Gazing into my Crystal Ball

I always find I spend the last few weeks of December looking ahead to the future.  Contemplating what projects and events I want to tackle, deciding where I want to spend my time in the coming year and setting goals for my business.

Back in January, I declared 2016 "The year of Cyndy"....Ha!

Looking at that post, I remember how exhausted I was from an extremely busy 2015.  And early in 2016, I did adjust how and where I was spending my time.

Well, the pendulum definitely swung to the other extreme because I over committed myself with "fun" projects and by mid-year, my projects all began feeling like a chore. 

So this year, I hope to find a happy medium.

I am really making a concerted effort on my UFOs.  It is time to clean these up and get them off my shoulders.  I am down to having only 20.  I decided to make a list of 12 and join American Patchwork for their UFO challenge.  Each month they will pick a number and that will be the project I work on throughout the month.  I may not finish it, but I hope to make some progress on each of these.

This is the year I am going to start learning to sew garments.  I have been collecting patterns and fabric for a few years but I have failed so miserably in the past, I have been frozen to start.  Well, I have signed up for a class at a new local store and I will share my journey with you. 

This should be interesting!

Remember my Scrappy Sampler?  I have been thinking about hosting a Quilt Along and if there is enough of an interest I will get planning on something very similar.

What do you like to see in a QAL?

Scraps will be a big part of 2017. Scrap-A-Palooza is coming back and I will still be hosting Oh Scrap every Sunday.   I also plan on participating in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge but I am keeping it simple this year.
 Scraps really make me happy!

In March and September, I will be once again hosting the Quilty Orphan Adoption. It is great to see UFOs that are languishing get packaged up, sent off and finished, sometimes for donation to some great charities. In fact, if you have adopted and finished a picture, I would love it if you shared a photo.

So that is my plan for the year. 

I have decided to not commit myself to a lot of long term projects.  I have also decided not to list a bunch of things I would like to achieve throughout the coming year.

I am keeping it simple this year!

Thank you all for your friendship, support and encouragement!  It warms my heart so much to know so many follow along on my quilty journey.

I wish you all a happy 2017 filled with laughter, good health and great success!

I am joining the fun over at Quilting Jetgirl.  Yvonne holds a Planning Party every year.  I enjoy seeing what everyone has planned for the coming year!

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Best of 2016!

As 2017 come screaming towards me, I have been spending this week contemplating what the future holds and looking back on the past year.  I am a strong believer in having a plan and when you look forward, you have to look where you have been to see what you want to change.

Personally, 2017 can't get here soon enough for me.  2016 really sucked!

But there were still some great things about it.  One of which was the support, encouragement and inspiration I received from all of you.  I cannot express enough how much I appreciate you!

Here are a few other highlights from the year...

Are you curious what post was viewed the most?  It was one of my string quilt finishes.  Most of the hits come from Pinterest.  I am always pleased with how many quilters love string quilts like I do!

If that is you, buckle up....because over the next year there are going to be a rainbow of them getting made.  I have lots of scrappy strings to burn through!

The finish I was most pleased with was this Kaffe Fassett quilt.  It was not a favorite quilt but it was one of my oldest UFOs. 

Boy, it feels good to get an old project finished! 

By far, the silliest finish was the Pig Race quilt.  I donated this quilt to a kid's charity but I still love coming across photos of the blocks. I hope it found a good home and made a child smile!

And you cannot put out a "Best of" without including your favorite quilts. 

My favorite scrappy finish was this colorwash quilt.   Using scraps to play with color is probably my favorite past-time.  So I pretty much enjoyed every step of making this quilt!
http://www.shareasale.com/u.cfm?d=387397&m=29190&u=1009810

And the quilt I cherish the most is my Park Bench quilt.  It doesn't come out of the cupboard very often but when it does, I always feel great pride in it.

Cheryl over at Meadow Mist Designs is hosting the Best of 2016 linky party.  So I thought I would share my best there too.  I hope to see you there!

In a separate post, I will soon be sharing my plans for the coming year.  I have some fun things planned and cannot wait to share them with you!  So here is your chance, if you want to see something in the coming year, speak now! 

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Linking Up:

Young Texan Mama (Sew Cute Tuesday)

QuiltStory (Fabric Tuesday)

Sew Fresh Quilts (Bee Social)

My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)






If you want to spend some of that Christmas money and get some good deals, Craftsy is having their end of the year supplies event.  I am an affiliate so clicking through this link and making a purchase means I make a commission (at no additional cost to you).  I really appreciate the support!

Bring on 2016!

My plans today were to write a long lengthy post about how I performed against my 2015 goals and to list all the great things I plan to do in 2016. After spending half the day quilting on a client's quilt, organizing my desk and updating all my spreadsheet for the new year, it finally dawned on me that 2016 is supposed to be the year of Cyndy....

so I put up my feet and appliqued my first circle for Quilty 365.

I have decided to sew circles onto a Kona navy background. Five circles and two half square triangles will make a block that will represent each week. Once I get a few weeks into the year, I will be able to share what the block will look like. Today I can only show you my circle for the first day of the year.

2015 was a tough year for me. It was hard on my body, my gardens and home were neglected and I was not always able to make the time to do the things that feed my creativity.

Don't get me wrong, I love my life and I enjoy quilting for others but I over committed myself last year. This year, being the year of Cyndy, will have lots of "me" days scheduled in. I still plan on supporting my existing clients (I mean, look at the amazing quilts my customers send me) but I will only be taking on new clients if my backlog is low.

Just how busy was I last year?  I fired up my longarm 342 days out of the 365 in the year! I made 53 quilts from my own stash, of which 14 were donated to various organizations.  I had two quilts published in magazines, participated in a few blog hops and I released two more of my own patterns.  There were also a few classes taught and some presentations made.  

No wonder I am tired.  I have earned a little time for me. 

So, in the year of Cyndy, I will still be playing with scraps. I will be continuing to share my processes with my Scrap-A-Palooza quilts, I will still be hosting Oh Scrap every Sunday, and I plan on participating in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

 Scraps make me happy!




In March and September, I will be hosting the Quilty Orphan Adoption again. It is great to see UFO s that are languishing get packaged up, sent off and finished, sometimes for donation to some great charities. In fact, if you have adopted and finished a picture, I would love it if you shared a photo.

I will be using my "me" time this year to work on my own projects. I love designing quilts and hope to publish more patterns and create more quilts for my own quilt collection. I have a long list of challenging quilts on my bucket list and would love to have time to work on them.  For example, I have had all of the Park Bench blocks completed for months and just haven't found quality time to sew up the top.

So I am pretty excited about this new year! Change is always a bit scary but I think these changes will be for the good. I certainly couldn't make some of these changes without the support of so many. I feel quite blessed to have so many great friends, wonderful clients, and supportive followers.

 I wish you all Happy 2016!

Linking Up:

Quilty Folk
Val's Quilting Studio
Confessions of a Fabric Addict

The Best of 2015!

First off, how can 2015 be almost over?!  For me, it was an exceptionally busy year and went by in a blur.  When I saw that Cheryl over at Meadow Mist Designs had invited bloggers to put together our 5 best posts for 2015 I thought it was a great idea just so I could go back and see what I did this year.

Other than giveaways, the post with the most activity was definitely the one where I shared this beauty.

In February, the Fat Quarter Shop asked me to participate in their Layers of Charm blog hop. I immediately chose to use Windham's Mimosa collection and ended up making one of my favorite quilts of the year.

One of my most popular posts seems to be a Pinterest favorite. In this post, I shared a bunch of quilts others had made using some of my patterns.  I continue to see lots of daily traffic and thank all of you who pinned some of these quilt to your boards.

And even though it isn't an actual post, many of you have visited my Scrap-A-Palooza page - hopefully looking for inspiration.  The first Scrap-A-Palooza quilt of the year was this fun one.  It seems like I just finished it a few weeks ago!

My personal favorite post of the year was the one where I shared my Pineapple quilt.  A pineapple quilt had been on my bucket list for years and I spent a lot of blood, sweat and tears on this one.  I don't get attached to many quilts but this one is tucked away just for me.

For the last of my "best of" choices, I wanted to share the quilts that I think inspired the most people.  It was hard to choose between two finishes so I guess I am breaking the rules and now linking my best six for 2015!

This simple little nine patch quilt I made last year as my Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt seemed to inspire others to want to make one of their own.  Since I shared this one, I have even made a second one myself.  These colorful nine patches make such a cute quilt!

And it was great to see so many quilters making their own version of this scrappy log cabin.  It was a Scrap-A-Palooza quilt with lots of layout options and one I will definitely be visiting again in the future!

So that is my best of 2015!  Now it is time for me to start thinking about my plans for 2016.  I would love to hear what you would like to see more of.  I really do appreciate all your support!

***This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you, I may make a small commission, which I appreciate so much!***

Mid Year Goal Review

Back in December of last year, I put together 10 goals for my blog in 2015. Knowing it is always easier to write up goals than achieve them, I thought I would take a look and make sure I am still on track in accomplishing them.

 

1. Lots of readers were in support of continuing the Scrap-A-Palooza series. This month I started the 16th quilt (Woo Hoo!) and I still have ideas for many more. You can check out the Scrap-A-Palooza quilt gallery any time you need some inspiration. I would be over the moon if you share any quilts you make so I can feature them here!



2. I announced the new Oh Scrap! link up. It happens every Sunday and each week I am continually inspired by the scrappy projects that are linked up. Thanks to everyone for your support!

3. While I am still trying to sew up some older fabric stash, already this year I have started 8 projects using fresh new fabrics. About half of those are finished but some I am still working on.  My favorite so far?  Definitely the Layers of Charm quilt made with a Mimosa layercake.

4. More Tutorials on my blog - Hmmm...I can certainly get a bit better at this. I do most of my sewing at night so those in-process pictures are always a bit challenging. I have however been sharing links to tutorials by others as part of the Oh Scrap! link up and I continue to share my process as I sew up each Scrap-A-Palooza quilt. 

5. Improving my photography - this one still needs a lot of work!  I have made some progress. I did download and watch the first chapter of the  Shoot It! photography class from Craftsy.  I think I am going to learn a lot if I can just find a block of time to watch the videos. I have also bought some foam board to make some of these design boards.  Having a nice background for photographs I think will help immensely too.

6. I did start work on my bucket list quilts. I finished my Pineapple quilt back in April and now I am working on my Park Bench Quilt. So definitely making progress there!

7. I am happy to say I have made some progress on getting some more patterns published. Letters of Love was published in the Jan/Feb issue of Quilty magazine and I have two more magazine publications coming out later this year.  I have also released two more patterns for purchase - Life is a Highway and All That Jazz.  I will be sharing some quilts later this week made using my patterns but here is a sneak preview of one made using Life is a Highway.  I am currently working on another one but that lack of time issue seems to get in the way of getting it done!

8. This year I have made and donated 7 quilts to charities so far. Five that went to a domestic violence shelter and two that will be distributed to kids in crisis. But I am proudest of a recent Orphan Adoption Event I hosted here on my blog. There were 12 partially completed projects linked up that will soon be finding a new home where many are going to be completed for various charities.  

So many angels out there!  

I am happy to announce the Orphan Adoption will become a regular event with the next one happening some time this fall. After that, it will become a biannual event, occurring in the spring and fall. More specific information will be shared soon.  So be sure you are following along so you don't miss it!

9. My goal for more giveaways and sponsors is progressing well. So far this year, I have hosted 4 giveaways. Two of those giveaways were sponsored - the sponsors were Fat Quarter Shop and Benartex Fabrics.  I am hoping to host another one soon so stay tuned!

10.  My final goal was to spend more time on all the various social media platforms.  Honestly, I do pretty well for a bit then run short on time and get out of the habit of posting. I really enjoy sharing on my blog so I spend most of my time here but with so many folks also following me on Craftsy, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Google +, I need to keep appearances on those platforms too.  Definitely still an area I can improve upon!

 All in all, I am feeling pretty good about where I am at on my goals with half a year still to go.  

Life is good!

2014 in Review

I know I am a little late to the 2014 year in review party but starting the year out feeling under the weather has me running a few days behind schedule.  I promise I will fill this post up with lots of great eye candy to make up for it!

First, I can't believe I am entering into my 9th year longarm quilting for others. I am blessed to have so many talented and loyal clients and I count many of them as close friends.  Running a very successful home business is quite rewarding and I am very thankful for the life I have.

One of the great things about quilting for others is I get to be a part of so many beautiful quilts.

Every week I am inspired by all the colorful and diverse quilts that pass before my eyes.

Because I love all styles of quilts, over the years I have built a very diverse client base.  So one day you might find something very traditional on my quilt frame.... 

 ...immediately followed by something very modern.

There are even a few art quilters who send their pieces to me to be quilted.

Pretty cool huh!?!  A quilt on a quilt!

Occasionally, I get the pleasure (and challenge)  of working on quilts with intricate piecing that I would probably never piece myself.

 This one just came off my frame and the customer hasn't seen it yet so I can't share too much but this little glimpse from the back.

For each quilt, I try and adjust my quilting styles to fit the canvas before me. 

 

The downfall to being a LAQ is I am constantly inspired and I have to constrain myself to not start a new quilt everyday.

Even the simplest of piecing done in the right colors of flannels has me placing items in a shopping cart!  I really wanted to snuggle up with this one right after I finished it but I think clients frown upon that!









Besides quilting for others, of course I had a lot of my own projects I worked on over the year. 

I started 2014 with a list of 47 projects in the works (Yikes).  So my main focus this year was on finishing some of these up.

I did finish 64 quilts in 2014.  And 11 of them (like the one above) were projects I started many years ago so that was an accomplishment to be celebrated!.  Most of these victories were due to joining in on a couple of Finish-A-Longs, something I will be doing again in 2015.

 I might even join in on some Instagram events like #SewMyStash2015 and #WhipYourWIPs2015.

My goal was to finish 2014 with less than 35 WIPs. I am delighted to say I have whittled down my WIPs to just 26!  I know that still sounds like a lot but quite a few of the projects are long-term, bucket-list type projects that I only work a bit on each year. But I want to continue to work through this list so I want to set a goal to have the list down to 20 by the end of 2015! 

Of the 64 quilts for 2014, 29 were made from scraps and 21 were made from my existing stash.  Those numbers make me and my pocketbook very happy as I didn't spend a lot of money on fabric last year.  I hope to continue to sew quilts from my older stash but will be allowing myself to design quilts around some new collections.

Due to my Scrap-A-Palooza series that I started in 2014, scrap quilts have become a regular feature on my blog. I think the quilt below was my favorite of the year.  It has definitely been getting use lately as I fight my way through this nasty flu bug!

 I am also proud to say that in 2014, I had 2 more magazine publications with one of my quilts even featured on a cover.  I will be starting 2015 out with another magazine publication so stay tuned for the announcement in a few days.  Hopefully you will see a few more throughout the year.

And in 2014, I published my first independent pattern (Wiggle Time is available for purchase on Etsy and Craftsy). I have been working on writing up a few more so I hope to have additional patterns available in 2015!

I also became a Craftsy affiliate in 2014. This allows me to make a small commission on purchases made by wonderful people who click through my site and make a purchase on a class or product. These funds help cover the costs of running linky parties and supporting giveaways. I really do appreciate the support!

But the best part of 2014 was getting to know so many of you.  I am so inspired by what I see in so many of your blogs and encouraged by my readers support and comments. I truly do appreciate all of you and look forward to seeing what 2015 brings.  Cheers!

If you are interested in more ways to follow me, you can find me on Craftsy, Facebook, Pinterest, Bloglovin', Feedly, Instagram, Google +, or get my blog sent right to your email inbox by entering your email address on the right sidebar!

I usually only share my client quilt photos on my Facebook or Instagram feeds.  If you want to see more of these throughout the year, you are welcome to follow along there!

Okay, here are a few more client quilts I think deserve sharing!

Linking Up:
Fresh Sewing Day
Anything Goes Monday.