2017 Mid Year Review

Somehow, while we were busy doing all the many things we do, half a year has slipped by again. How is it possible that the days can seem so very long sometimes, but the months slip by so fast?

Since we are here at the end of June, it's time to take a look back at the goals I set and see how I'm doing with meeting them. This should be interesting...


1. Host another sew-a-long of some kind. I'm not sure what form I want this to take this year, though it probably won't be a mystery. I'd like to try something new 😊

Well, I haven't decided yet if I want to call this one done or not. When I put out the call for quilt blocks to make quilts for the seniors who lost everything in a fire in April, I had no idea the response would be so incredible. Quilters from 9 provinces and 1 territory in Canada, 30+ American states as well as from Australia and the UK sent me blocks, full quilts, binding, batting, backing and even money to help with costs. It's not quite what I meant when I set that goal, but I did leave the type of sew-a-long wide open, and the block drive certainly got a lot of people sewing along together!

(If you've been wondering how the quilts have been going, there will by another update soon, so stay tuned 😊)


2. Start hand quilting my Hexie Flowers quilt. This poor quilt top has been sitting in my cupboard for over a year. I want to hand quilt it, both because I think it would complement the hand stitched EPP and because I find I'm wanting a hand quilting project again. Obviously, this will be a long term project, but I at least want to get it started.

Okay, technically, this one is done. I did start hand quilting it. And then I stopped. I worked on it one evening, stitching around one flower once and part of a second time. I didn't particularly enjoy it and I haven't touched it since. EPP means there are seam allowances on both sides of the seam, so there's really no way to get around stitching through the seam allowance and it just wasn't going well. The quilt is currently sitting in my closet and makes me feel guilty every time I see it, so I think it's time to admit I'm not going to hand quilt it.

Let's officially change this goal to machine quilt my Hexie Flowers quilt before the year is out. We'll see where it stands when I check back in 6 months.

3. Grow my design business. I really enjoy the whole process of designing and writing patterns, and I do a little happy dance every time someone buys one of my patterns. I'd love to do more of that happy dancing in 2017!

Well, there has been some happy dancing going on because of pattern sales, so that's good. I've also started working with some brands as sponsors. Make Modern magazine (affiliate link) sponsored prizes for the Spring into Colour 2017 photo challenge and Northcott Fabrics has sponsored a secret sewing project I'll be starting soon. That feels like a step towards growing my business.

There's still a lot of room for growth, though, so I want to try to focus on this more through the second half of the year.

Want to see what patterns I have available? Check out my pattern store!

4. Keep seeking magazine publication. That's part of growing my design business, but I think it's an important enough part of deserve to be a goal of its own. 

This has been a fun year in terms of having patterns published or accepted for publication, including my first-ever print publication in Modern Patchwork's July/August issue. There will be more coming later in the year, and I'll be sure to keep you posted 😊

5. Share 10 new tutorials or patterns. Since I already have three patterns in the works, it should be completely doable to reach 10 before the end of the year. Especially considering how many ideas I have!

I've shared 2 new tutorials so far, both for new 12" blocks with fun secondary patterns - Connections and Layered Star.

 

I've also released 2 patterns - Love Birds and my free Wind Farm pattern, which is available exclusively to subscribers to my newsletter, The Bulletin.

4 of 10 isn't bad for halfway through the year, right?

6. End 2017 with fewer UFOs than I have right now. I have a few projects that were set aside in favour of starting something new and it makes me sad that they're not finished and being used. Time to get them finished up! Without actually digging around in my cupboard, I think I have 7 UFOs (not counting the hexie flowers one). Of course, ending the year with fewer UFOs than I have now will mean I can't keep abandoning projects as the year goes on 😉

Nope. I'm not at all on target for this one. The quilts for the seniors kind of took priority over any UFO sewing I might have been doing. We'll see how the second half of the year goes for this goal.


That's where things stand for me so far for the year. It's a mixed bag, but I kind of expected that with the quilts for the seniors being a big and unexpected project, so I'm pleased with where I am so far.

How about you? Do you set yearly goals? And if you do set goals, do you do a mid-year review?



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Pinwheel Whirl in Modern Patchwork

Do you remember this quilt, from my 5 More Things I Learned While Flow Quilting post?

Well, now that the July/August issue of Modern Patchwork is out, I can finally share the whole quilt with you! Meet Pinwheel Whirl 😊

Pinwheels have always been one of my favourite quilting blocks, so it was fun to come up with a design that uses two very different pinwheels.

 

I love the simplicity of the piecing and just look at all of that negative space! I had so much fun filling it up with flow quilting.

Pinwheel Whirl finishes at 60" x 72". My version was made using Kona graphite, berry, punch, canary and black. I used Aurifil 2610 for the flow quilting and I love how it looks against the Kona berry on the back.

This was my first time using this area for a quilt photography shoot, but it definitely won't be my last. It's such a beautiful spot! And I had great photography assistants/quilt holders too 😊

Aiden doesn't look very pleased to be having his picture taken, does he?

The July/August issue of Modern Patchwork is available now. It was rather exciting to have my copies arrive as this is my first print publication and, since I usually struggle with my quilt styling and photography, it was fun to see how they styled it (beautifully, I might add).

Edited to add, this pattern is now available as a PDF from my Etsy shop. And if you're interested, the quilt itself is also for sale.

As always, if you make Pinwheel Whirl, I'd love to see your version, so be sure to tag me on IG (@devotedquilter) or FB (@devotedquilterdesigns) or send pictures to devotedquilter at gmail dot com. I can't wait to see how you interpret the design!

Appropriate Words

Devotion for the Week...

Last week, while talking to a 5 year old girl, Nathan used the word stupid. She looked at him, wide-eyed, and said, "You said a bad word!" When he told me the story, I had to explain that many families don't allow little kids to use the word stupid because it's usually used in the context of calling someone names. Apparently he doesn't remember that he wasn't allowed to use the word when he was younger either, lol.

That conversation with Nathan made me think of other times when word choice was an issue with little kids. There was the time we were in our church's Thursday night children's program and Michelle made a mistake during her presentation and said, "Crap." The kids nearly exploded in their shock! Meanwhile, we three leaders were all looking at each other in surprise, thinking, "That's a bad word?" None of us had any issue with the word, but apparently these kids had been taught it was bad.

And when Aiden was in grade 1 he was asked to narrate the kindergarten dramatization of the Christmas story during the school's Christmas concert. The kindergarten student who had been chosen as narrator wouldn't do it because he had been taught that "Jesus" is a curse word and he wouldn't say it.

Of course, there are also instances where the pendulum swings the other way and kids aren't restricted from using any words at all. When Nathan was in grade 1 there was a child in his class who could say whatever he wanted. His language was so bad that Paul had to speak to him one day when he was playing outside with Nathan because Paul couldn't handle the foul language coming from him!

Zach once asked me what makes a bad word bad, and I really had no answer for him. The best I could come up with is that society decides certain words are inappropriate for use in polite conversation. There really is no set standard that applies to all societies for what constitutes bad language.

The Bible, though, does set out a standard for good language. It's not necessarily about particular word choices, but about the content and intent of your words. Consider these verses:

Ephesians 4:29: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Colossians 4:6: "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." 

Psalm 19:14: "May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

What do our words say about us? How do we use our words to talk to others? How do we talk about others? Is our speech helpful for building others up, or are we more likely to tear them down? Is our conversation always full of grace, or full of judgement?

Are we even aware of how we talk? Do we listen to ourselves enough to hear negativity or judgement or condemnation when they come out of our mouths? These are questions worth pondering as we go about our days, chatting with cashiers and friends, waitresses, family members and co-workers.

What pops out of our mouths when we drop something is probably less important that what we say when someone hurts us. And what we say when we stub a toe is probably less important than what we say about the people we work with.

This week, let's try to be sure we're choosing appropriate words.