2011 Review

I've quite enjoyed other blogger's overview of their year.  I decided to do my own and was pleased to see that I accomplished quite a lot.  I find it so easy to be so overwhelmed by the "to do" list that I don't appreciate the "done" list.  My thanks to all of you who inspired me, challenged me, left kind messages, encouraged me to try new things, and made me feel accountable so that I actually got things done.

I had 4 HUGE finishes that included a lot of hand-work.  The Big Ass Cat was hand appliqued and hand quilted with machine quilted leaves and branches.  The Joseph's Coat was hand appliqued and hand quilted. The Shop Hop quilt included hand applique as well as machine piecing and machine quilting.  The Lime & Blue Crazy was machine pieced but all the embroidery is by hand.

Also on the finished list was the "Blue Lemonade" machine pieced & quilted pinwheel.  My very first improv pieced quilt is known as either Broken Glass or Melting Ice, depending upon my mood and the lighting.  Nadine was hand pieced (yea, crazy right?) then each block quilted using a variety of techniques including hand quilting, big stitch quilting, walking foot & free motion quilting (FMQ).  The purple star baby quilt was the first full size (not block at a time) that I completed using FMQ on my home machine.

There are several tops still awaiting quilting that are noteworthy even though they aren't finished.  The Mayan Heron is reverse appliqued using a "top basting" technique and needle turn applique.  The Ojibwe Beadwork  Inspiration quilt is one of my oldest UFO's.  I'm practicing my FMQ so I have the confidence to do this one myself with highly contrasting red, yellow & green thread.  The QR code is for this blog's address and I'd like to finish in time for this summer's quilt show season.  The Double Wedding Ring is in the process of being quilted.  I keep changing my mind on how I'm quilting  (geometric or swirly) the Groom's quilt that goes with it, but it will be machine quilted.

I made the Oingo Boingo Bowling Shirt from fabric I won from a quilt blog.  I felt so badly that I was not progressing with the hexi quilt for Rita that I made her a matching pillow from the scraps and sent it as a down payment on the quilt.  I made a diaper bag with extra zipper pouches to go with the purple star baby quilt.

I supported other quilters by buying hand dyed fabrics, commissioning a series of  drawings on fabric,  and a custom design purse.

I learned to free motion quilt on my machine.

I supported 31 fabric shops in Idaho, Oregon & Utah.  Yes - fabric is a line item in the budget.

I took a batik class.

I attended Quilt Market.

2011 has been a very good quilt year.