2015 Year in Review

I'm so excited about this post as I have so much awesomeness to share!! I have broken down all of my finishes from the year into categories and made mosaics for your viewing pleasure. ;) I am just amazed at how much I finished. Figuring it out I completed something - from a small simple pouch to a quilt - about every two days!! However, I finished one more thing after I made my mosaics so it will be listed separately. Also, I finished all twelve months of goals for ALYoF! Hurray for productivity!!

First my ALYoF Goals. I finished all twelve months and they are in order here. You can see all the finish and goal posts here. I'm sad to here that ALYoF is going away but I sure love what it has done for my productivity the last few years.

Speaking of productivity I finished up this mini last night!! This is #9 on my Q4 FAL list. It didn't make it into the mini mosaic below. I tried doing free motion paisley quilting again and I love it! I think I'm really getting the hang of it now.

Here are the rest of my minis and pillows for the year. Counting the one above there are 21 minis I finished this year. Seven of them were for swaps and the others were gifts or for our home.

I finished nine quilts this year including the whole-cloth Knuffle Bunny quilt I made this month for my daughter. I tried some new quilting motifs with many of these and love how I'm branching out this year.

I helped each of my three oldest kids make themselves a quilt this year too! They pieced them together and I quilted and bound them. We all feel so proud of our accomplishments here and it's probably my favorite group of finishes.

I made 42 bags and pouches this year!! Crazy! A few of these were fairly simple but many were more complex. That's a lot of zippers!

I fell in love with the Fancy Sailor Top this year and that led to more confidence in garment sewing. I made seven sailor tops and eleven pieces all together.

These random little projects were hard to classify so they got a category all their own. There are 22 projects here from pillow cases to pin cushions and stroller makeovers. I got out of my comfort zone here too trying new things all over the place like 3D sewing and rope bowls.

I also advanced like crazy in my knitting skills. Since learning to knit in October 2014 I have been driving to learn and grow. I completed 19 knitting projects this year and taught myself how to cable and do color work including some pretty fun fair isle hats. I found a quick and easy favorite in the Cowl and made 10 this year for gifts.

Since I have an Etsy Shop where I sell crochet hats it's not surprise I have a lot of finishes here. I don't think this is all of them but it is all I could find pictures of. There are 37 projects here from tiny newborn hats to adult hats and even a crochet blanket. The crab hat is my most popular by far.

That's my year! Wow! I feel crazy productive! 29 of these projects were made mostly if not all from my stash. That's 164 projects completed in all! That's a project finished every 2.23 days. Thanks for being a part of it and I look forward to another awesome and productive year! Thanks for stopping by and keeping up with me!

Christmas Project Roundup

This is the post where I show all the things I made for Christmas for my family. It's one of my favorites and has the added bonus of a bit of review. I'll do a year in review post on Friday. I have one more thing I hope to finish first! As a bonus one of the things I'm sharing was my ALYoF goal for December. I'll start with that one...

Here is my finished ALYoF goal for December.  These are also #15 on my Q4FAL list. I made these five minis for my kids. They're always swooning over the quilts and minis I make and they each have small animals or dolls they adore so I thought it would be fun to whip them up a little something to put in their stocking.

I tried a different quilting motif on each one. This is my favorite! I've been really afraid of branching out and trying new fmqing but I love it! I'm so glad I was brave.

We have a tradition every year that the kids get to pick fabric and we make a pillow case together. They sleep on it the week of Christmas to help them get all excited. I love to see their personalities come out in the fabric they choose! I try to steer them away from mostly white but otherwise let them have free reign.

Last year my Mom and Step-dad told me they'd be coming for Christmas this year. I knew I wanted to make them quilts. It seemed like a great opportunity. I got started early and finished this one way back in March. I used two layers of batting and it is extra warm and cozy, which is great because my Mom is always cold. I love that it's no longer a secret!

I used the same pattern but different fabric for my step-dad's quilt. It's fun how different they look but how they are so connected.

I went a little crazy making all the cowls this year. I'm pretty sure I've made eleven. Six of them were Christmas presents. Here's for my four oldest kids.

I didn't think the baby would want one. I should have known better. I finished the last one and she came over to try it on. Then she was looking in the mirror saying how pretty she was. We went to the store and picked out yarn that day.

Finally my Mom got one too. She's all about this mustard color lately and was excited to find just the yarn she wanted in the store. It went so fast and she kept saying the whole time how she loved that color. It was pretty cute.

Well, that's me for Christmas. I'd say it was a pretty good set. Most of that was from stash which made our dollars stretch quite a bit further this year. I may have to get going for next year! Until then watch for my year in review post on Friday and thanks for stopping by!

Care Bear Finish, ALYoF, and other WiPs

This is a multi-tasking post today. I finished another thing off my Q4 FAL list - #19 the Care Bear Cross stitch. I'm also going to cover my ALYoF goal for the month and my Christmas Quilts I've been working on. First, the pillow...

My youngest is two and she adores all things Care Bears. These are her two bears, well, one she commandeered from her sister. She drags these little things around everywhere and cannot sleep without them. I saw this Care Bear pattern and had to have it for her. I ended up turning it into a pillow for her bed.

Here's a closeup of just the bears. This was such a fun pattern to work on. I love the detail on their little belly badges.

I used a Micron pen to write on the back of the pillow like a quilt tag. I think it's fun to know when and why things were made. You know I make so many things I can't possibly keep them all in my head. This was also a cute way to preserve my handwriting for her.

Next up is my ALYoF goal for December. My kids all want mini quilts for their animals, dolls, and things. I figured I'm make it really simple since I had to make five. I'd like to finish these before Christmas. They are all made from a mini charm pack and just need to be quilted and bound. Easy peasy, I hope.

Speaking of Christmas this is my Christmas quilt I'm working on right now. I super puffy heart love this!! I have one row complete and have to make nine more for a lap/twin size. I already have all the stuff I need to finish it but time. I hope to find some of that too before Christmas.

I had a bunch of strips left over from the above quilt and didn't want to add any more to my stash so I sewed them up into a nice lap quilt. Here it is all basted with a minky back.

I read somewhere that less is more when quilting on minky so I went with a serpentine stitch every 3"ish. I used a variegated thread from Aurifil and really love the colors and texture it gave.

I'm up to the binding stage on this one. I have attached it now I just need to flip and stitch. I hope to have it finished by Friday to share.

That's me for now. A lot of Christmas themed or Christmas gift sewing going on here. That's means more finishes to come! I also have several cowls to share later in the week. Until then I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday. Thanks for stopping by!

Amelia Canyon Quilt Finish

I'm so excited to share Amelia's quilt with you today! She finished it over a week ago but it's been crazy around here and I'm just now being able to sit and write about it. Amelia is six and this was her first quilt. I helped her baste, quilt, and bind it so I put it on my Q4 FAL list as number three. This was also my ALYoF goal for November. Prepare for an adorable picture overload!

She chose a layer cake of Canyon by Kate Spain for Moda to use for her quilt. We just did simple patchwork for this as it was her first attempt at a quilt. She has sewn other things before like pillow cases and bean bags.

It's just so pretty and she did so well at lining up the seams. We used washi tape on the machine as a guide for her to follow. We also used wonder clips to keep the pieces together. I find they are safer for the kids than pins and much easier to place and remove.

I love putting tags on my quilts and this one is especially cute because Amelia wrote her own name. I did the rest of the tag. It matches so well too! This is from yardage by Sweetwater for Moda.

Amelia picked both the thread color and the style of quilting. I think the meander is the perfect choice for this one. She said she likes it because it makes "little puffy bits I like to poke".

Here she is relaxing on it and enjoying the feeling of accomplishing something big!

Like my other two kids who made their own quilts I let Amelia lead in the photo shoot. I like this one. She looks snug as a bug.

This one is also fun with the quilt flowing behind her. There were a lot of funny outtakes with this one and her little arms were getting tired holding up that much quilt so high while running.

Here's the backing she chose more of that same line - Canyon by Kate Spain. I love the texture of the quilting in this picture as well.

Isn't she freaking adorable?!

Well, That's it for this week! Thanks for stopping by and checking out her finish. I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

Also, this week I was part of a block hop to promote my friend's new book. Check it out in this post and visit the other stops on the hop...

Nov. 16 - Lee at Freshly Pieced
Nov. 17 - AnneMarie at Gen X Quilters
Nov. 18 - Leanne at She Can Quilt
Nov. 19 - Julie at That's Sew Julie
Nov. 20 - Lyn guest-blogging at Flourishing Palms

ALYoF Goal post and Pigs Finish

Another thing off my Q4 FAL list with the Pigs out of the way. I am on a roll and even have something to share on Friday too! But first, my ALYoF goal for November and another little something I've been working on.

My middle daughter Amelia finished her quilt off this weekend. I'm so proud of her! She is 6.5 and while it took a little more teamwork than her older sister she did do a ton of the work by herself. To finish this off she picked the layout, pushed the pedal, and together we guided the fabric through the machine. Several times she felt confident enough to do it completely alone. I'm so happy with her progress! Since she's so young I'm going to quilt and bind this for her. This is my ALYoF goal for November. The backing and binding are in the mail and should be here by Friday. Woohoo!

I've also been doing a little cross stitching. I used to do it all the time which feels like a million years ago but was really just the 90s. Randomly I picked it up again for my Back to the Future swap and have been playing around with it ever since. It's great to do while watching tv and was especially helpful during the 5 hours of online BSA training I did this week.

The pigs are finished and aren't they adorable?! This is #20 on my Q4 FAL list and I'm so happy with this one! I found the pattern here. I picked up some pink fleece as a remnant on sale at Joann's and these pigs were born.

My Sister-in-law teaches third grade and is reading Charlotte's Web with her class this year and asked if I could create two pigs for her. I was a little worried about making them since 3D objects are not typically in my wheelhouse but I made it happen and they were much easier and faster than I expected. I made three all in one day!

This one was the prototype and extra so we are keeping for ourselves. My baby girl just loved it so much it will probably become a Christmas present.

That's me for the week so far! I've been loving this stint of getting things done! More to show on Friday! Until then I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday.

Halloween Quilt Finish

I finished my Halloween quilt Thursday morning and am so thrilled! Quilting went faster than expected and my smallest one cooperated so well for my rush job. This quilt is #1 on my Q4 FAL list and was also my ALYoF Goal for October.

Completed Halloween quilt! I love how this one turned out! I bought this fabric probably a year and a half ago and it has just been sitting in my stash waiting to become something. Hooray for sewing my stash!

I got the idea for the block layout and construction from a tutorial on the Moda Bake Shop. I've made this quilt before in April Showers fabric. It's amazing to me how different they look!

I've never made a quilt with this much black. It was a fun change and a good excuse to use up a whole bunch of black thread that I had on hand from a brand I don't love anymore. The black fabric is Sprinkles from Cotton and Steel. I think it kind of looks like stars. I kept the quilting super simple. I just outlined the blocks in glow-in-the-dark thread. I was thinking of doing more but loved the minimalist thing for this one.

The back of the quilt has a totally different feel from the front. I did this intentionally so it was really a reversible quilt. I love fun backing fabric and this Spellbound print from Cotton and Steel really grabbed me.

Here's a closeup of the back as well as the binding fabric. It's so fun to snuggle under a festive quilt for Halloween!

That's me for the week. Thanks for stopping by! I'm so glad I finished up the quilt with days to spare! I've been a crazy productive woman lately too and have several things ready to show next week as well. This blog is going to be all about finishes for a while. Until then, I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday and TGIFF.

Q4 FAL and ALYoF Goal Post

 So, you should think of this more as a wishlist to finish and not a list that I intend to complete all of. As always I have many things on my list. I know I will finish at least half because they have very specific deadlines, however I hope to finish more if possible. When looking at the list I thought, "Ain't nobody got time for that!" Here goes my 2015 Q4 Finish Along list...

#1 - Halloween Quilt - I would LOVE to have this finished by the end of the month. Thus, it is the perfect project for October ALYoF. It's one of the only things I have to work on right now so it will most likely happen. I have finished the small blocks with borders and need to do the 16-patch blocks and finish it up.

#2 Halloween Pillow - Like the quilt I'd love to have this one done. I made this block many years ago as part of a Halloween themed blog hop. It was fun but now it is beyond time for it to become something.

#3 Amelia Quilt - Technically this is my daughter's project. However, she is six and can't quilt or bind it on her own and it is nearly to that stage. Since I have to finish it up for her I'm totally putting it on my list.

#4 Ruby Flower Quilt - This one keeps getting pushed off and my poor baby just needs a new quilt. Her baby quilt doesn't cover her body any more. This needs to happen soon. I have everything but the background fabric and I can start whipping it up.

#5 Australia Pouch - I'm in a swap where we got to pick our favorite places and people made you something based on that. It's pretty fun. This is my project for my partner who is a fan of Australia. I'm making a foldover clutch.

#6 Flamingo Mittens - In one day I over doubled what I had on this mitten. I'm hopeful that it will be completed soon. I'm excited for the fun pattern and the pop of color to my otherwise drab Midwestern Winter.

#7 Knit Cowl - I love a good cowl. This yarn is so fun! The needles are size 19 and HUGE! It should make this one a fun and quick finish.

#8 Whale Mini - I won this kit online. I'm really excited to make this as my swaps are winding down and I can put up my mini wall. I wanted to wait until they were all here to hang them so this one kept getting put off. Now's the time!

#9 Dottie Mini - Same story as above. Love the idea - time to get cracking.

#10 Hello Darling Mini - I just adore the Hello Darling line. I bought a Fat Quarter Bundle of it but have no idea what I want to do with it yet. This little mini should be a fun way to play with the fabric without cracking into my bundle.

#11 Road 15 Mini - I bought a lot of this fabric when it came out for me. As it turns out I used all of it to make things for other people. This is all I have left and I'm excited for it to be my turn.

#12 Christmas Sampler - My favorite quilt shop ever, Stitch in Des Moines, has this exclusive embroidery sampler and I picked it up while in town for the AQS show last week. I can't wait to have some fun with this one! Until earlier this year I hadn't done any embroidery or cross stitching for almost 20 years and now I find myself loving it again.

#13 Christmas Quilt - Holly's Tree Farm, need I say more? You had me at the trees in the trucks. I'm so super excited for this one. It is one that WILL be completed because you don't even know how much I need this in my life.

#14 Christmas Swaps - I'm in two separate Christmas Swaps and as luck would have it my partners have exactly the same tastes. So, I'm making them the same thing. A table runner based on this pattern that I'm making my quilt from. It should be great.

#15 Kid Minis - My kids have all recently expressed the need for their own personal mini quilt for their animals and dolls. I thought it would be a fun Christmas present so I'll be turning these into simple patchwork minis for them. They should be super-fast and easy so I'm counting all five as one thing.

#16 - I won both of these charm packs with ALYoF and I'm excited to put them to good use. I'm trying to decide between two lap quilts but this will live on my couch when completed.

#17 Farm Quilt - I've had this jelly roll for what seems like forever. I don't actually know how long. However, I found some binding yardage on a crazy sale at a quilt shop last weekend and now I want to make it into something. I'm tossing around a few ideas but haven't landed on anything other than twin size.

#18 Knit Sweater - I've come to the point in my knitting where a sweater doesn't seem like a super crazy idea so I'm going to go for it. I really love this pattern and though the yarn is tiny I've used it many times before and think it won't be too awful. Maybe I should have started with something chunkier. We'll see how it goes.

#19 Care Bear X-stitch - My youngest is obsessed with all things Care Bear. This will become a Christmas present for her. I'll have to work on it when she's asleep or she will never leave it or me alone.

#20 Stuffed Pigs - I need to make two stuffed pigs out of this for my Sister-in-law. I have the pattern and the eyes all picked out and cut. I just need to sit down and do it. I'm not crazy about this project so hopefully putting it on my list will ensure it gets done quickly.

Well, that's my crazy long list. I know I will finish half of them and it will be exciting to see what else I come up with along the way. Thanks for stopping by!