Plan to Quilt: A Review

Written by Diane Harris on January 6, 2021. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle

I am not an organized person by nature. I keep track of things only because I have to, and anything that isn’t important—isn’t recorded any place except in my brain. (Dangerous.)

Enter Plan to Quilt.

Now, stop right there: If you’re thinking that we’re already into January and you’ve missed the new calendar boat, think again. Plan to Quilt is calendar free! This means that it’s not tied to a certain year or month. Instead, it’s centered around your quilting projects! You can start any time at all.

Inside you’ll find 42 planning worksheets:

• Room to glue in fabric swatches to create a quilting fabric swatch journal.
• Plan each quilt project and design your own quilt patterns with ease.
• At-a-glance quilt project checklists & fabric shopping lists.
• Write down thread settings, color, and stitches to remember for next time.
• Create color schemes while quilt planning before you cut your fabric.
• Plenty of graph paper to design and color in the blocks.
• Quilting designs and graph paper doodle space for each project.
• Record the quilt story, who it was for, why you made it, and what you might do differently next time.
• Room to glue in 6”x9” envelopes and keep the quilt pattern with your notes and fabric choices.
• Quilt project tracker and at-a-glance pages to see what step is next.

Take a peek at how it works!

Several reasons for using a tool like Plan to Quilt come to mind.

1. Focus

I have a hard time staying zeroed in on one thing. I’m easily distracted by the newest fabrics, designs and ideas. I once heard a speaker say that the secret to success is singularity of purpose. I think Plan to Quilt will help me to be singular in my purpose, in other words, to stay focused.

2. Motivation

My motivation ebbs and flows, but there’s something about being able to check things off a list (and a pretty, colorful one at that!) that really trips my trigger.

3. Everything in one place

I have lots of ideas but they end up scribbled on the back of envelopes, grocery lists, yada yada. If I had everything in one place, wouldn’t that be better? It would be harder than it sounds but Plan to Quilt would be a good start.

4. Leaving a legacy

I sometimes wonder if the story of my quilts—the journey in creativity that has defined my life for more than 50 years—will remain after I am gone. The quilts themselves will last for a while, and they are labeled with basic info, but beyond that? Plan to Quilt has space to actually tell a quilt’s story. What a treasure to leave behind for my grandchildren and their children.

And here’s an aside: I haven’t met Shannon Gillman Orr, creator of Plan to Quilt, but online indications point to a dynamite persona.

Check out her “10 Ways to Boost Creativity (when you feel like you have none).” Good advice all around!

Visit Shannon’s business at evabmakery.com to order Plan to Quilt (just $34, hardcover and beautiful), and get yourself in order today!

Quilt on,

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Tags: evabmakery, plan to quilt, planner, planning, product reviews, shannon gillman orr