Half Way through 2023

 

Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash

I can hardly believe that this year is going so very quickly. It's already halfway through! Fortunately for me, I had a long weekend as July began, so was able to spend some time thinking about my plans for the year and how I'm doing with them. 

My goals that I set for 2023 were fairly relaxed. They were to:

1. Sew From Stash

2. Finish some art quilts

3. Take classes/learn more

I think I've done okay on all of these so far! I've been sewing a lot from stash, probably about 75% of my projects so far are from stash, and I haven't bought too much new fabric this year. I still have to sort more of the piles out so I can see what I want to use and what I want to pass on, but haven't got there yet. 

Finishing art quilts has been going pretty well -- I finished 2 small ones, and got to the SAQA Conference in Toronto I was planning on, which spurred me on. I have 2 more small quilts to finish, and lots of ideas for new ones! 

Take classes -- well, haven't done too great on this one yet. I did take one interesting art quilting class online, about using scraps effectively, which I really enjoyed. And I've been listening to some embroidery and art quilting webinars. However, I haven't finished my Jasika Blazer class (maybe this fall?) and do have some CreativeBug sewing classes I want to watch. 

My other 2023 goal was my Make Nine/Use Nine plans. So far I'm moving a bit slowly there - I have finished one, the McCalls dolman knit top, and have two others cut out. So maybe I'll get a few more done before end of year! 

Like I mentioned in my original planning post, I am a mood sewist - I get distracted from plans easily! Plus I've been doing a bit of sewing on demand, so to speak, for various sewing companies/stores, which does cut into my planned sewing a bit. 

And in May I added a new goal to the year, which is to make my own Vyshyvanka by next May -- I've traced out two potential patterns for it but haven't made any samples yet. I'm planning to make a couple of quick versions to test out which pattern I want to use good linen for, and spend time on embroidering! So I'll have to get busy so I can start on that with plenty of time for stitching. 

Not too much to overwhelm me, and I don't feel terribly behind, as these are simply goals to keep me focused. It's great to look at them and refocus now, with time left in the year to accomplish a bit more. Do you like making plans as well, or are you more freeform? I think I'm a mix!