I have been home for the last few days on a staycation and enjoying the  holidays with my family.  I took time off from quilting and today I am starting up on my quilt work.  I plan to ring in the New Year quilting. During the time off, I have been knitting and crocheting. See my Instagram on the sidebar for all the things I have been doing! I am purposely not linking back to old posts or to old photos because I want to really focus where I was in 2016 and where I am ending in 2017. Be warned this is a very wordy post with no pictures.

What I have determined is that I have not given myself enough credit for all the things I DID accomplish vs thinking and focusing on all the things I felt I should have got done this past year. I wanted to list them out so next year when I look back, I can see how far I have come!

Where did I start the year out? I was doing about 3 quilts a month on my long arm. I had a fledgling podcast that was 3 months old, a blog that I was thinking about just ending because I thought blogging was a waste of time and trying to find a way to build on what I had going in my quilting life. I was active on Instagram and doing photo a day picture challenges. I was searching to connect with other quilters. I  had been testing blocks in 2016 for several people and Quiltmaker 100 block magazine.

I counted up how many quilts I have long armed in 2017. I finished 53 quilts! I sewed and completed 2 important ones. The first one was the quilt I designed and then made. It was featured on Moda Bakeshop. The second was a sample for Christa Watson that went to market for her booth featuring her debut fabric line. A third important quilt, was one I long armed and I was a part of making ,was a quilt my local quilt group did as a challenge. It was in AQS Grand Rapids in August!

I was part of 2 blog hops that pushed me to improve my free motion quilting. The blog hops have introduced me to several quilters and we have become a very important support system for each other. Thanks for all the great advice and encouragement!

I had one trunk show at the local quilt shop.  I  have  plans in the works to teach a class at the local quilt shop. It is possible one may be a go in January. There will be a Free Quilt Along on this blog and the first block has been revealed already! So excited!!

The Podcast has grown and I had 3 interviews this year with amazing quilters. Christa Watson, Angela Walters and Leah Day. Leah Day and I did a collaborative mini quilt. That was an amazing amount of fun. The podcast has been a wonderfully creative endeavor that I started out  thinking I would not be able to do it. And here I am 15 month later, loving every minute of it.

I have designed several quilts that will go up on my pattern store in the upcoming weeks. I have been improving the web site and improving production for the podcast and You Tube Videos. Next year, I am planning several Facebook Live sessions during the Quilt along that will be underway in January. The My Creative Corner3 Facebook groups has been growing and the Creative prompt challenges are continuing .  January has  2 weeks of prompts posted already. Those prompt challenges are where the Bakeshop pattern came from!

That’s really a lot. I work full time. I went to my husbands Highland games during the summer months and saw my children and grand children.  I have been working on being healthy and getting  my blood sugars under control. I have been studying quilting, patterns, social media and production this past year, too. I think I need to take inventory on what I have completed more often. I am a little blown away on what I was able to accomplish…… one stitch, one block, one row at a time.

I am not planning on any show quilts this next year. I am focusing on quilting the 10 quilts tops of my own in the queue. I am planning on making a few mini quilts to test some ideas I have. I want to work diligently delivering quality for my customers, my listeners and readers. .

Thank you for being part of the journey and I am anticipating 2018 will be a most excellent year!

Quilt On,

Vicki