I was impressed with the quilting goals set by Patti of “Quilting is My Passion". A passionate quilter of over 20 years, Patti also has a bit of an accumulation of “U.F.O.s”, “P.I.G.S.” and “To-Do’s. But let's look at Patti's 2006 quilting goals first:

1. Making finished tops out of at least 4 different sets of exchange blocks.
2. Use up more fabric than I purchase (a good one, I must say!).
3. Take a list when going to quilt shops and stick to the list.
4. Reduce the number of UFO’s (Unfinished Objects) by at least 5.

Those are some wonderful and inspiring goals.

Then she talked about choosing her top 25 quilts to place on her “To Do List”. She described and listed them all. (Most of them she had already bought the fabric or the kit to make the project.). At first I thought, Wow! 25 quilts is a lot of quilts to put on a to do list. Then, Patti admitted, that she also has 58 P.I.G.S (Projects in Grocery Sacks) as well—but she does have them listed on a spreadsheet. So, I guess she is at least an organized quilter. And based on the photos she has posted on her website she is a wonderful quilter and appliquer. You go Patti.

But, then I started thinking of all the kits, block of the months, not to mention patterns and books that I have bought and planned to do—all with good intentions—and guess what my own number of “potential projects” and “half-done quilts” goes up pretty fast…

And the reality of my “accumulation of goods” really hit me hard when I recently moved my craft room (“crap room", as my family calls it) from my house to the quilting studio I opened with my partner.

I found I had way too many “have to do” projects that I had forgotten about. I also have to admit that I figured out that I am a binge fabric buyer—I had a “homespun” streak a few years ago…my “if one yard is good then 3 yards is better…plus it is on sale” frame of mind has gotten me only a couple of homespun quilts completed and yards and yards of washed but un-ironed homespun waiting for me on the shelf at my studio. (I noticed, however, that in this quilt Patti is making, she uses quite a few homespun fabrics....humm, that has me thinking...)

So my goals (with Patti as my inspiration) now include:
1. Using up as much of my stash (going for a 50% stash reduction) on studio projects whenever possible. My partner will support me 100% on that one!
2. Design a “homespun” friendly quilt. Make at least 27 of them to use up homespun stash.
3. Become more like my partner…buy only project specific fabric that you are going to use that week or before.
4. Decide it is ok to give away and throw away fabric —even if it was a good deal 12 years ago.
5. And realize that itty-bitty scraps never grow and will never ever be the size you really need.

This is only the beginning for my stash reduction plan.
Oh yeah, I am on a weight reduction plan also, but that is another story…

(Photos of "It's a Wonderful Life" quilt in progress made by Patti)