2021 - My quilting year in review

It's 31 December, so time for my end of year wrap up.  At the end of each year I like to look back on the goals I set myself at the start of the year.  

2021 finishes

My priorities for 2021 were:

1a, 1b, 1 c, 1d and e... Millefiori Quilts

I've done quite well on that goal.  My Raindrops are Falling on my Head quilt is just finished, and I'll blog about it soon. I've called this quilt Bollywood. You can see it in the background on this photo.

I also finished Dancing Cheek to Cheek, Bont en Blauw, and Fiesta Gitana - all from Millefiori Quilts 4.

Trans-Tasman Bubbles (Dancing Cheek to Cheek)

Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Bont en Blauw)

2. Topsy by Sheila Christensen

Finished, and gifted to our son for his 21st. I called this quilt Mirage and you can read about it here. 

Mirage

3. Cross Country by Anna Maria Horner

Finished and now called Material Girl.  You can read about it here. 

Material Girl

4. Ballet with Kaffe Fassett

I finished my Ballet with Kaffe Fassett quilt in February 2021 and it hung in the Aotearoa Great New Zealand Quilt Show in Rotorua in May.  I've called my version "Fireworks". I love this quilt.  It took three years to finish, but the time spent getting it right was well worth it. You can read more about it here.

Fireworks

5. Neptune and the Mermaid by Wendy Whellum

This one is so close to finished.  I had to stop hand quilting it when my finger flared up in August, and I haven't got back to this since, but maybe it could be my first finish of 2022. My last blog post about this quilt was in April 2021 and you can read it here. It looks a lot better than this in real life!

Neptune and the Mermaid

6. Prize giving quilt

This one is still languishing in a box.  I think about it from time to time, but it hasn't seen any action in 2021.  

7. Smoyg by Yvette Stanton

It's finished! And just back from the framers.  This one will be hanging on the wall as soon as I take down our Christmas decorations.  You can read about my Smoyg here.

8. Pandemic Sampler by Long Dog Samper

Well, just as the Pandemic has dragged on, so has my cross stitch.  I lost a few months when my finger flared up, and I've been very careful with my hands since then.  So progress has been slow.  But I am 85% finished now, and I think I will make a new goal to finish it by Easter 2022.

  

Pandemic Sampler

9. Gingerbread Flower Shop by Victoria Sampler

I haven't made much progress on this one either.  I feel sad because Thea Dueck is retiring and there aren't go to be any more houses in the Gingerbread Village.  When I finish this one it will all be over.  Maybe that's why I'm stalling, because I don't want this lovely journey to end.  

Gingerbread Flower Shop

So that's what was on my list in January 2021.  I think I've done quite well.  

I did start something that wasn't on my list for 2021.  When New Zealand was thrown into a Delta snap lockdown in August 2021, I decided to start the Wendy Williams Tea Party block of the month that had been sitting in my stash for quite some time.  There's still plenty more to do on this one in 2022, but here's how it's looking right now. 

Tea Party block of the month

So, 2021 was a good year for finishes for me.  I got to work on lots of bright, colourful quilts, and I got to share my quilts with others at Rose City Quilters in Palmerston North, and Capital Quilters in Lower Hutt.  I also shared my embroidery with Wellington Embroiderers Guild when I was their guest speaker back in June. 

I'm already forming lists of what I want to work on in 2022, and I'll share that with you next week.  

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

30 June check in

We're half way through the year, so it's time to check on progress against the priorities list I made at the start of 2021. (You can read it here.)

1a, 1b,1c,1d.... were all quilts from Millfiori Quilts 4 by Willyne Hammerstein.  I've done quite well on that front.  

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Not Your Grandmother's Garden

Trans-Tasman Bubbles

Bollywood

2. Topsy by Sheila Christensen.  I just picked it up from my long arm quilter this morning and I'm so pleased with it. My son's 21st birthday is in July and it will be finished and ready to give to him by then. I'll do a full reveal once I've given it to him.  

Topsy

3. Cross Country by Anna Maria Horner.  I finally made a decision and used Kaffe Fassett's Cactus Flower for the large triangles.  I decided to get it quilted by Rayna Clinton too, so I picked it up this morning with Topsy. 

Cross County Quilt

4. Ballet with Kaffe by Willyne Hammerstein.  It's finished, and was in the Great New Zealand Quilt Show in Rotorua.  I really must do a blog post and tell you all about it. 

Fireworks

5. Neptune and the Mermaid by Wendy Whellum. I'm hand quilting this one right now and I'm well past half way.  I should be able to finish it before Christmas, provided I don't get distracted.

Neptune and the Mermaid

That's pretty good progress! Each of the top five quilts on my list is finished or nearly finished.  I'd forgotten what I'd even put on my list, so I'm a bit surprised that I've stayed on track so well, and almost tempted to look at some new quilt options for the second half of 2021.   Did I even say that????

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  What have you been up to this week? Feel free to share a recent blog post below. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

2020 - My quilting year in review

Wow! What a year that was!

My 2020 finishes

At the end of each year I like to look back on the goals I set myself at the start of the year.  This year my goals were:

1.  to move away from English Paper Piecing to hand piecing with a running stitch
2.  to find a method of applique that suits me.

I've done well on my first goal of improving my hand piecing.  I even made some videos about hand piecing and put them on YouTube.  You can find them here. 

And as for my second goal, I've found a method of applique that suits me, but I just don't enjoy applique as much as I enjoy piecing at the moment.  Maybe I'll enjoy applique more as I spend more time on it in 2021.

Now it's time to check progress on each of the quilts I said I'd work on in 2020.  

1.  Ballet with Kaffe Fassett by Willyne Hammerstein from Millefiori Quilts 2.
See the tab at the top of my blog for all the details on this quilt (or click here).  

It's still not finished, but it's basted and ready to be hand quilted.  It's high on the priority list.  

2.  Glitter by Jen Kingwell
It's finished! And I won Best Hand Piecing for it at Capital Quilters Exhibition.  You can read more here. 

3.  Cartwheel by Liza Prior Lucy for Kaffe Fassett Collective Quilt Grandeur book.  
Also finished, and now called "You Spin Me Round".  

4.  Green Diamonds
This is my own way to use up some of the diamonds I cut at the Kaffe Fassett class in January 2018.  I'm experiment with lots of different hand quilting designs, so this little quilt is still a work in progress. It's nice to have something easy to take with me when I go to stitching days. 

5.  Neptune and the Mermaid - pattern is Pieces of the Past by Wendy Whellum
This was so much fun to make (click here to read more).  I've hand quilted about half of it. 

6.   Cross Country by Anna Maria Horner
I started this quilt in a class with Anna Maria Horner  in November 2019 (click here to read more).  I now have the fabrics to finish it, but I need to decide if I want to add applique in the big triangles. (That's carpet you're seeing in this photo.)




7.  Don't Leaf Me by Wendy Williams
I've made a little start, but there's still a long way to go with this one. I haven't had much experience with needle turn applique, so I'm going to use this quilt to improve my skills. You can read more here.  

8.  Endless Summer by Anna Maria Horner
Started and finished during the COVID-19 lockdown.  I've now called my quilt Endless Lockdown, because it felt like it at the time.  

9.  Stars Upon Stars by Edyta Sitar
I'm still admiring this pattern, and I will start it one day.  

10.  Something new from Millefiori Quilts 4
There are so many beautiful quilts in this book, and can you believe Willyne is currently working on quilts for book 5!  

11. We Built This City (was Marshal by Jen Kingwell - the Quiltmania mystery quilt). 
I took a wild departure and made something new with half of the blocks from the Marshal Mystery quilt.  You can read more about it here.  I entered this quilt into Capital Quilters exhibition in October 2020 and I won two prizes for it.  

12.  Wedding Quilt

And, I've finished the wedding quilt for some friends who got married in October. You can read more about this quilt here. 

So that's 5 out of 12 quilts finished in 2020.  I'm happy with that.  Most of my quilts take more than a year to make, so I think finishing 5 of my WIPS is quite good.

Did I start anything new? Of course I did.  How could I resist the #sayyestokaffecollective challenge.  I started, and finished, Turkish Coffee from Quilts in Burano. 

13. Turkish Coffee

You can read more about this quilt here.

So, I finished 6 quilts in 2020 and I'm very happy with that. 

Be sure to check back in early January when I'll list my quilting priorities for 2021.  

My quilting priorities for 2020 (and the Peacock Party)

It's the start of a new year, so it's time to think about what I'd like to make in 2020.

I have two main quilting goals for 2020:
1.  to move away from English Paper Piecing to hand piecing with a running stitch
2.  to find a method of applique that suits me.

I'll be keeping those goals in mind as I work on these quilts below in 2020.

Here are the quilts I've already started and really want to finish in the first half of 2020:

1.  Ballet with Kaffe Fassett by Willyne Hammerstein from Millefiori Quilts 2.
See the tab at the top of my blog for all the details on this quilt (or click here).  I started this quilt in June 2017.  I'm going to finish it by hand quilting it in 2020.

2.  Glitter by Jen Kingwell
Another long term project, but again, it will be finished in 2020.  I started this quilt in a class with Jen Kingwell at the Christchurch Quilt Symposium in October 2017 so it contains lots of happy memories.  I hand pieced my blocks, and I'm now hand quilting it.  I'll share a full photo when it's finished.

3.  Cartwheel by Liza Prior Lucy for Kaffe Fassett Collective Quilt Grandeur book.  
I've started hand quilting this quilt (click here to see), but stitching along all those black lines it taking forever!! I know it's worth it though, so I'll keep going.

I've also started these quilts, but they aren't quite so high on the finishing list:

4.  Green Diamonds
This is my own way to use up some of the diamonds we cut at the Kaffe Fassett class in January 2018.  I need to baste this lap quilt and then I can quilt it.

5.  Neptune and the Mermaid - pattern is Pieces of the Past by Wendy Whellum
This was so much fun to make (click here to read more).  Now I just need to get it basted and then I will hand quilt it.

6.   Cross Country by Anna Maria Horner
I started this quilt in a class with Anna Maria Horner  just a few weeks ago in November 2019 (click here to read more).  However, I'm now on the look out for a perfect fabric for the big triangles on the sides.  I've seen some online, but they don't get released until mid 2020, so this quilt will be on hold for a while.

I've made a few changes to my plan since I left the class - I couldn't get a balance of colours that I was happy with, so I started again.

What I left the class with

What it looks like now

These are new quilts that I'd like to start in 2020:

7.  Don't Leaf Me by Wendy Williams
I have the kit, and have made a tiny start, but I would like to do more on this quilt in 2020. 

8.  Endless Summer by Anna Maria Horner
I got this kit for Christmas because I love the framed drawings by Monika Forsberg.  I'll love making this quilt.

9.  Stars Upon Stars by Edyta Sitar
I know, I say it every year. but 2020 is the year I will start this quilt.  Now I've got rubber stamps and I'm going to hand piece my quilt just like the Dutch ladies do.

10.  Something new from Millefiori Quilts 4
I can't wait to get my own copy of Willyne Hammerstein's new book.  This time I'm going to hand piece rather than English Paper Piece so that will be fun.

I tried to restrict my list to 10 things, but I really must include

11. Marshal by Jen Kingwell - the Quiltmania mystery quilt. 
I'm not going to let these pieces languish in the cupboard.  I have a plan in mind, and I want to finish this quilt in 2020.

12.  And the wedding quilt I have promised to make for some friends getting married in October.


So that's my list for 2020.  I don't expect to get them all finished in 2020, but these are the quilts that I will be working on.

What have you been up to lately?  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below and join in the Peacock Party.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter