Top 5 Posts of 2016

WOman plans, God laughs

Each year that I've blogged, my list of resolutions for the new year has become shorter and vaguer. I've realized that for me, concrete goals and the creative process are basically incompatible. This year, my resolution is three words:

1. Follow the fun.

Over at Meadow Mist Designs, Cheryl is running a linky party where bloggers can share their Top 5 Posts of 2016. This got me curious about my stats, so I had a look at the numbers. I looked at most page views, most comments, and then added my own preference to the mix. Let's count them down!

#5 -- Sunny and Derivative. This was my two cents on the whole "derivative" controversy triggered by the Modern Quilt Guild this summer. Since my blogging focus is largely on the creative process, the issue was close to home even though I don't consider myself a modern quilter.

#4 -- Allietare Red Blocks. This post ranked second by page views for the year. Allietare was my first time participating in Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery quilt. It was a challenging project, but completely worthwhile. And it's inspired me to start a few more of Bonnie's quilts as well.

#3 -- 13 Cherry Trees. This post was ranked third by page views, and the one before it was second by comments, so I've combined them into a third place overall finish. I've been both surprised and gratified by how popular this quilt has been!

FYI, I've decided to make it bigger, and a wide border has been planned.

#2 -- Little Wooly Baskets. This post is #1 in page views, with more than double the page views of the runner up Allietare. The Woolie Contingent is large! Dawn Heese's quilt along was hugely popular.

My photo of Block 2 here, with the white basting threads all over it, seemed to hit a chord with people, and it was widely pinned on Pinterest. Very flattering! For a while I was concerned that it was more popular than the finished block, but I've realized that a) readers have to wait a long time for finishes around here, and b) I am mainly writing a "process" blog anyway!

And, drum roll please...

#1 -- Gwennie Medallion Month 1. This first post in the Gwen Marston-inspired medallion quilt along is definitely number one by comments. I've rated it as my best post because I certainly value comments more, and I think it is an entertaining story about the creative process. Plus, it's all original and I love how it turned out!

2017 looks now like it will be more machine sewing and less hand sewing. But, eventually I will figure out a new, ergonomic hand sewing set up too. A more supportive chair, to start with. All those people who told me to sit up straight when I was young are laughing now!

In any case, creatively, 2016 has felt like a very good year. God willing, my plan for 2017 is more of the same!

Happy Christmas!

To round off the week I've mostly caught up on the 150 Canadian Women quilt along that is being offered by Kathryn Wilson Tucker at Next Step Designs. You can see that I have succumbed to the temptation to start fussy cutting a few of the blocks! The maple leaf batik is by Cantik batiks, a special release for Canada's 150th birthday in 2017.

I was too lazy to dig out any Christmas fabrics this week, but this red plaid is a little festive. And I am fussy cutting it again! (Brinton Hall was the first time, here.)

One of the required blocks is a basic Shoo Fly.

3 by 3...

...switch out the middle and lay down the triangles in the corners...

...sewing lines lightly marked in pencil...

...keep everything pointed the same way...

...and hey, presto! Shoo Fly block.

Editing the photo, I can see the middle row is too wide, but I'm going to leave it. The yellow and tan lines are the main thing, and the rest will vanish into the seams.

And, here's the whole next batch. I may not keep that flower on the bottom left. We'll see how it looks in the final layout!

I'm sure it would be lovely to photograph all the blocks together, this set and the previous one, but I want to avoid handling the blocks too much. It's going to be a long year.

I've realized that this is four new projects in the past month -- this one, Flamingos en Provence, Wild & Goosey, and Cheddar Broken Dishes. All queen-sized quilts, and all 100% machine pieced. Since I wrecked my back in October, I have not been able to hand stitch almost anything. The ergonomics just aren't working for me. But, I have a very good chair for the machine, and it is almost like physical therapy for my back to sit and machine sew for a couple of hours. More fun than a gym!

So all my hand stitching projects are on indefinite hold, which has taken out most of my current projects. And, I've started to think about things I could do by machine instead. Like binding for sure. And maybe applique... I even think a little free motion quilting may be doable soon. Overall, it's different, but not bad. New things to try!

Happy holidays everyone!

Indigo

After three days of work on my second new project this week, this is what I have to show. They look like they're about to fly away, don't they?

What am I making? A slightly simplified version of this...

Cheddar Broken Dishes is a vintage quilt that was included in the October 2016 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting.

I decided to make it based on some dark photos of the magazine that I saw online. There was some debate about that white sashing, but it seems clear to me that with dark beige or tan sashing the quilt will be both warm and elegant. And a cheddar quilt has also been on my list for several years now!

It turned out that in 2015 there was a "Cheddar and Indigo" fabric line from Penny Rose Studio that had all the cheddar, indigo and white fabrics I would need. Of course, I didn't stop there.

But, I did really love the warm white colour of the fabric stock. Between local and online sources I found enough of the four whites in the collection to make the whole quilt.

Most of the indigo in the collection was sold out already. I found the middle one in the clearance bin. The others are indigos from different collections.

At home I found these two in my stash.

And then, not in my stash but in an old project bag stuck in a box of old crockery, I found these treasures! They were meant to become all-indigo, hand pieced log cabins based on a project in Patchwork Tsushin. That did not happen. But, they had a quick wash and now I can't wait to see how they play in the broken dishes.

Ha! Yes, found with dishes, now to become broken dishes blocks.

I mean, seriously, look at this batik! Thank goodness I found it.

The vintage quilt in the magazine was made with 1.25" hsts, but I have enlarged them to 1.5". I have gone back to the same paper piecing method for hsts that I used for Hanami -- see here. 10 dozen are made, around 100 dozen are needed. Yes, 1200, which is less than the 1400 in the original.

Between this project and my other new project, Wild & Goosey, every level surface of my sewing area is covered in triangles. A strong wind would be a disaster! Plus, I think En Provence will finally get to the fancier triangles this week too.

I thought about starting three new projects this week, but for now, I think these two will hold me. I think I can fit in one more post before Christmas, but, if you're taking off now -- Happy Holidays!