2020 Goal Check: Halfway

I have greatly enjoyed writing my month-end recap posts, and today I'm going to take an in-depth look at how I'm doing.  I have four goals for 2020 and I'm happy to say that I've made progress on three of them!

My first goal is to give away five quilts.  This one was actually easier than I expected!  I had two gift quilts that were finished and one that was half done already.  I jumped right in and finished the half-done one, then did a sample quilt that ended up being doll-sized, so it was easy to give those four away.  I also donated a quilt that no one around here seemed to love - I hope it found a new home that appreciates it.  This goal was actually easier than I expected and I'm currently working on another quilt that is going to be a surprise gift so I am surpassing it!

This Garden Quilt was made of scrappy charm squares and sent to my flower-loving aunt.  She had no idea it was coming and enjoyed the happy surprise.  Click through to see the fun pieced back!

My second goal is to finish old WIPs and end the year with less than ten quilts on the list and it is a lot tougher!  I started the year with 17 quilts on my WIP list and halfway through the year I'm sitting at 18.  That doesn't mean the list has been static though.  I have finished ten quilts already this year, including four that were on the WIP list when I made the goal.  So my original list of 17 is down to 13!  I try to tell myself that I need to finish two quilts before starting the next one, but my willpower isn't always strong enough.

The oldest finish that's now off my list - the 2018 Summer Sampler.  I rarely do such a controlled color palette and this finish inspired me to do the same thing with my Watermelon Quilt.

My third goal is to publish three patterns.  I'm finding this one just a bit harder, but I've still made some progress that I'm happy with.  I finished one pattern for an internal challenge my guild is doing, and I will be publishing it once the challenge is over.  I've been playing in EQ8 daily, and I've actually come up with a pattern I love.  A pattern I love so much that I impulsively submitted it to a magazine and it's going to be published next year!  So not technically this year, but since all the work has to be done now I think it totally counts!

This block is part of my guild's member-designed mystery quilt.

My final goal is dead in the water.  I wanted to make the time this year to go on a quilt retreat.  Well, COVID gives and COVID takes.  I have plenty of time to do a quilt retreat, but no desire to gather indoors with a group of other people.  So I'm just trying to take a "sew day" at least once a month and get a big chunk of sewing in.  It felt a little weird to ignore my kids for that long the first time I did it, but since they generally end up with extra Xbox time they don't complain about it.

And that's it!  I'm off to baste one of those 18 quilts and get in another finish before the month ends - I need to get my list back to my "sweet spot" of 17.  I'm linking up my goal progress with Quilting Jet Girl!