2025 Quilting Goals Failure

Each January 1^st I set out my quilting goals for the year, and each December 31^st I look back to see how I’ve done for the year.

I ended my January 2025 post by stating that I would finish all my goals this year.  Hahahahahaha!  Did the title of the article give it away? 

Let’s take a look back at those very lofty, and highly unfinished goals in this quilting goals failure of a year!

Goal: Quilt Patterns, Write and Publish Four

Reality: Zero.  I didn’t write a single pattern. 

No, that’s not quite true.  I did a little bit of editing on one pattern.  And I finished the cover quilt to go with that pattern.

Maybe 2026 will be the year this one finally makes it out into the world?

Here’s a cute photo of Scout guarding the quilt in between quilting straight lines.

Goal: Scraps – Write 3 tutorials

Reality: I did share a couple of tutorials that used scraps!  And I have one written now, as soon as I get the photos edited it will be ready to share.

The Made and Found Quiltalong – this was a block a week quiltalong that I joined in February 2024, finished last winter and gifted to a retiring coworker at the end of the school year.

The quiltalong wasn’t meant to be so scrappy, but I used scraps for mine, and wrote the tutorial for making do with sashing and setting triangles to put a quilt on point with just a little less fabric than really needed.

Checkerboard on Point – I used both my stash and some larger scraps for this one.  We’ll call it a scrappy tutorial!

Scrappy Trip Around the World Tutorial – I did not make this quilt in 2025, but I did share the tutorial in 2025 so we’ll count it towards the goal.

That’s three!  I did meet that goal, especially when we fudge the definition of the word scrappy.

Goal: Zippers

Reality: I bought a zipper, does that count?

Goal: Reading Nook

I did not make a seat cushion or any pillows, but I did paint this area and so it’s one step closer to being a cozy reading nook.

I also picked out and purchased the fabric that I will use for the seat cushion.

It’s also the only space I decorated for Christmas this year!  I got an extra-long tension rod and wrapped some garland around it.  After stringing cranberries onto thread with a needle, I dried some orange slices and added some battery-operated LED lights. 

I like it a lot! But it really highlights the need for some soft cushions and pillows to make it less stark.

I may have had a quilting goals failure this year, it’s bound to happen sometimes. I spent a large part of 2025 wondering where my quilting mojo had gone. It’s not just that I didn’t share quilting tutorials and patterns, its more that I haven’t done a lot of sewing in the last 18 months.

And that is okay.

Other things needed to be a priority for a time.

Non-Quilting Time and Projects

I spent a lot of 2025 doing other things, including house projects, gardening, and healing from multiple torn muscles.

Backyard Oasis

My condo has a small fenced back yard, and while it’s not clear yet if I can plant what I want (dahlias and tulips and peonies and vegetables and and and!) or if the HOA controls this area, I did clean it up, plant some small plants in pots and hang some lights. 

I turn the lights on almost every evening and I really enjoyed having a garden space to sit outside during the summer!

Paint, Paint and More Paint

While it would have been smart to paint the condo before moving in last summer, I knew I didn’t have the bandwidth to pick paint colors and so I waited until I had been living here a year and seeing how the light changed through the seasons before picking colors. 

I used BEHR in Polar Bear for both the ceiling and the walls, a flatter ceiling paint for the ceiling and eggshell for the walls.  I also did the baseboards in a brighter white, and let me tell you, if you are looking to spruce up your space for minimal cost and effort, painting the baseboards seems to be the way to go!  The house is so much brighter!

It did mean that I’ve spent large parts of the late summer and fall with my house looking like this!

… and like this!  That’s Sherwin Williams Agapanthus; I think we mixed it at 75% strength or maybe even 50% strength to make it lighter.  It’s the nicest bluey purple and I am so, so glad that I picked a fun color for the bathroom!

Almost Done!

At the time I’m writing this, I have one more coat on the wall behind the fridge, two coats on one other kitchen wall, and baseboards in the kitchen and hallway left to do.  I’m determined to finish before 2025 ends.

Then, the current painting projects are DONE! 

Doors, doorjambs and bedroom still to come.

It took 4½ months to paint my less than 700 square foot condo. I painted everything from ceiling to baseboards so I shouldn’t be surprised.  After the first two weekends of painting in August, I tore muscles in my left calf and right Achilles. That slowed me down A LOT!

Scout was DELIGHTED when the living room was done and the rug could be put back in place.

Truth be told, I was too!

I put the hallway runner rug back down this afternoon. She’s still too zonked out on the couch to notice. It is by far her favorite place to hang out in our new place!

Other Projects

Unexpected house project: repairing a sink that detached from the counter!  Home ownership is fun!

At the end of the day a quilt, a cat, and a cup of tea are what my life needs!  See you tomorrow for some 2026 goals that will lead to less of a quilting goals failure next year!