This is the 3rd year I am sharing my goals with you. It is nice for me to have them written down and public so I have my quilting friends holding me accountable. I come back to the post often to motivate myself and to remind myself of what I am suppose to be working towards.
2017 Goals
First a review of the goals I made for 2017
2017 Goals
First a review of the goals I made for 2017
1) Publish 8 patterns - I feel like I need to keep growing, but if I don't hit 8, I'm going to be OK with that. I'm a wife, mother and family child care provider; giving myself a little slack is important.
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| "X-Squared" All words and no pictures make for a boring blog post. |
Published Patterns: X-Squared, Softly Circled, Against The Grain, Gradient Stars, Criss Crossing and Quilt Crush )published first in McCalls Quick Quilts and now digitally by me), The Border Quilt, Broken Panes, as well as blocks in Quiltmakers 100 Quilt Blocks Issue 15 and Issue 16, a free pattern for the BU Quilt Along and twelve mug rug patterns for the Muggamo series.
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| "Softly Circled" |
2) Schedule 1 trunk show. - See what I did there? Hahahaha! Well, I still want to do these, but I'm going to have to figure out how. So lets start with 1, shall we.
Still figuring out logistics of this, but I did vend at my first quilt show.
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| "Jubilee" block Quiltmakers 100 Quilt Blocks Issue 15 |
3) Get published in a different magazine - I've already had a rejection from a different magazine, but I'm hoping to get picked up by another one. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
I was published in Quiltmakers 100 Quilt Blocks this year.
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| Block in "Here A Square There A Square" |
4) Step out of my comfort zone and video a couple of tutorials - I've got nothing to add to that. Scary!
I did this! It wasn't pretty, and I don't know if there are more in my future, but it was good to try.
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| "Muggamo" pattern with the most love. |
5) Contact other distributors and stores - It's time to get those patterns out there!
Still working on this.
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| "Against the Grain" |
6) Grow my readers! That's you! What do you like to see in a blog? Do you like email lists? Share your thoughts in the comments!
I think this one is just a constant goal, and one I will continue to work on.
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| "Gradient Stars" |
Well, not too bad if I do say so myself! I didn't realize that I had actually published 8 patterns this year. Granted, two of them were in Quick Quilts last year, and one of them this year, but I'm excited to see growth. I have four patterns already tested just waiting for me to get cover quilts going, I just need to figure out my 2018 goals and where those patterns fit in.
2018 Goals
1) Take care of me. I'm changing it up a bit this year. I've been struggling since July to find a good balance in my life; family, child care business and pattern business. I've enjoyed it all, but found myself constantly feeling behind, and that is an awful feeling. While I am planning on publishing more patterns, I'm going to step back from the pressure of publishing them and try to go with the flow a bit more.
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| "The Border Quilt" |
2) Grow relationships. I'm finding my blogging/social media world a bit quiet, so I'm hoping to get more involved and "in touch" with those who understand the nuances of the quilting world. I think that will help with goal 1 as well, because support goes a long way in helping keep the burnout away.
3) Distributors. I need to contact distributors again and get some feedback.
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| "Broken Panes" |
4) Teaching. I'm getting a page ready with information on workshops/trunk shows/lectures. I'm excited to get that "published" and get the information to you.
What do you think of my pared down goals? I think they still work on what I feel is important for PBJ, but give me a little bit more room to relax and enjoy the process.
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| "Cartwheel" block Quiltmakers 100 Quilt Blocks Issue 16 |
By the way, I am starting something new this year! In place of the Muggamo series; I am having a 2018 Monthly Color Challenge blog hop/quilt along. It starts tomorrow! I hope you join us!
Happy Stitching!
Jen
