I love having the week off between Christmas and New Years. Beyond the visiting we do and the company we have, it is a great time to organize and plan for the coming year.   

 My quilting project plans are usually all over the place – in a big notebook, in my work notebook, and on random sheets of paper. This year I plan to keep better track of both craft show and personal projects with the Quilters Planner that my mom got me for my birthday. Thanks mom! 

  This book has very helpful features. The month at a glance page will be very helpful in seeing my schedule in aggregate but also for highlighting the most important projects.   

The week view will be great as I keep my work calendar public in the office and therefore don’t post personal appointments. I also like that I can set and track my progress against weekly goals.    There are several other great features including a project tracking page, project planning and design worksheets, patterns and a reference section. I look forward to exploring those in more detail.  

 I even used the notebook to plan Kira’s quilt and it worked out well. I look forward to using this book all year long and then looking back on my progress.  You can get yours at Fat Quarter Shop if you’d like. 

  Beyond the planner, the sewing room got a end-of-year cleaning. I am going to try to keep it neat and organized. I am so much more productive when the studio is in clean condition.  

  I also cleaned out the utility room outside our laundry room and next to the sewing room, with a little help from Rob and my brother. It is so nice to have my Etsy and craft show merchandise organized and easy to get to.  

 I also created a photography station with some black fabric and an old desk. Which leads to my quilty goals for 2016, in no particular order.  

1. Improve the photography for my etsy shop. Some of my product images are so bad and I know I can do better. Maybe I will even add in some props!
2. Finish at least four of the 50+ UFOs that are stuffed into various hiding spots in my sewing room. That is only one per quarter. That seems manageable. 
3. Design and complete at least six personal quilt projects, and have at least one be accepted into QuiltCon 2017. Two would be better. 
4. Launch my pattern series, publishing at least two patterns for sale. 
5. Amplify my efforts around the long-arm service, and make time to practice to get more skilled.
6. Commit to 15 minutes a day of creative time. I try to do so, but it is hard when I am traveling for work. With better planning I think I can do it. 

And of course, I am going to try to blog more regularly and make the posts more interesting. 

Thanks for visiting. Here is to a happy, healthy and wonderful 2016 to you and yours! 🎉🎊🌟🍾💛