2023 Goals Recap and 2024 Planning

The only way I can think of to open this post is with an image of my favorite finish from 2023, my postage stamp quilt!

From a distance it's a bunch of multi-colored squares, but up close there is plenty of fussy-cutting and interesting things to look at.  It's backed in flannel so it's super warm and cuddly!

Now that I've lured you in with a pretty quilt, let's take a look at the official goals that I set at the end of 2022:

1. Write three new patterns.  Interesting that I said "write" and not "publish" because that means I got closer to my goal than I realized.  I started off the year with a lot of ideas and drive, but I'm having trouble turning pattern writing into a job and not just a hobby.  It gets pushed to the back burner by my part-time job and household responsibilities.  

A short list of the things I like best about pattern designing:

• Coming up with the designs
• Figuring out the best way to piece the blocks in my designs
• Doing all the quilt math for the pattern
• Seeing the quilts others make with my patterns

A short list of things I struggle with about pattern designing:

• Making the diagrams for my patterns
• Taking high-quality photos of my finished quilts to use to promote the pattern

I can do these things, I just don't enjoy them.  So when patterns aren't coming out, it's normally a case that I'm procrastinating on putting together the diagrams to illustrate each step.

Having rambled on for quite some time, here's how I actually did:

• One pattern, Fair Day, released
• One pattern, Pebbled Prairie, fully written and tech-edited, but the pattern samples aren't quite finished
• One pattern, Windsuit, with a strong rough draft and finished pattern samples
• One pattern, unnamed, with a weak rough draft

My original plan was to release Windsuit after Fair Day.  I had my mock-up and made my test blocks, but then I was slowed down by problems with my sewing machine.  Once the sewing machine was working properly again, I was struggling to get back to the Windsuit sample (in my head, I associated the quilt with the machine problems even though that wasn't the case at all!).  Then, I came up with the idea for Pebbled Prairie on my daily walk; as soon as I got home I sat down and sketched it on paper and then started the mock-up in EQ8.  I couldn't get it out of my head so it jumped the line so to speak.  Both pattern samples are pieced, but they need to be quilted and bound before I can photograph them and release the pattern.

2. Finish (i.e. turn into mini display pieces) all my cross-stitch projects. I prioritized this goal in April and finished all of the small kit stitches that I had in a pile in my sewing room.  All of the kit stitches that I finished after April have also been made into mini quilts. But the four bigger pieces are still sitting there.  To be fair, I'm not quite sure what I want to do with them.  Sometimes I think I like the process of cross-stitching more than the actual final product.

3. Finish existing QAL projects.  I started the year with 5 QAL projects on my WIP list and I worked on all five of them during the year, finishing three (marked with a star below).  I also started three new QAL projects and finished two of them, leaving me with three QAL projects on my WIP list.  This is a win for me!

Overall, I made progress on all three goals.  I didn't finish all of them, but I didn't ignore them either.

Next up, the 2023 finish gallery!  There's something so satisfying about looking at all of my finished projects together. As always, I'm listing them by project start date.  The starred projects are old QALs that I finished as part of goal number 3 above.

Rainbow Blossom* Started January 2019 Finished January 2023	Postage Stamp Quilt Started January 2022 Finished March 2023	Climb Every Mountain Stitched March 2022 Finished April 2023
Black and White Kinship* Started July 2022 Finished May 2023	Shine Bright Stitched August 2022 Finished April 2023	Sew Place Like Home* Started September 2022 Finished June 2023
All Is Bright Stitched December 2022 Finished April 2023	Winter Wolf Stitched January 2023 Finished April 2023	Bright Day Started January 2023 Finished February 2023
Dino Loop Started February 2023 Finished February 2023	Pin Banner Started March 2023 Finished March 2023	Fair Day Started March 2023 Finished March 2023
Jungle Friends Stitched March 2023 Finished April 2023	Scrap Cabinet Started March 2023 Finished December 2023	Purrfect Posey Stitched April 2023 Finished May 2023
Patchwork Mug Rugs Started April 2023 Finished April 2023	Stranger Things Mini Started May 2023 Finished October 2023	Meeple Tablerunner Started May 2023 Finished May 2023
Hello Spring Started May 2023 Finished July 2023	Bananas Started July 2023 Finished October 2023	Ocean Friends Stitched July 2023 Finished July 2023
Patchwork Lamp Coaster Started July 2023 Finished July 2023	Windsuit Started August 2023 Finished November 2023	Halloween Shoe Stitched October 2023 Finished December 2023

Finally, goals for 2024.  Some years I'm excited and full of ideas for the coming year, but this year I just feel overwhelmed.  So I'm going to start with my immediate goals and I'll revisit them at the end of quarter.

1. Decide where I want BluePip Designs to go in 2024.  I love designing patterns but I also enjoy making other people's patterns.  I also took Yvonne's pattern tech editing course last April and found it fascinating.  I did a tech edit swap with another person who took the class and I really think it's something I would enjoy pursing further.  Because this is really my only goal right now, I'm going to break it down into sub-goals to make it less overwhelming:

1. Release the Pebbled Prairie pattern by the end of January.
2. Release the Windsuit pattern by the end of March.
3. Try my hand at tech editing a few more patterns - if you are reading this and are interested in being one of my first clients, please reach out!
4. Set dedicated "work hours" each week to devote to BluePip Designs and work on a plan for the rest of the year.

2. Work on my Under the Sea QAL blocks. These blocks are time consuming, but I should be able to commit 2-4 days each month to finish up the top.

The list seems incomplete with only two goals on it, but again, I'm just not in a goal-setting mind space right now.  I'll be back at the end of March with a goal update and some new goals for the rest of the year.  For now I'm linking up at Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl - thanks for stopping by!