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.

Best of 2021

It's the end of another year, and once again it's time to join the Best of linky party that Cheryl Brickey at Meadow Mist Designs hosts every year. I admit that I look forward to writing this post every year!

This year I really focused on finishing quilts over piecing quilt tops, and not only that, but finishing quilt tops that I particularly love. It's hard for me to finish my favorites, because it means the infinite potential is gone, but I also know there's really no use for a shelf full of quilt tops I can't use. So, I made it a point to finish quite a few of my favorites, and I will hopefully continue that trend for 2022 as well.

Most Challenging: Bohemian Spark

Bohemian Spark was a real challenge both to piece and to quilt! It was entirely paper-pieced, but the pieces are huge and the edges are biased, and assembly was a pain. Quilting this was also very challenging due to the long lines and figuring out an efficient quilt path. I love the finished product though!

Most Fun: Glass Candies

Glass Candies was such a fun quilt to make due to the fact that the entire quilt is made up of half-square triangles (which are my favorite thing), the fabric (Ombre Confetti) was so bright and colorful, and the quilting was very fun and easy.

Most Surprising: City Tiles

I went into the quilting design of City Tiles with the idea of making it look very different from what I usually do. I decided to experiment with large unquilted areas adjacent to dense matchstick quilting, and the effect turned out much better than I expected.

Most Inspired: Winterfresh

Most of the time when I make a quilt, I either use a kit or a fat quarter bundle. Winterfresh was an exception because I picked yardage from my stash that were all from different collections, and I'm in love with the vibe of this quilt, which has a minty, fresh, snowy feel.

Favorite Quilt: Spectrum

Finally, my favorite quilt of the year is still Spectrum which I made at the beginning of the year. The piecing was very easy and the quilting was much simpler than what I usually do, but I just love how the fabric glows. It's perhaps no coincidence that Observatory by Alison Glass, the fabric collection here, is one of my favorite fabric collections ever.

***

I spent less time quilting this year and more time on my other pursuits, and I expect that to continue next year also. However, I feel much less stressed or pressured when I'm quilting now, and that allows me to enjoy it much more.

Be sure to head over to the linky party to check out everybody else's posts. Have a great New Year and I'll see you all next year!

Best of 2020

2020 ... what a year! I debated whether I should even do a year-end summary post, but looking back at my projects this year, I realized that I do want to write one. Regardless of what's happening in the outside world (and in my home world ... my oldest is still not allowed to go to school), the quilting room will always provide a refuge. Picking out my top 5 of the year helps remind me that 2020 isn't all bad.

Like in previous years, I'm joining Cheryl Brickey's Best of 2020 Linky Party. Thanks to Cheryl for hosting this great linky party!

Most Challenging: Moon Dance

I knew before heading into Moon Dance that it would be hard. And it was. Fabric selection was incredibly stressful, and I wasn't sure until the very end that it would work out well. Also, this was my first time dealing with a double curve (to get the almond shaped block), which Moon Dance had tons of. However, although stressful and difficult, I never once thought I wouldn't be able to do it, mostly because of the wonderful pattern writing of Sew Kind of Wonderful and their amazing Quick Curves Ruler.

Most Inspired: Rainbow Road

I had a story planned for Rainbow Road while I was piecing it, which was probably several years ago. I envisioned a Matrix-style steampunk city that's kind of grim, but has a strip of Rainbow Road at the very top that represents a kind of holy grail. That was my plan all along, but it wasn't until I came up with the idea of criss-crossing roads beneath the rainbow road and a filler that resembles gears that I felt ready to quilt this. I really like how it came out, and felt my vision came to life, making this my most inspired quilt of the year.

Most Fun: Bone & Chains

When I came up with the category of "Most Fun", I had to define it for myself. What does fun mean? Fun to piece? Fun to quilt? Or fun to look at? Turns out, all 3. Now, Bone & Chain was definitely a major pain to cut, but once that was done, I had a blast piecing it, and watching the blocks slowly come out was very rewarding. It was also fun to quilt once I decided what to do with the skulls. But the best part ... is that this quilt is so fun to look at! I love how the eyes are sometimes wandering, sometimes cross-eyed, and sometimes dead. All in all, I had a lot of fun with this one!

Favorite Top: Solstice

Solstice was one of the block-of-the-months I did this year, and it was with Rebecca Bryan, who designs spectacular (and complex) quilts. I was really excited every month to work on this, and though it was challenging, it was also easier than it looked. I love the color palette, the fact that it has a burgundy background, and the final layout is so unique and definitely not like any other quilts I have made before. All this easily makes Solstice my favorite top of the year!

Favorite Quilt: Velodrome

This probably comes as a surprise to most. It certainly came as a surprise to me! When I set out to pick my favorite quilt of the year, I did not expect to pick Velodrome. First of all, when I first finished the top, I felt neutral about it. I neither liked it nor disliked it. It wasn't until I was done quilting it that I realized that I really liked it. And it wasn't until I had snuggled under it for months that I realized that I really really loved it. I find myself running my hands over the texture, admiring the fabric (and the quilting design), and thinking about how this quilt went from meh to oh-so-special!

***

In conclusion, in these confusing times, I'm so grateful that I found quilting. When the world is grey, I can play with pretty fabrics, I can escape from my worries just for a bit and concentrate on the simple joy of sewing a block, and I can put on some good music and quilt my anxieties away.

QuiltCon 2020

Ah, QuiltCon. My favorite quilt show. The only show I feel like I must attend. The place where I feel overwhelmed and inspired, intimidated and rejuvenated, all at the same time.

Last weekend I attended QuiltCon 2020 in Austin, and as always, it was an exhausting but fantastic time. I tried not to overload myself, but still ended up with 4 classes over 2 days. It was supposed to be 5, but I had to cancel one at the last minute.

I took 2 longarm classes (Fill It With Style, More Than Just Lines) with Jodi Robinson where I learned some great ideas for background fillers. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a quilting rut where all I can come up with are swirls and more swirls, so it's nice to take a class to get more ideas! However, I realize that I don't like the longarm portion of these classes. I'd rather they be drawing / design classes so I'm spending time learning new designs instead of spending time on a totally foreign longarm machine.

My third class is called Making Color Work with Heather Black and it's a very interesting class, totally different from anything I've ever done before. The class uses watercolor to explore color theory, and though I knew most of the theory, actually experimenting with them is a totally different experience. Now, I'll never get tint, shade, and saturation confused again! My watercolor skills are horrendous, but it was a fun class and I think I shall play with these color ideas more ... digitally, that is.

My last class is Serpentine Line Designs with Angela Walters. I'm a total Angela groupie so I always try to get a class with her whenever I can. I always feel so inspired being in the same room as her, enjoying her energy, humor, and enthusiasm, and of course learning from her. She is such an idea factory!

Taking classes is great, and form 49% of my reason for being at QuiltCon. But what is the 51%? The shopping, of course! At most quilt shows, I'm interested in about 10% of the booths. At QuiltCon, I'm interested in all the booths. I had originally planned to drive so I didn't have a restriction on how much I can buy (budget notwithstanding) but at the last minute I scrapped my plans and flew to Austin instead, so I could only take home what can fit in my suitcase ...

... which still turned out to be a lot. This is due to me bringing as little clothes as possible so I can squeeze in as much shopping as possible. Hey, I've got my priorities!

Best of 2019

It's that time of the year again! This is my 2nd time participating in Cheryl Brickey's Best of Linky Party, something I really enjoy because it gives me an excuse to look back onto my year of blogging and projects, and forces me (in a fun way) to pick my favorites.

As I look back onto 2019, I realize that it was a fairly low-volume year. In fact, I only completed 11 quilts in the entirety of 2019 (plus a few wallets and one handbag). But, here are my top 5:

I'm Most Grateful For: Mod Mountains

Earlier this year I experienced my first burnout. For a few months, I just didn't really want to quilt. I couldn't control the passion for quilting when it arrived, and I couldn't control it leaving me, either. But then something happened. Suzy Quilts started a quilt-along for Mod Mountains in April, and something about that stirred up the fire in me, and I felt a renewed passion for quilting.

Favorite Top: Rock Star

It was a very, very close race between Rock Star and Circuit for my favorite quilt top of the year, but at the end Rock Star won out because I'm just so crazy about the fabrics, and I have a thing for star quilts.

Biggest Save: Bridges

I really hated Bridges when I first finished the quilt top. In fact, I couldn't get over how much I hated it, and that's why it got quilted over so many others I have in the stash ... to get it out of my mind! But as a result, I took more liberties with the quilting, experimented, did things I normally wouldn't, and it turned into one of my favorites, to the point that it's now hanging over my fireplace.

Most Inspired: Seahorse Sanctuary

Seahorse Sanctuary is one of my most inspired quilts, both in the fabric selection and the quilting. The inspiration came in the form of putting the seahorse print inside the houses and quilting a little underseas neighborhood. All the houses are "decorated" with different quilting designs, and I really enjoyed this one.

Favorite Finish: Totality

When I finished Totality back in February, I said it was my favorite quilt ever. That still holds true today! Everything about this quilt speaks to me. The graphic pattern, the special fabric I got from Spoonflower, and of course, I love the quilting.

***

So that's my 2019. Between months of burnout, fear and loathing in the longarm room, and lots of trips, I didn't get as much done in the sewing room as I would have liked to, but of my finishes, I'm really happy with and proud of each one. Here's to 2020!

QuiltCon 2020 Registration

Well, that was easier than expected!

I get antsy every year while registering for QuiltCon. It reminds me of registering for college classes, that nail-biting nervousness. What if the server crashes? What if I can't get into the classes I wanted to get into? I always come well-prepared, and two minutes before registration begins, I could feel my heartbeat gradually increase in speed.

There are lots of quilt shows every year across the US, some even fairly local to me, but for all these other shows, I'm rarely, if ever, interested in the classes. For QuiltCon, however, I make my schedule weeks in advance where I'm triple-booked on every slot and I have to keep prioritizing, all the while lamenting that it's impossible to take every class I want to take. With that state of mind, it's really easy to overload myself, which is what happened two years ago, and I told myself I wouldn't do it again.

But of course, I did it again. I signed up for 5 classes over 2 days, and I can already feel that I'm going to be very tired by the end of it, but I can't resist the temptation. Here are the classes I'm currently signed up for:

Fill It With Style - Jodi Robinson
Playful Color Theory - Rebecca Bryan
More Than Just Lines - Jodi Robinson
Making Color Work - Heather Black
Serpentine Lines - Angela Walters

I must say registration went much more smoothly than I expected. The only thing that made me anxious was that registration didn't open precisely on the clock, but a few minutes later, but unlike two years ago, I didn't see any system crashes and any mass confusion. I got in and out of there in just a few minutes!

Now it's time to figure out how I'm actually going to get there!

An Evening with Tula

It's not often that I get to be in the same room as a quilting legend. I found out just a few days ago that Tula Pink was visiting my local quilt shop for a lecture and presentation, so of course I booked a ticket right away!

I've very rarely walked into a room and been totally overwhelmed. But seeing Tula's quilts hanging in that room, with all of Angela Walters's amazing quilting, was quite an emotional experience. I've seen almost all of these quilts on social media, but to see them in person, I was totally awed. Speechless. Stunned. All those words.

And in my amazement, I only managed to grab one photo. Seriously, what was I thinking? Right, I was too busy being awed.

I never really understood that much about fabric production. To me, I just take it for granted that somebody designed it, it shows up at the quilt shop and I take it home. But to hear Tula talk about the whole process was absolutely fascinating. There are a lot of fabric designers I like, but watching Tula explain how she works, I really feel like she's on a whole other level. The stories, the presentation, the hidden surprises! I own many of those fabrics and even worked with them and I didn't notice those hidden easter eggs.

I had another engagement after the lecture so I couldn't stay long enough for a photo op with Tula, but I did bring one of my favorite books for her to sign: Quilt with Tula and Angela.

Now that I've got both Angela and Tula's autograph on this book, it is officially my favorite quilting book!

Best of 2018

Cheryl Brickey from Meadow Mist Designs is once again hosting the Best of 2018 Linky Party, and I almost didn't join in this year, but after seeing everybody else's posts, I decided it would be fun to come up with my own top 5 list.

Most Viewed: Beach Retreat

Beach Retreat is a quilt I made for Kelly Young from My Quilt Infatuation's blog hop to promote her book Stash Statement. It was so fun to play with improv in a controlled setting, and I love the quilting ideas I did for this quilt!

Most Commented: Postage Plus

Postage Plus is a quilt I made for the blog hop promoting Cheryl Brickey and Paige Alexander's book, Modern Plus Sign. I really really loved using all the hot pinks in this quilt! Figuring out how to quilt the background was challenging, but I'm super happy with how it turned out.

Most Challenging: Feathered Star

Feathered Star is a quilt along that Rebecca Bryan from Bryan House Quilts hosted over the summer, and despite a lot of apprehension, I decided to give it a shot. It's definitely one of the biggest challenges I've done, and I felt like I held my breath as the quilt assembly came together because I was never sure it was going to work. But ... I did finish the top and it turned out pretty well!

Favorite Top: Cityscape

Another quilt along I participated in over the summer is Tula Pink's City Sampler quilt hosted by Angie Wilson of Gnome Angel. This was a huuuuge quilt along on Instagram with daily posts and tons of participation, and I decided to work on two quilts simultaneously. Of the 2 tops I ended up with, they're both among my top favorite projects of the year, but if I have to pick one, I have to pick Cityscape. It's just a little more me. (The other one is Trellis.)

Favorite Finish: Skyways

I'm very surprised myself that I picked Skyways as my favorite finish of the year. But I fell in love with the inspiration of the machine quilting design, which is a futuristic city with all these pathways intersecting in the air above a lush landscape, and given the fantasies in my head of living in some place like this some day, I have to pick this quilt as my favorite finish of the year!

***

Thanks for visiting, and thanks especially to Cheryl for hosting this linky party!

Goodbye 2018!

It's the end of the year, and I just couldn't resist writing a summary post. It's so fun to look back on the year and see what I managed to do. Overall, it was a pretty exciting year, and I don't think it will be easy to top this one!

In Numbers

Completed quilts (throw size and up): 19
Runners, minis & mugrugs: 4
Charity quilts: 8
Bags & accessories: 7

Highlights

In February I went to QuiltCon in Pasadena and met my quilting idol, Angela Walters. To say she changed my life would be an understatement!

I finished my longarm room so now it's a beautiful, airy, and bright studio. It does seem to attract spiders so I have to vacuum often, but otherwise, it's wonderful and I feel so blessed to have it.

My quilt guild, Prairie Star, brought in some amazing teachers this year, and I took classes from Karen McTavish, Tara Curtis, and Jacquie Gering. (I was also signed up for a class with Sharon McConnell, but I couldn't make it due to a blizzard that hit us the day before.)

I participated in 3 blog hops, to promote the books Modern Plus Signs and Stash Statement, and also my last year participating as a New Quilt Blogger.

I worked on some challenging projects that I didn't think I would be able to do. Among them, a large English Paper Pieced quilt, curved piecing, and a complicated quilt with lots of bias called Feathered Star.

Favorites

It's always fun to look over what I've completed and pick my favorites, and sometimes I'm surprised by my reactions. There are quilts that I thought was only okay when it was a top, but became a favorite after quilting. And then there are quilts I thought I would love oh-so-much, but got relegated to the back of the closet when it's done. But of the finished quilts, these 4 are my favorites of the year:

Top row: Critical Sunshine and Urban Cabin
Bottom row: Skyways and Tangerine Dreams

But that's just for finished quilts. I found a lot in my WIPs list that I just have to share, because these are some of my overall favorite projects of the year:

Top row: Candy Dish, Pick-Up Sticks, Supernova
Middle row: All Stars, Postcard Row, Feathered Star
Bottom row: Trellis, Cityscape, Lantern Lane

Each one of these is very special to me, but I can honestly say that I don't know when I'll finish them. Sometimes, I think I enjoy the idea that they're there waiting for me to finish them, more than the idea of finishing and using them ...

Beyond Quilts

I love to make quilts just for the process of making them, but I don't really worry about whether they will be used beyond their point of completion (and photography). When it comes to bags and accessories, it's the opposite. I don't enjoy making them nearly as much, and I do it for the end product more than the process.

From top right, going counter clockwise: Desktop Cubes, Retreat Organizer, Hanging Travel Organizer, Renegade Bag, I-Spy Pouch, and Grab and Go Laptop Sleeve.

These projects are also a constant way to challenge myself and my sewing skills, as I tend to find them more difficult than quilts. And when they're finished, they sure get a lot of use.

Achieving Balance

Another change I made to my quilting life is that I decided to quilt less. During the summer, both my children were in summer school, and suddenly I had more free time than I've had in ... well, ever. I was ecstatic, and I thought I would spend all my time quilting. But ... I didn't.

After just a couple of hours, I start to burn out, and want to do something else. That's when I realized that I can't just quilt all day, as much as it might have been a fantasy previously. It's much more enjoyable when I come to it in bursts, interspersed by other activities that I love. So I decided to get more balance in my life by dividing my free time between quilting and my other passions (yes, I have them!), as well as to more healthy life habits. It's been a few months, and I can say that it's been a very positive change.

Onto 2019!

One of my yearly indulgences is the Quilter's Planner. It's big and expensive, but it reminds me of one of those old Mastercard commercials:

Quilter's Planner: $49
A more organized life that allows more guilt-free sewing time: Priceless

Having been a digital planner for most of my life, I wasn't initially sold on the idea of a paper planner, but now I really feel the difference, because it's just harder to procrastinate on paper than it is to do it digitally, since literally, it leaves a paper trail. Of course, the sheer beauty of the planner, the fantastic photographs, and the great projects it comes with is just the icing on the cake. I'm definitely excited to start using the 2019's Planner!

2018 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop

Another year, another New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop! I participated last year, and it was a fantastic and eye-opening experience. I made a lot of new friends and learned a lot, so I rejoined this year. My hive is called the Happy Stitching Team, and our hive leader is Tish of Tish 'n Wonderland. Thank you Tish for being one of the hosts for this wonderful blog hop!

My Journey

I started sewing a little over 3 years ago because of all the Project Runway I watched, and I was curious about the art of sewing. (I didn't know the difference between sewing and quilting at the time, either.) My mother-in-law got me a starter machine for Christmas and I tried making pillows and cotton skirts, but I wasn't into it at all, so I stopped. About a year later, I was browsing classes on Craftsy when some new quilting classes caught my eye. Seeing all the bright and graphic modern prints gave me the impetus to try quilting, and soon after that, I was totally, 100%, obsessively and head over heels in love.

I have two young children, and it can be very taxing at times. I soon found that looking forward to quilting at the end of the day helped me get through even the most difficult of days. Sometimes the house is a mess, and sometimes my calendar is a mess, but I know that when I go to my sewing machine, I can make sense of things again. It is my happy place and my therapy, and I'm so grateful to have it.

My Style

I would describe my style as modern to modern traditional. But mostly, I would say that I don't have a particular style as far as pattern or layout, but that my particulars lay in the fabric. I love bright colors, metallics, black and white, and graphic / geometric prints.

But a picture is worth a thousand words. Here are some of my favorite quilts from the past year, and I think they convey my style better than my words can!

Top left: Urban Cabin
Top right: Critical Sunshine
Middle left: Inside Looking Out
Middle right: Lakeshore
Bottom left: Flux
Bottom right: Lagom

The biggest change in my quilting journey in the past year is that I got a longarm machine and even recently finished the longarm room into a beautiful studio. I realize I'm super, super blessed to have all this! Longarming has added a new dimension to my quilting because I no longer had to compromise my vision. I consider it one of my best decisions ever, next to taking up quilting to begin with.

It's been an amazing journey so far and I look forward to what the next year will bring!

Blogging Tip

I find the toughest part of being a quilt blogger to be photography, and it's something I'm always working on and I imagine it's true for other bloggers. I discovered by accident last year that some of my favorite photos of my quilts aren't with them lying flat (though that's important too) or even closeups of the quilting. The ones that have the most life are the ones that are staged in the living area, and they don't even have to show details of the quilt. Here are some examples of mine:

It's not always possible and sometimes I don't manage it, but I usually try to get a photograph of the quilt in a staging shot, as I call it. Sometimes it takes rearranging a few pillows or moving a chair, but it doesn't take any fancy equipment.

Quilting Tip

My one tip deals with overcoming quilter's paralysis. If you haven't heard of quilter's paralysis, it's that instance when you're finished with a quilt top, but then put off quilting it for days, months, ages ... because you're afraid of messing it up. But I've come up with a strategy that works ... most of the time. It's a 3-step program:

1) Load the quilt. (Or, if you're on your domestic machine, it's baste it and get it under the machine.) For me, in particular, once I load it, I know I have to work on it because nothing else can get quilted while it's on the frame!

2) Audition designs but set a time limit. I usually give myself about a day or so. I will rough sketch the quilt on paper and then start drawing designs on top. I'm usually surprised how quickly ideas come to me.

3) Start quilting! Once I start, the ideas really come and as I quilt, they get finalized (because I don't want to rip!). Sometimes I step back and say, "Wow that looks really good!" and other times I think, "Hmm, I wish I did something else." But at this point it's usually too late to rip, so I keep going and when it's finished, I'm already thinking about the next quilt and it doesn't bother me that that one patch of swirls would have looked better if it was mixed with pebbles or something.

I know it sounds obvious, but the best way to get a quilt finished is to get it started!

Question For You

Who is your all-time favorite fabric designer? I'll pick two since this is my blog ... Brigitte Heitland (aka Zen Chic) and Alison Glass! I think 80% of my stash is their fabrics.

Hop Onwards

Thanks for visiting! Here are the other stops on the blog hop:

April 16	April 23
Gail @ Quilting Gail Rachel @ Rachel Rossi Design Tracie @ Riceford Streams Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts Jan @ Cocoa Quilts Michelle @ Creative Blonde Terry @ Quilting a Legacy April @ Janda Bend Quilts	Velda @ Freckled Fox Quiltery Carrie @ Carrie Bee Creates Sharon @ Ms. P. Designs Ann @ Laughing Gas Quilts Nicole @ Hand Wrought Quilts Becca @ Pretty Piney Sherry @ Powered by Quilting Stephanie @ Low Country Quilts and Embroidery
May 7	May 14
Sandy @ Gray Barn Designs Linda @ Cozy Quilts Dione @ Clever Chameleon Cate @ Chaos Theory Quilting Tara @ Quilt District Roseanne @ Homesewn by Us Karen @ Tuna Quilts Rashida @ No 3 Quilt Studio	Tracy @ It's a T-Sweets day! Joni @ For the Love of Thread Cherie @ Cherie's Quilting Journey Cindy @ Gray Barn Designs Karen @ The Quilt Rambler Sarah @ 9658 Textiles Terri @ Meanderings Along Lizard Creek

Last but not least, don't forget to check out our host blogs for some fantastic giveaways!

Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts
Jan @ Dizzy Quilter
Tish @ Tish 'n Wonderland
Sanda @ mmm! Quilts