It's almost over. Unbelievable! I'm always fascinated by time - how it rushes by and then slows down to a crawl. I still think that the best super power ever would be to stop time whenever I wanted to. Just me, so that I could quilt, rest and sleep more😊 Oh well, back to reality.
Here's to 2018!
Here's to time well spent doing what we love, and time to reflect on what we learned.
Slow stitching
There was a lot of quiet hand-work, much of it done while listening to audio-books. I practiced my embroidery, did some hand-piecing while on vacation, and lots of English Paper Piecing (EPP) throughout the year.
 |
| Kingfisher Stitch-Along |
What I learned
- I learned that sharing projects on Instagram is a lot of fun!
- It's possible to free motion quilt (FMQ) around embroidery - and quite effective.
- Extensive practice will give results - my stem stitch is proof - not perfect but better.
- FMQ motifs work very well as embroidery designs.
- Slow work can be meditative, or a great opportunity to listen to a book! I am very, very grateful to my public library.
Making art quilts
There are many reasons for making art quilts such as the Art with Fabric Blog Hop, catching a glimpse of something that moves you or making something for a special someone.
What I learned
- I don't always need an excuse to make an art quilt, but it helps.
- I love the Art With Fabric blog hop and making art quilts for the Out of the Box artist group.
- I'm really proud of the work that I've done on these art quilts. I feel like I've learned so much about art and design.
Lots of Free Motion Quilting (FMQ)
I practiced my FMQ this year by participating in a FMQ Challenge with Angela Walters and then actually quilting a few UFOs (UnFinished Objects) and other projects.
What I learned
- I love practicing FMQ because it really pays off.
- It was great to get a few UFOs completed.
- Creating a pattern for a quilt was much harder than I expected. It was really great experience and Make Modern magazine was wonderful to work with. I'm not sure that I want to do this again, but I'm really glad that I had the courage to do it. ✔ It was on my list of quilty things to do.
Making Squirrels and Minis
In the second half of the year, I made more minis as gifts and cuddle quilts for charity. It's nice to work on small projects that don't take too much effort or time. Squirrels are always fun to make since they're unplanned!
What I learned
- Squirrel projects or DrEAMi! (Drop Everything And Make it!) are lots of fun and great distractions. It's also nice to work on something unexpected, and for me, usually small and quick!
- I decided this fall to make minis instead of buying cards. A great idea if you actually plan it!
- After two QAL, I've finally finished my Postcard from Sweden quilt top. I wanted to make it because it's beautiful and would give me a great opportunity to practice my FMQ. I am slowly learning to practice my FMQ on small quilts that require less piecing.
- I'm not very interested in making traditional quilts any more, and even those are only lap size. I started another neutral quilt for a friend. I have to stop offering to make these!
- This year I created a tutorial for making a binding by extending the border. ✔ This was another item on my quilty to-do list.
- In September I totally over-extended myself by participating in both the Our House blog hop and the Blogger's Meet and Greet Event. I managed to make my house quilt and my posts but really didn't get to enjoy reading everyone's posts and replying to comments. I'm going to try very hard to avoid these situations, but it's hard since there are so many great events to participate in!
I hope that what I learned may have helped you learn as well.
Thanks so much for joining me on my quilting and art making journey. I hope that we keep learning together.
I wish you all the best in 2019!
Linking parties
I will be linking to many linking parties, including the
Best of 2018 Linky Party with Meadow Mist Designs.
Midweek Makers,
Let's Bee Social,
Friday Foto Fun,
Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?,
Silly Mama Quilts - Finish Up Friday,
Needle & Thread Thursday,
Off the Wall Friday,
Finished or Not Friday,
I hope that what I learned may have helped you learn as well.
Such a great idea, listing what you did and what you learned. I think accepting what you don't enjoy doing (like making traditional quilts) is key. There's no point in working on projects you don't enjoy, and there's nothing wrong with saying no to them. I am much more motivated to work on the projects I love! Each year, I learn a bit more about myself as I look at what I've worked on through the year. Here's to a fun, creative 2019! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks Wendy. I hope you have a great, fun filled creative year also!
DeleteYou've made a wonderful collection of quilty things in 2018. I especially love your art quilts and I'm looking forward to following your quilting and sewing adventures in the coming year :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Janine. It has been a very productive year. I think that art quilts are going to be the majority of my quilting in 2019. I have too much fun making them :-)
DeleteLooks like you have had a great year, learning so much. You've made so many great projects! I like the White History of Art, Snoopy Triangles and Our House quilts the best!
ReplyDeleteThanks Shasta. It's been a great year. I'm really happy with how much I've learned in the process of making all of these quilts and projects. Thanks so much for you kind comment :-)
DeleteWhat a wonderful and productive 2018! I love your art quilts. Thanks for linking up!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Cheryl for hosting this party. It's always great to look back and see how the year went.
DeleteHi, Kathy, Happy New Year! Just dropping by to mention that I tried to reply by email to some comments you left on my (wordpress.com) blog but they keep bouncing back saying: "the domain gmail.ca couldn't be found"...
ReplyDeleteHi Janine, thanks for following up. I'm afraid that at some point I wrote my wrong email address (it's gmail.com, not .ca) and every once in a while it creeps back up.
DeleteI too love the Art with Fabric blog hops, it pushes me to create something unusual.
ReplyDeleteI love the look of FMQ but it is so hard on my wrists.
Hi Tami, Those Art with Fabric blog hops really help me get going. FMQ can be hard on the wrists - although if I have to choose between FMQ and working on the computer, I choose FMQ!
DeleteGreat job! Thanks for sharing and inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Elizabeth! Happy New Year!!!
DeleteWhat a great year you've had. I love your projects but especially love you telling us what you learned. I need to get involved in some of those challenges so I can get stuff done!! Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lynda. There are some great challenges out there and they can be easily adapted to what you love doing. Thanks for dropping by!
Delete