A Recap of my Quilting Year 2024

At the end of the each year, I make a post summarizing my year, and show the quilts I made during the year.  I am late this year, but I didn't want to skip this post.

I'm pretty sure that this was a record-breaking year for me, both in terms of quilting starts and quilting finishes. I started 17 quilts and finished 13.  While I didn't finish more than I started, I did finish more quilts than I usually do. I also made tremendous progress on a lot of quilts which are not listed here. Let me show you the quilts I finished.

There are videos for all of these quilts on my YouTube channel.

Haven of Harmony

The first quilt of the year was made for the Project Quilting challenge.  The Project Quilting challenges require that the quilt be made from start to finish within one week, so they tend to be very small projects. The theme for this month waws birdhouse. I wanted to make a quilt that was in the shape of a house based on a design inspiration, and although it would have been fine as a birdhouse by itself, I had a peacock fabric I just had to use to add to it.  This was really fun to take a country design and turn it into something much more exotic. You can read more about this quilt here: Haven of Harmony.

Rabbit's Reverie

Rabbit's Reverie is made for the Just Let Me Quilt blog hop challenge. This is a monthly blog hop challenge. The theme for this month is White Rabbit. I took a pair of embroidered pants and made this rabbit quilt. It was a lot of fun to find designs on fabric to add to the quilt and let the fabric choose what would be added.

Where Horses Dream Under Endless Sky

This quilt wound up getting a lot of names. It said Inktense Sky because of the pencils I used to color the sky. This was made for another Project Quilting challenge. The theme was to use a sky color, but not sky blue. I am really happy with how this turned out, especially how the horse looks, even though the house is much more casual than the horse. You can read more about this quilt here: Inktense Sky.

Raggedy Heart

 Pink Explosion is a quilt that I made for the blog hop. The blog hop does not require finished quilts, so I didn't limit myself to a small project. I was only able to make the quilt top, and did not get a chance to quilt it before the due date.

Raggedy Heart is made for the Project Quilting Challenge. The theme was raw edge, so I used strips from the Pink Explosion quilt, and used a ribbon to finish off the edges. 

While I was making the textured fabric, I made another texture using the same fabrics. I am calling this one Crumpled Heart. I am hoping to make a series of quilts with different textures. 

Red and White Hourglass Quilt

The Red and White Hourglass quilt was made for the Project Quilting challenge. The theme for the week was hourglass.  

I didn't post a full on picture of the quilt on the blog, and it is too dark now for me to try to take a new photo.

Web of Life

 

The Web of Life Quilt was made for the  Dust Off An Old Quilt Book Blog hop in March.  Since it doesn't require a quilt that has been started during the week, I started with a quilt I had already started but had stalled. I had used a gray background for my web, and I was not happy with it, so I removed the gray background, and used a white background.  I also added the applique.

Pajamas Doll Quilt

I have been wanting to make a quilt with the flannel fabric I have saved from my old pajamas, and this Project Quilting challenge made me bring them out or this project. The challenge was Wearables. It just had to have some connection to clothes. I like the soft, cozy look of this quilt, although the flannel is a little stretchier due to its age and harder to work with. I also cut up bigger squares and triangles for a bigger quilt, but I haven't done any work on them since. You can read more about it here. 

April Showers is another blog hop challenge.  I was able to finish all but the binding in time for the challenge and it has been bound, but apparently I haven't shown you the bound quilt on the blog.  The video does show it bound though.

Beach Picnic

Beach Picnic is made for the For the Birds blog hop challenge. I hadn't finished this quilt by the challenge date, but this challenge does not require a finished quilt, so I could make quilts that are a bit more complicated..  Even though I know the deadline and theme ahead of time, the Project Quilting challenges kept me from being able to devote as much time for the monthly challenges.  

Five Minute Quilt

In September, I asked AI to give me a video idea that could go viral.  It said to make a quilt in five minutes.  I didn't know if that was even possible, but I made an attempt. The results are mixed, so you will have to watch the video to decide whether I succeeded. You can read more about the Five Minute Quilt here.

Tropical Fish

I finished the Tropical Fish quilt in September. It has an applique center and a pieced border. I love the bright colors in this quilt. This is another quilt for the blog hop, where I was able to make a more complex quilt. I submitted the unfinished quilt, and finished it afterwards.

Bona Lisa

The last quilt finish of the year is Bona Lisa. I started it in October as a part of the Something Wicked blog hop. I technically didn't finish sewing down the hand sewing part of the label, but I am still counting it as a December finish.

I have started other quilts that are not a part of a challenge, but it doesn't look like I finished any of them.  Since the monthly blog hop challenge will not take place this year, hopefully I will be able to make more progress on my quilts and show finishes on quilts that have already been started.

Quilt Reveal: Ruby Buttons

 I managed to make this week's Project Quilting Challenge submission early. The deadline is Sunday at noon central, but here it is, Saturday evening, and I already have the quilt done.  It is also a proper quilt with lots of pieces, so not a small coaster.

The theme of this week's challenge is to make something that is the color of your birthstone, My birthstone is ruby, so it was easy idea for me to make a quilt for my red and white quilt collection.

I wanted to make a quilt with little red squares. I sewed them together in strip sets. They remind me of fabric covered buttons.

This quilt reminds me of the small squares in the Maximum Minimum quilt.

I quilted it with some straight lines, thinking of pinstripes, but looking at it, it looks more like button placards, which makes them look like buttons even more.

Although the other quilts for this challenge were made by birthing quilts, this quilt needed a binding. In order to make it quickly, I machine stitched the binding to the back, folded it over the front, and sewed it down using a serpentine stitch.

I am really happy that I get to submit this quilt on Saturday and not have to worry about whether I will finish it before the deadline.

Quilt Reveal: To Wash Or Not To Wash

 

The Project Quilting Challenge for the week is Common Blocks. The rule is to make a quilt with three common quilt blocks.  There is also a quote "No one owns the copyright on a 16-patch block, or an Ohio star."

You have no idea how happy this challenge made me.  I was working on a tutorial about whether you should pre-wash your fabric before making a quilt. I was thinking about making three nine patch blocks - one with all pre-washed fabrics, one with no pre-washed fabrics, and one with a mixture of both.  I was debating making three different quilts, but wondering if I could get away with putting them all in one quilt, separated by sashing. 

I wanted to keep as much similar as possible, so the experiment could focus only on whether the fabric was pre-washed.  I used fabric from the same layer cake, so that the manufacturer, the cotton, even the dye would all be the same.  I wanted to make the same block for all three blocks so that the comparison would be the same.

So when this project is announced, I read the post thoroughly.  Although I think there is an implication that the three blocks should be different, there wasn't anything that specifically said that. I didn't ask.  This challenge gives me permission, nay, it requires me to put them all three blocks in one quilt. Challenge accepted.

Making this quilt was fun. It took some added time to prewash the fabrics. I got impatient and pressed them dry, but they were small so it didn't take long, and these fabrics are not likely to shrink any more for sure. Strip piecing made the job easier, although with 10" squares, there wasn't much time savings involved with that. 

I also didn't plan the right set up for recording the process for the video, since I was using the same space for pressing and cutting, so I had to keep putting up and taking down the ironing board.

I had another, much busier, border fabric planned, so I added the peach sashing to highlight the three blocks, but eventually I decided to switch out the busy border. I did think about switching the peach with the green, but that would involve ripping out seams, and with the weekly deadline, I decided not to risk it.

I took the quilt outside to take a good photograph. The lighting is better outside than inside.

I thought I would ask Zoey to be in the picture, so I told her to come to me, but when she did, she jumped on the quilt.

And got mud on it.  It is a good thing I was planning on washing the quilt to complete the experiment.

Quilt Reveal: Sweet Ombre Butterfly

 I finished another quilt for the Project Quilting theme of Ombre.  I didn't think I had any ombre fabric and was thinking about creating my own, but I was hesitant to dig out so much fabric. I then thought about just skipping this challenge.

But then I remembered that the fabric I stole from the Glitter quilt for the Al-Buraq quilt was an ombre. So I stole some more. I love that I can make this quilt with only two pieces, and it was very quick and easy to make.

I woke up early and turned on the computer to get started on the day. I queued up some videos to watch while I had breakfast, but Zoey reminded me that I needed to get up and make the quilt.

So I made the quilt and was able to finish the quilt before noon, way before the deadline of 1 pm eastern, thinking I had plenty of time to upload the photos and post it on the blog and submit it for the challenge.

So I made my breakfast and started uploading the photos. And watch the videos I had queued up.

Zoey went outside so she couldn't remind me that I needed to submit the entry to the challenge. oops. Missed the challenge deadline because I lost track of time.

Quilt Reveal: Al-Buraq

 The Project Quilting Challenge this week is Mythical Creatures. The first thought that came to my mind was Pegasus, but when I found pictures of a winged horse with a face, I immediately gravitated towards the Al-Buraq.  One of my rules for this challenge, since there is only a week to make it, is to not overthink any decisions and to just keep going with the flow.  Decision-making takes more time.

So I present to you, Al-Buraq. I love the metallic border that frames my creature and I think for a mythical creature it is a successful project.  Looking at this picture right now, the face reminds me of that photo that looks like a beautiful woman and an old woman at the same time. My quilt doesn't have that feature, I don't think, it just reminds me of that. My creature doesn't have an attractive face, but that wasn't a requirement for me.  Poor creature has to run against the wind, so there is bound to be some damage from that.

With my just in time inventory, I finished this quilt just in time to post for the Project Quilting Challenge

Al-Buraq Quilt by Shelina Virjee

This quilt fits the requirements of the finished projects in that it has applique, three layers and the edges are finished.  Just all of my quilts, though, I reserve the right to come back to do more. And right now, this quilt is calling for more.  I do want to add more quilting on it, and maybe some other embellishments like beading.

Here is the link to the other Project Quilting challenge entries.

Quilt Reveal: Bona Lisa

I started the Bona Lisa quilt in October as a part of the Something Wicked blog hop challenge.

 

I used a pattern by Joan who is one of the hostesses of the blog hop challenge.  It is a part of a bigger quilt, but I just used the pattern of the center. 

I combined applique and quilting as I usually do.

I then added some simple stitching in the background which you can't really see on the front, but you will see it on the back.

In December, I finished quilting it.  

I enjoyed making it so much that I took the time to make a label for it.  I was planning on hand stitching the rest of the label down in December, but I set it aside to make the daily videos in December. 

I finished sewing the label yesterday, so this quilt is ready for its big reveal! It fits perfectly as a door banner.

Here's the back so you can see the stitching. 

 This is the 13th quilt I finished this year, which is an appropriate number for a Halloween quilt, and the 161th quilt that I have ever finished.

Here is the video where I made the quilt.

Here is the 15 Minutes to Quilt video where I made the label.

Here is the 15 Minutes to Quilt video where I added the binding and label.

My Wicked Quilt: Bona Lisa

I am participating in the Something Wicked blog hop and now it's time for my blog hop day.  

I've been seeing a lot of beautiful Halloween patterns lately, and since Joan and Carol have been so accommodating and kind in hosting this blog hop, I decided to use one of their patterns. They both have provided so many Halloween patterns that it is difficult to choose, but a lot of them are on another hard drive, so it was pretty easy to choose.

I chose the center panel of the block of the month, Bona Lisa. The pattern is by Joan Kawano and the pattern is called Bona Lisa's Sweater Emporium 2024 BOM.  This is the pattern for the center of the quilt, and the remaining blocks are supposed to surround the center panel, but I decided to keep it simple and make this one block. 

I had thought about adding a house in the background, to go with my last Halloween quilt, but my fabric wasn't wide enough.  

I put together the headstone first, securing the fusible applique with some stitches. I chose a different fabric for the yarn at first, but I kept seeing this scrap of fabric from the Tropical Fish quilt and it looks more like yarn to me, so I switched it out.

The green is the backing fabric and will be trimmed away before I bind it.

Then I put together the skeleton and decided to combine the stitching to secure the applique with the quilting. I didn't use the layout in the pattern and didn't overlap the bones nearly as much as the pattern does.  I used the rejected yarn fabric for the mouth, though I realize my Lisa is going to have peach lipstick all over her teeth!  

I thought about adding more blocks around this panel, but I decided to stop here.  I have so many quilts that I need to finish that I wanted to get this one finished, which means the panel is enough by itself.  

The size of it is perfect for a door banner, and if I put it on the coat closet which is right by the front door, I think it makes a nice welcome for the season.

I need to do some more quilting on it, to secure the background with dark thread, to add the teeth, but since it gets dark early, I decided I could finish it tomorrow instead of rushing to get it done. I like to enjoy the process, and I am really enjoying making this quilt.

I also thought about adding extras like a bat or pumpkins or spider, but for some reason, this quilt is really satisfying the way it is, and I don't feel the need to add anything else.  See, I can stop when I want. I'm not addicted to quilting.

I'll show you the finished quilt soon.  

Be sure to check out the other participants in the blog hop this week. I gave you the list in my last post.

Quilt Reveal: Tropical Fish Quilt

 

I started this Tropical Fish quilt for the July blog hop, but I wasn't able to finish it before my post date. Since then, I have finished quilting and binding it, and it is now ready for its grand reveal.

The fish is made with free cut applique pieces, made out of fabric scraps from some of my other projects. I used school glue instead of fusible to secure it. I combined stitching down the applique pieces with the quilting. 

I surrounded the fish with half square triangles. I could have used scraps for this part, but I was eager to cut into my bright and colorful fabric. I used the two at a time method to make the half square triangles. I cut the squares larger so I didn't have to deal with eighths, but didn't bother to trim the blocks. Instead of making the center panel fit the size of the blocks, I made the borders first, and then cut the center panel the size of the blocks.

It was fun to make this quilt with the colorful fabric and the free motion quilting.

I wound up with four hours of video, even though I didn't video each step, like the binding. I was able to reduce it down to a more reasonable size by cutting out lots of it, and speeding some of it to 400%. Speeding the video caused my editing program to crash several times, and I had to break down the video into two pieces to get it to work without crashing.

I am getting pretty good with finding workarounds to problems and am enjoying the editing process.

According to my spreadsheet, I have finished 160 quilts in my lifetime. I still have to work on finishing more quilts than I started, but I have finished a lot of quilts this year.

Linked with:

Wednesday Wait Loss

Patchwork and Quilts Link Party

Off The Wall Friday

Quilt Reveal: Five Minute Quilt

 I thought it would be fun to try out the AI trend, so even though I have lots of ideas for quilt videos, I asked AI to give me a title, a description and a script for a viral YouTube video and waited to see the results.

I have to admit that it took me five minutes to stop laughing, because the title said "How to Make a Quilt in Five Minutes".  Since making a quilt is so much fun, why would anyone want to make one that quickly. Wouldn't you want to make the fun last as long as possible?

Also, I don't think it is possible to make a quilt in five minutes. My spreadsheet says my average speed to make a quilt is one year, but that includes the time it waits while I think. Start to finish, I estimate my minimum speed to be eight hours for a simple quilt.

It makes sense though that someone might just want a quick explanation about what quilting is about, to decide whether they would be willing to do those things, or maybe to understand why someone else is so interested in quilting.

I started reading the script and it is definitely about making a quilt in five minutes. I think I might be able to make a quilt in five minutes. Maybe a 3" x 5" whole quilt, sewn around the edges to batting and binding and turned right side out. A line for quilting. I'm not sure, but it would only be five minutes of my time, so I accepted the challenge. After all, if I meet the challenge, I am a winner, but if I don't, I can say "I told you it wasn't possible".

Then I read more of the script, and it talks about cutting five inch squares, and making rows and sewing rows to each other. It didn't say how many squares, so maybe a four patch would work. It definitely ups the challenge, and makes it less manageable, but I was committed at this point and decided I would try to make it anyway. Just five minutes of my time, after all.

I made a video about this five minute challenge. I'll let you decide for yourself if I managed to meet the challenge. You get to decide if I wound up with a quilt, and whether I cheated.

I also made a video about explaining how to make a quilt in five minutes. I already had most of the video done, so I figured it would be pretty easy. I am still under the delusion that a five minute video will only take an hour to edit. It still takes me hours to edit even a five minute video.

I had a lot of fun with this challenge.