One of the reasons I keep a blog is to record projects and finishes for my own purposes. It really is a bit of a quilting diary for me and I can go back and see what I started, finished, what worked and what didn’t. So this may be boring to some but this post is about statistics for me.
Blog
I started blogging again in early 2013 after a break of more than a year.
Visitors from 80 different countries
Over 50,000 visits during the year
I have posted 524 times total and averaged about 5 posts per week this year
My most popular post this year regarded making my own version of “Red Snappers” for easy loading of quilts into my long arm frame. The post is here.
Books
I work as a reference librarian so it is no surprise that I love to read. I read 94 books this past year. Listening to audio books is a great motivator to keep sewing when I might otherwise quit for the day.
Knitting
Not gonna lie, my knitting output stunk this year. I made three pair of baby socks and two pair of adult socks. I made a few dishcloths. I bought more yarn than I used.
Quilting
Quilts of Valor ~ 13 plus one Coast Guard quilt for my brother
Quilts Beyond Borders ~ quilted 17 tops and made 3 additional complete quilts
Comfort Quilts for local shelter ~ 3 completed
Bed quilts ~ 5 bed quilts, the largest was king sized
Large nap quilts ~ 7, not counting QOVs
Baby Quilts ~ 4
Minis and smalls ~ 16
I sold two sewing machines this year and bought my HQ Avante mid-arm quilting machine. It has been a fabulous learning experience. I have become comfortable with pantographs and am learning to use rulers and templates. I took two Craftsy classes.
Last Christmas, Mr. Wonderful bought me my Accuquilt Studio die cutter and it has made a HUGE difference in how much I accomplish. I often stalled out on a project when I had cutting to do but no longer. I LOVE cutting scraps up into neat little perfectly cut piles. Sick, I know.
I participated in a charm square swap, two block swaps, and two individual swaps. I won three blog give-aways!
Moving ahead in 2014
Knitting
I want to knit more socks but I am not buying any more yarn! I am going to try again to knit 6 pair of socks this year.
Books
My goal for the year is 100 books. However, I want to spend a lot more time on one book I have read through many times, the Bible. It is the bread of life and has all the knowledge that I really need contained within its pages.
Service Quilts
I hate the term charity quilts and someone suggested to me the term service quilts, I like that. I think this is the year I will volunteer to quilt QOVs for others. I will plan to make 6 completely on my own and I hope to quilt 12 for others.
I will quilt 10 tops for Quilts Beyond Borders. This is less than last year but my passion is QOV and will focus more time there.
Small Quilt Talk Group
I will continue with this group and hope to complete the 12 monthly challenges.
Blog
I will continue to blog roughly 5 times per week. Blogging from my phone is so quick and easy! People ask me how I get so much done. I am a list maker and a blog is like a visible list of ongoing projects and keeps me motivated to get things done and move on to the next project. I love blogging and the interaction with my readers. Thank you to each and every one of you that read my ramblings and comment on my postings! Responding to comments is taking an increasingly large amount of time and I am rethinking how I can respond and connect with my friends out there. What do you all think about my responding in the comments section rather than e-mail? I also plan to work on improving my picture skills this year! (cue the Hallelujah chorus!)
Personal Quilts
I received an entry for a local quilt show and with all my finishes last year, I am struggling to find anything I can enter because they are all long gone. My entry is due Monday so my first goal for the new year is to find 5 quilts to enter and get that mailed off.
Next short term goal, my library branch is hosting the holiday staff lunch this year and my supervisor asked if we could decorate with some of my quilts. I have decided to pull out all my red and white quilts and may try to make one or two more. This is two weeks away so I need to get going on this.
I need to sit down and create a UFO list. I am considering participating in a “Finish A Long” somewhere as motivation to get some long standing projects finished. I really want to get some of my own projects done this year. Here is a short list of quilting UFO priorities:
- Farmer’s Wife quilt (are you sick of this one yet? LOL)
- A Calendar/Block a Day project from 4 years ago!
- Dear Jane ~ No, I am not doing the whole dang thing. I just can’t but I have blocks to use.
- Baby quilt for Baby Q (Grandbaby #2 due in June)
- Quilting the Vintage Trip Around the World Quilt that Mr. Wonderful bought me for Christmas
I will create a more complete list next week. Not much time for lists with Daughter #2 home. I am spending EVERY minute she is awake with her!
Learning
I am not sure learning is a goal because the kind of things I want to learn may not be measurable.
- I want to get proficient at quilting feathers
- I want to learn more about EQ7
- I want to become better friends with my embroidery machine
- I want to learn about machine quilting as a business, not sure I want to do this but I won’t know if I don’t learn more about it.
- I want to take a few more Craftsy classes on machine quilting (Free Motion Feathers and Quilting Negative Space, both with Angela Walters)
- I want to go to the AQS show in Grand Rapids in August
So much to do and so little time! I hope to make the most of my days in 2014!
Even though my goals list is not complete, I am linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Goals 2014.
KatyQuilts 
I read the part about your Go Studio with interest because I lose patience cutting as well. I tend to gravitate to quilts that start with pre cuts and I cut my scraps into those sizes. I would also like to try tumblers or some of the other odd shaped blocks but don’t have the patience to cut them… whenever I see a pattern that requires a template I immediately put it in the keep looking pile!
I thought I had commented on this post, but I see I did not. You are an inspiration for sure! You always have such great things to share 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words! Happy New Year!
Katy,
You are just a quilting spitfire! I hope at some point I can reach the heights that you have. Right now I would just like to work on my basic skills and make sure that they are up to par with the rest of the people that I may swap with or work with in a Bee setting (I did branch out and join the Stash Bee this year. Hope it wasn’t a mistake). I work slowly and keep in mind what my Gram always said, “measure twice! Cut once. ” Your service quilts have been just wonderful and this year I would like to make one or two. You have inspired me to want to do these, especially the Quilts of Valor Project. It’s such a worthwhile program and our Servicemen and Servicewomen deserve something in thanks from the people for keeping us safe and free. Thank you for that.
Your 2014 goals are much loftier than 2013 and I hope that you achieve it all! As far as where’d you answer questions, I like to see the answers to others questions because I am still learning. But whatever is easier for you is alright with me. happy New Year!!
Lisa
Wow, I’m impressed … what an extensive list. As a handquilter, my list would be much, much shorter. ha!
Personally, I prefer responses via email. I only spend my mornings checking blogs (I have a limited amount of actual online time otherwise I’d never get anything done – ha!). So I don’t get back to blogs where I might have posted. Also I follow too many (and comment on most), so I’d be online checking blogs all day … no quilting done. 😦 I do, however, regularly take a moment (when taking a potty break or grabbing another Diet Coke) to check emails on my iPhone. YMMV
Katy, I think that’s a huge list for 2014! It puts mine to shame! As far as answering comments, I prefer making and receiving comments by email – I often miss responses from bloggers if I don’t check back with the original post, and I miss the personal interaction that comes from communicating directly! But that’s just me! Good luck with your goals!
How amazing. I know I couldn’t accomplish half of what you do 🙂 As far as the quilting business goes, have you checked out Angela Walters’s new site: The Business of Machine Quilting? I can’t think of anyone better to learn from. I’ve been browsing and even though I don’t have a long-arm, her business sense is so common sense. Anyway–best of luck!
You are very productive and very ambitious! I hope the time you spend quilting is joyful and does not feel like an obligation. As for answering comments, I prefer you answer IN comments, rather than by email. Obviously there would be an occasional response that is better done privately. But generally I think it’s fun to see what bloggers have to say in response to their audience.