How about those goals?

     People thought I was nuts last year when I made 21 goals for 2014. My husband and I make goals every year together for ourselves, things together, financial and house projects. We take a couple of days to do this. My husband saves all the goals which we write on yellow paper and keep in separate file folders. This year, we did not accomplish what we decided was most important. I think because we were not specific enough and did not write down how we were going to do this and what strategies. We go away for a few days between Christmas and New Years and work on this over coffee. We usually go to Niagara on the Lake which is so peaceful and gorgeous. 

Just staring out at the Lake helps refocus and reflection

Great Skies

Shot through the window at Harbour House.
Knew I could not make it outside in time.

Past goals for 2014:
1.   Make more comfort quilts. I would like at least one complete with bag per
      month. Ideally, I would like to have others join me somehow.
     I continue to make and give quilts. I have a lot of unquilted tops. I buy the tote bags by the dozen. Only my mother is helping- she sews strips and all around squares that I cut and assemble into quilts. 
2.   Make a paper pieced quilt. 
     I started Sea Urchin by Judy Niemeyer. My friends, the twins, who are extradinary paper pieces taught me using the Charm Elements pack by Judy. I also helped with our guild's raffle quilt which is a paper pieced Karen Stone.
3.   Get a lot better at Free Motion Quilting. 
      I continue to get better. I use designs from Leah Day, the Inbox Jaunt, and am taking Craftsy classes with Angela Walters.
4.   Blog- regularly with information to help others along. Gain more readers.
     I would like to be consistent at least 3 times a week. I did get a lot of readers once based on a Giveaway link from Vicki Welsh. I have 15 followers which is up.
5.   Attend quilt retreats
     I went on retreats in February, May, and November.
6.   Take at least 4 classes.
     One block wonder with Cathy from my guild, Hudson Valley Art workshop with Rayna Gillman, QBL, Bonnie Hunter Crumbs class in September, and a Scraps class with Lynn Roddy Brown in Houston.
7.   Go to Houston for the International Quilt Festival in October.
    Done and totally overwhelmed. First time west of the Mississippi.
8.   Quilting by the Lake in July, class with Victoria Findlay Wolfe. Find a roomate.
     Was assigned a suite where I met Lynn Roddy Brown, Lisa Mason, and Encyclopedia Brown. Took 5 days of classs, met wonderful quilters and learned so much from Victoria.
9.   Teach people some quilt related skills, techniques.
     Did one workshop at my guild on the exploding squares. Was a guest blogger on Sarah Craig's blog. Want more opportunities 
10. Cut out, sew, quilt my daughter's choice of wedding quilt.
     All done, given on Christmas, at home on the bed in Meadville, PA
11. Equipment changes: one new large sewing table for machines, better lighting   (ceiling), better way to photo quilts, more fabric organization (did some scrap organization recently- photos to come), treadle cabinet refinish and machine installed, new large cutting mat.
      Bought a Bailey Home Quilter for the sewing table in May, new ceiling lighting. two Jansko lamps from Ikea, started using Bonnie Hunter's scrap saving system, refinished the treadle cabinet- just needs assembling as I can't figure out the spring mechanism, got a Martelli mat for my Christmas present, got a Featherweight for Christmas
12. More fabric- scraps, batiks, strips
    Did my share of shopping and lots of scraps and fabric donated to me for comfort quilts. Need to do more to keep on top of this and be better organized.
13. Serve my guild.
    Did a workshop, demo, worked on raffle quilt, worked on comfort quilts
14. Learn at least 3 new techniques.
     One block wonder, y seams, Lemoyne star, using Companion Angle, Easy Angle, Shape Plus cutter, paper piecing, made fabric
15. Sew purses/tote bags. I did a few, but want to expand.
     Only two
16. Do denim art quilts. One started on design wall.
     Need to cut the foam board to mount the backing and for pinning. Experimented with liquid thread instead of fusible. Learned some techniques from Grace Errea on the Quilt show. Got more denim. Pinned lots of denim ideas.
17. Make more scrap quilts.
    Lots more exploding squares, made fabric, Good Night Irene, strip quilts, Lemoyne Star, leader-enders
18. Do a challenge.
    Doing a guild mystery quilt, Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion, Vicki Welsh's HST challenge
19. Treadle more.
    Some, for made fabric, need to do more.
20. Do more art quilts- incorporate fibers, landscapes.
    Only managed a few small ones and ones for cards. Need to figure out how to make larger without fusible interfacing.
21. Keep my machines maintained and help others with vintage ones. 
   All machines are up to snuff. I cleaned/fixed two 66, a 401, a 301, an old Kenmore, two Whites, and my husband's grandmother's Red Eye treadle.

     Now, I need to list my goals for 2015. I think the more specific I am and try to say how I plan to do them, the better the odds at achieving them. 

All sewn up!

    Circle Dance is hanging by threads no more. It is all sewn together. It needs to be pressed and assessed to see if I botched any seams. Thanks to Wanda, I learned to pleat up the rows that were not being sewn with safety pins. That helped a lot to handle all the chain pieced rows. I did pin every intersection of seam and circle, right through the seam, yet many of them still moved. GRR! 
    Now to choose the backing. I looked at some wide backings, but there is not a lot of choice. I have to stick to something not real feminine as it is for my daughter and her husband. I looked online an shot a few links to Ria so she could think what she wants. Boy, queen size is big when you do mostly lap size. I could not find a place to take a decent photo so it all could show or get decent light. It is sideways in the photo, the top is to the left.

  Another finish is a kid's comfort quilt, done in the 3 dudes pattern. I only had a small number of kid strips, so I had to add lots of borders. I FMQ on the Bailey and did a slate pattern in the yellow and a sunshine in the blue border which from some reason, has a moire pattern in the photo. Both designs were from Leah Day's list. Now onto the backs from the quilts I made at QBL.

Star and Slate design

Free motion kind of follows the blocks

The back in flannel for snuggling

The Front

Finishes in the Sun

    In order to photo the quilts, I have not been able to find a good place outside. While my husband was sanding the garage and priming it, I realized I could put some nails in the little room off the garage and use bulldog clips on the quilts and hang them on nails. It is not elegant, but neither am I. I just want good light and room to photo. I did this once, and then my husband pulled the nails out to prime it. So, I pounded in the nails again, and hung two finishes.
    The crumb attic windows quilt is all done. Love using those scraps.

      I needed to make a grandson a new truck quilt. The fleece one I made him, he refuses to give it up even on hot nights making him a sweatball. I previously posted the truck fabric I bought from fabric.com. Since we needed it in a hurry, I used two yards of one fabric on the front and two yards of a different truck fabric on the back. I wanted it wider when he goes in to a twin bed instead of the youth one he is in. I used some yellow fabric that reminds of the color of construction signs and vehicles. I quilted it on the Bailey and used a zig zag pattern from the Inbox Jaunt. It looked terrific, like tire tracks. After a striped binding, I gave it to him yesterday and hope he had a good night's sleep.

Rubik's crush Quilted!

     Finally, Rubik's Crush is finished. Binding and all. Quilted on my 17" Bailey. Pieced on a Singer 301.

Front

Back

Front detail folded onto back

Flower detail

A few finishes

     The Bailey has been chugging along, noisily, I may add. I was able to quilt two comfort quilts made by a guild member's dad. Camille's dad is 92 and in a nursing home. She taught him how to sew strips a little while ago, and now he lays the pieces on his bed, figures out a layout and stitches it. Very well, I may add. She asked me if I would quilt these for the the guild. This should inspire anyone to make a comfort quilt. It is one of my quilt peeves that the quilting stitching gets such short shrift at times. Sometimes a gorgeous pieced quilt just has some random meanderings over it. The pattern, the fabric deserve so much more than that. I did some simple FMQ patterns in these quilts, one more to go. Can you see how the stitching really enlivens such a simple quilt, even flannels? Don't look too close at my stitches, I am a stitch work in progress.

New machine, new era, vintage longing

    Well, the stack of quilts basted is growing. My ability to get them FMQ is low due to the rearranging and stuffing of the fabric on my 301s. I love my 301s. They are the best. But, I researched and tried a Bailey 17" Pro. I could not afford a Handi Quilter or mid arm of that type. I do not want any computer assisted machine. I was down that expensive road and will not do that again. I do not want to use a frame for physical reasons and space. The Bailey is on my table and soon to be new large table (one more coat of poly if the weather would cooperate). I am using my Sewing Mates table which I love and have used on the 301s. It adjusts to any size machine and is built great and in the USA by a great family. I have quilted a comfort quilt and not one skip or break. However, I long for the quiet and fit and finish of the beloved 301. If I could only stretch it...

17" of real estate, I am just saying