As we head into the new year,  it is always nice to start making goals and plans for our quilting projects. 

I am all about having fun in the quilting part of my life, but I still would like to feel organized and productive. 

Hence, a good plan and some goals would be necessary. 

Reflect on the past

Before planning for what is to come, it is good to reflect on the past. This is to make sure we’re not repeating what’s not working and to do more of what’s working. 

As I reflected in 2022 back in this post HERE, I realized that I did not get any quilts done for gifting. I had wanted to make some but really didn’t put any into a good plan. 

So this year, I am making intention AND a plan to go with it.

I guess 2022 was the year to gain back some momentum from the pandemic and I didn’t want to stress myself up too much with detail planning. 

Planning for gifts early in the year

I think some loose plans are great, and if we start planning early in the year – those goals might just be achievable by the end of the year.

Since I have the intention of gifting out quilts and quilty items this year, I am going to plan it out so I will get to do that.

Decide who will get a handmade-by-you-quilty-gift this year

First I am listing out the special people that I want to gift my handmade quilty gifts this year. This can be for their birthday present, or just for any special occasion like a birth of a new baby or a wedding. I have one baby in mind for 2023, our future niece/nephew. And I have a long list of family members whom I want to make quilts for. I hope this is the year I get to do that!

Decide what you are going to make

Of course making quilts for everyone isn’t the best plan because quilts really takes a lot of time and labour to make. Maybe quilts are for close family members while others can still get pillow cases, table runners or even pouches!

You can also make pouches from an orphan blocks. Check that post HERE>

Or make table runners for those who deserves a quilt, but maybe you don’t have the time to make one just yet. I made a few that I can’t part with with in the past years, maybe I’ll try and make some that I will surely gift away this year. But my biggest goal this year is for the closest family members who haven’t receive quilts from me. I think many of my family have received pouches or small items from me. It is time for their quilts. 

So this year, my biggest goal is to make their quilts. I have set at least 3 quilts that are surely to be done by this year to gift away. That seems like a reasonable number looking back at the number of quilt I can get done in a year for the past years. Besides, I already have some of these in the work in progress pile. Which come to my next tip, before you plan new projects for the new year, 

go through the work in progress pile first!

If you are an avid quilter like me, you probably have a pile of work in progress here and there. Maybe lots of quilt top done and just waiting to be quilted. That will make the perfect gift for this year! It is already close to the finish line and the earlier you get them done, the better!

It will be such a good feeling to finish off some of those. That will surely kicks in the momentum for the whole year. So that is what I’ll be working on the first quarter of the year.

Quilting quilt tops into quilts

Here are the quilt tops that I have in my w.i.ps stash ready to quilted for this year. And I have decided to put a future owner for these as I’ll be gifting them all away. I am planning for simple all-over design quilting for all of them to speed up the process and to just keep it simple! If you want some ideas on what design to quilt with that are easy and fast, you can check out this post HERE where I listed 20+ free motion quilting designs.Together quilt

Simply Stars Quilt

Layer Cake Spool Quilt

Home sweet home Quilt

The Sweet Life Quilt

Kit new projects with the stash you already have

I am also kitting up some new projects with the stash I already have. You need to plan to use your stash too this year! So why not make a plan early so that you don’t end up not using them all year again. I’m sure many of use falls into the trap of buying new fabrics, which sounds like a fun plan for sure. But if we plan well, I’m sure we already have what we need in our stash.

So, that’s what I did. With the person to receive the quilt in mind, I went through my stash and picked up the fabrics and patterns I need to kit it all up ready for when I feel like starting a new project. 

As I went and did this, I found some fun fabrics to use from the past Sew Sampler Box that I haven’t used yet. While they may not be the fabrics that I would buy myself, they make perfect match with the person I had in mind. So, it’s great to get surprise boxes like the Sew Sampler Box to kind of add in things that you may not buy for yourself. Which makes it easier to make and gift away too. You can read more about my review of Sew Sampler Box HERE>

Allow some room for new things 

Finally, just allow some room for new things and new projects. I am bound to be distracted I’m sure. But with some loose plans like this, I hope to get more productive this year and gift away many more quilts!

In brief, here’s the outline on How to plan for your quilting projects

1. Reflect on the past years, to see what is working and what is not
2. Make a list of the people you want to gift your handmade items this year
3. Make a reasonable gift ideas in mind for each one of them. It is also nice to have the top 3 priorities this year. 
4. Go through you work in progress pile to find any projects that will suits and almost at the end
5. Plan to work on those projects first so that you’ll gain momentum
6. Kit up new upcoming projects with the stash you already have.
7. Allow some room for new projects that may come in the year. 

So, are you ready to plan for 2023? Tell me in the comment below, what are the top three projects you want to work in 2023?

Till then, have fun planning and quilting!

The year 2022 review, Quilting Projects I worked on this year.

I reviewed back on what I worked on this year or at least the one that has been blogged about. Because honestly,  I don’t really remember what’s being done in what year if I don’t keep the record on the blog. 

That is one of the reasons I love blogging. It is a journal of all the things that were made in my sewing room. 

This year I realized I haven’t finished as many quilts, but life with a 2-year-old, 6 and 11-year boys plus a full-time job is a handful already.

Crafting for my mental health.

I am blessed to call my quilting time, my “me time”. The time when I get to just have a mental escape.

I have been anxious a lot this year with more responsibility at work, so lots of break were definitely needed.

I am so thankful that I can still take those breaks, and recharged through my sewing. 

Getting things done and making things with your hand is truly satisfying and can surely improve the overall being. I feel relaxed and can just have fun. 

You can read more about how crafting can help your mental health HERE>

So here goes, here are all the projects I got done this year!

If you’ve been here for a while, you’ll know that I love quilt along. It is one of those things that keeps me excited and it is just a good amount of motivation and accountability.

Since it is already nearing the end of 2022,  I am listing out some of the fun quilt along that potentially I’ll be joining in for next year! I love to plan out for the new year.

I would love to invite you along with me!

Another fun quilt along that I’m updating today. This one will be a combination of big quilt blocks and small ones, so it’s definitely a fun one.

This fun quilt along is hosted by Fat Quarter Shop using the book Simply Half Yards, but with a FREE new layout. The setting is beautiful and I can never get enough star blocks, so it was an easy YES for me to join the quilt along. 

Another fun quilt along is HERE! This one will be a combination of big quilt blocks and small ones, so it’s going to be a fun one.

This fun quilt along is hosted by Fat Quarter Shop using the book Simply Half Yards, but with a FREE new layout. The setting is beautiful and I can never get enough star blocks, so it was an easy YES for me to join the quilt along. 

Another fun quilt along coming up! I am all geared up for a fun quilt along with Fat Quarter Shop using the book Simply Half Yards. 

I’ll be sharing some of the fun quilts in this book which are all amazing! I love lots of the design in this book and can’t wait to get started with the sampler that we have for the quilt along!

If you’re looking for a fun layer cake quilt pattern, you are going to love this!

I have been wanting to work on a simple quick project using up layer cake that I have in stash, and when I saw this as a free pattern, I quickly put it in my Wishlist to make. And it is pretty high up on the Wishlist to make. I just thought that it will make a quick project in between other projects.

And surely it din’t disappoint. 

You can get the free pattern below:

Layer Cake Spool Quilt Pattern, Layer Cake friendly Quilt

There are affiliate links used in this post in which I may earn commission from. Read the full disclosure here. 

I am using a layer cake in my stash, probably from a collection that is almost 10 years old by Basic Grey called Mon Ami. It is probably hard to get now and out of print, but Basic Grey always have collections that are pretty similar and you can check that out HERE>.

As for the background, I am using this dark teal Confetti Cotton Stargazer which I bought on sale for less than $6/yard HERE>.

I am trying to try out various colour for my quilt background. I love white and natural colours, but using different colours or darker colours can be fun and give a different look to the quilt. So, here’s one of them. 

It is week 2 of Sewcialites 2! This week we get to make a fun bouquet quilt block by Susan Ache. 

You can find all about this free Sewcialites 2 quilt along and the free sampler quilt pattern HERE>.

There will be free video tutorials, so if you are a beginner, be sure to pick up all the tips Kimberly has for you as she sews the blocks in the videos. I love picking up various tips from different quilters as they teach me become a better quilter.

While there’s no hard and fast rule in quilting, there are definitely some time-saving tips and piecing tricks that just make things easier that we can pick up by watching other quilters sew. 

I learned so much from sewing along last year,

You can see my first sewcialites quilt HERE>

This year I’m sewing mine using a fat quarter bundle by Tasha Noel called the Quilt Fair!

2nd Block: Tussy Mussy

This block is designed by Susan Ache and it’s a cute bouquet of flower block. I have always wanter to make this block. A close version to a nosegay block. 

I am still making 9″ inch blocks for this quilt, and here’s my second block!

Here it is with my first block. 

Such a sweet block. I think I have not made a quilt with these colours yet. 

This collection is adorable. You can still check out this collection in store HERE>

I have worked with Tasha Noel’s collection before here in this sweet apron, but never a quilt yet. So I think this quilt will be a sweet one for my growing baby girl. 

Find the free sampler quilt pattern and the details for this Quilt Along HERE>.

Come and join along, this is going to be a fun quilt-a-long with so many participants, there’s so many eye-candy to enjoy as well. 

Let me know what are your plans if you’re joining in too and use the hashtag #sewcialites2 on instagram and join the Facebook group HERE>

More updates on the scrappy Ocean Wave Quilt! This quilt is a labor of time and love for sure, but little by little it is making progress. I am not working on it fully and that is what makes it fun. I can work on several project at a time and yet still have some progress. 

I am making this Scrappy Quilt from the half-square triangles unit that I cut using the half-square triangle die I got with my Accuquilt starter kit.

This week, I even reorganize my sewing room this week to make sewing space for another machine up and running. 

It is that time of the year for another fun Sewcialites quilt along! I had so much fun last year, and I’m definitely not missing out on the fun this year too. 

You can find all about this free Sewcialites 2 quilt along and the free sampler quilt pattern HERE>.

There will be free video tutorials, so if you are a beginner, be sure to pick up all the tips Kimberly has for you as she sews the blocks in the videos. I love picking up various tips from different quilters as they teach me become a better quilter.

While there’s no hard and fast rule in quilting, there are definitely some time-saving tips and piecing tricks that just make things easier that we can pick up by watching other quilters sew. 

I learned so much from sewing along last year,

You can see my first sewcialites quilt HERE>

This year I’m sewing mine using a fat quarter bundle by Tasha Noel called the Quilt Fair!

I am using a Bella solid for the background and I am yet to choose the accent fabrics. I might just be using solid pink, teal and yellow to match some of the fabrics in this collection. 

In the information packet that is already available HERE, you can see the blocks that we will be making and the final layout.

It is such a unique layout and I’m excited to try that layout too.

This week will be the first week to kick off this quilt a long, therefore it is definitely a great time to join in!

First Block: Perennial Block 

This block is designed by Bev of the Flamingo Toes. 

Here is my 9″ inch block

Isn’t sweet?

This collection is so cute. You can still check out this collection in store HERE>

Now I am contemplating making the 3″ block!

It will surely be a challenge and I have to make sure I’ll starch fabric for making the smaller one. 

I didn’t starch this time for the fat quarter bundle. I was a little lazy to starch all the fat quarters. I think it will be fine for the 9″ inch blocks. We’ll make it work right?

Come and join along, this is going to be a fun quilt-a-long with so many participants, there’s so many eye-candy to enjoy as well. 

Let me know what are your plans if you’re joining in too and use the hashtag #sewcialites2 on instagram and join the Facebook group HERE>

Find the free sampler quilt pattern and the details for this Quilt Along HERE>.