Planning for Play time! Quilting Goals for January 2018

 How are you doing with your quilting goals for the year? I *think* I'm finally catching on to this planning thing! Actually, I think I'm finally reaping the rewards of all the planning I've done in the past.

You've heard the 'work smarter, not harder' motto I'm sure, but I'm realizing it fits my needs when it comes to realistic planning for what I can get done in my quilting time. I have small, doable monthly goals. Not one loooooong list of wishful thinking, but little bits I can focus on a month at at time.

The results?
I am well on my way to reaching my January goals!
These include:

• catching up on two guild mystery quilts - 1 done

• completing two block lottery blocks for my guild - done

2 - 14" bear paw blocks

• designing, writing pattern for a block - sent one off to a magazine, still 1 to do

• quiltiing my Jolly Christmas quilt - started!

• prepping for next month's quilt guild mystery (my turn to present) - 1 done

MORE than being well on my way to reaching my goals, I have confidence that I have planned for my own success. Finishes make me feel happy and spur me on to keep finishing! How about you? :)
AND, as I finish ahead of the end of the month - I will have time to play!

Now. This is not my first attempt at planning. I've done a lot of the heavy lifting, so to speak, in past years. The biggest pitfall to feeling joyful and reaping the reward of finished quilts is WORKS IN PROGRESS. The ever present WIPs. I'll be honest. My plan this year doesn't include quilting many of my completed tops. They might get done in my 'play time', but I'm really focused on getting a few key quilts done this year, either to put in a quilt show or to gift on time.

I'm not committed to any Blocks of the Months this year. Yet. I get tempted on a weekly, if not daily basis, but again, focus. I want some finishes! I want to create my own quilts. I want to walk my own path, at least some of the time:)

To get my Works in Progress under control I started working on it almost 5 years ago. Thanks to Pat Sloan and her challenge I purged, organized and then last year I got a lot of quilt tops completed. I still want to go through my projects again this year, but for right now I'm moving forward with my current quilts.

You can seek out group support to deal with your UFOs -seriously! All People Quilt does a UFO challenge where you number 12 projects to work on over the year and then they announce a number to work on each month. This can work great for you if your UFOs don't have deadlines.

There is also a lively support group of users of the Quilter's Planner that post a lot on instagram. {Quilter's Planner on Instagram}Public accountability might help you focus on your goals. Then again, looking at all the social media posts might help you find more projects to work on too!

And then there's the guilt and overwhelm. It happens. It happens a lot when you're focussing on what you haven't finished, what you want to start, the time you have, the money you have, the stash you have (or don't). Hey. This is supposed to be fun! Therapeutic. Healing. Enjoyable.

Make it Sew. 

You'll succeed at what you want to succeed at. Give yourself permission to be you - whatever that looks like for you this year. Maybe you need to try something new to get out of a rut or get lost in learning something new. Or maybe you need to soak up some inspiration and just look. Or you might need to keep your head down in your own work, walk your own path and stop once in a while to see where you've been and acknowledge how far you've come.

Welcome to 2018. Your year is waiting for you!

With Joy,

Sarah V.