Best Of and Year-End Review

 As I have prepared for this post and reviewed the activities of the year I am filled with joy and gratitude... despite of the strangeness of the year with unrest and division of "camps" with the political, social, medical and financial ups and downs, twists and turns and unknowns.

I think I have mentioned previously that a friend told me years ago that I was an optimistic pessimist... all because I plan for the worst, but hope for the best.  Life is far too short to dwell on the hardships of life... when life gives you scraps, make QUILTS!  

I believe with all my heart that I am not the only quilter that lives by this quote!  So many of us dove into our stash to make masks earlier in the year... creating more scraps for even more quilts!  

As I recalled the various quilts I made this year (20 in total all in varying sizes from postcard to King-sized) by looking through my digital photo albums I thought of each recipient that was on the receiving end of them.  Words cannot express the joy I felt when I saw or heard of their reactions when they saw their memories recreated into a quilt for the first time.  Several of them were t-shirt memory quilts, one was a quilt that told the story of a family's legacy, and one that made me feel as though I was crawling up into the lap of my Grandma Schleich -  the Pieces From The Past Sew Along Quilt.

Top Five?  In order of popularity???  Aside from the obvious Pieces From the Past Posts, (and the 500th Post celebration with a give away) it is as follows:

5)    Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness featuring an improv pieced 5"x7" mini-quilt mug rug

4)    Live Love Laugh ~ another mini-quilt using half-hexies and free-motion to replicate the sound waves of laughter

3)    A Time For All Seasons ~  The finish of the Block of the month hosted by Sew Incredibly Crazy & Friends

2)    Masks from Fishes & Loaves ~ When I thought I had reached the end of my elastic supply there was more to be found... I also found some much needed inspiration and creativity.

1)    Feeling Ambitious ~ When I felt as though I was stuck in a rut, with the help of Roseanne and Sue over at Home Sewn By Us, and their linky party for weekly planning, I had overcame that rut, but then just bit off more than I could handle.  There is just something about "announcing" a plan for the coming week that can help to keep moving forward.  Though it is important to remember that sometimes life happens and the plan doesn't go as well as you thought, but you can pick up where you left off and move forward... and there are still friends that offer encouraging words and pats on the back to get you going again.

As part of the year-end review it is customary to review the goals that had been determined... What were they?  

1)  Host the Pieces From the Past Sew Along

2)  Finish Scrap Dance Minuet Mystery Quilt and 2019 BOMs

3)  Further experimentation with Eco-Printing

4)  Continue with my Camping Journal Quilt

Did I successfully accomplish them???

The Pieces From the Past Sew Along had its kick-off in January.  To date, I have published 17 of the 20 blocks.  There is still time to join the fun.  With permission from C&T Publishing, the patterns are free and released every three weeks.  The blocks vary in sizes and techniques as well as skill levels, from beginner friendly to more challenging.  No need to be afraid of the most difficult blocks because I have included alternative blocks that can used as an option.  Most of the blocks take about an hour to piece, some a little longer... but there is still lots of time before the wrap-up in March.

To date, I have had 322 participants download patterns from 19 different countries.  And I have loved seeing the variety of blocks that have been linked up on the blog for the fat-quarter give away with each post.  From the traditional 1930s fabrics to modern, bright & brilliant colors and prints.  Each one is so unique and I look forward to seeing the finished quilts.  

I did successfully complete the scrap dance minuet, the 2019 color challenge and the Time For All Seasons quilts...

I did not get to experiment with the Eco-Printing.  😥  This was something that I had wanted to continue with my friend Kayleen and the timing just never worked out.  I did, however, use some of the amazing fabric we dyed in The Legacy Quilt - the commissioned, king-sized quilt for my friend's God-son.  You can read the entire story, the meanings of blocks and the reason for selecting them, colors and more details by following the high-lighted link above.

The Camping Journal grew by 37 blocks this year!  I continued using some of the blocks from Fiona Sandwich, but designed a few of my own as well.  We camped 25 nights at 12 different locations between February and November.  We enjoyed hiking and biking, just the two of us and a few times with friends.  Memories made every. single. time!

The year end reviews from instagram are always fun to look at... here are my top 9 and annual color analysis...

I just love the bubbles of color!  So me! Mostly calm and mellow colors with small, bright colors that pop.  And the top 9 pics reveal my sense of humor and love for Mrs. Bobbins as well as my quiet moments of meditation and encouragement.

Now that I have reviewed my year I need to begin looking forward to a new start with a new calendar year.  Aside from 2013 when Dave made a career change from college professor to being self-employed,  and the loss of my Dad, 2020 has  been one of the harder years we have faced together... and we are excited to see what 2021 has to hold for us.  

One thing for certain... well, two, but one is we cannot contain our joy about welcoming an new grand-daughter in May!

Who knew 6 years ago when I made these little shirts for our first grand-daughter, Emma, that we would end up with three little ladies to love???

The other thing we know?  Whatever may come our way, God will good from it.

What are YOU looking forward to in 2021?

Leave a comment... you know I love to hear from all of you!

As I sign off I share the wisdom from a yogi tea tag... "Peace of mind comes piece by piece."

I'll be working on that piece by piece... Happy New Year!

Melva

Linking with:

To Do Tuesday at Home Sewn By Us

Best of 2020 at Meadow Mist Designs

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilts and More

Friday Foto Fun at Powered by Quilting

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts