Best of 2021 Linky Party

As the year is coming to a close, Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs is again hosting the annual 'Best of...' Linky Party.

I decided to feature my favourite finishes for the year. Just going through my blog I was quite amazed of how many finishes I had. Definitely better than the year before...hope this continues in 2022. There were lots of favourites, in fact anything I work on seems to become a favourite and it was really hard to choose.

However, starting in the beginning of 2021, here are some of my favourite finishes

1. The Stretched Star quilt

I made this pattern for my Etsy shop and this was the beginning of a very intensive period of time where I worked on increasing my inventory. I loved making this quilt...it contains my favourite block, the Duck Track block, and has lots of empty space to fill with quilting designs. I used a small star ruler, putting some stars just randomly onto the quilt and then going around the border making a continuous star pattern. This was lots of fun.

2. The Maple Leaf Table Runner

This was on my list to do for a very long time and I finally managed to put it together this year. Would like to make it again...comes together very quickly and looks great with an overall woodgrain design.

3. The Wooden Blocks quilt

An experiment in bold colours, also for my Etsy shop. A super easy fun quilt to make.

4. The Cassowary

I did an online course with textile artist, Sofie Standing, learning about thread painting. That was an adventure and a half...sometimes I was really not sure whether I would be able to do this but in the end it all came together and the bird looks great! Lots of very anxious moments with this project.

5. A Year of Stars with Natalia Bonner

This was a year long quilt along that I finished (the quilting) some time in June/July. I put the binding on just recently to finish it off. This quiltalong was all about ruler work and was immensely enjoyable. Went a bit overboard with the background quilting in the sashings and border, but looks fantastic!

Hoping that 2022 will be as productive as this year...I think the key for me this year was that I worked to a definite plan and a structure to follow. That seems to work for me really well. If I just leave things open I tend to trail off into the sunset often starting several things at once, depending on when inspiration strikes.

Linking up to Meadow Mist Designs for the Best of 2021 Linky Party.

Karin

Best of 2019

Cheryl from Meadow Mist Designs is hosting the Best of 2019 Linky Party. Going through the blog posts of the year, here are 5 of my favourites. If you want to read more about the quilts, just click on the heading for each quilt to be taken to the blog post.

1. Pastel Baby Quilt

I loved making this quilt...particularly mthe making of the scrappy backing. Used up most of my Fat Quarter bundle for this quilt

...and the back

2. HST Quilt

Made two of those to be gifted to newly arrived twins. This is the citrus version

3. The Funky Bird Quilt

One of my favourites...a bit work intensive, but so worthwhile in the end. The block used in this quilt is the Fancy Foot block which is an old and almost forgotten block...suited the birds perfectly

4. Festival of Quilts 2019

My entry to the Festival of Quilts 2019. This was a slightly insane idea and I had a definite vision of this in my head when I started. The end result came close and it got me third place in the 'Other' category of the show.

5. The Fox Quilt

Another of my absolute favourites...Elizabeth Hartman's Fancy Fox Quilt. I so enjoyed making this quilt. Every time I pieced a face, as soon as the eyes were included I could see their cute little faces...I used my favourite Shannon Brinkley Dryad range fabric for this and have lots left over for another one. This is definitely on the list for the new year.

Linking up to the Best of 2019 Linky Party. Click on the image below to be taken to the Linky Party and check out the the amazing quilts on show. Just stunning!

Karin

First Finish For The 2019 Finish-A-Long Fourth Quarter

My latest baby quilt is finished!

This is the first finish from my (last) 2019 Finish Along goal list. You can find the information about the 2019 Finish-A- Long on  Leanne's blog She Can Quilt. There you will find more detail on how this link up works and also find the list of bloggers who are hosting this great event. The link up for this quarter opens on 1st January 2020.

The quilt measures 36.5 x 43in and is made out of a Charm Square pack called 'Corner of 5th and Fun' by Sandy Gervais for Moda Fabrics.

I had some fun quilting this on my Sweet16 stitching simple arcs combined with the Ribbon Candy design in the sashing.

I used one of the Pro Echo Arcs for the squares and then moved across the quilt from side to side stitching some echo lines in the sashing traveling along the ditch to keep it continuous. This worked quite well. At first I lightly drew in the Ribbon Candy in the smaller sashing, however found that it was easier for me to stitch the design without any marking. Somehow I was more consistent if I had just the white fabric in front of me.

Now onto the next project...almost done, just need to sew on the binding.

For now I am adding my project to the Favorite Finish Monthly Link-up hosted by Meadow Mist Designs. Don't often have a finish that coincides with this link-up.

Linking up to the 2019 Finish-A-Long over at Marci Girl Designs

Karin

Best Of 2016 Linky Party

Meadow Mist Designs is running a Best of 2016 Linky party. There are several options but I think I will simply go for my favourites and a bit of an overview of the year.

My year has been very successful overall. I decided early in the year to participate in the FAL 2016 and that got me going on my outstanding projects. Here is the first finish for the year

Cindy Needham's stencils had arrived over Christmas and I was off playing with them which actually continued for the rest of the year. As many of you would know if you read my blog, I spend about 70% of my time researching, trying new things, playing with gadgets and generally expanding my skill level and knowledge...often with very little to show for it as I get so easily sidetracked 😁

Started on my Wholecloth...and incorporated the stencils into that...this project took about 5 months to complete.

In the meantime I finished a project very close to my heart from 2012, a quilt I used during Leah Day's Freemotion Quilting Wednesday...this is where the obsession started with FMQ. I only had the binding left to complete and while the FMQ is nowhere near the level it is at now, there was something really special about finishing this off. Love this quilt!

The Mandala came next. I completed the Mandala using Cindy Needham's stencils to design and draft the Mandala (this took me ages to do!!!). The Mandala was for a challenge that the SA Quilter's guild had set. It turned out great, except in retrospect I had wished I had used lighter thread to make the stitching more pronounced.

The highlight of the year came next for me. Total surprise....my Wholecloth did win First Place in the Small Quilts category. I was so impressed with this, considering that I completed this Wholecloth as a bit of a practice challenge to myself. While the quilt took many months to complete and looks somewhat crazy in terms of the intensity of the stitching, I must say, this was one of the most relaxing projects I had done in a while.

Recently also completed the quilt below. Not my favourite, but a nice design overall. I used Cindy Needham's Ultimate Shape to complete the quilting and duly got sidetracked into experimenting with those stencils.

Below is my absolute favourite quilt for the year. Designed by Shannon Brinkley and called 'Drifting Leaves'. I had won the fabric and the Aurifil thread...really enjoyed the quilt and the quality of the fabric...a joy to complete. To spice things up a bit I decided to quilt wavy lines allover, something I had wanted to try for a while. This was not FMQ, but done with one of the machine stitches...had a lot of fun doing this and it turned out absolutely great.

 Apart from all this, I spent hours designing...

...and recently also worked out how to draw on my Ipad.

As you can see I do jump all over the place...there are just too many things to explore and try out and my passion is FMQ.

Next post will be about my new Ruler foot 😆 It's a wonder I get anything finished actually.

Plans for the new year...hmm...2 Wholecloth quilts! Should be interesting to see what happens with my plans. Maybe my word for the new year should be 'Focus'. Nah...

Wishing all a Very Happy and Creative New Year!

Karin