Best of 2024--End of Year Review

For the tenth straight year, Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs is hosting the Best of 2024 Linky Party, a chance to link up our top blog posts from the past year. Cheryl suggested some ways to choose our best posts such as most views, most comments, best tutorials, and favorite finishes. I'm going to include several of her suggestions, plus throw in a couple of my own. Each listing has a link back to my original blog post.

1. Most views: Jabberwocky

The blocks for this quilt were made throughout 2023 as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and I got them all joined together in late January, 2024. The block pattern is by Judy Martin in The Block Book. The book is out of print, but you can still find copies online.

Jabberwocky, block pattern by Judy Martin

65" x 76.75"

2a. Most comments: Orange Peel Rainbow

The applique blocks for this quilt were stitched as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge all through 2019 and up to the summer of 2020.  The blocks were joined together in August, 2020. The quilt top waited patiently until spring of 2024, when I added a border, then finished it for entry into a local quilt show. This is also my favorite finished quilt of 2024.

Orange Peel Rainbow

39.5" x 51.5"

3. Favorite mystery: Lighthouse Inn Modern Mystery Quiltalong

This was my second mystery quilt by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr of Modern Quilt Studio, and they are masters at keeping you guessing while you make the blocks. I love the way my colors in this quilt worked together with the navy background, and the gradation of block sizes makes for an intriguing design.

Lighthouse Inn quilt top

57.5" x 82"

4. Favorite self-designed quilt: Herringbone

While cleaning off my cutting table one day in July, I ran across a portion of an old Kleenex box that I had saved as a quilt design inspiration. That led to my making a small, scrappy herringbone quilt from a wide range of turquoise, teal and aqua scraps. I would have made it larger, but ran out of the light contrast fabric.

Herringbone quilt top

33" x 39.5"

I might still add a border to this little quilt top, and I'm also thinking about making it again with the ends of the strips cut at a different angle. This is a design that I can envision making in multiple variations.

5. Project of the year: Placemats Parade

2024 turned out to be the year of the placemat for me. I started out by making placemats for all the different Project Quilting challenges at the beginning of the year. Those were followed by 22 placemats made for our guild's Christmas market, then many others to be donated by the guild to Meals on Wheels. The final total number of placemats made in 2024 came to 80!

Piles of placemats

Those are some of my quilting highlights from the past year. I'm still thinking about plans and goals for 2025, but I'd be willing to bet that placemats will appear again. My top goal is to start fewer new projects and get more of the old ones finished. 

Thanks to Cheryl for giving us all the opportunity to share our favorite posts and projects from the past year. I'm joining up with her "Best of 2024" linky party.

Happy quilting and Happy New Year to all!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 12/29/2024

We are just a couple days from the end of 2024, and I've had a good year with my stash report goals. Every year my general goal is to use more fabric from the stash than I add to it. Unless something changes dramatically in the next few days, my total usage for the year will be close to the same as the last two years, around 135 - 140 yards used. Even better is the fact that the yardage added for the year will be significantly less than recent years (15 - 30 yards less than 2023 or 2022.)

There was some stash usage over the past week. The largest amount, 2.75 yards of this fun chili pepper print, was used to make a pair of pajama pants as a Christmas gift. 

I used another 1.5 yards for the sashing and borders on the Hen & Chicks Sampler that I shared in yesterday's post. I also used 1 yard for more placemats, the three made as a gift for my mother, plus this one that I made yesterday.

The block in this placemat was made almost exactly one year ago as a sample for a possible Rainbow Scrap Challenge project. I didn't enjoy piecing the block and abandoned the idea for the RSC. I'm glad to get the block out of the box of orphan blocks and piecing leftovers. This bring my total number of placemats made this year to an even 80!

The total fabric used for the week totals 5.25 yards, and there was no new fabric added to the stash this week. Next week's post will include the final numbers for 2024 plus the beginning of 2025.

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                    5.25 yards

Used year to date:               136.0 yards

Added last week:                     0.0 yards

Added year to date:           117.25 yards

Net used in 2024:            18.75 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I'm trying to finish assembling some of my collections of blocks from Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects into finished tops before the end of the year, and I was very happy to complete the Hen & Chicks Sampler top this week. I'd love to get one more done before the year is over!

15 Minute Challenge for 2024

12/22 - 12/28           7 of 7 days

2024 Total         358 of 363 days

Success rate               98.6 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups. 

Happy quilting everyone, and Happy New Year!

Julie in GA

Hen & Chicks Sampler

It's the last ScrapHappy Saturday of 2024, and I'm cutting it close to the end of the year, but I did manage to finish assembling the top for one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects this week. This is my RSC 2024 Hen and Chicks Sampler quilt!

RSC 2024 Hen & Chicks Sampler

41.5" x 55.5"

Every month our RSC hostess Angela posted patterns for four different blocks, including instructions for multiple block sizes. Like her, I made all of the blocks in both 6" and 3" finished sizes, ending the year with 40 blocks in each size. I used the same batik background for all of the blocks, and all of the other fabrics used were also batiks.

I'm always trying to figure out different ways to put sampler quilt blocks together. For this one, I decided to do a medallion type setting. I added sashing of the background fabric between the blocks for a little separation, plus borders of the same fabric between each round. There was a lot math involved, and eventually I just started putting the center together and adjusting to make the outer rounds fit.

I might still add a narrow border of the background around the outside, but maybe not because I don't want it to get any bigger. I'm planning a scrappy batik binding to finish it off.

Some of those little 3" blocks were quite challenging to piece accurately, but everything turned out well in the end. I especially like the bright colors on the mostly white background, giving this a fresh feeling of springtime. My setting used all but one of the 6" blocks, and I also had four of the 3" blocks left at the end.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Placemats Parade

Finishing quilts has never been one of my greatest strengths. Like so many other quilters, I'm much better at starting new projects. However, over the past couple of years, I've discovered one type of quilt project that I am much more successful at completing, and that is placemats. I love making placemats! Each one is like a little mini quilt, the perfect place to try out design ideas or color combos or quilting designs. 

The most recent set of placemats to be made were a gift for my mother's 90th birthday. I've had a bin full of Mom's old fabric scraps, some dating back to the the 1950's and 60's, ever since my sister and I used those fabrics to make three scrappy quilts together back in 2015 (read more about those quilts HERE and HERE.) There was one small bundle of strips in the bin that I knew were left from a log cabin quilt Mom had made back in the late 60's or early 1970's.

Mom's log cabin quilt

The colors and prints in the fabrics are so typical of that time. The blocks in the quilt are very large, close to 18" square. My favorite fabric is the green one with orange flowers and chickens. (Click on the photo below for a closer look.)

Those leftover strips, plus a few other fabrics in similar colors from the bin of old scraps, were combined to make three strippy placemats. I finished them off with a batik fabric for the backs.

Those are probably the last placemats I will make this year. They brought my total for the year up to almost 80 placemats. I wasn't kidding at the beginning of this post when I said that I love making them! Here are some of the others that I made this year, with links to previous blog posts for most of them.

Project Quilting, Season 15

Stack and Whack Pinwheels (for guild Christmas market)

more Stack & Whack Pinwheels

more Stack & Whack Pinwheels

Strippy Quilt as You Go

More QAYG

Even more QAYG

Orphan block placemats

Mini Bowties

Dresden Star orphan blocks

A Maze Zing x 14

Other than the Stack & Whack Pinwheel sets for the Christmas market and the set for my mother, all of the rest were donated to Meals on Wheels through two different quilt guilds. 

Linking up with:

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 12/22/2024

My main focus in the sewing room lately has been trying to finish up some of the projects started earlier this year. I've been working on multiple different ongoing projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, plus a couple of other Block of the Month quilts. My goal is to get a couple more groups of blocks turned into completed quilt tops.

I already shared photos of the two tops I made as part of the 2024 Monthly Color Challenge from Patterns by Jen. This week's stash report includes the fabric used to make the last two sets of blocks for those quilts, 3/4 yard used. You can read more and see my two quilt tops HERE.

The stash report also includes the fabrics I got at Hancock's of Paducah recently. Six yards total added. Most of these are intended to become borders for rainbow quilts.

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                      .75 yards

Used year to date:             130.75 yards

Added last week:                     6.0 yards

Added year to date:           117.25 yards

Net used in 2024:              13.5 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. Besides the two quilt tops for the Color Challenge, I finished making blocks for a guild BOM, and I've also been working on one Christmas gift. Quilting time is in short supply at this time of year, but I've gotten my 15 minutes every day this week.

15 Minute Challenge for 2024

12/15 - 12/21           7 of 7 days

2024 Total         351 of 356 days

Success rate               98.6 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups. 

Happy quilting everyone, and happy holidays to all!

Julie in GA

Color Challenge Quilt Tops

As we near the end of the year, I've been concentrating on moving some on-going projects forward. The latest had me joining the blocks I've been making all year as part of the 2024 Monthly Color Challenge from Patterns by Jen. I now have two finished tops to share!

Jen's colors for the 2024 blocks were inspired by tropical fish. I mostly followed her color suggestions, although I did change things up a bit toward the end of the year. The theme of tropical fish led me to make one set of blocks with dark blue backgrounds to represent the water. That became top #1.

Jen's 2024 Color Challenge

Top #1, 36.5" x 48.5"

The blocks in top #2 each use a lighter and darker version of the block colors. Jen's patterns made 12" blocks, and they all went together very easily.

Jen's 2024 Color Challenge

Top #2, 36.5" x 48.5"

Jen has been hosting these color challenge quilt-alongs for several years, and I believe she is planning to continue into 2025. It's a true block-of-the-month, with one block per month (at least in past years.) The block pattern is free for the month it is posted, then available for $1 each after that. You can sign up HERE  to have the blocks emailed to you at the beginning of each month (scroll down to the end of the post.) 

edited 12/24/24--I got an email from Jen yesterday saying she is not going to continue with the Color Challenge for next year, but starting January 2, she is launching "Snippets with Patterns By Jen," a weekly video challenge series designed to inspire your quilting journey.

I've been digging through my stash for possible backing fabrics for these two tops. It would be great to get them quilted and donated before next year's color challenge begins.

Linking up with:

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Rainbow Scrap Challenge at soscrappy

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Planning my Temperature Quilt

One of the quilt guilds I belong to recently hosted a Zoom presentation by Jo Avery of the UK on Temperature Quilts. Jo has made several temperature quilts, and she shared all sorts of information and photos of her own quilts, plus those made by many other quilters. Check out her website HERE to see some of them.

Ever since her lecture was scheduled, I've been seriously thinking about making a temperature quilt myself. We even decided to use it as a guild challenge. I've been doing lots of research and planning, one of my favorite parts of quiltmaking. I have purchased a group of fabrics for my quilt, Glaze and Glaze II by Libs Elliott for Andover. I have over 30 different colors, and a few of them will not be included. I also have grey and black as background options. This is my current gradation.

The other decision to be made before January is choosing a block. I've been considering many different designs over the past month or so. I want it to be a block that is easy to make, but not too boring. I don't expect to make my blocks every day; I will probably save up the temperature information and make blocks once a week, or maybe even further apart.

Patty at Elm Street Quilts has made multiple temperature quilts. She shares lots of inspiration and information on how to get started at her page. One of my favorites was her quilt for 2021 (see it HERE.) I decided to try making a few sample blocks.

These blocks certainly met the requirement of being easy to construct. Mine were made with scrap fabrics and a single background instead of varying that fabric too. I like the way they look in Patty's quilt, but they don't really hit the mark for me.

I've seen several temperature quilts made with applique blocks, including circles and orange peels. I love the look of them, but I knew that making a hand appliqued block every day was more than I could handle, and I'm not really set up to do machine applique. Then I discovered this design.

The design is called Wildflower, and it is a free pattern at Andover fabrics. The fabrics in this design are the original Glaze line by Libs Elliott. I like the way those tilted diamonds sort of resemble orange peel blocks, but with straight lines instead of curves. The blocks in the pattern finish at 7", and they are foundation pieced. I needed to scale them down to less than half that size, plus I hoped to avoid the foundation piecing. 

I drew out a smaller-scale block and played around with how to cut the pieces. These were my first sample blocks for this design.

You might notice that the top left diamond is smaller than the others. I'd started by making the other three, then decided to set the diamond back from the corners of the block a bit more. The next samples were made with stash fabrics to approximate the colors I would have used for January 1 - 4, 2024.

Yes, I think that's going to be my block! The design will give my quilt the motion I'm hoping for, with those diamonds tilting up and down. It's interesting how the different color combinations work out some with high contrast and some very low. The blocks will finish at 3". I need to press up my fabrics and maybe do a little precutting, but other than that, I'm ready to get started on my 2025 Temperature Quilt!

Linking up with:

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 12/15/2024

As usual, the month of December is speeding by, and now we are only 10 days away from Christmas! I didn't post a Stash Report last week because we were traveling, a trip to Wisconsin to celebrate my mother's 90th birthday. We were able to enjoy plenty of family time, including meeting the most recent additions to the family, two great nieces. It was a great trip, even though Ed and I both managed to get sick at different times. We are home now and working on final preparations for Christmas.

My stash usage for the week was 2.25 yards, which was the fabric used for the backing and binding on the baby quilt for one of those new great nieces. I shared photos of the quilt (and one of the baby) in THIS POST. As usual when we drive to Wisconsin, I got to make a stop at Hancock's of Paducah. I bought a few pieces of fabric, but I am not sure where they are hiding right now, so I will wait and share those in next week's post.

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                     2.25 yards

Used year to date:               130.0 yards

Added last week:                     0.0 yards

Added year to date:           111.25 yards

Net used in 2024:            18.75 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. It's always hard to find that time while away from home, but I surprised myself by getting in some stitching every day that we were gone. For the past couple of years, my appliqued hearts blocks have been my go-to hand stitching project while traveling, and they continue to fill that role now. I finished the four blocks shown below during our trip, bringing my total number of heart blocks to over 100. I've been working on other projects since we got home, and have managed to spend some time on quilting every day.

15 Minute Challenge for 2024

12/1 - 12/14          14 of 14 days

2024 Total          344 of 349 days

Success rate               98.57 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Rail Fence Spinners Finished!

There have been a couple of recent finishes that I waited to share here because they were gifts. Well, the gifts have been presented, so it's finally time to reveal one of the finishes (I'll save the other for another day.)

Back in early November I finished a project that had been in the works all year. This is the Rail Fence Spinners quilt, which has been presented to our new great-niece Quinn.

Rail Fence Spinners

39.5" x 48"

The blocks for this quilt were made each month based on the assigned color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. By the end of the year, I had 80 blocks, which were enough for two baby quilts. The other quilt top was shared in an earlier blog post HERE.

I love the way the grey print worked for the setting triangles and border. It has little spots of bright colors at the intersections of the white lines, which worked perfectly with the rainbow of scraps in the blocks.

The fabric used for the inner border and binding is a batik, and that was the one problem child of this quilt. When I washed the quilt after it was finished, the dark pink color in that fabric ran and stained some of the light background fabrics. Fortunately, I knew about a tutorial by fabric dyer Vicki Welsh with a process for correcting that problem. I tried her method and it worked! I recommend all quilters bookmark her tutorial.

For the back I used a pretty flannel with a rainbow of colors. Flannel is my favorite choice for backing baby quilts. This was a wide back piece that I got at JoAnn's a year or two ago.

We were in Wisconsin visiting my family last weekend, and that is when I finally gifted this quilt and met the newest member of the family. To top off the post, here's a photo of Quinn on her new quilt. I hope the quilt helps keep her cozy and warm in the Wisconsin winter.

Linking up with:

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Rainbow Scrap Challenge at soscrappy

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA