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!

I made more vinyl front zipper project bags!

Last time I talked about how we can organise current work in progress in this POST HERE.

I am currently loving project bags to keep things organised and there’re so many potential fabrics that will be perfect for this, that I just want to keep making them!

Here are two of my recent one made, 

I bought this fun patchwork panel and I know that I wanted to make project bags from it!

The bright colour is perfect for a fun project bag. 

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. 

Drawstring bags are so easy to sew. If you’ve never sewn one, you can make a simple one without the lining fabric or just two pieces of fabric. 

If you want to use up leftover jelly rolls, I have another tutorial HERE for that. 

In this post, I am sharing you another fun version, because it is always fun to patch up the panels before sewing it up into bags. 

Patchwork Gingham Drawstring Bag

This time I decided to make a patchwork gingham panel to start with!

I have always wanted to make a gingham quilt, and I have this idea of piecing it easily with strip piecing.

Small projects like this is perfect to try it out!

It’s the biggest sale of the year that I usually look forward to, and in this post, I’ll link up some of the fun sales I have found related to sewing and quilting. 

This list will be updated till Cyber Monday, so come check it out again on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

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. 

Holiday table runner or pillow can easily spruce up a space in your home and get it ready for the season. And they’re among my favorite quick projects to make! 

This time I was aiming for the upcoming Holiday Season as this table runner / bench pillow is one of the FREE PATTERN that I am sharing for this year!

Mix and Matching fabrics

It all started with this bundle! I pulled from various fat quarters in my stash. I knew I wanted some bright orange and teal in the bundle. A slight change to the traditional green and red for the traditional holiday season. 

I ended up not using all of it in my project, but the colours still remain.

You can read more about the general process I use to mix and match fabric HERE with lots of tips too. 

Pattern writing

I planned out the pattern on my computer and went ahead to sew it while noting down all the measurements. The pattern is a fully illustrated pattern step-by-step to making each of the blocks and putting it all together. 

It takes longer on the computer than it takes to make the project, but it was well worth it!

I hope you’ll enjoy the pattern!

Free Motion Quilting

Small projects like this is also a great opportunity to practice free motion quilting!

I did spiral quilting on this one. I love the texture of the spirals against the stars and the presents.

Making it into a convertible Table Runner and bench Pillow

Any quilted piece can easily be turned into a pillow by adding in another layer of fabric behind the quilt.

I’ll show you how you can easily do this below.

You can apply the same technique for any small quilted table toppers and table runners.

If you decide to make a convertible runner / pillow, you can quilt the top without the backing fabric. Simply quilt the quilt top with the batting without the backing fabric.

Then, piece the backing by adding in the zipper and trimming it to size of the quilt top. 

For this particular pattern, you’ll need two pieces measuring 28″ x 15″ and 26″ x 15″ for the pillow backing.

Then it is time to bind it all together just as you would a quilted table runner, except now, you have a zipper opening to squeeze in the pillow insert!

You may need to DIY your own pillow insert since it is highly likely that the table runner is not a common pillow insert that you can find. Use some muslin fabrics or any cheaper fabrics to make the pillow insert.

I ended up loving it as a bench pillow more and it fits perfectly on my mum’s bench over at her house. So there it will live. 

Holiday Table Runner

If you want to use for the table, simple pull the pillow insert, and put it on the table! An option to use the same piece of quilted item. 

I have joined in with 24+ amazing quilters and quilt designers to contribute a pattern for a special Holiday Bundle that is FREE for all of our amazing readers and followers this coming 10th-14th November!

This is a thank-you gift from us to YOU! Cause you’ve been an amazing supporter all these years.. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. 

You’ll be added to our list of newsletters, but feel free to unsubscribe at any time, you might just find new quilters you’ll love to follow!

This pattern was a part of the EVENT PASSPORT to Quilting on November 10th-14th 2022. However, you can still grab my pattern for this convertible table runner through the form below. 

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!