Hello and welcome to the New Year!!! The last blog post was about my goals for 2023. This post is a continuation about my goals completing old projects. It is also about a few quilting trends for 2023 I found. So, a mix of New Year & old projects.

Hopefully this finds all of you happy and ready to start a fresh new year. Personally, 2022 was a very hard year and I am glad to see it go. A new year is like a fresh start for doing goals.

2023 Trends

I think quilting trends are fun. It always seems I am either behind the trends or have been doing something “trendy” before it became a trend.

I checked around the internet and the trends seem to be going by new names. However, they are basically a “recycling” of previous trends. I liked this list best, and think it is worth sharing with you.

Number one on the list is patchwork clothing. This has been around for many years and seems to always be in style. The colors and patterns change.

The second is “sustainability”. Great new words for using something else to make a quilt with. You know, like t-shirt or blue jean quilts. In other words, fancy recycling. Or it could be interpreted as simply using the stash and scraps you have on hand.

Number three is “improv quilting”. Looks like good old-fashioned crazy or string quilts. But if a new word makes quilters more interested in trying their hand at it, I am for it. My Happy Hibernation Quilt has crazy quilting or “improv quilting”.

The fourth on the list is two tone quilts. The one pictured is a black and white modern pattern. But two-tone quilting has been around for a long time. What two colors do you think would be fun to work with? Personally, I am a fan of blue and yellow.

Number five is pictorial quilts. I remember back in the 1990s when these first became really popular. I am fascinated with them. However, the couple I have tried demanded way more patience than I wanted to spend on a quilt. Pictorial quilts can be beautiful and true art for those who complete them.

The sixth is slow stitching. Ok, I admit it – I had to Google the term. Basically, it is sewing or stitching simply for the joy of stitching. So that would include any kind of hand sewing work – embroidery, hand quilting, beading, embellishment, etc. I am really “trendy” in this – I love to hand quilt just for the joy of doing it

And finally, number seven is funky texture. According to Webster dictionary, funky can mean “the visual or tactile surface characteristics and appearance of something”. My guess this is a texture that we don’t usually think of as part of a quilt. Like adding beads, buttons, fabric other than cotton, and/or a lot of embroidery stitches.

Goals for old projects:

I spent a lot of 2022 overwhelmed and distracted. When I worked on a project, I simply did what made me happy at that point in time. Which means, there are too many UFOs in various state of completion.

I tried to really make a list over the last month of old projects that just needed to be finished. And another list of projects that were almost done. Both lists are way too long.

The easiest place to start would be doing the binding and tags to complete nine quilts (3 queen size, and 6 wall-hangings).

The next easy thing would be deciding what to do with all the 16 patch squares. These were a night-time project when I couldn’t sleep but did not want to really think or measure.

The “Hurricane Season 2022” (aka Ocean Wave) blocks would be easy to finish. Maybe they would also make a dent in the scrap bins. Another quilter gave me different directions for making a quilt that I love. So far, it has been fun.

Then there is the current Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt. I love the colors of this one = teal, purple, orange, and neutral. It challenges me to work with sizes and techniques I do not normally do.

I have been wanting to do some doll quilt size things just to do them. There is room in my office for a rotating “show” of small quilts. I am thinking something seasonal and fun.

Finally, I would really like to do a wall-hanging this year that is planned. In other words, not scraps. I have a wonderful stash of gorgeous fabric, including silks for applique. I think something involving flowers and vines…

New Year & Old Projects:

I tend to over think things and waste time on decisions when it comes to quilting. Probably a result of too many ideas and not enough time. My biggest quilting goal for 2023 is simply to do. Finish projects. Give myself a prize for each project completed. Enjoy the process.

Readers, please set some goals for your quilting, and follow through. However, do not make the list so long or so difficult that nothing gets done.

Maybe this year your goals is to finish a specific quilt.

Or maybe you are challenging yourself to make more than one quilt.

This might be the year to learn a new technique.

Maybe this is the year to really concentrate on your sewing area and making it work for you.

This new year could be the year to finally organize your sewing space and keep it neat.

Whatever the goals are for your quilt journey in 2023 enjoy the whole process.

Always choose joy. Mentor another quilter. Do your best, and don’t stress if the result is not perfect.

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

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