And then Market happened...

Yep, this week is Market. For those of you that don't know, Market is the trade show that quilt shop owners go to to preview new releases. It's basically a big meeting of pattern designers, fabric manufacturers, and gadget makers to show off all of the new stuff that will be shipping in the near future. Manufacturers have booths where you can stop by and see their wares, and place orders for delivery in the future. It's also a great place to meet with fabric manufacturers and view upcoming lines and special projects. Market is held twice a year, once in May at a rotating place (Pittsburgh, Portland, Minneapolis, or Kansas City) and once at the end of October in Houston TX, the week before Quilt Festival. Quilt Market is a trade show, meaning that it is not open to the general public, but to businesses that sell quilty goodness. Consumers will see some of the same items at Quilt Festival, which is open to the general public. Of course, for me, the work for market has to be done well before the actual event. We finally shipped out the rest of our goods last week, off to the hands of our customers, who will showcase their products at Market later this week. So, as we come down off of the working like a mad woman to get ready for Market period, I get to take a step back and do some planning for the next few months, before we start the whole cycle again....

You may remember I only set a small number of goals for 2016...here they are and here's their status....


1. Finish the Bear Claw Tablerunner that is currently in process - complete
2. Reorganize the quoffice -- that's the quilt room/office....I haven't properly organized it since I moved in last July, and it is well over due. - complete
3. Create new binders for all of my classes -- and get all of the supply lists posted on the internet for guilds/shops to download - complete
4. Document all of my in process/WIP projects, for both quilting (almost done) and knitting - done - and depressing. 42 projects for quilting, 6 knitting
5. Update my yarn stash into Ravelry - complete, with the exception of what I bought last weekend
6. Sew 8 hours a week and knit 4 hours a week - failed miserably at this one, but I am going to get it right for the latter part of the year.
7. Post 8 Block of the week blocks - failed at this one too....but I have a plan -- see Learning to Quilt below...
8. Design and make 1 quilt for Spring Market - I actually got 4 done, so, hooray me!!!


Planning for the Remainder of 2016 -

For Fall 2016 Market, I want to publish a new set of patterns...just 5 this time. which leaves me a month per pattern to design, sew and publish. And I'm not going to wait until Market to actually release them, it's just too much pressure to release them all at the same time. So, look out for more new patterns coming soon.

I'm also changing the way that I do class signups. Which means I need to update all of my class descriptions and supply lists. Hopefully that won't take too long. -- this is a result of #3 above!!!!

I'm also going to be introducing a new series about learning how to quilt...sort of a beginners guide. One of my friends is moving far away, and has wanted to learn how to quilt for the last year, and we have failed to "fit it in" with our crazy schedules....so once a week, we are going to get together for some sewing time. More on the details of that later...but suffice it to say, it's a couple of friends, a glass or two of wine (or diet coke), and some fun. I'll also show you what I am working on for the week, so stay tuned for that starting mid-June.

SO, translated into summer plans.....it looks something like this for goals...

June
1. 1 new pattern published
2. Bind 3 quilts from UFO pile (Pepperdish/Log Cabin Cutouts/Charlotte)
3. Kickoff Learning to Quilt

July
1. 1 new pattern published
2. Bind 2 quilts from UFO pile
3. Make 1 quilt for my niece Maddie
4. Make 1 quilt for my nephew Jackson

August
1. 1 new pattern published
2. Bind 1 quilt from UFO pile
3. Make new Judy quilt

I'm trying to get back into my hour a day habit...it really is amazing what you can do when you spend an hour every day sewing....

SO, wish me luck, and let me know what you are working on...


Cat