2024: A Year of Sewing

It's the end of the year, and can I say, I'm really proud of all the projects I've completed this year. In fact, this is definitely the most productive year (sewing-wise) I've had in a long, long time. I aimed to finish one quilt each month, and I did exactly that, but I also completed a ton of bag projects, which I did not expect to do at all!

I cannot resist a little collage, so here are all the quilts I finished this year:

I can't fit all my bag projects into one collage, so here are some of my favorites:

I've already got a ton of projects lined up for next year, including finishing some more of my all-time favorite quilts. I also hope to finally get back to piecing, too!

And last but not least, Happy New Year! I wish all my readers a wonderful and productive 2025.

Moon Lanterns

I rate all my finished quilt tops from one to five, and Moon Lanterns is an absolute five-star. In fact, it's one of the very few fully-solid quilts to land a five, because I typically prefer prints and near-solids to full-solids. But from the moment I saw this pattern, it carved a special place in my heart.

Moon Lanterns is made entirely of two blocks. I got the pattern from Amy Gibson's The Quilt Block Cookbook. Amy Gibson is literally my first quilting teacher, as I learned how to piece from her via her classes on Craftsy. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to be active in the quilting community right now, but she had written some great books, and this is one of them.

Most of the foreground fabrics consist of some straight line designs. I really love designing these dot-to-dot patterns, as I just start drawing, start connecting dots, and then see where it goes. The destination is sometimes unpredictable, but I've always loved the end result.

I used only 2 fillers in this quilt: pebbles and swirls. I use swirls all the time, but I actually rarely use pebbles by itself, but it felt right for this quilt! To me, there's an Asian / Japanese feel to this quilt.

I probably should have used a printed backing since the front is all solids, but I also really like how much the quilting shows on a solid-backing like this.

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I've finished 12 quilts this year, possibly the most I've done in a year in a long time. I really hope to continue the momentum next year. I've already got a lot of favorites lined up. No longer am I putting some quilts on a pedestal, if I love it and have an idea of what to do with it, I'm quilting it!

A Pair of Flap Bags

For a while now, I've been looking for a pattern to make a bag that serves as my everyday bag. While I've made several tote bags this year that are great for travel, my everyday bag is actually a messenger bag, that I've been carrying for the past 7 years. But I think I finally found something that can function as my everyday bag. Or two. Both patterns are from Sew Sweetness.

The first bag I made is the Appaloosa Bag, which I made with this gorgeous black / gold fabric I found in my stash. The Appaloosa is a bit smaller than the Satellite Bag, and to be honest, is probably more suited for everyday use as well. I also like that it has a flat bottom and purse feet, so I can place it down on a surface, whereas the Satellite Bag has a curved bottom.

The main feature of the Appaloosa Bag is the accordion divider pocket in the front. I had to put a lot of interfacing into this bag, so it inherently feels more sturdy and structured than the Satellite Bag.

The second one I made is the Satellite Bag, which has been on my todo list for a very, very long time. Intiailly I intended to make it with light fabrics, but I feared with everyday use the fabric would start to look dirty. So I switched to black fabrics so that I won't be afraid to use it.

The inside of the bag is fairly simple, though the interesting feature is that the flap itself has a zipper on it, which opens to a little compartment. Now, I'm not sure how practical it actually is, but it's still a neat feature. Besides that, the bag has an open front pocket, and an inside zipper pocket, all enclosed with a flap that fastens with a magnetic snap. This bag is also very big and can hold a lot.

Now, it's time to field test these bags, because I never actually know whether I like or enjoy using something until I've used it in the wild. Sometimes the results are surprising!