2014 Goals

I have taken a little longer this year to solidify my goals. Usually, I have lots going on that I want to get done so it is easy to come up with a long list. This year, I think I will give myself a little bit of a break and have a shorter list of both quilting and personal goals. 

My quilting goals follow along a theme similar to many quilters - work on UFOs, use my stash, learn some new things - and they work for me.  Here are the specifics for my quilting/crafting goals: 
1. Quilt some tops.  I realized this year that I tend to stall on my UFOs when they get to a finished top stage, unless I have a specific deadline, so I am going to try to focus on quilting several of the tops that are waiting for me now and also quilting the new ones which I make through 2014. 
2. Use my patterns - I have done a fair job of this over the last few years, but want to continue to work on making patterns that I've bought, because I liked them all when I bought them, so I really should use them!  I got a bee in my bonnet a few weeks ago and went through all my quilt books with a set of tape flags in my hand and marked off the projects I really want to make.  The books on the left all have a specific project marked. The ones on the right still have quilts I like or techniques that I plan to reference at some point, so they will remain in my library. I haven't looked at my patterns, but I imagine if I piled them all up and prioritized them, it would be the opposite! 
3. Keep my Avante busy - quilt another 20 quilts this year, and really work on improving my quilting skills through taking my Craftsy classes and trying some of the techniques in them.  While not all quilts will call for custom quilting, I would like to do that on a few. 
4. Stitch Away! I am near finishing my oldest stitching UFO and plan to keep stitching after that one is done. I'd like to finish 6 stitching projects this year (and actually finish them, not just put them into my pile of "stitched but not framed" linens).
5. Make gifts - I have so many patterns that will make great gifts, so I'd really like to focus in 2014 on making gifts for others - and throughout the year, so I am not backed up in December like I was this year! 

Personal goals: 
1. Watch more movies - I want to take the time to go to the movies and watch them at home. We have a Netflix subscription that Mike and the kids make good use of, but that I don't use as much. I'll set the goal at 1 movie a month in the theater and at least 1 a month at home. 
2. Keep cooking - with the success of our recipe challenge last year, I want to keep cooking new things and making good use of my recipes. This year, I won't pick a specific cookbook each month, but I do want to work my way through some of the paper recipes. I will continue to blog about this as well. 
3. Keep working to clean stuff out. I did a fairly good job of going through my stuff last year, but I didn't clean much out and I know I could revisit this. I also need to get a handle on the kids' outgrown clothes and their old toys and books. 

So, not as long of a list as 2013, but I think it is a good list!  Hope you have some great goals for the new year too!  


Comments

Beth said…
You know I'm happy to help you with the stitching and the movie-watching goals! :)
Moneik said…
The goals you set sound very manageable. Good Luck!
That's a great list! I didn't make a list for the last couple of years and I didn't even bother with a word of the year for this year. I'm hoping to just keep my head above water while I work on customer quilts. :)