This is a good week to reflect on 2017 and make some goals for 2018. Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs has a fun Linky Party to capture your Best of 2017, so I think I’ll use that as an excuse to look back.
1. In terms of most comments, most views, and my favorite finish, my Splendid Sampler quilt fits all the categories. I posted about it here when I finished it, and here for the Bloggers Quilt Festival and both posts yielded many kind comments. This quilt was a lot of work, but I really enjoyed making it and especially quilting it. It is now hanging behind my long arm and I love looking at it.
2. My proudest finish was Modern Sugar, which was my version of the Sugar Block Club 3.0 (2016) BOM (here is the post). This was the first ‘real’ quilt (meaning quilt I really cared about) that I quilted on my long arm. It came out really great, and eventually won a first place ribbon and Best Modern Quilt at the New Mexico State Fair.
3. Most fun quilt was Dwight and Rudolph – my version of Elizabeth Hartman’s Dwight the Deer pattern (posted here). I used Christmas colors for the backgrounds and made deer with a red nose to make a Rudolph. I also got a lot of really nice comments on this post. I love these critter patterns and have a Hazel the Hedgehog quilt in the works now!
4. Biggest learnings – I think I’ll split this into two learnings…
so 4a. Learning to long arm. I bought my long arm in November 2016, so my one big goal for 2017 was to learn to use my long arm and get comfortable with it. At the end of 2017, I can say that I love my long arm and wish I’d bought it a long time ago. I posted my thoughts on buying a long arm here, and this is Drunken Blueberry, my most recent finish, on which I did a lot of cool free motion and ruler work that I couldn’t have imagined I would be doing a year ago.
and 4b. Be Social! In looking through all of my 2017 posts, the ones that had the most views and comments were ones that I linked up to Linky Parties. I had been participating in the Finish-A-Long (FAL) Linkies, but this year I joined up with Sunday Stash, Wednesday Wait-loss, and Let’s Bee Social. I also was part of a Bee for the first time (Bee Inspired – check out our blog here), which I loved. I will try to be even more social in 2018.
It was a good year and I’m proud of all the progress I made and finishes I completed. Here’s to an even better 2018!
Linking up with Cheryl’s Best of 2017 Linky Party
Great favorites from 2017, your sample quilt is spectacular! Happy New Year and thanks for linking up!
Hi Cheryl,thanks so much for stopping by, your comment, and for hosting the Linky Party. I enjoyed talking a bit of time to look back on the year, so thank you for the opportunity!
The sample quilt is stunning and totally deserving of all the comments you said you’ve already received! I also just read your post from November about your long arm and it was really insightful! I dream of having a long arm someday…we’ll see!
Hi Sarah, thank you so much for your kind comment. Also thanks for checking out my long arm post – I’m glad you found it useful. I do really wish I’d bought the thing earlier. I love it, and it makes quilting just so much easier. But it is a big commitment, both in space and in money! I hope you can get one soon. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have a great New Year.
You definitely some fun “bests” for 2017. I love the reindeer quilt the most, but all your finishes turned out beautifully. Wishing you a very productive and happy New Year.
Thanks for your kind words. I really like the Deer Quilt too – it was fun to do. Wishing you a great New Year as well, and here’s hoping you get a lot of time to sew!
Love your Drunken Blueberry! This is a great modern interpretation of a classic block! The quilting really finishes it off beautifully!
I love your modern interpretation of the Drunkard’s Path block! And the quilting is fabulous too!
Thank you so much for your kind words. I’ve always really liked circles in quilts, so I enjoyed doing this Drunkard’s Path. I had a lot of fun figuring out how to quilt it, then playing with a lot of different rulers, so I was really happy with how it came out.
Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a very Happy New Year!
WOW!!!
Aww, thank you! And Happy New Year!
You have included some wonderful quilts Ann, I especially love Modern Sugar, and who couldn’t adore Dwight and Rudolph? Congratulations on a great year.
Thanks so much for stopping by and for your kind words – those two are two of my favorites too. Dwight and his glasses are so much fun. I’m looking forward to another great year with our bee! Happy New Year!
Gorgeous quilts and fabulous quilting. You had a year to inspire us all! Love love love Dwight the deer!
Thank you! I came a long way with my quilting last year and I’m really happy with the results. I will say I didn’t feel like I was having a very inspiring year, but looking back is always fun and rewarding (and surprising!).
Thanks so much for stopping by, and Happy New Year!