June 28, 2020

2020 Mid-Year Review

This is by far the oddest year we've ever had, but somehow we have made it almost to the end of June 😊 That means it's time for a mid-year review of the goals I set back in December. This should be interesting!

1. Guitar quilts


I said back in December that these would be priority number 1 in the New Year and they were...sort of. In early January I asked the owner of my LQS to order me a bolt of solid grey next time she placed an order, for the background and backings. She did, but there was a delay on the other end, so it was mid March before I actually had it in hand. By then, the world had gone topsy-turvy and school was closed. Since these are teacher gifts, getting them finished by the end of the school year didn't feel quite so pressing when school was already closed. That being said, I have finally finished the tops! I'll share them as my finish on Friday when I host TGIFF, so you'll have to come back then to see. Here's a sneak peek in the meantime.
guitar quilt sneak peek | DevotedQuilter.com

2. Finish my Quilter's Planner bag


Nope. Haven't touched it. Truth be told, I had even forgotten I have it as a goal! Good thing there are still six months of the year to go.

3. More patterns, in more shops


I have released 6 new patterns so far in 2020. My goal was 10, so I'm well on the way there 😊
Pinwheel Garden quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
As for more shops...so far I've had one new shop carry my patterns. Since my goal was simply 'more' I guess that counts, but it's kind of underwhelming, don't you think? I haven't been reaching out to new shops since the pandemic started, but it's something I need to get back into doing now that things are starting to open up again. Hopefully I'll have more 'more' to report before the year is out.

4. Teach a class


Well...kind of, yes. I started teaching a beginner's class in our church basement back in February. I had 9 students and we were having a blast. They had their quilt tops partially pieced and would probably have finished piecing them at our next class, but then everything shut down. We will definitely resume classes at some point, but I'm not sure when exactly that will be.

On the other hand, since the pandemic started, I have offered two free virtual workshops and absolutely loved teaching live online! I will be doing more of that for sure. If you want to be notified when I'm doing another online workshop, sign up for my newsletter. I always let subscribers know what I'm planning 😊

5. Tame the UFO situation


I have finished two of my UFOs so far this year. Both were quilt tops that needed to be quilted and patterns that needed to be written, so they're like dual finishes. It feels great to have Formal Garden and Burst both finished and released. There are still plenty of UFOs waiting patiently, though. 
Burst quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com

6. Make more little quilts


This one I have been doing! By my count, I've made 7 projects that used up smaller pieces of batting. 
Blue scrap basket | DevotedQuilter.com
You're a Star mini quilts | DevotedQuilter.com
Plus, my quilting class students made scrappy pincushions from my 2 ½" squares, then we stuffed them with batting that I had cut into tiny bits with my rotary cutter. Yay for using up more of those long, skinny strips trimmed off after quilting! You can see my sample one I made last fall in this post.

7. More garment sewing


Check, check and check ✔ I have been having so much fun making myself clothes! I haven't blogged about all of them, but this is what I've made so far this year:

  • Another Summer Basics dress (not blogged yet). That's four dresses from this pattern so far.
  • A Summer Basics tank top (not blogged yet). It's from the same pattern as the dresses. I've gotten my money's worth from that pattern, for sure, and I will be making more 😊 
  • Two Tessa Sheath dresses. I blogged about one here and you can see the other in the family pictures here.
  • A Slim Fit Raglan from fabric left over from my first two Summer Basics dresses and another from blue fabrics that I never blogged about.
The Summer Basics and Tessa dresses are both from Love Notions (affiliate link) and the Slim Fit Raglan is from Patterns for Pirates.

I have fabric coming for shorts, a skirt and a top, all using patterns from Love Notions. I've also bought a pattern for making underwear from Patterns for Pirates because the scraps of fabric that are too small for a shirt, but too big to throw away, were begging to be used for something. I haven't made any yet, but I did buy the elastic that I need. There won't be pictures of those, though, lol 😄

8. Make a sewing machine cover


Nope. I've thought of it off and on over the past few months, but haven't started yet. There's still time. Plus, I haven't actually put my machine away and put the cover on it since school closed in mid March. It goes from the table to the floor in the corner near the table and back again, so there's no pressing need for a cover right now. 


Wow, after listing it all out, it feels like I've been making good progress this year! Somehow the to-make list never seems to get any shorter, though. I'm not sure how, but it just keeps growing and growing and growing. Not that I'm complaining. I love having an abundance of projects that I'm excited to make.

How about you? Are you making good progress on your goals for the year?

7 comments:

  1. The year has gone a bit topsy-turvy, but you've done a great job of making progress on your goals. There's still plenty of time left in the year to work on and finish what you haven't yet completed (as long as they still make sense to do so, that is)!

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  2. You have done fabulous. It has been an odd year, and even though lots of time, the interruptions distract me for longer. Congrats on all you have accomplished and good luck on the second half!

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  3. You've made great progress. It definitely has been an odd year.

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  4. I think you have made excellent progress on your goals. It has definitely been a unique year. I wish you the best for the rest of the year.

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  5. Okay well I think Bella stepped on the space or mouse pad of the laptop because my comment just disappeared after her furry tail swished on by... You sure have got a lot accomplished this year! Six patterns AND in a shop too! I hope to do that soon. I can't wait to see the reveal of those guitar quilts. I have a longarm and Featherweight sewing machines covers on my mental list and no progress there either.

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  6. OMG your guitar quilt is SO cool! Looks like you've made some great progress despite all the unexpected changes COVID brought this year!

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  7. Lots of wonderful progress! I am looking forward to the reveal of your guitar quilt. Thank goodness for small quilts and projects--they help me to feel productive!

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