My 2026 Quilty Goals

Happy New Year! The start of the year is my favorite -- I love opening a new planner, making goals, and dreaming big! I make goals for both my personal life as well as my quilting life. It truly helps keep me on track and accomplish things that are important to me each year.

Without further ado, here are my goals for 2026!

Prioritize Sewing at Least Twice a Week

Last year, the only sewing I did was for Happy Hour Stitches. Every project had deadlines or I was sewing while filming videos. And that made the sewing I did do a little stressful and rushed. I wasn't able to work on any personal projects or feel creative in my sewing space. Because of that, sewing started to feel like a chore...something to cross off my to-do list. And I even went a few months without sewing at all.

So this year, I'm making a goal to sew at least twice each week. I hope to use that time to sew for my business AND pleasure. I'm looking forward to sewing things "just because" or start a new project without any looming deadlines. And who knows -- two days a week may turn into three or four once I find that spark again!

Learn More About My New Sewing Machine

In November, I bought a new sewing machine -- an Elna Elnita ef72. For my whole sewing life, I've only ever owned basic, cheaper machines, so I was excited to upgrade to something a little fancier! But I'm struggling a bit using it. It's a different brand than I've ever used and things are just set up a little differently. And this new machine has A LOT of fun and more complicated attachments/feet/gadgets and machine settings that have me feeling a little overwhelmed. So while I know enough to sew a straight seam, I'd love to take time with the machine's manual exploring all the features and really see what this machine can do!

Use My Sewing Skills to Help My Local Animal Shelter

I volunteer weekly at my local animal shelter. I care for the cats and clean their cages. It's been such a rewarding way for me to give back to my community -- and we've adopted two cats, Kylo and Benny (pictured below), from the shelter as a result! I've been wanting to deepen my volunteer time with the shelter this year. Our shelter has a sewing club, but I'm unable to attend their meetings because they're during the work day. So, I finally emailed them and asked how I could help from home! I'm starting to work with them on sewing curtains for the kennels for overstimulated animals and make covers for carriers when animals are getting transported.

Make a Decorative Pouf

Last year, I rearranged our living room and we moved in a large chair. This is my primary chair for watching TV or reading (my husband takes the couch!) But the chair doesn't have a stool for my feet, which I'd love! So, I'm planning to make a little pouf leg rest for the chair to maximize the coziness! I have ideas about the design already and have already purchased A LOT of stuffing.

Finish My Pineapple Quilt

Back in May of 2023 I started a scrappy, rainbow Pineapple block quilt using my scraps and a Creative Grids Pineapple Ruler. I had no plan for them -- just make enough to put a dent in my scrap bin and make a quilt! At this point, this quilt is my only work-in-progress, so I hope to finish it this year! I think this will be one of my favorite quilts of all time once it's done, so I'm excited to prioritize it!

Make My Husband a T-shirt Quilt

I've been promising my husband I'd make him a T-shirt quilt for years now and I'm finally ready to tackle it! (T-shirt quilts aren't my favorite to make, so I was avoiding it). My husband is a musician, so he has a lot of T-shirts from bands he was in over the years and concerts he has attended. It will be a really meaningful way to display these shirts and highlight all his creativity! And as a bonus, I can finally get rid of the huge box in my closet full of the shirts he's been saving!

Design a Free Fall QAL Project

Last year, I hosted a free Block of the Month and it was so much fun! I wanted to build a creative community of friends online and prioritize sewing time each month. But this year, the Block of the Month is a paid subscription. Although it's important for me to support my family through this business, I do realize that not every has extra money right now. So, I want to design a free sampler quilt to host as a quilt-along later this year, so we can all come together to sew again! I have a few ideas floating around, but need to finalize the design this winter!