How to Plan Your Projects

September in Rome is hot and everyone is moving back into their routines. This time of year is always strange for me. It is still warm enough to go to the beach on the weekends and people are still enjoying the fruits and vegetables of summer. Eggplants and bell peppers are amazing right now! When I look at social media, everyone in the USA is moving toward themes that revolve around fall pumpkins and Christmas. I feel conflicted because on one hand I am thinking of the “seasonal moment” and on the other hand I am also thinking about Christmas because I want to make my gnome quilt.

If you are thinking about making a quilt for Christmas, now is a great time start. There is enough time between now and the week before Thanksgiving to plan your projects. (The week before to Thanksgiving to the New Year, well, forgettaboutit.) This is the advice I gave to someone who commented on the blog. She is new to quilting and wants to make a baby quilt as a Christmas gift. I think now is a great time to begin! I also gave her some tips of fabric choices and I recommend the Rail Fence Quilt as a easy beginner friendly quilt. It also has videos on YouTube.

Perhaps you have some goals you want to complete before the end 2023. There is still time to do them! Try some of the ideas for organizing your time. Before you know it, you will have them done.

Want to plan and reach your goals? How to do it? Try these 3 steps.

Step 1:
Make a random list, nothing has to be in a particular order. Just do a brain dump of all your wishes down on paper/screen.

Step 2:
Look at the list and sort out what you want to do the most.

Step 3:
Make a plan with dates and time.

Select a general range of dates such as September until the first week before Thanksgiving. This is about 10 to 12 weeks. This is a generous amount of sewing time. Once you hit the first week before Thanksgiving, forgettaboutit! Life gets too crazy until the New Year.

Then make a plan for how to spend your time each week.

For Example:
DWR 4 hours a week
Placements 3 hours a week
Christmas Quilt 4 hours a week

Comment and let me know what you think about this guide to project plan.

My Personal Project Plan…and progress

This is where I am at with my projects and goals. Some of my progress is stellar and other project progression is something to be desired. Haha!

Goal #1: The Double Wedding Ring

Double Wedding Ring Layout. I used a template by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.

I had the template from Victoria Findlay Wolfe for some time now. I just needed to make the time! This is what I have so far. Little by little I am hacking away at my DWR.
I am not following a particular pattern with design placement. However, I do need some guidance for how to assemble this DWR quilt. So, I am using the book diagrams in Double Wedding Ring Quilts: Traditions Made Modern. I think the diagrams are spot on! So far so good.
There is a part of me that wants to keep the quilt super traditional with the color scheme layout. But, there is another part of me that wants to mix it up a little bit. I will play as I go.

My Goal #2 Sweet Spins

Handstitching that I did and I “hated”. I decided to rip it out.

So happy about this project! It is almost crossed off my list. I ripped out all the hand-stitching that I “hated”. Then I quilted a diamond pattern with the sewing machine at 2.5” between each line. Now I love the baby quilt. Next, I want to hand stitch between the machine sewn lines. Fingers cross that I like the hand-stitching this time around. We shall see! Sweet Spins Quilt

Sweet Spins with the new diamond quilting. I love it.

Goal #3 The Christmas Quilts

The only part of this goal that I have completed is ordering the book Gnomes for Your Home, from Annie’s Craft. I still need to get some fabric. Recently, a reader commented on the blog. She is a first-time quilter and asked about starting a Christmas quilt. I gave suggestions for the Rail Fence and some Christmas fabric ideas. Hmmmm…I think I will take my own advice and order some of fabric that I recommended to her. The point is that I need to decide soon!

I have the book. Now all I need is to order the fabric.
This photo is from the Annie Craft website. I downloaded it and drew on it to show you the qnome quilt.

Goal #4 Placemats

Zero progress. I only have the pattern and I bought it on sale for $3.99. Let’s hope I have something to say about this project soon!

I am panicking a little bit because all I have is the pattern. I still need to think about fabric ideas.
This photo is from the Simplicity website. I downloaded the photo and drew on it to show you the placemats.

As a side note, the heat is slowly slowly going down. Currently, we are hovering around the 87 degrees Fahrenheit. I am dreaming of the low 80’s! In the meantime, I will enjoy the seasonal fruits and veggies of summer. Pasta Alla Norma, per favore! Recipe here.

I hope you are having a great week!

Sending you lots of gioia from Italy.

Rachel