My series on quilty planners continues this week with a review of the Quilter's Planner! This is the planner that first comes to mind for me when I think of quilty planners, so I'm excited to see what's new for 2021!
This is the fourth planner in my quilty planner series. You can read about the other planners HERE, HERE, and HERE.
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If you're new here, hello! I'm Laura! I design quilt patterns, and I'm a self-proclaimed deal hunter! Be sure to join the popular Quilting & Sewing Deals Facebook group where I post sales, deals, and coupon codes from all around the web!
First, I want to give a big shoutout to my friend Heather of Purple Pineapple Pizazz! I do not have a current Quilter's Planner, so Heather took all the photos for this blog post! Be sure to check out her Etsy shop and follow her on Instagram and Facebook! THANK YOU, Heather!! She provided photos of both her 2020 planner AND her 2021 planner!
The Quilter's Planner was created by a quilter for quilters. It is a year-long planner with dated weekly pages, and there are project planning pages included too. There are many unique features in this planner that aren't found anywhere else!
The Quilter's Planner has several customized features for 2021, making it harder for it to be sold at quilt shops or Amazon. This means the best place to purchase is directly on their website. Amazon does still have some 2020 versions available, though the next year that will have all of the dates and days exactly the same as this year is 2048 (Edited to say they're no longer available). There is also a "mini" 5" x 7" version of the planner that does have project planning pages and an undated weekly planner layout.
The Quilter's Planner measures 7" x 9", making it small enough to quickly add to a tote bag, but large enough to have plenty of room to write. It is spiral bound, has quality paper that's great for pencils, pens, markers, and highlighters, and all the extra features make it almost an inch thick. (There is also an unbound option that comes with a 3-ring binder.)
The first way you can customize your 2021 Quilter's Planner is by choosing from one of TEN different covers. There are florals, rainbow, ombre, pink, aqua...
The planner starts with vision and goal planning pages. This makes it a great option for business owners, but it can also be used to plan your biggest quilt projects.
There are tabs to mark the start of each month. They feature beautiful quilt photography and quotes. The 2021 planner will include five patterns which include 2 quilts, 1 zip pouch, 1 pillow, and 1 wall hanging.
Each month starts with a full calendar, and brings us to the second way you can customize the planner. When you order, you can choose from a Sunday week start or Monday. Traditional calendars start on Sunday, but many people like to view the weekend days together. This planner lets you pick which way you like!
The monthly page also includes a spot for writing monthly goals and quilty projects you'd like to work on during the month.
Next are the weekly planner pages. These will either start on Monday or Sunday depending on which one you choose. And this leads to yet another customization option! There are four layouts for the weekly plan pages. Horizontal (shown in the first photo below), vertical (shown in the second photo below), graph paper, or dot grid. The graph paper and dot grid options do not have spaces pre-marked for each day of the week. Those are just wide open spaces for notes, doodles, lists, and bullet journaling.
Each week (no matter which layout you choose) includes weekly quilting tips and free-motion quilting design ideas.
Something else I really like about the vertical layout is that each day has three bullets at the top. This is great for writing your top three things to do that day or even offers a mini journal opportunity to write three things you're thankful for from that day, etc.
This layout also offers several spots at the bottom of the pages for notes and lists.
The planner has a page of graph paper at the end of each month before the next month starts This is a great spot to jot reminders or upcoming events, but it could also be used to review goals, plan projects, doodle, etc.
After the monthly and weekly planner pages are a couple "projects-at-a-glance" pages. These have lots of spaces to write your quilty to-do list! There are spots to mark which step of the process you're on (cutting, piecing, quilting, binding, etc). I really like the number of spaces here - I have a lot of quilts on my want-to-make list!
Next are the project planner pages. There are two pages each for eight different projects. The first page has spots for the pattern information, steps to do, and a supply list. There's also a spot to add fabric swatches. The second page is a dot grid, so that can be used for block diagrams, testing out color options, or even doodling free motion quilting designs.
The planner includes pages to track bee blocks and swap projects before the quilting reference section.
This final section includes common measurements and quilting charts.
There's even a page to help you plan how to cut yardage!
There are multiple kinds of graph paper (triangle and hexagon included!), blank drawing paper, and a pocket at the back of the planner too.
When purchasing your 2021 planner, you can purchase laminated shopping list, meal planner, to-do list, and habit tracker "bookmarks." They snap in and out of the spiral binding so you can move them from week to week. This is my favorite feature of this planner!
Overall, the Quilter's Planner is a great planner choice! I love the size and quality of the planner, as well as the vision and goal planning pages and projects-at-a-glance pages. I personally like the vertical weekly layout, but being able to customize the planner in many ways is another bonus. The extra "bookmarks" win major points from me!
My biggest complaint about the planner is the cost. The 2021 planner is $45.50, the clip-in "bookmarks" are $14.99, and shipping is $10.50. That makes it $70.99, and the most expensive planner I've reviewed. In previous years, there were coupon codes to help cover the cost of shipping or the extras, but this year there are no discounts. The planner is also not available anywhere but the Quilter's Planner website, which means I can't use Amazon Prime shipping or add any fabric to my cart.
The Quilter's Planner has some great features and customization options, and I'd recommend it to any quilter! The price is a deterrent, and may be a deal breaker for some, but it is a high quality planner, is customizable, and includes five patterns!
Have you used the Quilter's Planner in years past? Do you plan to use it in 2021? What features do you love in a planner? And what features do you wish to see in your ideal planner?
I'm a big fan of the Quilter's Planner, but the cost is a deal breaker for me, especially considering the shipping to Canada and the exchange rate.
ReplyDeleteit looks fantastic but again price is an issue....money i'd rather spend on fabric or notions...
ReplyDeleteOMG! I was so glad to see your post today. I saw the first post for "Plan to Quilt" and thought I would see the rest of your reviews before I bought it because it is a little pricey. I couldn't remember where I saw the post and was frantic that I might not find it again, but here you are today and I am so glad. I have used the Quilter's Planner for a few years now and it really works for me but I also want the Plan to Quilt because it really holds all quilt info for over 40 quilts and I like that. Now, I am going to go buy that thing before I forget where I saw it! LOL Thanks for doing these reviews.
ReplyDeleteI’d want to be able to customize the dates by week-so if I buy it in August, I can use August 1 as my week 1 and go from there. Otherwise, I’d keep using my sticky notes. ;)
ReplyDelete