I am very excited that I am actually working through my list of quilting goals that I listed at the beginning of the month. I will post updates every month or more often if applicable.

One of the goals I stated was #2. Get Published in a Quilting Magazine. 

Although this goal has not been achieved exactly as planned yet, I am getting closer! An essay that I wrote about Dreams and Goals for my quilting was accepted by Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine as part of their Web Extras for their December/January 2013 issue. While there wasn’t enough room for my essay in the magazine, they published it on their website along with a few others. What a thrill!

What I learned from this is by setting goals, I may actually take steps to accomplish them! Here is my essay below. You can read other essays here, with rules on how to enter.

SECRET DESIRE by CHRISTA WATSON

Whenever I see a beautifully quilted masterpiece at a show, my heart skips a beat. I can feel the pounding in my chest and I have almost a shortness of breath. The painstaking application of precision piecework or applique, combined with the most intricate of quilting designs literally takes my breath away. While others around me exclaim, “I could never do that!” I secretly whisper to myself, “I can’t wait to do that.”

To say quilting makes me happy is an understatement. I never feel such peace and serenity as when I’m stitching alone with needle and cloth. I do have other habits that are supposed to help me stay balanced – I keep fit and healthy, spend quality time with my family and read a lot of good books. But is it too selfish to say that sometimes I just want to toss all my cares aside and make my masterpiece quilt? My magnum opus?

My award-winning masterpiece of a quilt is somewhere inside me, just waiting to escape.

So why haven’t I made it yet? In a word, FEAR! Fear of failure. Oh sure, I’ve entered quilts into my local guild’s show and have accumulated my fair share of colorful ribbons to show for it. But I’ve never entered a quilt into one of those big-time, knock-your-socks-off, national or international shows.

This is my secret desire—to enter and win a prestigious award at a major judged and juried show for the entire world to see. Do I dare say that out loud? What if my dream never comes true? I guess I’ll never know until I try.