Saturday, December 30, 2017

It's a Long Post About 17 in 2017 Progress

Committing to 17 in 2017 was a big step for me. While I personally have a lot of quilting lists, feeling pressure is something I generally try to avoid! Meredithe made it super easy though and just encouraged us to make forward progress with each item on the list. Okay, easy enough! So that's what happened and wowsers, did I even surprise myself!
The Eagle Quilt is a Finish!
I divided the list into two sections, 11 quilt tops with a goal of reaching completed quilt top stage and 6 tops to be complete, true-blue finishes. Nine out of those eleven projects made it to the quilt top stage--82% success, and five out of six tops made it the finish line--83%. I feel pretty good about those numbers because the other two incomplete projects did actually make forward progress {yay!} and the only quilt top not finished yet {in that particular list} is still sitting at my longarm friends.  Good intentions and all that....
It's been a long time coming!
So this Eagle quilt. Yep! It's my very last finish for 2017. Just squeaked in at the last minute. I was pretty determined not to stress over the lists and details-- just let it all play out. I did as always and just picked up the hoop whenever time permitted or I was in the mood. The funny thing is, this quilt has never been one that I've been 'raring to get quilting on'. Once I had the hoop in my lap and had been stitching for awhile, then I would relax into it and really start enjoying the stitching. Thankfully that doesn't happen very often, or I would never get any hand quilting done!
Loving how it looks with the stitching
This quilt was started back in 2014. In fact, Angie and I started an Eagle quilt blog for awhile with the determination to make our own eagle quilts and encourage others to join in the fun. While it was great fun initially, the fire happened here that summer and I abruptly changed my focus. This quilt top took a good long while to come together and then, well... you know me. My quilt finishes are usually lagging a year or two behind the point of a completed quilt top! I don't feel too terribly bad as I don't think Angie's gorgeous quilt top is completed yet either!

I'm glad it was on my 17 in 2017 list though. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure it would still be languishing in the drawers with others that I'm stalling on! The thing that was holding me back was how to quilt it. For some reason this was one of those quilts that I couldn't 'see' and so finally I had to just get it in the hoop and start the stitching. Yes. That means I had times where I ripped out lots of stitching and started over. Mostly though, the more I stitched, the more it started making sense. It's all stitched with Perle Cotton #8 or #12 thread, something I do for all my hand quilting anymore. And I LOVE the texture in this quilt. It really makes the entire quilt come alive in a way that makes it all so worthwhile.

The eagle design was something I drew on paper after looking at lots and lots of other eagle quilts. Then I fussed and fussed with until it started looking the way I wanted it to and also fit into the size square I wanted for my quilt centerpiece. No, I'm not a good artist nor do I draw worth beans. It's just something you have to trust yourself to make happen and keep trying! What's the worst that can happen? That's what I always tell myself at the start when I'm feeling the agonies of inadequacy. You can read more about some of the other design process here or here if you like. As the time drew nearer to putting it in the hoop, I almost took the '2015' off the quilt and replaced it with '2017'. So glad I didn't though. This quilt really didn't have much to do with this past year and that only has to make sense to me!
One last picture!
So back to the 17 in 2017 list, my Peachy Cameo Medallion quilt finally reached the completed quilt top stage as well. Last we talked, all it was needing was the corner bits. You can see that I ended up making the fabric do the bulk of the work and just kept the shape super simple.
The corner work
My youngest son reluctantly helped me get a picture outdoors as the quilt was too big for a full shot in the house. That particular day was freezing cold though and he only lasted about five minutes, before running back into the house like a little girl.*hehe  Just kidding. It really was ridiculously cold to be standing about outdoors, trying and trying for that perfect shot.
Sort of a full-on picture....
 And last but not least was a project that I mentally determined to get rid of at least three or four different times. But every single time I opened up the box to finally put all the {set aside} fabrics back with the rest of the stash, my mind started spinning and nope. Just couldn't toss this one quite yet. Finally here in the last week I decided to actually DO something with it or be done with it forever.
Shattered--The scrap bin quilt
This project has been in the works for a couple years now and the entire center is made totally from the scrap bin. The plan was to make several vertical columns of make-fabric flying geese, but that essentially involved sewing hundreds of them. Ughh.. After making 72, I threw up my hands and decided that I was done. Then, when I was faced with throwing it all away or continuing on somehow, I suddenly changed course and decided what if? What if I took those flying geese and set them medallion style around the centerpiece? When I found an old castoff shirt of my husbands in the stash tote, that decision was set in stone and I was off and running. Still don't know what I'll do with the remaining 32 geese or where this quilt will end up. Mostly for now, I'm resting on my laurels that yes, indeedy, it did make forward progress as well.*whew!  It's been a good year!

Thanks Meredithe and Ann and all my other fellow 17ufosin2017 cohorts for the wonderful encouragement throughout the year and helping to push, nudge and cheer lead each other along. I definitely needed it with some of these projects!

22 comments:

  1. Congratulations on doing so well with the 17 in 2017. Quite an accomplishment. Love your style and thanks for showing the close up of your stitching. I was wondering about how the perle cotton looked. Fabulous!

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  2. Congratulations! Enjoyed watching your progress and appreciate your sharing of your lovely quilts

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  3. congratulations on getting a lot done this year - sometimes we need a push - or people constantly asking if there was any progress on this or that quilt and after awhile of constantly saying no progress you feel like maybe you should get back to work on something and get it out of your way! Happy New Year

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  4. Congratulations on a great year! 17 in 17 really seems to have worked for a lot of people. Love the eagle quilt and the leafy border. And it seems like the Cameo quilt changed directions several times! How much was planned ahead?

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  5. You've had some really fabulous finishes this year, I think the peachy cameo top is one of my favorites. Happy New Year!

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  6. So much quilty goodness here today. Congratulations on all that progress!!

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  7. You must be so very pleased with your accomplishments this year - congratulations!!

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  8. Congratulations on a very productive year - so many beautiful quilts. Happy New Year!

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  9. Fantastic progress! I love your eagle quilt

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  10. Your medallion style is so fabulous! Happy New Year!

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  11. Beautiful hand quilting on the eagle ! Congratulations on the finish. Happy New Year to you and yours.

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  12. You have truly had a wonderful year in 2017. Happy 2018!

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  13. Good for you!!! Always enjoy your posts and your work. Happy New Year!

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  14. Congrats on the finish for your Eagle quilt!! I love how your design turned out - you've inspired me to give drawing my own design a try. I know I have more eagle quilts in me, so there can never be too much inspiration!

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  15. What a terrific year you've had! I simple adore your eagle quilt. It's one of my favorites. With all your progress, I'd say you don't sit on your laurels very often! I appreciate your thoughts in your blog. I need to be thinking more "what if's". Happy New Year

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  16. You always get so much done and it's nice to see that projects that you have been wanting to move along got moved or finished. I really like the leaf border on your eagle quilt and am totally loving Shattered. Happy New Year, Audrey!

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  17. There are not enough adjectives to express how much I love this eagle quilt. It is so perfect and so perfectly 'you'! I enjoy all the lovely quilts in progress here and I am looking forward to what you come up with in 2018. Best wishes to you and your family for an abundant new year!

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  18. I love following your progress in 2017! Such wonderful creative quilts!

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  19. You've done brilliantly, Audrey! I'm like you - can't be doing with the pressure of finishing, that's why we chose Progress as the theme for the challenge. And you've lived up to that concept perfectly!

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  20. The eagle quilt can come live with me just any time you want to part with it. Love eagle designs.

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  22. Congratulations Audrey on all of your wonderful finishes and progressions in 2017. I love your flying geese border around the scrap bin quilt.

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