2017

Here’s my recap from 2017.  Even thought the year isn't over these posts are long, so I'll just start posting more often.  Hopefully monthly.  I’ve done a lot more traditional piecing this year than in the past.  I’m getting better at it and am enjoying it more as well.  I started the year working on some sloths.  Here it is, the end of the year and I still haven’t finished them.  A friend of mine was participating in a blog hop and needed a beach themed paper pieced pattern, so I designed a flamingo for her.  I’ve gotten a lot better at designing paper piecing patterns too.  I still love paper piecing more than anything but sometimes I really want to show off the fabric (there are so many pretties out there) and paper piecing cuts the pieces too small.  I’ve been discovering patterns that really highlight fabric.  I’m enjoying that too.  I taught an online paper piecing class last year and finished the top but still haven’t quilted it.  It’s all in Kaffe Fassett fabrics, which I love.  I really like patterns that use the quick curve ruler and I finished a top using a jelly roll and some background; it’s called Metro Twist.  I loved the final results but it was pretty small.  I was prepared to teach a workshop on the Quick Curve Ruler using the free pattern on line called Spring Fling.  We didn’t get enough participants so I made two full and two partial blocks.  I think they would make good pillows …. maybe.  I signed up for a block of the month (known as a BOM) last year that used 16 half square triangle to create blocks.  The BOM included 12 blocks and with a little sashing it came together easily.  Unfortunately, It was too small for anything but a baby quilt.  I took two Judy Niemeyer workshops this year.  One was a large quilt (Mariner’s Compass) that I still haven’t finished.  The other was a small wall hanging (Arizona Cactus) that just needs binding to be done.  I made it in blue and orange and really like how it turned out.  Another BOM I did last year was called PB&J.  It was a different kind of block but the ending quilt was really cool, although smaller than I’d hoped.  I donated the Metro Twist, the HST quilt and the PB&J quilt to the Alamo Heritage Quilt Guild for their auction.  Not sure if they made any money, but I hope so.  I learned a new technique this year from Libs Elliott on how to randomly create quilt top designs.  I really liked the technique and taught it to a different guild.  It was fun.  I have a small wall hanging I designed in her workshop and a large quilt I designed as part of a challenge, but I never submitted it because I never quilted it.  Can’t figure out how to quilt it, so it is just waiting for me to be inspired.  This was a pretty busy year.  I went on two cruises.  I actually finished all three projects from the first cruise and ended up giving away 2 of the kits from the second cruise and only working on one of the projects.  The first cruise had Debby Maddy’s Labyrinth on it.  It is now my go to quilt for gifts.  It is so easy but looks so special, I love it.  I used the one I made on the cruise as a farewell gift for a coworker and made a second one just like it as a Christmas gift for my sister.  Another of the projects was a Carol Doak mystery.  I finished the quilt but haven’t quilted it yet.  Not sure why.  Just need to get ‘er done.  The third quilt was from Daniella Stout called Cosmic Stars.  It was easy to make but I didn’t like the fabric they provided for the stars so I added my own orange stars.  I love how it came out.  It’s in the to-be-quilted pile now.  I also took a workshop to make the Star Storm designed by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.  I had planned to give it to my brother for Christmas, but he didn’t like it, so it’s going to a friend I grew up with and went to school with.  I just have to add the borders and then can quilt and bind it and send it to its new home.  l learned to make fabric cactus from a guild mate and taught that technique on the cruise for some friends and at another guild.  It was fun.  They are actually pin cushions.  I do love a good pin cushion.  Our guild was having a fundraiser by auctioning off mini quilts - I used my Statler longarm to make quilting designs on solids for the quilts.  I loved how they came out.  They’d make a great pillow.  Need to make one or two for myself.  I donated three quilts to MD Anderson’s Cancer Quilt Auction this year.  One was my favorite quilt I’ve made so far.  I hope it brings in some donations for them.  I will definitely use the pattern again.  It was called Stoneworks.  The other two were wall hangings I made as “In the Garden” challenges for the Boerne QuiltFest.  Hope they find a home.  I finally got around to quilting some old quilts.  I had taken a Twister workshop on a cruise and I loved the quilts -- I think the fabric was called Bloom Where You’re Planted or something like that.  It has the cutest bright striped fleece on the back.  So cuddly.  The other old quilt I finished was my Dancing with the Stars paper pieced quilt by Carol Doak and Deb Lutrell that I started years ago as a BOM.  Finally quilted, bound and gifted it.  My daughter has it in her spare room now.  It looks great.  And I finished the Rhoda Ruth Scrap Crazy quilt I pieced last year.  It’s now my chair quilt.  It’s got a great soft flannel on the back.  I discovered a love for Tula Pink fabric some time ago and made myself a quilt using all her fabrics in a blue/green color way.  It is so refreshing looking on my bed. Now that I have a full-size bed it’s easier to make bed-size quilts and eventually I want one for every month.  I decided my next bed quilt should be a Christmas quilt.  So I’m working on Tula’s Holiday Homies in hexagons with triangle/star settings.  It’s in Red and Green and I can’t wait to finish it.  After that I have three more Tula Pink quilts I want to make.  You’ll see them next year.  I go on a cruise with Tula Pink in August 2018, and I can’t wait.  Want to get these quilts done so I can show her how much I love her fabric, even though I was late discovering her.  2017 was a year of vacations.  I went on two one-week cruises, spent almost another week in New York for my 40th reunion visiting my mom and former classmates, a week in Hawaii with my daughter and family, and I’m spending a week in El Paso with my hubby over Veteran’s Day.  I didn’t go on quite as many retreats this year but I did do a few and a few workshops so it’s been a great quilty and fun filled year. 

 

 

 

 

2016

2016 was a very sewful year.  I only worked 9 Fridays the whole year.  The rest of the Fridays I was on quilt retreats of sewing at home.  I think I went on 15 retreats during the year.  One month I was on one every week.  It was great.  You’d think I’d have more to show but I did a lot of beginning and not a lot of finishing.  But eventually they’ll all get done.  My first quilt of the year was Elizabeth Hartman’s Forest Friends.  It was my New Year’s Eve/Day sew along.  It came out great.  I loved it and I know it went to a good home.  My son’s friend Kristin had her first baby and it became their quilt.  I went to a Metro Rings workshop -- it’s kind of like a double wedding ring design but using the Quick Curve Ruler.  I lost the box for a while but found it recently and really need to get back to work on it so I can finish it.  It's not in my normal color pallet, but I think I’ll like it once it’s done. I made a farewell quilt for our departing commander; it was a cross made with Army fabric. Came out pretty good.  Since he used to be a Chaplain’s assistant, I thought he’d appreciate it.  I taught a paper piecing workshop/retreat where I taught the participants to make a cross wall hanging or an envelope baby quilt or a wreath wall hangings.  I created the cross pattern by modifying a Carol Doak pattern.  I made one on commission, but they didn’t like it, so I gave it away as a retreat door prize.  I designed the envelope quilt as a paper pieced pattern after I saw so many of the quilts that were traditionally pieced.  One of those went to Kristin’s baby too.  I’ve made a wreath wall hanging for almost every month of the year.  I redrew this in a pattern size that I liked and allowed me to quilt the whole quilt in one pass on my longarm.  They are so easy to make and look so good on my wall, I love them.  At some point I took a workshop from Shannon Brinkley called Scrappy Bits applique.  I made this really cool cat quilt.  It’s my favorite.  I made my hubby three quilts this year.  One was a large wall hanging using a quilt picture panel with bass on it, one was a Texas panel and pattern he liked and found in Waco  and the other was a lap quilt for his chair with bee fabric.  I think he liked them both.  I made myself a wall hanging using the Moroccan Vibe pattern from one of the Sew Kind of Wonderful books and the quick curve ruler.  I love that pattern.  Need to make another one.  I taught a workshop on it at Cotton Boll Quilting.  Had fun sharing the love with others.  I finally got a chance to use my Scrap Crazy template and made a quilt out of Rhoda Ruth (Elizabeth Hartman fabric).  I finished the Violet Kraft paper pieced lion pattern although I haven’t removed the paper or quilted it yet.  I also started working on her elephant but haven’t finished it yet.  I started working on a hedgehog quilt using fabric I got when visiting my daughter in Hawaii.  Before I went to Hawaii I made a quilt for each of the grandkids.  The littlest one wanted the biggest quilt.  So he got a Urban Abacus Mickey Mouse Quilt.  The other two just got lap quilts.  They were fun to make and hopefully they use them.  I still haven’t finished my hedgehogs, but it’s been real fun working on it.  I also made a quilt for my Aunt Si using the quick curve ruler.  She wanted purple and it is REALLY purple.  Unfortunately she passed away in 2017, but I’m glad I got the quilt to her.  The pattern is Modern Molly from one of the Sew Kind of Wonderful Books.