2018 COMPLETIONS:
- 3 quilts
- 2 knitted items
- 6 home decor items
- 2 cloth books
- 5 toys – stuffed dolls with accessories
- 16 burp cloths
- 3 articles of clothing
- 2 blog books
- 7 quilt shows
3 QUILTS
Be Happy for William 43" x 43" (April 27, 2018)
Gnomes for Mary's baby Charlotte 42" x 60" (December 6, 2018)
Blue Hues from 2017 Houston trip with Robin 48" x 60"(December 30, 2018)
2 KNITTED ITEMS
Pink Blanket for Autumn (August 29, 2018)
Vintage Christmas Stocking for William ( November 7, 2018)
6 HOME DECOR ITEMS
Set of 4 Grommet Drape Panels for Family Room (June 28, 2018)
Set of 6 Patriotic Placemats (July 12, 2018)
Set of 4 Grommet Valences for Kitchen Nook (July 30, 2018)
2 CLOTH BOOKS
1 construction cloth book for William (April 12, 2018)
Whose Baby Am I cloth book for William (November 9, 2018)
5 TOYS or TOY SETS
1 pair of Gaston and Paulette Journuy for Lillian and Vivian (April 28, 2018)
1 set of three stuffed kitten toys for Vivian, Lillian, and William (June 29, 2018)
2 Goldilocks Sets of four each (August 2, 2018)
Goldilocks and Baby Bear + Mama and Papa Bear for Lillian and Vivian
Goldilocks and Three Bears for Autumn
1 set of Hansel and Gretel with bear, bunny, pillow, blanket for Vivian and Lillian (August 24, 2018)
3 ARTICLES OF CLOTHING
Apron for Autumn (May 12, 2018)
Guys' Aprons for Jeremy and Isaiah (May 15, 2018)
16 BURP CLOTHS
6 burp cloths (official first for William) (February 8, 2018)
10 burp cloths (second batch for William) (February 12, 2018)
2 BLOG BOOKS
DianeLoves2Quilt – Vol. 9 (June 22, 2018) covers May 31, 2017 - December 27, 2017
DianeLoves2Quilt – Vol. 10 (July 5, 2018) covers December 28, 2017 - June 22, 2018
6 QUILT SHOWS
Another enjoyment-enhancing activity is attending quilt shows where I getting inspired and avoid overbuying. I most certainly did that. At these venues I did make purchases but I did so judiciously and not merely because of a bargain price. I do not feel at all guilty about my purchases. The links below attest to my inspiration and purchases. In the fall and winter I attended two large national shows
2018 ASSESSMENT:
My aim for 2018 was presented in my post for 1/4/18 and distilled down to the goal of Maximize Enjoyment and Minimize Guilt. Getting to understand myself better, I am pleased to say that I feel I was able to meet that goal extremely well. I kept the curtains I sewed for my home, my two blog books, and – at least so far – the Blue Hues quilt. Everything else I gave away as gifts. That distribution was enjoyable.
Knowing myself, I am aware I like lists and so this yearly summary of my output products does give me a feeling of satisfaction; this satisfaction contributes to maximizing Enjoyment. A list of to-do's that do NOT get accomplished fosters remorse, so I am glad I skipped making a to-do list for 2018; in other words, I minimized Guilt. I will admit the engineer in me still likes making lists. But the artist struggling to get out of me, does not want to be controlled by TO-DO lists. I avoided TO-DO lists in 2018. (See that struggling artist can beat down that dominant engineer!) Lists of accomplishments however, are TA-DAs, per creative coach Katie Fowler, and I am quite content to analyze my TA-DAs. Indulge the engineer in me as I compare and contrast my TA-DAs from the last several years and enjoy what I learn from the following summary chart. For those as anal as I am, here are the links for past years' reviews, the data source for the chart: 2017 Completions, 2016 Completions, 2015 Completions, 2014 Completions, 2013 Completions, 2012 Completions.
In terms of total items completed, 2018 was my least productive year yet, but I have learned that pure number is not the right measure. As I browsed past projects I noted differences in focus, size, taste, gift recipients, skill level, and buying wisdom. It is refreshing to reflect on this New Year's Eve in the safe confines of only the crafty part of my life.
I must admit though, based on the variety in my crafting, DianeLoves2Quilt may not be the most appropriate name for my blog. I do a lot of knitting and crocheting so maybe a name along those lines would be equally descriptive. On the other hand, base purely on numbers, I do not think DianeLoves2Burp, though it may be more accurate from an engineer's point of view, is a serious contender for an improved name from an artist's point of view. Linking up with Let's Bee Social #256.
Be Happy for William 43" x 43" (April 27, 2018)
Gnomes for Mary's baby Charlotte 42" x 60" (December 6, 2018)
Blue Hues from 2017 Houston trip with Robin 48" x 60"(December 30, 2018)
2 KNITTED ITEMS
Pink Blanket for Autumn (August 29, 2018)
Vintage Christmas Stocking for William ( November 7, 2018)
6 HOME DECOR ITEMS
Set of 4 Grommet Drape Panels for Family Room (June 28, 2018)
Set of 6 Patriotic Placemats (July 12, 2018)
Set of 6 Twelve Dogs of Christmas placemats (December 16, 2018)
Set of 5 Santa's Lil Helpers Christmas ornaments (December 17, 2018)
Set of 6 Twelve Cats of Christmas placemats (December 26, 2018)
1 construction cloth book for William (April 12, 2018)
Whose Baby Am I cloth book for William (November 9, 2018)
5 TOYS or TOY SETS
1 pair of Gaston and Paulette Journuy for Lillian and Vivian (April 28, 2018)
1 set of three stuffed kitten toys for Vivian, Lillian, and William (June 29, 2018)
Goldilocks and Baby Bear + Mama and Papa Bear for Lillian and Vivian
Goldilocks and Three Bears for Autumn
1 set of Hansel and Gretel with bear, bunny, pillow, blanket for Vivian and Lillian (August 24, 2018)
3 ARTICLES OF CLOTHING
Apron for Autumn (May 12, 2018)
Guys' Aprons for Jeremy and Isaiah (May 15, 2018)
6 burp cloths (official first for William) (February 8, 2018)
10 burp cloths (second batch for William) (February 12, 2018)
2 BLOG BOOKS
DianeLoves2Quilt – Vol. 9 (June 22, 2018) covers May 31, 2017 - December 27, 2017
DianeLoves2Quilt – Vol. 10 (July 5, 2018) covers December 28, 2017 - June 22, 2018
6 QUILT SHOWS
Another enjoyment-enhancing activity is attending quilt shows where I getting inspired and avoid overbuying. I most certainly did that. At these venues I did make purchases but I did so judiciously and not merely because of a bargain price. I do not feel at all guilty about my purchases. The links below attest to my inspiration and purchases. In the fall and winter I attended two large national shows
- 01/25/18: Road to California national show
https://dianeloves2quilt.blogspot.com/2018/01/visiting-road2ca-2018.html - 10/11/18: Pacific International Quilt Festival
https://dianeloves2quilt.blogspot.com/2018/10/visit-to-piqf.html
- 04/12/18: small show put on by the Guild of Quilters of Contra Costa
https://dianeloves2quilt.blogspot.com/2018/04/quilt-show-and-cloth-book.html - 05/14/18: silent auction hosted by the Amador Valley Quilters
https://dianeloves2quilt.blogspot.com/2018/05/purchases-at-silent-auction.html - 08/21/18: small show run by Delta Quilters
https://dianeloves2quilt.blogspot.com/2017/08/brentwood-quilt-show.html - 9/10/18: open house hosted at her home by Sandy Klopp of American Jane Fabrics
http://dianeloves2quilt.blogspot.com/2018/09/one-fine-september-day.html - 9/27/18: Minnesota travel and Alden Lane annual Quilting in the Garden show
https://dianeloves2quilt.blogspot.com/2018/09/quilting-inspiration-while-traveling.html
2018 ASSESSMENT:
My aim for 2018 was presented in my post for 1/4/18 and distilled down to the goal of Maximize Enjoyment and Minimize Guilt. Getting to understand myself better, I am pleased to say that I feel I was able to meet that goal extremely well. I kept the curtains I sewed for my home, my two blog books, and – at least so far – the Blue Hues quilt. Everything else I gave away as gifts. That distribution was enjoyable.
Knowing myself, I am aware I like lists and so this yearly summary of my output products does give me a feeling of satisfaction; this satisfaction contributes to maximizing Enjoyment. A list of to-do's that do NOT get accomplished fosters remorse, so I am glad I skipped making a to-do list for 2018; in other words, I minimized Guilt. I will admit the engineer in me still likes making lists. But the artist struggling to get out of me, does not want to be controlled by TO-DO lists. I avoided TO-DO lists in 2018. (See that struggling artist can beat down that dominant engineer!) Lists of accomplishments however, are TA-DAs, per creative coach Katie Fowler, and I am quite content to analyze my TA-DAs. Indulge the engineer in me as I compare and contrast my TA-DAs from the last several years and enjoy what I learn from the following summary chart. For those as anal as I am, here are the links for past years' reviews, the data source for the chart: 2017 Completions, 2016 Completions, 2015 Completions, 2014 Completions, 2013 Completions, 2012 Completions.
In terms of total items completed, 2018 was my least productive year yet, but I have learned that pure number is not the right measure. As I browsed past projects I noted differences in focus, size, taste, gift recipients, skill level, and buying wisdom. It is refreshing to reflect on this New Year's Eve in the safe confines of only the crafty part of my life.
- Why only three quilts in 2018? Answer: because those I did do were more involved piecing-wise and design-wise and I was more adventurous in doing the FMQ portion myself.
- Why so much knit/crochet? Answer: because it is has different kind of snuggling feel than a quilt and because there are so many babies and kiddos to make for.
- Why the high quilt count in 2014? Answer: because I was sending the tops out to be quilted by someone other than me.
- Why still a fairly high number of quilts in 2015? Answer: because I got my Sweet Sixteen HandiQuilter just before the 2014 holidays and January 2015 is when I first began to use her and experiment. Many of these quilts were small and with very simple FMQ.
- Why the increase in home decor? Answer: because I retired mid-2013 and am in the house more hours of the day to see what I want to be in there.
- Why so many burp cloths: Answer: because I love making them and I have five grandchildren now and multiple babies from friends of my own kids.
I must admit though, based on the variety in my crafting, DianeLoves2Quilt may not be the most appropriate name for my blog. I do a lot of knitting and crocheting so maybe a name along those lines would be equally descriptive. On the other hand, base purely on numbers, I do not think DianeLoves2Burp, though it may be more accurate from an engineer's point of view, is a serious contender for an improved name from an artist's point of view. Linking up with Let's Bee Social #256.
WOW!! You have created A LOT over the years! Retirement has certainly NOT slowed you down!
ReplyDeleteI can't get over the 206 burp cloths!
DeleteOh man, that is some top-notch data analysis! I keep a spreadsheet for patterns I own/have tried, and fabric I've bought/used (knits anyway... quilt store stuff I don't track), but I don't produce nearly the variety of things that you do! I have had similar fun seeing how my tastes changed over the years, from "buy all the fabrics in a collection and make a quilt from them to "put a double skirt on a custom knit and color block it to make it more unique (and efficient when it comes to using expensive fabric!). 206 burp cloths is amazing, though; maybe you and I should BOTH have "get my sewing machine serviced" on our 2019 goals list!
ReplyDelete