8 Point Meadow in Make Modern

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase after clicking a link. This does not affect the price you pay.

It has been a while since I had a quilt published in Make Modern magazine (I think the last one was Illusion, back in January of 2023), so I'm excited to say I have a baby quilt in the brand new issue that was just published. Meet 8 Point Meadow!

Okay, as far as quilt names go, that's not one of the greats 😆 Why is naming quilts so hard?? I came up with 8 Point Meadow because the star block is called 8 Point Star in EQ8 and, with the green background, the pink, purple, orange, and yellow stars reminded me of wildflowers.

I think this was the first time I made a quilt with the blocks on point. I love how it changes the whole look of the block. Here's the block set normally; it looks straighter and less interesting, somehow. 

But tip it 45° and it looks more dynamic. 

The star points are paper pieced. I know it's possible to piece that unit traditionally, but I really like the simplicity and accuracy of paper piecing it. Of course, I used freezer paper for the paper piecing, so I didn't have to remove the paper from the blocks when they were finished (it's the only way I paper piece!). You can learn this magic, too!

I don't have a lot of pink, purple, yellow, or orange fabrics in my stash, but I was able to pull enough for this baby quilt without repeating any.

For the quilting, I chose not to quilt the star points at all. They're outlined and the whole background is quilted with a dense, loopy meander, which really makes the stars pop. They show up beautifully on the back, too.

The loopy meander quilting always makes me think of eyelet lace for some reason. It gives the quilt fantastic texture, too.

I wanted the stars to be the sole focus, so I used the same green for the binding and the background. Now that I think about it, I could also have done a facing to achieve the same effect, but I never think of that. Binding is just automatic.

For the pattern for 8 Point Meadow, along with 9 other projects and some great columns, get your copy of Make Modern issue 66. Or subscribe to get 6 issues a year, all of them full of inspiration and eye candy 😊 Make Modern is celebrating their 11th birthday, so subscribers get a fun bonus pattern, too!

Showstoppers Quilt

I love getting to share a new scrappy pattern with the Stash Artists members every other month! For the September pattern, I designed a fat quarter-friendly pattern called Showstoppers.

There are so many things I love about this quilt! First, the big, bold flower blocks. They make me think of the biggest, showiest flowers in the garden, which is how the quilt got its name.

Then there's the shape of the negative space around the flowers. I love the curvy diamond shape on each side, but more than that, I love the way the four curvy diamonds around a flower seem to create the illusion of a larger black shape behind the flower. Can you see that?

And then there's the partial flower blocks that create the border around the full blocks. They give the quilt a more interesting look than if the quilt were entirely made of full flower blocks. I made the baby quilt, and the pattern includes instructions for throw and queen size, both of which also have the partial blocks on the edges.

If you're not comfortable sewing curved seams yet, I have a tutorial for how to sew Drunkard's Path blocks. I promise they're not as scary as they look!

That being said, something was going crazy in the sewing room when I sewed mine because every single one turned out wonky. Every. Single. One. There was no way I was redoing them, so I eased in fulness as needed and there were a few ¼" seams that weren't as precise as usual as I assembled the blocks. The blocks turned out surprisingly well, though, and then I didn't need to fudge things much to put the quilt top together. I've always said I could never be a carpenter because there's no 'easing in' when you're working with wood. Fabric, on the other hand, is quite forgiving! And remember, finished is better than perfect 😊

The folks at The Warm Company sent me a shipment of Warm and Natural batting recently (it's my favourite!), and this was the first quilt made with the new batting. Yes, I still have an abundance of batting scraps, but they're all pretty small now and I was getting tired of piecing multiple scraps together for everything. I have a plan for a series (or two!) of mini quilts next year, though, and those scraps will be perfect for that.

I wanted to use black solid for the back of the quilt, but didn't have enough. I did have enough navy, though, and that was neutral enough for me. Especially on a scrap quilt, I don't feel like the back has to be a perfect match. 

As a bonus, the navy does a nice job of showing off the purple quilting thread! With so many colours on the front, ranging from black to almost-white, it was hard to choose a thread colour for the quilting. Black was out, because it would be too dark on the light fabrics. White, beige, and light grey were all out because they'd be too light on the black. I tested teals, blues, pinks, medium greys, and purples (all Aurifil 50 wt), and 4225 (Eggplant) ended up being my favourite. As you've probably noticed in the pictures, the purple does show up, but there was really no way to avoid that unless I switched thread for every flower and the background, which didn't fit the all-over quilting I wanted to do.

I chose an all-over flowery meander, which makes me think of the smaller flowers in the garden. It felt like the perfect complement to the big flower blocks.

We went to the beach Friday for one last picnic supper before school started, and I wandered around taking pictures of Showstoppers while Paul barbecued. I love the light in this picture.

If you love scrappy quilts as much as I do, join the Stash Artists waiting list to be notified when the membership doors open again later in the fall. 

What colour would the background of your Showstoppers quilt be? I'd love to see it with a white background or a pale green. This is one of the many, many reasons I love quilting - there's always another option you could try, even when making the same pattern again!

My First Quilt with Becky Jorgensen

It's the last Friday of the month, so I'm here with a new My First Quilt interview! I love getting to share these stories of quilt industry folks and their first quilts! Today Becky Jorgensen is sharing the story of her first quilt(s).

Becky Jorgensen is a quilt pattern designer, author, business coach and award winning quilter. Since beginning her blog and pattern design in 2007, she has also launched Patchworkers Plus- an online quilt group connecting quilters from around the world,  and the Patchwork Planner - helping quilters track and organize their projects, calendar, classes and more. 

You can connect with Becky at her website, and learn more about Patchworkers Plus here.

And now, here's Becky's first quilt (maybe 😆)!

What year did you make your first quilt? What prompted you to make it?

Oh - I don't even remember!  I have been a sewer for quite a long time. I have a little X-stitch from when I was 8 and for a few years stitched for stitching store, Shepherd's Bush before I became interested in quilting. I even sewed up some shorts and such when I was a teenager. I believe though that my first quilt was a table topper that had alternating four patch blocks and a square. 

I am a lover of libraries so I'm fairly certain that the pattern I used was from a book that I had found there and checked out.  

I'm thinking that I just wanted something to do.  I had gotten a sewing machine from someone and needed a project so I could use it. 

Another contender for the first quilt was a baby quilt for my first daughter Jerika. It had nine patches and then pieced people in the border. I remember that not being easy! I vowed never to sew people again. lol 

I'm pretty sure that my journey and interest in quilting was pushed by having children, which is very similar to other quilters. 

Neither quilt is perfect. I look at them now - especially that table topper and think. Wow. Those four patches are not even the same size. I totally didn't care! They needed to work and so they got trimmed to make that happen. I don't mind.

The other candidate for Becky's first quilt

What techniques were used in that first quilt? Did you quilt it yourself?

They are traditionally pieced. I don't remember if I had a rotary cutter when I began. I did quilt it myself. Straight lines - nothing fancy and on my own sewing machine. No hand quilting.  

Who taught you to make the quilt?

While I was the one who followed the instructions from the pattern and did everything, my mother is a quilter and grandmother is also creative. I believe since I had experience in hand stitching from very young, I picked up the sewing machine and quilting pretty easily and quickly. 

Are the colours you chose for your first quilt ones you would still choose today?

Yes! The baby quilt - while bright in colors wasn't aghast or offensive. lol The table topper was more civil war fabrics.  Both I still enjoy.  

Did you fall in love with quilting right away? Or was there a gap between making the first quilt and the next one?

I believe that while I had breaks, I do remember that after exploring those I began attending a block of the month with my mom every month. Sewing up blocks and learning a bit more and paying attention to a few rules - like trimming up and pinning at seams to make sure they aren't off.  After that I found a quilt group to attend and began to sew even more.  

Where is the quilt now?

I have both of these quilts still! In fact, the table topper I even use. I don't mind them not being perfect. I enjoy the layout, the fabrics I chose and the end result. While they could offend a lot of quilters, I like having them around still. 

Is there anything you wish you could go back and tell yourself as you made that first quilt?

Go for it. Try it out. Cut that fabric. Sew whatever you want. If you want to use crazy fabric, use crazy fabric. While listening to others opinions is great - you still need to allow yourself to do what pleases you and makes you happy.  

Don't worry about making others happy or worrying over your points. Enjoy the process. 

And - if you don't like it.... change it! Don't finish it. Make it into something new. Figure out what you can do so you do like it. 

Anything else you want to share about your first quilt?

Not really about my first quilt, but just some thoughts. 

Quilters tend to be such givers. We sew for charities, babies, graduations, weddings, birthdays... any kind of celebration that could include a quilt - we sew for it. But don't forget about yourself. I love having quilts all over my home. I allow myself to keep them if I want to. Sometimes I make something extra special just for myself. 

Don't let the cost of fabric keep you from quilting.  I still shop thrift stores.  I cut up clothes and men's dress shirts and woman skirts. They have wonderful cotton and they can be used in quilts and don't break your bank. Look outside of the quilt store if those prices don't fit your budget right now. 

Also- Use Them! Wash them and get them crinkled and snuggly. Toss them on beds and chairs and couches and in your car. I don't intend for my quilts to last for 100 years. I would really rather them be used to threads, that's why I sewed it in the first place. 

I feel the same way, Becky! Quilts are meant to be used and loved! Thank you, Becky, for sharing your first quilts with us 😊

Summer Dreamin'

Welcome to TGIFF, the party where we celebrate our finishes! Around here, the quilts sometimes get finished in a timely manner, but then the blog post doesn't 😅 This week I'm finally getting around to sharing a quilt that I finished near the end of February, which means it has taken me almost 6 months to take the time to sit and give Summer Dreamin' its rightful place on the blog.

Summer Dreamin' was the Stash Artists pattern for March, so I was working on these blocks in January and February, when the world outside was snow and ice and cold. As I sewed the blocks and added them to my design wall, they felt like a little pop of summer in my sewing room. The more blocks I put up, the more summery it felt, until I knew I had to reference summer in the name somehow. Since it was the dead of winter, Summer Dreamin' felt like the perfect name. It's not often a quilt name comes to me so easily, so that was a nice change.

All the fabrics came from my stash and they're a mix of new and old, batiks and regular quilting cotton from a bunch of different companies. Most of the white pieces were cut from my white scrap box, so there are a few brands of white mixed together to make the background. Do you have your scraps organized in a way that makes it easy for you to actually use them? If not, check out my Escape Scrap Overwhelm guide!

Those scrappy blue pinwheels are probably my favourite part of the whole design. Blue and pinwheels always make me happy! 

I took a bit of a shortcut making the flying geese for the pinwheels. I've been making blue and teal flying geese as leaders and enders for the last while so I can eventually make a quilt of scrappy blue and teal Flying Together blocks. I knew I had a nice stack of them that hadn't been sewn together into blocks yet, so I raided that for this quilt, leaving me needing to piece only a handful more to have enough for all the pinwheels. Of course, that means my Flying Together quilt is pushed even farther into the future, but I'll get there someday (maybe).

Since the quilt felt so much like summer to me, I knew I wanted to quilt flowers on it. I considered the loop and flower meander I used on Ombre Twirl and New Life and this Formal Garden baby quilt, but that wasn't quite what I wanted. At some point while I was piecing and thinking, I noticed the daisy chain banner I have on two of the sewing room walls. Could I replicate that as a quilted flower? I tried drawing it on a scrap of paper and was excited that it had exactly the vibe I wanted for this quilt.

Now the only question was, could I quilt it large enough? I tend to quilt small, even when I'm trying to quilt bigger. I blame it on learning to free motion quilt on a Kenmore machine with a 5" throat space and no extension table - I didn't have room to quilt big back then! I wanted these flowers to feel big and showy, though, so I had to really focus on keeping them from getting smaller and smaller as I went. I'm happy to say I was successful at keeping them big, so that most of them finish around 4" across. That's huge by my quilting standards!

In keeping with wanting the flower to be showy and summery, I used yellow Aurifil thread (2135) for the quilting. From a distance, you can't see the colour of the thread, but as soon as you get close it becomes noticeable.

I didn't have quite enough of the sky blue for the whole back, so I added a chunk of royal blue to make it big enough. Here's a picture I took in the backyard in February. The yellow thread really shows up on the royal blue, even from a distance!

A bright pink binding felt like the perfect choice. 

I had to take the cover picture for the pattern in the snow in our backyard in February, but then Zach and I took Summer Dreamin' to the beach for these pictures in April. It wasn't exactly warm (in the one picture I took of Zach he has his coat zipped up, the hood of his hoodie pulled up, and his hands in his pockets!), but the snow and ice were gone, so this summery quilt looked right at home.

Summer Dreamin' has since found its forever home with our niece Julia, who sent me a picture this week of her cat draped over it, saying George loves it. I love when the quilts I make get used, even by the cats!

That's my (finally blogged) finish this week 😊 What have you finished that you want to share? Link it up below so we can celebrate with you.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

/>

My First Quilt with Ange Wilson

It's time for another My First Quilt interview! This month Ange Wilson of Gnome Angel shares the story of her first quilt.

In her own words, Ange is "a self-confessed fussy cutter, lover of patchwork and a proud fabric fondler. I design quilt patterns (specialising in traditional patchwork and samplers), host a podcast (Fussy Cutters Club) and run the annual 100 Days 100 Blocks event. I can talk for hours... sometimes it's even all about fabric!"

You can connect with Ange at her website, her shop, and on Instagram. 

And now, here is Ange's first quilt!

What year did you make your first quilt? What prompted you to make it?

2011. My Nana was moving into a care facility and so she gifted me her Janome sewing machine (which I still have). I don't know why she did it, but it changed my life forever. I grew up in the tropics of Australia and so quilts weren't really a "thing". However, for as long as I can remember I've been fascinated by them in American culture. I used to love seeing them in film, in books, on the internet. I was just enamoured with the idea of being able to make something and have that thing be passed down through the family. To be able to still be a part of your family for generations. It's an amazing concept to me and still gives me comfort to know that if anything were to happen to me my son would have a hug from his Mum in quilt form whenever he wanted it. 

What techniques were used in that first quilt? Did you quilt it yourself?

It was super simple squares and rectangles. Super basic. Ha! No. I'm not a quilter, I'm a patchworker. I haven't quilted any of my quilts. My bestie, Raylee of Sunflower Quilting quilts all my creations. 

Who taught you to make the quilt?

The pattern I brought had basic instructions and then I winged it. It was shocking. I used a 1/2" seam! I had no idea. I ended up making another quilt after it before someone recommended I take a beginners class at our Local Quilt Shop. It was a game changer. 

Are the colours you chose for your first quilt ones you would still choose today?

Probably... I still use a lot of blue and green, but I think I'd likely fussy cut the prints if I was to do it over and be more conscious of tonal differences in the fabrics I used.

Did you fall in love with quilting right away? Or was there a gap between making the first quilt and the next one?

I was in love before I started. After my 3rd quilt I challenged myself to make a quilt top a month for 1 year. The rest they say is history...

Where is the quilt now?

In my cupboard. My Nana passed and she wanted me to have it back, so I have it here. I'll pass it on to my kiddo when I go and pray that he finds someone he loves to pass it on to. 

Is there anything you wish you could go back and tell yourself as you made that first quilt?

Nope. I think I'd just smile knowingly and tell myself I'm about to go on an amazing adventure. 

Anything else you want to share about your first quilt?

My quilt photography has gotten a LOT better since I made this quilt! LOL

Thanks for sharing your first quilt with us, Ange!

Sparkler Baby Quilt in Modern Vintage: Treasured

I'm part of a FB group for quilt pattern designers, where invitations are sometimes posted asking if anyone wants to take part in a blog hop sharing projects with a new fabric line. When Rachel Rossi posted her invitation for the Modern Vintage: Treasured blog hop, I quickly jumped on board. This beautiful collection blends nostalgic charm with a fresh, modern palette and I knew these fabrics would be perfect for a new Sparkler baby quilt!

I love how the quilt top turned out! Yes, it's only a top at this point. It's way too hot in my sewing room lately to be quilting anything, plus my parents and Aiden are visiting, so we've been busy hiking, searching for sea glass, and watching for whales (they've all been hiding, though).

For all my other Sparkler quilts, the sashing has been a neutral colour, but this time I decided to use the gorgeous Etched Glass print in dark teal. The Etched Glass is my favourite print in Modern Vintage: Treasured, so I used it in the sashing and for two of the blocks, in Earth and Terracotta.

The Treasured Poppies print is beautiful in both Natural and Turquoise, but it's definitely a larger scale print than I normally use. I'm a blenders and basics kind of girl. I love looking at these larger prints, though, so it's fun to incorporate them into a quilt sometimes!

I used the Loopy Lace print in Natural for the secondary sparklers, the ones that kind of recede into the background when you look at the quilt as a whole. It's a great basic print! There's a bit of pattern and colour, but it's all low-volume and perfect for playing a supporting role in the quilt.

I'm looking forward to getting this one quilted, whenever it cools down in the sewing room. I always used to say we didn't need air conditioning in Newfoundland, except for maybe 2 or 3 days a year, but that has been changing in recent years. Now we seem to have more and more hot days each summer, which is a struggle for this girl who does not enjoy the heat.

I also find it seems to get windier every year, which can make it hard to get quilt pictures, especially when it's only a quilt top. Without the added weight of the batting and backing, a flimsy quilt top billows and blows in even the slightest breeze. Paul came to my rescue this time and made a form to hold the quilt top. He taped together panels from a dishwasher box to make it large enough for the quilt, then added a handle to make it easier to hold. I pinned the quilt top to the cardboard and we headed out to a local trail. Even though it was quite windy, this worked like a charm! It might not be pretty, but it works 😊

If you'd like to make your own Sparkler quilt, the pattern is available in my shop.

That's what I made with Rachel's beautiful fabric, and all of the designers in this hop have made something unique using Modern Vintage: Treasured—from quilts and bags to garments and home decor. Follow along to see all the inspiring ideas AND to win some excellent prizes!

Meet the Designers & Their Projects

Devoted Quilter – Sparkler Baby Quilt (you are here!)

Ember Craft Company – Girl’s Dress

Snapdragon Quilting – Louise Quilt

Around the Bobbin – Essential Tote Bag

@dragonflysquiltingdesginstudio – Pillow Featuring a Panel + Modern Vintage: Treasured

Katie Mae Quilts – Baby Quilt

Quilty Zest – Placemats

Rachel Rossi – This link goes to a blog post with ALL the projects!

 

Find this fabric collection in a store near you: Modern Vintage: Treasured Store Locator

Cross-Stitch Heart

Welcome to another TGIFF party! It's time to celebrate our finishes and this time I have a finish that has been waiting a long time for its turn to come. The actual making didn't take long, but I've been thinking about making this new version of Cross-Stitch Heart for years.

I first made Cross-Stitch Heart for Make Modern magazine back in 2018. When I designed it, I was on a bit of an asymmetry kick, so this is how that original version looked. I gave this quilt to my Nanny for her 80th birthday, and it came back to me this spring after she passed away.

Almost immediately after making that version for Make Modern, I wanted to make another version using a different fabric for each block to emphasize the X shape that gives the quilt its name. Using different pinks makes it look so much more like a heart made of cross stitches.

Then, about a year ago, I decided that when the time came to make a new version, I wanted the heart centered and more prominent. And then a few months ago I realized that a scrappy version would fit perfectly as a Stash Artists pattern, so it made its way into the line of quilts to be made. Now it has finally been made!

In this version, the blocks are bigger, the heart is centered, and the quilt is a 72" square. I enjoyed going through my stash of pink fabrics to select the ones that would become part of the heart. 

I pieced together many pieces of my scraps of Warm and Natural for the batting, using fusible batting tape for the joins for the first time. While the batting tape was easier than zig zag stitching, it was also more expensive, so I'll probably stick with stitching the pieces together in the future.

As you've probably noticed in the pictures already, I quilted it with a loop and heart meander, which is the same motif I used for the first Cross-Stitch Heart quilt. I love having that extra layer of echo between the two quilts. I debated between a teal thread that almost matched the background or a pale pink that would stand out more (both were Aurifil 50 wt). I asked for votes on social media, where the results were as split as my own thoughts. I was going to play it safe with the teal, but at the last moment I switched to the pink. It stands out a bit and I love it!

The back is a solid bright pink, so the pale pink thread stands out on that side, too.

I went with a scrappy pink binding to finish it off.

Cross-Stitch Heart is the new Stash Artists pattern for July, so members can login to their account to access the pattern. If you love stash-friendly and scrappy patterns, too, get on the waitlist to be notified when the Stash Artists doors are open again.

That's my most recent finish, what is yours? Link it up below and be sure to visit some of the other links to celebrate their finishes, too.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

2025 Mid-Year Review

We're halfway through 2025, which means it's time to do a mid-year review to see how I'm doing with my goals so far. 

One thing I've noticed this year is that it's hard to spend time sitting at my computer to write blog posts after spending my mornings sitting at my computer for my work as a virtual assistant. Plus there's all the other computer time that goes into running a small business - pattern writing, writing Etsy listings, social media stuff, email, etc. I have lots of ideas for blog posts, so I'm working on ways to get back into the routine of writing again. It helps to have a deadline for a post, like linking up with Yvonne's Quarter 2 Check-in.

So, how am I doing on my 2025 goals so far?

1. Keep making small quilts

So far this year I've made two small quilts (I count anything baby quilt size or smaller). I made the baby size of Spin & Sparkle.

And this mini quilt for a friend diagnosed with breast cancer (she's doing great now!).

I'm currently working on another baby quilt, with a mini quilt and a couple more baby quilts waiting in the wings. 

2. A Roman Adventure

Yes! It was great to share another QAL and Devotional Journey, this time focusing on the book of Romans while we made our The Fountain quilts (or quilt top, in my case 😆)

What I didn't anticipate at the beginning of the year is that I would decide to stop writing devotions in May. While I enjoyed writing the devotions, especially for the annual QAL and Devotional Journey, they started to be a struggle and I'm now enjoying the break. I still occasionally find myself pondering some verse I read and thinking about how I might write about it, but for the most part I like being able to just think about the verses for my own benefit and not worry about making my thoughts coherent enough for anyone else.

3. WIPS-B-GONE 2025

Not yet, but I've been thinking about it! This annual challenge starts in October, but I start planning it well before then. I've been making notes to myself the past few days as my mind starts working on it while I'm doing other things. If you have WIPs lying around waiting to be finished, sign up for The Bulletin so you won't miss when the WIP busting challenge starts!

4. Quilt the cover quilt for These Three and release the pattern

Haven't gotten to this yet.

5. Make my Night Court wall hanging

Haven't gotten to this, either. I can't wait to have it hanging on my sewing room wall, so I better get at it!

6. All the Stash Artists things

I love everything about this membership! So far this year the Stash Artists patterns have been Inner Beauty (below), Summer Dreamin' (which hasn't made it to the blog yet), and Spin & Sparkle. The next one releases on Monday!

Our monthly Sew Together Sessions are always fun. We usually end up talking about books and maybe travel plans, family news, and who knows what else, along with talking about the projects we're actually working on 😊 

7. Go to Quilt Market

Quilt Market is in October, so obviously this hasn't happened yet. It's a possibility, or I may make the choice to go to the H+H Americas show in May instead. 

8. Keep working on the Hexie Rainbow

I've worked on this during all the Stash Artists Sew Together Sessions so far this year! I've worked on it other times, too, but those 2 hour Zoom sessions always see me making good progress. When I posted my goals for the year, I had finished quilting the red ring. Now I'm working on the first line around the yellow ring. Each black ring gets two lines of quilting, on the inside and outside edge of the hexies, and each coloured ring gets four lines of quilting since there are two rows of the coloured hexies. And, of course, each ring is larger than the one before it, so as I work my way out each line of quilting takes longer. Yes, this will probably be on my 2026 goals list, too!

9. Keep doing the strength workouts and get that step count a bit higher

I have consistently done strength workouts from the Nourish Move Love (NML) Youtube channel every Monday-Friday since last September. I started out using 3lb and 5lb dumbbells. Gradually I added in 10lb ones and stopped using the 3lb. Just last month, I started using 15lb dumbbells for some exercises and I rarely use the 5lb ones anymore. It's amazing how good it feels to need to use heavier weights! 

If you're worried about losing strength and mobility as you age, I highly recommend trying the NML workouts. Some of her programs are only 20 minutes long, so they feel much less intimidating than the thought of spending hours at the gym, she's very encouraging, and there are always options to modify the exercises to make them easier. Plus, they're free!

As for getting my step count higher...nope. My daily average for 2024 was about 8,300. So far in 2025 it has been about 7,000. Whomp, whomp, whomp. Sitting at my computer for work has really taken a toll on my movement. It doesn't help that quilting and running a quilt pattern business are both sedentary activities, too. Oh, and so is reading, which is another passion of mine.

I've been trying to ease back into running, which will help. I'm (sort of) following a Couch to 5K program from Runner's World. I say 'sort of' because the program is supposed to take 6 weeks and I've been at it for 7 months and I'm halfway through 😂 You're supposed to run 3 times a week, but I only want to run once a week, so that extended it right there. Then I've had to repeat most of the runs multiple times before I could actually do them. The worst one was when the program jumped from 'run 5 minutes, walk 3 minutes, three times' to 'run 7 minutes, walk 2 minutes, three times.' That was a big increase in running time, with a drop in walking time, and it took me 9 tries before I could check it off! I did accomplish it, though, which felt great. Maybe by the end of 2025 I'll have finished this 6 week program!

Overall, I'm pretty happy with what I've done on my goals so far. And, as always, I have plenty to do to keep me from being bored through the rest of 2025. If you set goals for this year, how are you doing with them?