2017 Quilt Finishes

I wanted to collect my finished objects for the year. I have included only quilt finishes in this post. I've only included projects I pieced and quilted.

January

In January I finished this quilt for a friend. It was a long trek to get it finished, but it was finished. You can learn more about this quilt in a post from January.

February

Hocus Pocus was a quilt I designed, pieced, and quilted in February. It was challenging but I think it turned out great. If I design another medallion quilt I will do things differently but that doesn't diminish my love for this quilt. You can learn more about this quilt in a post from February.

I also finished Vivid Pink in February. This was made using the graphic black and white print from a fabric challenge I thought I would participate in.

March

I finished this fun holiday print quilt in March. I have so many charm packs it is nice to get some of them off the shelves and into a quilt. I call this one Reindeer Games. You can learn more about this quilt in a post from March.

April

This is by far one of my favorite finishes of 2017. I call it you can't take the sky from me. If you are a Firefly fan, or even a Joss Whedon fan, you likely know what this means. You can learn more about this quilt in a post from April.

May
It seems I didn't finish a quilt in May. Perhaps I was too exhausted from the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.

June

Countdown to Christmas was another finish this year. I'll get these holiday prints out of my studio in finished quilt form and vow to not buy any more. You can learn more about this quilt in a post from June.

July

In July I finished Increased By a quilt I designed using a vintage block to give to one of my high school friends on the occasion of her wedding. This project got in front of everything else for July, but I don't mind. You can learn more about this quilt in a post from July.

I also finished up Pieced Love in July. You can learn more about this quilt in a post from July.

August

In August I put together several of the Row by Row kits I picked up in California in July. They may not quite qualify as a quilt, but I did assemble several rows.

September

Sadly, I did not finish a quilt in September. I did get around to quilting my En Provence, though. You can learn more about this quilt in a post from September.

October

Early in October I finished this fun little quilt called Zombie Jamboree. You can learn more about this quilt in this post from October.

I also finished the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt from last winter, En Provence. You can find more information in this post from October. Machine-finished binding is my friend.

November

In November, I finished two quilt tops. The first was this one using 1930s reproduction fabrics. You can find more information in this post from November.

The second was this great scrappy quilt I pieced during the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild annual retreat. You can find more information in this post from November. And this one was finished in December.

December

Quilted and bound in December! You can learn more about this quilt in this post from December.

It seems I blogged about ten or eleven quilt finishes for the year. Still a respectable year. I'll be putting my 2018 list together over the holiday weekend. I'm sure I can be just as productive in 2018. I hope your 2017 was a good year filled with the things you enjoy doing. I hope next year is filled with joy.

Knitting Update: Tilted Cowl

Since we took a trip to Las Vegas to get re-married by Elvis I needed a travel knitting project. I spent entirely too much time going through my Ravelry library trying to find something that would be a good travel project. I finally settled on the Titled Cowl (pattern available on Ravelry). This was originally a mystery knit along, but I didn't find the time to cast on during the mystery. I decided it would be a good use of these two balls of Knit Picks Chroma Twist, fingering weight.

I cast on at the gate waiting for our first flight. 

By the time we boarded I was well on my way. 

Somewhere over the middle of the country I finished the first section.

Then joined in the round to work section 2. 

I didn't plan for this section to be this subtle, 

You almost can't see the single row striping in this section. 

On the return flight I started working on section 3. Now the color is shifting through my second ball of yarn. The gradual stripes are perfect for this pattern. This will be my carrying around project for a while until I finish it. Working with Chroma Twist makes me think I should pick up some Chroma Twist Bulky. I bet the hats would be amazing!

Pattern: Tilted Cowl by Jenny F
Yarn: Knit Picks Chroma Twist Fingering
Needles: Knitter's Pride 4/3.5mm Dreamz Fixed Circular Needles, 32"

Mystery Quilt: On Ringo Lake

Time for part 5!

I've participated in the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt a few years now. Check out my posts for clue #1, clue #2, clue #3, and clue #4. You'll also find links to the link party Bonnie hosts each week at the bottom of each post. My goal is to post a update every Monday so I can link up with the weekly link party. This week, the link up won't be posted until Tuesday to allow for the holiday. 

This week was a repeat of clue number 2 with different colors. I'm working with different colors than Bonnie, so if you're using her colors please, please don't make your geese like mine. I cut what seemed like a thousand pieces.

Then, I sewed and sewed. I finished the first flight of geese on Saturday. I cut my geese using the Easy Angle and the Companion Angle. These are great tools for making geese accurately. I admit, I do trim a little after assembly, but very little and I blame the quilter, not the tools, for that little bit of waste.

I trim with the Wing Clipper to cut off the dog ears and make sure everything is square. This is the waste from all that trimming of imperfect units. I don't aim for perfect. I aim for a quilt. 

The second flight of geese is ready!

Cutting tools: Wrights 4.5" Easy Angle, Wrights Companion Angle, and Deb Tucker's Wing Clipper II

Linking up with Bonnie's link-party. Check out her post On Ringo Lake Mystery Tuesday Link-Up, Part 5 (link will be active when I get a chance to link it up) to see all the other links people are sharing. Hundreds of quilters link up to share their progress.

White Elephant

Every year where I work, they have a holiday gift exchange. It is one of those things where everyone buys a gift for about $20, wraps it up, and then the fun begins. Last year, I brought a Squatty Potty as it was a useful and fun gift. I was a little concerned when someone else brought one, too. Then, I realized how in demand the Squatty Potty really was. Much fun was had by all.

My rule for these things is I bring a gift I wouldn't mind taking home. This means that I'm not buying a chia pet, or a Santa on a motorcycle. This year I went with the Cuisinart Knife Set. I have the printed set and love them. I use the smallest knife almost daily. This means that if I end up going home with my own gift I'll call that a win.

I was going to make a box and wrap it up with some plain brown paper, but while I was making the box (from another box) I decided I should just grab my Sharpies and get to doodling.

After the box was taped up it was good enough for gifting.

Also included in that amazing box is an apron with the perfect machine embroidery design. The design is from Urban Threads Embroidery.

If you want to try a gift swap with your group of friends at work or at home, check out one set of rules from the Official White Elephant Rules website.

Getting Married Again

I'm terribly sorry. I won't be able to post about crafty things today. Today is the day I get married the same guy I've been married to for the last 30 years. Again.

Here is my stylish (from 1987) veil from the first day of this adventure. Those fake flowers have held up rather nicely.

So far, the forever part seems to be working out.

I'm sure there will be something crafty for you to look at on Friday.

Mystery Quilt: On Ringo Lake

Time for part 4!

I've participated in the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt a few years now. Check out my posts for clue #1, clue #2, and clue #3. You'll also find links to the link party Bonnie hosts each week at the bottom of each post. I was a little behind before the weekend but I managed to catch up. This isn't a race, though. There are people still working on Orca Bay (that pattern can be found in Bonnie Hunter's book String Fling). My goal is to post a update every Monday so I can link up with the weekly link party. 

So many tiny pieces! Head over to Bonnie's blog for all the details on how to cut, sew and press these units. 

These went pretty quick after I worked through clue #3. That one was a challenge. I may have to add these units to some half-square triangle blocks and see how I can work them into a design. They are really easy to do accurately with the right tools. 

I can now add these to the bin with the rest of clues. I always feel like we're making great progress when the bin starts filling up. 

Cutting tools: Wrights 4.5" Easy Angle and Creative Grids 6.5" Square

Linking up with Bonnie's link-party. Check out her post On Ringo Lake Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 4 (link will be active when I get a chance to link it up) to see all the other links people are sharing. Hundreds of quilters link up to share their progress.

Royally Striped Update

I'm still making slow progress on my Royally Striped sweater. I finished the bottom edge in this fun orange.

Then I picked up to knit about a million stitches across the top edge for the collar.

I'll be working on this section for a while.

After that, I just need to bind off with an i-cord edging. I don't know that I'll get it done by the end of the year. I'm sure I'll finish before spring, though. It looks a little lumpy with the live stitches on a cable to wait for the i-cord.

Pattern: Royally Striped by Stephen West availble for digital download on Ravelry
Needles: Knit Picks Options Interchangeable Nickel Plated Circular Knitting Needle Set
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted (available in over 40 colors)

Sparkle - A Scrap Quilt Finish

Last month I shared a scrappy quilt I made during the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild annual retreat.

I got back to work on it. I loaded up my backing, batting and quilt top. Basted it on the frame and got quilting.

I had planned on using several quilting motifs, but mostly it ended up just being a bunch of swirls. I like swirls.

I also planned on using several colors of thread. I ended up using only two colors. A somewhat mustard color that blended with the borders and white for the big white section.

Some feathers made there way into the quilting, too. Not many, but a few.

The backing isn't as dark as this makes it look. The lighting is what one would expect from gloomy winter days and early sunsets.

After about a week, I finished the quilting. Working it in an hour or so a night after work is really a challenge.

Quilted and bound! See how the white spot looks like an explosion? That turned out better than I thought it might.

The bin for 4.5" squares is running low. It might be a long time before I make another one of these. The 12.5" bin is getting full, though, so expect another big block scrappy quilt in my future.

Mystery Quilt: On Ringo Lake

Time for part 3!

I've participated in the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt a few years now. Check out my posts for clue #1 and clue #2. You'll also find links to the link party Bonnie hosts each week at the bottom of each post. Even if I am a little behind with the sewing I'm trying to keep up with the blog posts so I can link up with the weekly link party. 

This week we're making something different. Head over to Bonnie's blog for all the details on how to cut, sew and press these units. I'm only using three different pink fabrics.

I did manage to finish up the rest of clue number two late on Sunday evening.  

Linking up with Bonnie's link-party. Check out her post On Ringo Lake Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 3 (link will be active when I get a chance to link it up) to see all the other links people are sharing. Hundreds of quilters link up to share their progress.

Also linking up with Love Laugh Quilt.

Charity Quilting

I've been busier than I want to be with work and travel and other boring things And I haven't gotten as much done as I would like. I did manage to squeeze in a couple charity quilts, though.

These humble strip quilts were made using leftover strips and squares from other Quilts for Kids projects. I love using these leftover bits to make something fun. There won't be a meeting for Annapolis Quilts for Kids this month so these will wait until the new year to be dropped off.

I used Bonnie Hunter's directions to make my string blocks using pages from the phone book. Check out her String Quilting Primer if you have time.

2017 Charity Quilt Count: 47