Time to See All Those 2018 Finishes Together in One Post

Some years there are more finishes than others. The last two years have been especially good ones for bumping the oldest quilts off the list . It's often difficult to want to work on the oldy moldy quilt projects, but they never get any easier to work on by just ignoring them!

2018 Finishes

It's always great fun to slip a baby quilt or two into the mix and have a fast finish. And this year I even made an oversize doll quilt {hmm... is that actually a baby quilt too?}

2018 Finishes

As usual, I kept my hand quilting hoop busy all throughout the year {both of them, if you want to know the truth of it!}. It's become an oh-so-important part of my quilting journey and I can't even imagine life without that little bit of stitching time late in the evenings. Those peaceful, meditative hand quilting minutes have become something I unabashedly crave at times. It positively grounds me in the best way possible and dare I say, nourishes me as well.

2018 Finishes

The program used to group my picture collages didn't have a good 4-picture setting, so I put my Quilty 365 in two different groupings. It's been on our bed for quite awhile now. I adore waking up to it and then later in the day, snuggling back into bed with it once again. Move over husband dear, I got a good quilt now. lol  Sometimes I think that all my quilting years have led up to this one quilt, in terms of making a quilt that resonates on almost every single level.

2018 Finishes

Overall, I'm not sure how much these quilts represent 'me' as a whole--the way I've mixed up the old quilting projects with the new. It's something that I always find very interesting though, these end of the year quilt reviews. You pop over to someones page and in one click, get to see an entire lineup of the years finishes! What fascinates me the most, is the quilting voice that is always so immediately apparent! There's rarely any doubt whose quilt page you're viewing and that's the very best thing about this time of year. I bet most of us could look at any of these picture groupings and immediately tell what quilter made each of those quilts. Love that!

So now with the details: 2018 found me ending the year with 19 finishes again! That kind of suprised me as it didn't feel like so many. Yep, I was on a finishing mission once again. Trying to get some of those very old, not-as-interesting quilt tops out of my hair.*whew! It was very, extremely, tedious at times, I kid you not. Crossing my fingers things won't get quite that bogged down ever again! Want some year end statistics? I do like to keep track just for curiosities sake.

• 1 Doll quilt
• 2 Baby quilts
• 1 Comfort quilt
• 7 Lap quilts
• 8 Bed-sized quilts
• 6 quilts were completely hand quilted
• 9 quilts were a mix of machine and hand quilting
• 4 quilts were completely machine quilted

By the end of the year I had also given away 17 quilts, a mixture of new and old quilts. That was a little nerve-wracking at times. My family lives in dread that they'll wake up one morning and all our quilts will have been given away! hehe  One was given for a church raffle, for helping to make money to buy their building. Still waiting to see who winds up with that one as I do like to keep track of where my quilts end up!

Lots of ideas for the next year. Stacks of fabric that have been simmering on the counters for months and months and need a little bit of attention. Mostly I just intend to quilt the things that I find interesting without getting too far into the weeds with those pesky squirrels! There are 5 or 6 open-ended quilt projects that will hopefully get wrapped up and around and around we go. I loved diving into the orphan blocks totes and intend to try that some more of that. Adhoc. Improv. is definitely still a happening thing and umm..., there is a scrap bin monster that just has to be addressed soon. No ifs ands or buts about it! Taking up way too much room over there in the corner of my quilt room.*sigh Oh, and don't forget about those oh-so-tempting QAL's popping up all over blogland. Probably gonna join in on with the Unconventional & Unexpected one and also, Lori's String Quiltalong. Sounds like a good start to me!

It Was Meant to Be

Another quilt made it through to the finish line lately. I've been kind of holding back on this one because I had decided to gift it and I didn't want to spoil the surprise. It's one that has been in the works for years and years.

Shattered is finished!

The first post I could find about this particular quilt was here in 2014. It's not been a particularly flashy or impressive quilt, but still, it's one that I. Just. Could. Not. Get. Rid. Of. Now I'm thinking maybe it was meant to be?

It's little, but it's mighty

This quilt named itself 'Shattered' way back in the early stages. All those little bits and pieces from the scrap bin coming together into a larger whole. I had big plans for this quilt and then the inspiration just melted away under the reality of making an entire quilt straight from the monster scrap pile. Too much good stuff in the stash totes to hide out in the scrap bin for weeks on end!

Loving the centerpiece now

I machine quilted wavy lines and ran into all sorts of troubles. Duh! While sandwiching and pinning, tape had popped loose on one side and it never really did get taut enough after that. You know me, nothing much slows me down once I get started, and I just shrugged it off and kept going.

The heart could be a little fuller on the left, but hey, that's improv.

I wasn't really too concerned as this wasn't something I felt especially invested in, if you know what I mean. And then I decided to gift it to a dear friend who had lost her husband of over 25 yrs. earlier this year.*groan.... I mean seriously, it's a perfectly good comfort quilt, right? But now what to do with my 'less than par' quilt? So I picked up a wash-out marker and roughly marked out a heart right in the middle of the quilt. Oh the symbolism! And then I stitched like a crazy woman for a couple days until it was all filled in. Let's just say that she is a very good friend.

I seriously considered putting the label over that red stain,
but thought that might be a little too weird, even for me...

And now let's just say WOW and leave it at that. I was {am}, frankly, in awe of what that simple stitched heart did to this little 'plain jane' quilt. So many, many times I almost dumped this quilt in the trash, or sent it down the road as an orphan project. Instead, I kept picking it back up and adding a little more to it. What if I use a recycled mans shirt for the border? What if I dig a little deeper into the stash totes and see what might work to bring this quilt to a good finish? I truly love it now. It all makes perfect sense and tells a wonderful story. All the scrappy bits, the meaning and symbolism, the texture, who it's going to and how much they might be needing a 'wrap-you-in-love' sort of quilt right about now...

So glad I didn't throw it away!

As usual, I washed the quilt after it was completed {in this case I did the 12 hr. soak},and wowsers, did this one bleed out! It was worse than any other I have ever finished before! Must be all those different red fabrics combined in one quilt. Very disappointing to see one little area on the back {see pic above} where the red had bled through to the back and would NOT go away. I'm sure if I had soaked it for another 12-24 hours that would have made a difference, but one day is about my limit to tie up the bathtub. Just so thankful that all the migrating dye didn't ruin the top and I don't think my friend cares one whit.*whew!

A nice little bundle of fun!

Something fun, I finally received my winnings from entering in the Bloggers Quilt Festival! Thanks Amy! It's been so long since I've won anything, that it felt a little like Christmas! It's a 'Lazy Days' by Gina Martin F8 bundle from Moda along with a cute bag, some lovely thread and a couple other fun goodies. Once piece of the fabric immediately caught my eye and will be washed up pronto. Exactly what I need for a project that I've been eyeballing as a new start! 

Quarter Circles--Round #2

I also was able to move another quilt into the hoop and get started stitching on it--Quarter Circles--Round #2. It's been a tough one to take good pictures of, but this quilt is making my heart very happy. Now. Back in 2015, it was one of those quilt top finishes that I made the best of and just moved on. So many good fabrics included in this quilt though, can't help but respond to that! 

My family is not very excited about the yellow, but it's Fall ya'll! And that means I like to get out some of those more seasonal colored quilt to stitch away on. Soon as this one is done then I have promised myself that I will finally get going on another one in similar colors that I'm not nearly as excited to stitch on. First the one that I WANT to work on and then, the one I've been dragging my heels about for the last several years. Even more than this one if that's possible....

Diving Back Into Improv.

I've been feeling a little lost without a new AHIQ prompt, but that's just absurdity. There have been several improv. ideas hanging around on the back burner for eons and I never seem to find time to get them started. So this week, instead of doing all the million and one things that I should be doing, one of those ideas finally got going.

2 finished rows for Score #5

I've been looking at Score #5 in Sherri Lynn Woods ' The Improv. Handbook for Modern Quilters' for a very long time. There's just something about the utilitarian look that is very appealing to me. The fabric has been gathered up for ages and it's all stuff that I shouldn't agonize too much about chopping and hacking to bits. The biggest problem has been that I'm a scaredy cat. I've read through the chapter so many times, but after a little bit, my brain just sort of shuts down. I DON'T GET IT. Blah, blah, blah is about all that gets processed. Okay, fine. I decided to start out by copying one of her vertical rows {only in my own colorway of course} and see where it might go from there.

The first row

Aha! Imagine my surprise when I discovered that there was already a major mistake. If you look at the previous picture, you will see that the dark orange strips don't extend out to the edges of the block on either side. Things would work so much better if at least one of them did! It really makes this {Rhythmic Grid} Score idea a bit problematic.*sigh  That single row remained on the wall while I went downstairs and did normal life things. Apparently I can't even copy correctly....

Considering adding in another fabric

The next day found me diving in and starting to play regardless. Who cares if I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing? Anybody with an quilting eye and a playful spirit can figure out a basic grid, right? I tried to add in some random bits, switching up fabrics from the original four. I don't have a lot of the lighter orange so will run out sooner than I'd like. But no, it's not time to introduce it into the equation yet. More green please!

Going back to the original four

I free cut and sewed, and just pretty much let all the anxiety slip away. The beauty of working with improv. {and something that is destined to have a utilitarian look} is that nothing is 'too precious'. It took awhile, but eventually I started getting a feel for the flow of a 'grid'.

Trying to figure out the grid

Is it going to be what I originally found to be so appealing? I honestly don't know, but it feels like I'm learning something, even if my approach always feels so completely backwards from what the instructions might be. Does anyone else have trouble following quilting instructions like I do?

This sort of play is {still} sometimes amazingly difficult. I find myself wanting to rely on things like, A + B = C, but it's so helpful to occasionally break away from precision and formality, from rules, have-to's and should-do's. There's something very freeing about breaking things down and learning the basics of relying on instincts and our quilting 'eye'. Again. And again and again. And then from a different starting point altogether. Does it feel like stepping out on a very wobbly limb sometimes? You betcha! And posting pictures of my very doubtful progress can make me positively squirm. But learning is such good stuff when we consider the end game. I still maintain that everything we learn {whether it's what we set out to learn or not} is a valuable gem for our quilting toolboxes. I am still so amazed and gratified to see the finished quilts getting richer and warmer, deeper and more complex--in technique, layers, texture and a wonderfully personalized feeling. That never gets old!

Not enough room on the wall

Another improv. project I attacked recently is 'Shattered'. It was way past time to deal with this problem child. This project has often made me scratch my head and wonder what in the world I was thinking. It's been years in the making and I am so very tired of it. The entire middle of the quilt is made out of 'made fabric' squares straight from the scrap bin. That was an awesome idea. Until it got tedious.

Shattered finally a completed quilt top!

The plan was for the whole quilt to be made in that vein, but somewhere I just folded things up and said enough. Then my brain couldn't really find a way forward because nothing else made sense.

Looks better close up...

Finally, emboldened with a long awaited laissez-faire attitude, I just approached the project with an idea to make it large enough to call it a proper quilt. However that happened, I could really care less. Just get it off the UFO lists! Honestly, I was surprised at the fabrics and colors the quilt wanted to include into the quilt--Older than the hills Debbie Mum country blue check? Reproduction yellow gold? But it was an easy fix and also used up most of the remaining scrappy triangles which really gave me a rush. It's kind of an interesting quilt and not one I'm sorry to have tackled. Just wish I could have finished the quilt top back when the interest was running high. For the record, the quilt top is now around 57" square, which should easily translate into a nice comfort type quilt. Linking up with Kaja and Ann for AHIQ #33. Neither of these projects had anything to do with 'playing with scale', but everything to do with improv. I'm gonna say that's good enough.

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!

Progress on the 17 UFO's

Last week saw me with the quilt top finish of Chunky Crossroads. This week Gather Ye Roses and My Quilty 365 got crossed off of the 17 in 2017 list as well. I only committed to quilt top finishes with these particular projects as Meredithe assured us that progress was the point!

The three latest quilt top finishes!

Gather Ye Roses started out as tumbler block leftovers and then eventually morphed into a large tumbler basket after one day of play. At that point, I knew it needed more, but wasn't sure where to go from the over-large basket piece. Medallion style quilt? Pieced blocks? More flowers? There are so... many options you know!

Gather Ye Rosebuds looking a little washed out..

Finally I settled on a very rough draft that included smaller basket blocks, a flowing vine and space for some appliqued words. The baskets were easy, just took some time for the details. Then for the rest? Hmmm... In the drawing, my vine had what looked to be fat berries on the vines, but when I settled on 'Gather Ye Rosebuds' for the saying, the berries looked extremely wrong. Not that I'm a purist, but seriously, mentioning the word 'rosebuds' might, just maybe? create an expectation of buds on the vine as well as in the occasional basket.*sigh  These quilts, so demanding!

A look at the bottom of the quilt

However, the flowers are all just a mishmash of whatever blooms I decided to cut out at the time. Tulip shapes and other assorted floral shapes that made sense to me. I refuse to get too worked up over making sure every single detail is just 'so', and I do so love the primitive look to this asymmetrical quilt. Especially done up in the classic, traditional colors that I'm seemingly drawn to, over and over and over again through the years. I will say though, that the applique was a bit brutal at times in the overall effort of making this quilt. Hardly any machine piecing at all which means progress always comes along at the speed of the turtle, not the hare....

The large tumbler basket centerpiece

And then there was the day I spent appliqueing the centerpiece for my dear Quilty 365 quilt. Nothing else quilty that day at all, just this deceptively simple addition to my circle quilt! Words are tricky, but oh, so fun looking on the occasional quilt.

And now it's a quilt top finish!

Surprisingly, I've also moved a very little bit forward with the make-piece triangles for Shattered. It's a quilt that is primarily going to be made out of the scrap bin and while I love the look, it does get a bit tedious at time. Just saying! 76 out of 208 triangles made so far, which by my calculations is just over a fourth the way through. Every time I think, 'This is it! I'm done making these forever!'. Then I take a couple days break, think about it and come back with fresh eyes. It may be a project that takes the entire year to plow through, but I know it will be worthwhile if I just stick with it long term.

Make-fabric triangles

The really exciting progress was finishing up the hand quilting for my Geese Tracks quilt. Yay! It needs binding of course, but it's always such a great motivator to get this close to a true-blue finish. I don't even have to put the binding on for a month and I already feel like it's amazing progress.*wink

Geese Tracks and Black Shadow Applique quilt

So far, it's been really good for me to have this list, reminding me every single time I walk in the quilt room, but the years' young! There's a whole long list of projects I still want to attack, most not even cut out yet. When there's time, I'll be checking out everyone else's progress over at Meredithe's 17 UFO's in 2017. Right now, my youngest son thinks dinner is much more important that mom's quilting stuff and you know how hungry teenagers get when their stomach is empty!