Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Midweek Makers and Stitching Resolutions

Welcome to Midweek Makers and the 2021 My Stitching Resolution blog hop!

It's a combo post today, as I can't resist a good blog hop! Plus, it's a great follow up post to my 2020 Quilt Review, with more detail of what I want to accomplish this year. So, first we'll visit the Stitching Resolution Blog Hop, hosted by Carla of Creatin' In the Sticks.

I already touched on more block and quilt patterns, which is definitely a year's long commitment. I also plan to participate in RSC2021 (the Jan color is pink), plus blog hops, as I find the themes to be very inspirational.

As for real stitching, there are two UFO's that I would really like to finish this year.

This one, with hexie flowers,

with an unknown setting at this time, and putting these blocks together from the Growing Up quilt-along that was started in 2017.

Last, but not least, I think I'll be selling off some of my stash whenever I can get around to sorting it. Time to freshen up!

So, I think that's enough resolutions to last me awhile. Do take a look to see what these other quilters are resolving to do this year - you may be inspired!

Now for Midweek Makers. Two quilts really caught my eye last week, probably because of the bright colors: this quilt, in-progress, from Songbird Designs,

and this lovely cardinal and his house from Quilting and Learning.

With the busy holiday season, do you have any shares this week?

please link directly to your post
please link a quilt related project
visit and spread some comment love

Have fun!

Monday, December 28, 2020

2020 Quilt Review

The year is drawing to a close, and as with most years, it's a chance to reflect. We all want to desperately forget this year, so I won't spend time dwelling on the things we cannot change. Instead, I'm focusing upon my quilting accomplishments of the year and celebrating the achievements.

New Followers

The most exciting news of the year is how man quilters have found my little blog and become part of my quilting family. I'm excited to share my love of quilting with so many people, and plan to continue to do my best to share my knowledge. Thank you for following!

2020 Popular Posts

Highlight posts from this year include the following, based upon category. Of all the posts listing free patterns, the most viewed is Free Heart Quilt Patterns,

which is also just in time for this year's Valentine's Day. I'll work on a follow-up post for this year to rival it!

In the tutorial category, 2020's most viewed tutorial was the DIY Sewing Table made from an Ikea Ingo table.

sewing machine set into an Ikea Ingo table

Sewing machines got pulled out of the closet this year, and placed into more accommodating surroundings versus plopped on the dining room table. And this post helped everyone do just that.

And the most viewed 2020 pattern was Gnome for the Holidays,

red gnome next to a beige snow covered house and wonky pine trees

with an adorable Santa-like gnome, his festive home, and wonky, snow-covered trees. Definitely one of my favorites this year!

QuiltFabrication Firsts

2020 was also a year of firsts for me. I managed to start and finish a quilt for RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) with the lap size Pinwheel Parade. To actually commit to the full year was truly a first! It's also a free pattern.

This year I've also created several quilt blocks, and I plan on continuing this year too, along with more complete quilt patterns.

Those are the highlights from this year - I hope you've enjoyed this look back! It certainly was a busy one, and I look forward to what 2021 beholds.

Happy Quilting!

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My Favorite Patterns

Friday, December 25, 2020

Merry Christmas!

Santa,

Rudolph,

and Santa's Helper,

black and white puppy in a box at a christmas tree

all wish you a joyful holiday season!

My Favorite Patterns

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Midweek Makers

Welcome to Midweek Makers!

My share today is spreading the word about some upcoming quilting fun. The first is the 2021 My Stitching Resolution Hop on December 30, hosted by Carla of Creatin' in the Sticks. It's time we all start to think about what to accomplish next year, whether a new skill, more quilts, or anything you desire.

The second quilting fun is the Hearts on Fire Blog Hop, hosted by Carol of Just Let Me Quilt. This one runs January 18 -22 with a theme of hearts in any color but red. Sounds like a challenge, right?

The third bit of quilting fun is a Stay At Home Round Robin quilt-along, hosted by Quilting Gail. I certainly enjoyed last year's event, and when Gail asked if I would be interested in doing it again, I didn't hesitate to say yes!

Staring January 18, each week participants are told the quilt block to use for that round. It's up to the quilter to decide size, coloring, and layout. Yes, it's a challenge but the rewards are worth it! Feel free to check out my two round robin quilts from last year, and make room on your schedule to join in this year.

And with just a few more days to enjoy red and green, let's look at these Christmas themed projects seen last week.

From Not Afraid of Color, these Santa sleigh UFO she's trying to finish up,

from I - completely without make-up, a last minute gift of trees,

and from Bell Creek Quilts, a pillow makeover for Christmas.

What's your share today? Come link up!

please link directly to your post
please link a quilt related project
visit and leave some love with the others

Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 21, 2020

Giveaway Day!

To keep up with the magic of the Christmas season, today is a giveaway of three outstanding quilt books!

To spread the joy around, there are three separate giveaways, one winner for each book. Entering starts today and concludes Wednesday, Dec 23 at midnight, so those special books can go in the mail before Christmas. Amazon links are provided for further information about each book.

Let's have a look at the quilt book giveaway offerings.

Giveaway 1

First up is the brilliance of Gemstone Quilts by MJ Kinman (affiliate link).

One of her most stunning pieces is 'Makers Flame', an absolutely beautiful quilt made for the Makers Mark Distillery.

makers flame orange gemstone quilt hanging

The first portion of the book dives deeply into design principles and image manipulation to best show off a gem, then moves on to construction techniques with plenty of tips and tricks along the way. There's plenty to learn here beyond making a gemstone quilt!

Enter to win the Gemstone Quilts book by answering a few simple questions.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway 2

Next, with it being the season of stars, how about Barbara Cline's Diamond Star Quilts book? (affiliate link)

a blue with red accents diamond star quilt

There are some absolute beauties in this book, starting with those having easy construction to those with more complexity. Overall, there are 12 projects, grouped into five categories based on the technique used. Though there is a Christmas Cactus quilt, I personally think the Spiky Desert Rose would look beautiful hanging at this time of year.

red and green desert rose on a black background

Enter below to win the Diamond Star Quilts book.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway 3

Christmas is often deemed a magical season. How about sewing some magic with Mary Hertel's Sew Magical book? (affiliate link)

Composed of full sized paper piecing patterns for mermaids, dragons, unicorns and more, Mary's book has adorable designs to make everyone smile! There's even a gnome - I told you they were popular this year!

Enter the giveaway below for Sew Magical.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone and Merry Christmas!

My Favorite Patterns

Friday, December 18, 2020

More FREE Christmas Tree Patterns

Last year's list of FREE Christmas tree quilt patterns is still quite the hit, so I thought I'd add to it with a few more.

Though Christmas is soon upon us, there's no reason why these patterns can't be tucked away for next year. And to get a jump on things, think Christmas in July!

Check out the original list of FREE Christmas Tree patterns, and then save your favorites from here.

From The Fat Quarter Shop, the Charming Christmas.