Best of 2022

 Each year Cheryl over at Meadow Mist Designs hosts a linky party for the 'BEST of' your blog for that year! No set way to decide which are the best! It is up to you which is nice because sometimes my favorite don't get a lot of 'eyes' or comments for whatever reason. So here are my top picks:

Coming in 5th is my April 30th post revealing my Simple and Sweet baby quilt gifted to my daughter for my granddaughter, Freya! I love the colors in this quilt (chosen by my daughter) and is one of my favorites but for some reason didn't get as many views. I loved making this pattern from PenandPaperPatterns...I've made it 2 times in completely different colors!

Next in the countdown is my June 26th post revealing my daughter and son-in-laws wedding quilt! This was another fun quilt to make! At my first look at the pattern, I thought 'How does this work?' The pattern is well written and the technique is clever. My plan is to make another quilt in different colors!

Coming in 3rd is my September 22nd post revealing my Forest Friends baby quilt gifted to a close family friend expecting her first baby. This pattern is all paper pieced. I changed some of the blocks slightly and added the words which I embroidered as well as the eyes.

Coming in next is a tie, both with 12 comments. The first is a post from July 15th, revealing my Sweet Summer Strawberries quilt. This quilt is so fresh looking and makes me want to taste some sweet strawberries! 

The second post that tied is my November 6th post revealing the 1st RSC quilt from 2022 that I finished...Kaleidoscope! Many people commented on the quilting I did on this quilt!

My overall 'Best of 2022' is my November 18th blog post revealing my Squiggles quilt finish. Squiggles was a RSC quilt for 2022. I made 3 different RSC blocks/quilts during 2022 but Squiggles was always a favorite among my readers!

Thanks to all that read my blog and to the many comments! 2022 was a good year finishing 16 quilts! Besides quilting, I made many knitting projects for charity with my knitting group! I also made fabric postcards for my grandchildren, a technique I've been wanting to make for many years!

Thanks to Cheryl for hosting this party. Head on over and see what others have done this year!

Rainbow Scrap Finish!

 Yesterday I put the last stitches in the binding of my RSC quilt, Hang Ten! This is the first of 3 RSC quilts that I have been working on in 2022. 

This quilt is made with the block Hang Time my Melissa Corry @Happy Quilting. Way back in January, I mistakenly called it Hang Ten. Since I have been calling it Hang Ten every month since, I'm sticking with it! EDIT: After looking at the pictures more, I've decided to change the name to Kaleidoscope. Doesn't the quilting and the rainbow colors just remind you of looking thru a kaleidoscope?

This quilt is all machine pieced and machine quilted. The Rainbow Scrap Challenge colors are announced each month by Angela @SoScrappy through October. November and December are to add to and/or finish up your quilt in time for the new year! I added a peach and gray block to round out the number of blocks to 12. 

All the fabrics are from my scrap bins or my stash except the rose print used in the border and to extend the backing. I love that I found this backing in my stash (inherited from my mom's sewing room) that is a perfect fit for the colorful top!

I machine quilted in a swirl about 3/4" apart in each block 

overlapping the quilting into the adjacent block. 

I love the texture that was created. I straight-line 

quilted every 3/4" in the borders. 

This quilt finished at 53" x 68"

I'm linking to Scrap Happy Saturday @SoScrappy,  Off the Wall Fridays @Creations-Quilts, Art, Whatever, Linky Party @Patchwork & Quilts and Friday Foto Fun @Powered by Quilting
Linking to Favorite Finish @Meadow Mist Designs

A finish and some catching up!

 Once again I am finding myself playing catch up with my monthly obligations...like QALs and sewalongs and charity blocks. I think that maybe I over committed this year but I have a hard time NOT joining in. It leaves little time for my own designing and for sewing for my family, friends, and me.

So when I found out that a close friend's daughter was going to have a baby, I needed to get busy and make and complete a baby quilt. 

Forest animals is the theme for the baby's room and shower. So I found some paper pieced animals and trees designed by MadebyMarney on Etsy. Mary's style is unique and cute. I added the squirrel designed by Protoquilt. I did change the patterns a bit and I embroidered the eyes, noses, and other markings (instead of buttons). I added the words and designed the layout. 

The blocks are all paper pieced except for the Forest Friends which is appliqued.  The sashing and border print is a woodland animal print I found at Joann's. The backing is one piece of another woodland printed fabric. 

The animal blocks are 8" squares and the tree block is 12" square.

I quilted with a stipple across the quilt being careful not to sew over the embroidered features. The quilt finishes at 37" x 40". 

                                     I hope mama and baby like it!                                            Linking to Favorite Monthly Finish @Meadow Mist Designs.

In August, I participated in the #30daysofimprovqal on Instagram. This was the 2nd year. Each week there is a shape that was the focus: stripes, polygons, triangles, and curves. On 5 days of the week a new prompt was announced to help you make your block. All the fabric that I used was from my stash. The last week focused on composition. At first I thought I would do a more traditional layout giving each block its own space. But the more I looked at it hanging on my design wall, I wasn't satisfied. I ripped it all out and began rearranging, adding and stitching it back together. This is how it turned out. 

I straight line quilted every 1/2" from the top to the bottom. 

I added corners for hanging. 

This quilt finishes at 27" x 31.5" This quilt is gifted to a friend.

It is now nearing the end of September and I just got started on light blue for my RSC blocks. They came together pretty quickly.

Hang Ten in blue and all nine colors.

Squiggle in blue and all 9 colors

And my 3rd RSC block in blue and all nine colors

I'll keep working and hopefully will be ready to go before October comes. I got a few more things to catch up on!

August: Vacation, Quilting and the End of Summer

 My husband and I were able to get away for a fabulous and much needed vacation to Colorado. We spent time relaxing, hiking and sightseeing! There is no end to the beauty of the mountains! To see pictures from my vacation you can visit me on Instagram or Facebook. Here a taste of the beauty!

Since I knew that I would be away for the start of the #30daysofimprovqal, I worked ahead so I could post on IG. The first week of the challenge was stripes. The goal is 5 blocks each week made using the daily prompts and improv cutting and sewing. 

Week 2 was playing with polygons

Now that I'm home, Week 3 has been completed but I will save those for another post. 

I also worked ahead on my RSC blocks! August color is ORANGE!

I'm linking to Scrap Happy Saturday @So Scrappy

I brought my 4 New York Beauty blocks that I finished with me to Colorado to do a photoshoot 'in the wild'. These blocks were designed by Elizabeth Eastman of OP Quilt and were free on her blog. I always wanted to try some New York Beauty blocks and this was a great opportunity to get started! I love them!

On our way home, we made a stop in Hamilton, MO....Quilt Town USA! I would guess that every quilter has heard of the Missouri Star Quilt Co. and Jenny Doan. I had never had the chance to actual go and visit. Here are a few glimpses from the town.

My husband is a good sport and supporter of my quilting! ✂️

Since this post is getting so long, I'll be back with what I have done since coming home to catch up! 😉

Purple sewing for RSC

           July's color for the RSC is purple! After I finished my Sweet Summer Strawberry quilt, I had time to pull out my purple scraps and work on my RSC blocks. 

My Hang Ten block and the bonus Squiggle blocks in purple delight!

And my gray and color of the month block (no name) in purple. 

I'm linking up to Scrap Happy Saturday @So Scrappy. 

I also finished 31 9-patch blocks in red/white for the Oh Say Can You Sew QAL.

I'm linking to Off The Wall Fridays @Creations-Quilts, Art, Whatever, Finished or Not Fridays @Alycia Quilts, Linky Party @Patchwork and Quilts, Friday Foto Fun @Powered by Quilting, TGIFF@Lisa in Port Hope.

It is time for the next mystery QAL with Meadow Mist Designs, Melodic Mystery. Cheryl sent out fabric instructions for July. This is my fabric pull. I decided to go with Christmas fabric since I have so much it wouldn't required a fabric purchase! 🤣

               I also decided to pull out a WIP that I had put aside for a while.                  Not quite a flimsy yet but I'm hopefully that it will be soon!

What are you working on?