a look back at 2018

When I look back my the accomplishments of 2018, the first thought is disappointment. It doesn’t seem like much happened… especially on the creative front.

Where did all that time go?

Much of 2018 was spent working on the “I Have a Notion™” website. I still need to make some corrections, make some additional changes, and do more work. But that takes time… and the creative front is calling my name!

Some time in a booth!

When I look back at the calandar I see that I attended an event in February as a vendor called Quilters Day Out. In the booth, I displayed a quilt called ‘Chicken Dance’. (The quilt on the left in the first picture). It is one of my favorite quilts. It is bright and cheerful and constructed in batiks. Many asked if there was a pattern for the quilt. I still had to say not yet, but I will. I made the original quilt on the fly. No notes or measurements written down. I did have the pattern template for the chicken. I have been recreating the quilt in a 4 block quilt size, so now we have measurements and an idea of fabric requirements. The new ‘4 block “Chicken Dance” quilt’ is on the longarm. Now to write it up. The big question is do I quilt it or write it up first?

I was a vendor at 2 other venues as well this past year. A local quilt show and a ‘one stop shop hop’. I love to vend and be ‘in person’. It is so much fun to talk to people and help them find a solution. Even if I don’t carry it. Helping to solve a problem a great way to stretch the brain and think outside the box. I don’t think I would like to be on the road every weekend doing shows but a few a year is fun.

Some time creating!

Early in December, I put the 3rd top made with what I thought was last of the Presidents Blocks (from my days in Paradise) on the longarm and quilted it. It has a deadline for the end of January to meet a guild goal. It is has been quilted and is waiting to have the binding stitched down. YAY! While I was cleaning out the box that all those block and bits have been residing since I began turning those 50 or so blocks into quilts, but I found 9 leftover blocks in the box. These blocks all had varying problems, from a bit too wonky or too small or the colors just didn’t want to fit… so I threw them all together into a top, and now they wait for a border fabric to tie them together more or less. I’m going to count it a finish!

Something New

In addition to creating the ‘Chicken Dance’ quilt, I was creating a table runner and a table topper to give as gifts, and to show some other settings for the pattern. Fortunately, these were not as Christmas gifts. Unfinished still.

Something Fun

Another pattern in development is a coneflower. The one on the right was a sample for a class I teach. It was made using all batiks. The new sample uses all regular cotton fabrics. I am in the midst of quilting the purple one. I think I may make a third using a combo of regular cotton combined with batiks.

Something old

And this project that has been hanging around for more than a year. The original plan was to quilt it on the longarm. My skills are not quite where I would want them to be to quilt this. Mostly because I haven’t spent much time practicing on the longarm this year. I made the decision this past week to machine quilt it on the domestic and get it done. I am using the recent purple coneflower to play with the background quilting designs I want to use on this one.

Ahead

Now, as I look back I would have to say I had a pretty productive year. While I didn’t have too many quilty finishes, I did have lots of new experiences and fun too. There was of course much more that filled the days, but you don’t want to hear about that! In 2019 I wish you the best of everything in the coming New Year. Whether it is adventures, finishes or brand new starts. Have fun.

Happy New Year!