and continue to be open to learning new techniques. I recently started in on a new sashiko project, and am stitching away on it in the evenings. Completed in Q1.
• Plus I have a new project I plan to start in January - stitching a 2023 Gingiber tea towel along with Jen @stitchalongwithjen. And I do have a nearly finished cross-stitch project to work on too. Still occasionally stitching on this one when I don't have other handwork to work on.
• I expect I'll continue to stitch the occasional Dropcloth Sampler, and have one in my 'to do' pile, as well as seeing what else new comes up. I finished the Strawberry Needle Book, and Garden Path, which I made into even more needle books!
• And I hope to hand-quilt that bow tie quilt, since it's all hand-stitched so far. It goes in and out of priority, and I guess that's ok too. This is finally going to happen!

The Community

• Regular, frequent posting on the blog here and on Instagram. Still wishing I could master reels, but that takes some focus I haven't yet given it. Maybe it'll happen. I'm still averaging 2-3 blog posts a week, and posting most days on Instagram. 
• I'll take The Scrap Basket into its 8th year, and monthly editions seem to make sense for the time being. This plan has gone pretty well and I hope to continue monthly publications.
• Bee Sewcial has a new website, and I'm hoping to help with that this year, with updates, etc. Haven't done anything new, but I'm up for it as needed.
• I was recently selected as an Aurifil Artisan for a second year. There's a whole new slate of upcoming challenges as I continue to use a wide range of Aurifil threads in all of my projects. 

QuiltCon 

• I'm probably not going to make it to QuiltCon in Atlanta, but just shipped off three of my quilts going in my place, which I'm grateful for. Nothing new to report.

So there was some repetition from my Q1 Check In, but doing a mid-year check was still a good idea. I feel like I'm basically on track with my original goals, while still leaving plenty of room for the yet-unknown projects. And though I'm primarily still working on quilts, I'm enjoying the variety of adding in other types of projects as well. So far, so good!