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Today is the day! Hi friends! The news you have so patiently been waiting for is here… The 2024 Quilter’s Planner is now available!

Based on the results of our survey earlier this year and the changes to a new printer requires, we've made a number of changes to the planner so that everyone can continue to enjoy the benefits of it.

I know there are lots of questions about these changes, so I wanted address each aspect so you might better understand why each solution was chosen and to help you decide which planner option/format is best for you.

A new buying experience

At our new website ForCreatives.pub, the 2024 Quilter's Planner customizations you know and love are there, but are now broken out into separate listings for each option, giving you a clear way to choose the exact layout and structure that suits your planning style. Choose from the following options, each of which offers a varying level of structure to your planning.

The Vertical Weekly layout has vertical columns with hour slots; a daily top 3 priority list; multiple to-do lists; and new spaces to reflect on gratitude, goals and wins for the week. This layout also includes the return of the popular Habit Tracker.

The Horizontal Weekly layout doesn’t have hour slots, but instead has more space to write and take notes. It provides some structure to your weekly planning, but more freedom to plan in your own way.

The Weekly Dot Grid layout is perfect for those who want all of the freedom that bullet journaling provides. If you primarily use the monthly calendar and want to use the weekly pages for notes and doodles, this design is for you! It is wide-open to your imagination.

Each weekly layout is also available in a Sunday or Monday calendar start option.

4 New Binding Formats

One of the exciting changes to this year’s planner is that we are now offering a selection of binding formats. Inside each of the planner listings at ForCreatives.pub, you'll see the four options listed under the price. As you click on each button, you'll see the price change accordingly. You can choose from Coil-bound, Hardcover, Paperback or Digital PDF (for instant download).

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In order to meet the printer's requirements, the planner's finished page size needed to increase to 7” x 10”, instead of the previous page size of 7" x 9". The new page size has allowed us to add more features and content to many of the planner pages.

Customize your planner today

The biggest change we know you'll notice is the absence of the dividers and larger covers that protect the dividers, which increased the book size to 8" x 9". Unfortunately, our new printer doesn't offer custom tab dividers and laminated covers like our previous printer did. And to be totally transparent, the cost to produce the custom diecut and laminated tabs on the dividers and manually insert them into each planner became too cost prohibitive to be sustainable. This summer, I dedicated myself to finding a better solution that wouldn't increase the cost even more.

I know that the dividers and laminated covers are a big deal to many of you. They are to me, too! I love how well my Quilter's Planner holds up through repeated use compared to other planners. Knowing that the new printer wouldn't be able to offer these things has been the main concern I have been working to resolve this since purchasing the planner earlier this year.

I experimented with many different paper types, both traditional and synthetic, several different finishing options, and countless ways to produce a product that would not only be comparable to last year's cover, but hopefully even better.

The result of my time experimenting are the new clip-in interchangeable covers and set of dividers now available in the shop. Here's what's important to know:

Interchangeable Covers

The cover that currently comes on each of the printed planner formats is a medium-weight cardstock with a lovely, velvet-like matte touch. (It's feels especially luxurious on the hardcover version!)

For the coil-bound version, however, I knew the normal cover sheets wouldn't quite stand up to the rigor we as quilters put our planners through each year. The new thicker, laminated covers I've created offer a better protective shell for the planner. And because the edges, including the prongs, are fused 10mil lamination plastic, the covers won't separate or come apart at the spots heavily used. (I received several comments in the survey that the previous laminated cover started to separate along the edges and corner partway through the year. This new cover format will solve that problem.)

Explore all 25 Interchangeable Cover designs

By purchasing the laminated covers as a separate add-on product, you will be able to use the covers for multiple years, saving money. This also means that you can change out the cover at any time for any of our other designs, if the mood hits. And we plan to offer even more designs throughout the year.

Dividers and Tabs

Without the dividers and laminated cover, the planner in its new reincarnation is now lighter, easier to carry in your purse, and more affordable. This aspect is very important to me, and I want to provide options to you that can make purchasing and using the planner an affordable choice.

Here's one of the downsides we're faced with: the new printer has certain specifications for choosing which size of coil to use for the number of pages in a coil-bound book. We can't ask them to use a larger coil size like we have in the past, so that it could accommodate the addition of extra page inserts.

This coil size problem hit me hard this summer as I was developing my idea for the new set of laminated dividers I wanted to offer. I found that a set of 15 laminated dividers (even in a thinner lamination plastic) would not at all fit into the coil size the planner would come with. I was so sad about that fact! After much thought and discussion with my team, I settled on offering two solutions:

1) A new set of 5 laminated dividers that have blank tabs that you can label as desired and move to different parts of your planner throughout the year. I labeled mine with January, February, and the 3 chapters at the end: Patterns, Projects, and Reference. I plan to shift my dividers to the following months as they come along.

2) The other solution I am excited to get up into the shop is a set of matching, durable Stick-On Tabs with the months and chapters pre-printed for you.

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I want to point out that I have sized the laminated covers in such a way that they partially cover and protect the tabs, but are not too large that it becomes uncomfortable to carry or awkward to use if you choose to not use the tab stickers or dividers. This choice also means that the covers we offer can also be used with the new QP Design Book (coming in January) and other coil-bound books we decide to offer in the future.

I know these tab divider solutions are different than what we are used to. Change is hard. But I am grateful that my team and I have been able to find solutions and ways to pivot to make this planner a sustainable and affordable product we can offer to our community for years to come.

The other bound formats

The hardcover and paperback options give more flexibility and different price points for those of you that expressed the desire for more options in our customer survey.

If you are looking for the Unbound version we used to offer, here are a couple of ways you can go about getting a loose-leaf version for your 3-ring binder or disc-bound planner system.

After picking the planner customization options you want, choose the Paperback book format. Once it arrives, have your local copy shop cut off the bound edge. Then hole punch the pages as desired. You could also ask if your copy shop has a hole punch machine to do it for you.

If you don't have a binder that fits, you can get one of our custom 8" x 10" 3-Ring Binders that still fits the 2024 Quilter's Planner. We also offer the interchangeable covers and dividers without the pronged edge if you want to add them to your loose-leaf planner.

The other option is to choose the Digital PDF format. This digital version was widely requested in the survey, and I was happy to offer it as an option. You can print it on any size paper you want, or even use it as a digital planner on your tablet using the GoodNotes app.

New Features

As for the inside pages of the planner, we've kept all of the features you know and love, and have packed in SO much more this year!

The 2024 Quilter's Planner includes bucket list and challenge pages, 100 day project trackers, favorite things lists, an extended reference page section, and of course our wonderful A Quilter’s Compass Sampler Quilt pattern, complete with instructions and to-scale templates. We can’t wait for you to see it for yourself!

Stickers, Pens & More!

In the shop you'll also see the fun accessories and add-on products we have in stock. We've brought out some items we haven't offered in a while, like the fun Planner Stickers designed by Karen Lewis, the handy QP Mini Planner, and much more.

The new site is built on the Shopify platform, which offers a secure shopping experience for customers around the world. There may still be some kinks we need to work out, so please be reach out to me if you do run into any problems.

We’re so grateful that you’re a part of this amazing community. We can’t wait to see your planner in action and for you to sew along with us in 2024.

As always, if you have any questions, drop me a line at hello@forcreatives.pub or simply hit reply to this email.

Lindsie Bergevin

Designer and Publisher

For Creatives Publishing

The Quilter's Planner