A Great Start and A Final 2022 Stash Report

2023 is off to a roaring start.  I already have four finishes which also means four UFOs off the list.  Yay me!  

The first thing I finished this year was this Churn Dash baby quilt.  Sometimes, a simple, traditional block is the best choice for a sweet quilt.

These two quilts were started at a retreat last July, and I told you about them here.  They're going to a local group that makes quilts for St Jude Children's Research Hospital. 

The very last of the orange Tom & Jerry fabric (read about that here and here) was used up in this fun improv quilt.      

I struggled with this one a little, because of all the curved piecing and making all the pieces fit together, but I'm really happy with the result.  I call it "Tom and Jerry High Jinks".  It's also a St. Jude donation.  

I hope I can keep up this pace all year.  Wouldn't that be something!

DECEMBER 2022

Fabric Added in December -  0 yards

Fabric Used in December -  4.4 yards

Total Fabric Used in December - 4.4 yards

Days I sewed in December - 30/31

TOTALS FOR 2022

Total Fabric Added in 2022 - 86.7 yards

Total Fabric Used in 2022 - 222.8 yards

NET FABRIC USED in 2022 - 136.1 yards

Days I sewed in 2022 - 354/365

PERCENTAGE OF DAYS SEWED in 2022 - 97%

2022 - A Very Quilty Year

2022 has been a very quilty year!   I met almost all my goals, .....

..... finished nearly everything on my "Sew What" ("to do") list, .....

 

..... had seventeen finishes for the year, and completed my 400th quilt. 

I even made two Christmas gifts, which I haven't done in many, many (many!) years.  (That may be the most impressive thing of all!)

Tomorrow I'll set new goals and update my UFO list.  Happy New Year, everyone.  May all your quilty dreams come true!

Mike's "Goldleaf" Quilt

I should have titled this post "Throwback Thursday"  because it's about a quilt I made last year and didn't blog about.  I'd found a box of HSTs I wanted to do something with, so I put them up on the design wall and had a play day.  You know I like those!

The first thing I did was rearrange them into a more random looking design.  Next I pulled out a length of fabric I had bought for something and then decided I didn't like it. 

 

Any fabric you don't like almost always looks better when you cut it up into smaller pieces.  (That's your tip for today!)  I cut out some squares and rectangles and worked them into my design then used the rest of it for borders.  

What a difference!

This was gifted to another family member, my brother-in-law Mike this time.  I'm making a list and checking things off.  Have you noticed?

Linking up with So Scrappy

Niece and Nephew Quilts are Finished and A Recap

I've been sharing with you the quilts I've been making for my nieces and nephews, the ones who have not received one in a while.  I overlooked three of them so thought I'd get caught up on that and do a recap.

The ones I've already posted about are Josh, Ashley, Laura, Nikki, Travis, Paige, Natalie, Emily, Carrie, Karlie, Kourtnie, and Kacie's. (Each name has a link attached in case you'd like to see them.)  All of them were made since 2018.  Thank goodness, I have a fantastic quilter (Shirley Jackson) I can depend on!

Jason is the one nephew who had never received a quilt from me.  When he was born (and I'm embarrassed to tell you how old he is, so I won't) I was crocheting afghans for new babies.  I also crocheted a large afghan for him when he was first married.  (Oops, that hints at how old he is.  Don't pay any attention to that.)  Anyway, it was definitely his turn!  I named his quilt "Long Time Coming".

For Tim I tore into my box of batik strips (again!) and made a variation of the Jelly Roll Race Quilt, using different size strips and pieces (instead of WOF strips) and sewing some diagonal seams instead of straight. It wasn't nearly big enough to suit me, plus I wanted to change it up, so I added strips around it going in the opposite direction.  It ended up plenty big enough, and I ended up with another happy nephew.  

Tina's quilt was Amy Walsh's "Zen" pattern.  Yes.  I used batiks.  I've used this pattern before, but this time I sewed some of it in a hotel in Seattle.  I've set up a little sewing area in many a hotel.  An important thing to pack for that is my Ott sewing light.  You know how bad hotel lighting is.

You may remember that, in 2018, I went a little crazy cutting up my batiks into 2.5" strips.   

Now, that box looks like this .....

Hooray!

Now all the nieces and nephews have new quilts.  (Another Hooray!)  Should I start on the great-nieces and nephews?  Well, I do have all those scrappy squares I cut up a few years ago.....

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Quilter, and Super Scrappy.

A Baby Quilts Catch-Up

Since I took a break from blogging during the Pandemic, I missed sharing some of my finishes with you, so I decided to have a little Baby Quilts Show and Tell.

In 2018 I started making a few baby quilts to put back for the great-grands, and only got two finished.  

You can read about them here and here.

In 2019 I finished three more to put back.  I used a Zen Chic charm pack for this one and had a little fun with the border.

These two were made from a Hushabye Hollow layer cake from Moda.

Last year I had two new great-nephews to make quilts for.  

For Karsyn, I chose a simple windmill type block and used a cute print from my stash and a coordinating batik.

I used another print from my stash along with some brights to make this one for Dayshon.  It's the "Grand Stand" pattern by Kari Nichols.  I love the little Lego construction workers! 

Earlier this year I made my first quilt for a great-great-nephew!  His name is Everett.  I used a panel for this one because the theme for his nursery is "I Love You to the Moon and Back", and when I saw this panel at my Local Quilt Shop I knew I had to use it.  Then I played with border ideas until I came up with this .....

.....and I love it.  There's nothing like loving the quilt you finish and then gifting it to someone you love.  I smile just thinking about it.

December's One Monthly Goal

In January I started the Block of the Month hosted by Sherri McConnell at A Quilting Life.  My friend, Denise, is always finding projects to talk me into, and I usually go along with her.   I'm always glad, though, so that must be a good thing.  The last BOM I made with her, went to my SIL, Jan, and she loved it.  I did, too!  (You can read about it here.)  

This time I decided to go with Christmas fabrics.  I started with these -

None of the rest of the prints I used were really very "Christmassy".  Maybe you would call them more "classic".  If you're really a fan of Christmas you might even call them "boring".  

The blocks have a consistent fabric for the churn dash, the background, and the sashing.  AND, as you can see, there are a lot of HSTs.  No comment.

My goal for December is to get the blocks into a top.

I may have to convince people it really is a Christmas quilt, since it's not red and green, but that's fine with me; I like it better that way.  (Guess who the grinch is around here?)

Linking up with One Monthly Goal