Monday, December 26, 2016

End of Year Quilt Review

Every year I take a deep breath and do a quilt activity review to see what I accomplished. I had so many good intentions at the beginning of the year, but what did I actually put my energy into? One of the benefits of writing a blog is that I can easily review what I accomplished by scrolling through the posts. I like to review what kinds of projects I started, what was I inspired by, which of my projects I finished, what I enjoyed the most, and want kinds of quilty activities I want to do more of in 2017.

I had 11 finishes in 2016:



#1) a mini paper pieced quilt from 100 Blocks magazine 







#2) a quilt-as-you-go bed quilt called Swoon (started in 2012)















#3) a hand quilted quilt made from bowtie swap blocks (started in 2015)














#4) a shop hop quilt from 2014








#5) my last Scrap Squad quilt from Quiltmaker magazine













#6) a 2013 quiltalong from Fat Quarter Shop called Deckade the Halls 









#7) a mystery quiltalong from Temecula Quilts called Circa 2016. I made this quilt from start to finish in 2016!








#8 #9 #10 and #11 are the mini Christmas trees that were given as Christmas gifts.


I guess it's not a terrible showing, but it's certainly not the 20 finishes that I had last year! Honestly, what did I do with all my time this year?!?  LOL! 
One thing I notice is that I make larger, more labour intensive quilts with complex piecing than I used to. And because I mostly do all my own hand and machine quilting, my projects take a while (years!) to finish some times. 
Some ideas for next year include more paper piecing, using my collection of 100 blocks magazines for inspiration and patterns, more hand stitching, more liberated/improv piecing, and of course joining in on the usual mystery quilts and quiltalongs that pop up on the websites I visit regularly. 
My next post will be the dreaded annual UFO assessment!
Linking up today with the Best of 2016 party over at Meadow Mist Designs.

29 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

great job throughout the year and a lot of finishes - i need to do up a post this year of my finishes too

Vroomans' Quilts said...

You did a lovely job in 2016 and such a gracious host for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Peggyinno said...

It was great to revisit all your finishes! What an accomplishment! Looking forward to see what you will tackle in 2017!!

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

Larger quilts do take considerably more time and effort to finish. I think your finishes this year are lovely! I hope you have a great last week of 2016 and wonderful 2017.

Jeanna said...

You accomplished some very lovely finishes this year. I also participated in the FQS sew-along Deckade the Halls. (I thought it was 2014, boy where does the time go?!?)

My UFO list is out of control...I may just ignore it LOL.

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Nice finishes!

Danice G said...

Oh they are all so pretty. Most of us do have many UFO's, lol. Looks like you had a really productive year.

Angie in SoCal said...

So many wonderful projects! This would be a good topic for a linky party. Thanks for sharing, Kathy. God's blessings in the coming New Year.

Kathy S. said...

Beautiful finishes. I especially love the bow tie quilt. I followed you every week with Sunday Slow Stitching. I also love the Temecula mystery quilt. What a gem. Have a great 2017! Can't wait to see what you are working on next.

Jan @Cocoa Quilts said...

Your finishes are beautiful. Love the Christmas trees. May need to do a few of them for gifts next year

Missy Shay said...

Congratulations on all of your finishes!

Mary said...

That's almost one finish per month. No need to feel sorry for not finishing more. There's always next year.

Karen said...

The Circa quilt is my favorite. It can come live at my house any day.

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

Give yourself a break, hand quilting is labor intensive and time consuming. You did a lot this year! Such beautiful quilts, great work!

Barb said...

congratulations on a fabulous creative year!!

Cheryl said...

You had such a wonderful and productive year, I can't wait to see what you post in 2017. Thanks for linking up to the Best of 2016 linky party!

Sarah said...

You had a very productive year and maybe not as many as last year but some real beauties! Thanks for hosting the slow Sunday stitching over the past year it has certainly helped me focus on my hand sewing which I've enjoyed hugely. Here's to a productive 2017!

Jayne said...

It's fun looking back! And it does seem like time flies by and you wonder what the heck have I done all year!

Slice of Pi said...

What a great year of finishes! I've set a goal the past couple years that I think you might like. Next year is 17 quilts in 2017!

audrey said...

So many great quilts! It's so fascinating to look at the whole roundup! Looking forward to your UFO assessment.:)

Kate said...

Eleven finishes is nothing to sneeze at, a really great job! You've always got fun and gorgeous quilts to show for your efforts. Have a great 2017!

The Crafty Creek said...

Gorgeous quilts!I think 11 finishes is alot :-)

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

Beautiful quilts! Love the Swoon and the Bow Ties. The Christmas tree will be one you can enjoy every Christmas

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

There are lots of beautiful finishes here and yes you have alot in the works as well ! :)

Kevin the Quilter said...

What a beautifully productive year for you! Gorgeous works of art! Congrats!

Teresa said...

Lots of lovely finishes

Doniene said...

What absolutely wonderfully beautiful finishes! Grand job!

Blessings for the New Year!

Judy @ Sew Some Sunshine said...

Love your swoon quilt, yellow is my favorite, the colors work so well!

Lisa J. said...

Awesome Kathy. You accomplished so much.