January Goals? Completed!

At the beginning of January, I laid out my quilting goals for the month.  I set out to finish construction of the Craftsy 2012 BOM quilt top and a set of coasters.  Both projects are complete.

The quilt top is ready to be basted, quilted and bound and the coasters are ready to be handed to guests with their beverage of choice!  It feels good to define realistic and achievable goals for myself.  What's realistic and achievable for one, may not be the right goals for others.

For me, quilting is a leisure time activity.  I have a challenging day job that took me out of town for a week in January and another week was spent hosting and entertaining out of town family who were staying with us.  To maintain my love of quilting and the therapeutic leisurely effect it has on me, I need to keep a slow and steady pace.

I'm starting to think about February and there are several things I want to do, but the question is what is reasonable for me to aspire to complete.  I struggle to stay focused on me and my skills and abilities.  It is tempting to look at the prolific work of others and scold myself for not being and doing more.  Slowly, I'm learning that I can appreciate the talents of others without imposing their measures of success on myself.  After all....I bet most of you couldn't conduct statistical analysis using hierarchical linear modeling, now could you?  (LOL)

I look forward to appreciating your accomplishments this month.  Join me as we link up to A Lovely Year of Finishes.  More on my February Goals tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

Wow!  I can't believe it's already 2013.  Where did the time go?  2012 was an amazing year for my family.  We moved into a new home in a new community and (lucky me) our home has it's very own sewing room.  I've spent the last three months moving, packing and unpacking and working. Sadly, I've had little time for quilting lately, but that is about to change.

In looking at the year ahead, I have several quilt related goals.

1. I will complete five quilts in 2013.  (I know, some of you are rolling your eyes saying, "Five quilts, is that all?  I can do that in my sleep!"  Well, I can't.  For me, this is a perfectly reasonable and attainable goal.)
2. I will complete one non-quilt related sewing project each month in 2013.  I'm thinking coasters, placemats, wall hangings, bags, curtains, clothes, etc.  
3. I will enter one quilted item into a contest this year.
4. I will construct a design wall in my sewing room.
5. I will install proper lighting in my sewing room.

Those are my quilt related goals for the new year.  I hope to exceed these goals, but they are a perfect place to start.  

As for January... this month, I have two specific goals:

1. I will complete the 2012 Craftsy BOM quilt top.  I have four more blocks to complete and then I need to add sashing and borders; and
2. I will complete a set of coasters for the new home.  (Over the holidays, guests asked for coasters and all I had to offer was folded up paper towels.....I think I can do better than that!)

That's it for me.  What are your goals?  I'm linking up with the January Goal Setting Party part of A Lovely Year of Finishes over at Sew Bitter Sweet Designs.  Write up your goals and join us!