Best of 2021

 I've tried to show a representative selection of the quilts I made in 2021 that I'm most pleased with.

 

My best quilt top of 2021 is the Proud Caribou . This is my biggest foundation paper-pieced quilt top, ever, measuring 60" x 80". It just remains to get quilted. 

 

The runner up is a quilt representing my entire Colorful Quilt History . It contains scraps from my whole quilting journey from 2011 until now. With a size of approx. 47" x 57" it made a good dent in my scrap bins.

My first, ever, pixel quilt is this  Forget Me Not quilt. It was a fun quilt to pattern test.

I hardly ever make a second version of a quilt, but I made an exception for this Modern Plus quilt. This pattern is so great for scraps!

 

I don't only make big quilts, sometimes I make an exception for a gift to a friend. This Table Runner is made of leftover fabrics from my two years as ambassador for Island Batik.

Linked up to:

Meadow Mist Designs - Best of 2021 Linky Party 

Oh Scrap!

Keep on quilting!

Fat Eighth Flapjacks Quilt

 Looking for free patterns for my charity quilts I came over this one from Fat Quarter shop:
the Fat Eighth Flapjacks Quilt . It is originally designed for a Fat Eighth bundle, but it also works perfectly with scraps.

This resulted in a colorful quilt with lots of fun and interesting scrap pieces.

 The weather cooperated so that I could take an outdoor picture.

 

 The backing is a duvet cover, and the quilting is a simple crosshatch.
Finished size of the quilt is 55" x 65". 

This is my fifteenth charity quilt for the year 2021, and number 79 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting! 

Snoopy Among the Cacti

This is my latest charity quilt; a fast make using a tutorial from Just Get it Done Quilts. A cute print with Snoopy among the cacti is the focal fabric for the quilt measuring 40" square. The backing is perfect for the quilt.

This is my fourteenth charity quilt for the year 2021, and number 78 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

Dumpling Pouch

 Last year I took up tatting again and made this cute little project "wreath" with my shuttle. I mounted it on a piece of Liberty fabric, and that was it. The project has been stored in my bins the whole time, with me wondering what to do with it.

 With the Wips-B-Gone 100 day challenge I finally decided what to do. Michelle at michellepatterns.com has the cutest Dumling Pouch patterns. This is the bigger version. Wonder clips for size comparison.

 The pouch is perfect for my tatting supplies, and I will never forget what's inside this pouch!

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Modern Plus in Fall

 

About one year ago I made a Modern Plus quilt . That was such a fun project that I had to make another one this year.

This year's quilt is more in fall colors than the last one. I used the tutorial by Jeni Baker of  'In Color Order'.

The finished quilt is 48" x 64". The design is a great way to use scraps and stash.

This is my thirteenth charity quilt for the year 2021, and number 77 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

Flying Geese Pouch

 

 I made a little pouch from scraps and stash. For me this was a new method of making these particular flying geese. I probably won't make them again, because there was quite a lot of waste in the process. But, one has to try things out, though.

Even the zipper is a recycled one, so this is totally a win-win project.

Blue/Green Charity Quilt

 Another charity quilt is made. This time I used fabrics from only one fabric line, that's pretty unusual for me. I made an "old-fashioned" patchwork quilt from 18 different fabrics from Birchtree Lane by Connecting Threads, a line from 2015 according to the selvedge.

 A simple patchwork layout looks great with the many different prints of birds, leaves and feathers together with blenders.

 The uprooted tree is always a trustworthy quilt holder.

Dimension of the finished quilt is 48" x 60". Quilted with wobbly lines using the walking foot.

 We have been blessed with fairly warm weather this October, so the forest is still green even though the leaves have fallen off the trees.

This is my twelfth charity quilt for the year 2021, and number 76 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

Colorful Quilt History

 I started quilting in 2011, but I have been sewing as long as I can remember. In addition I have been knitting, crocheting and doing all kinds of crafts all my life. Right now quilting is my main activity.

 For the "10 Year Anniversary" I decided to make a quilt that represents fabrics from my whole quilt career.

As for most quilters I get quite a lot of scraps after my many projects. I have severe problems in throwing away scraps, and my scrap bins are overflowing.

I got inspired to make curvy log cabins, using only fabrics from my stash and scraps. The neutral strips are cut 1" wide, and the colored strips are cut 1.5" wide. 

I tried to make each curvy log cabin "ball" different, and kept matching colors within each ball. Novelty fabrics were used as much as possible, and otherwise bright colored fabrics were put in to make the balls perfect. There are lots of animals and other fun stuff in this quilt!
 

 The first layout attempt was carefully stepped on by the cat.

 

 I wonder whether this layout is perfect? 

 

My scrap bins provided fabrics for all blocks except for one, the aqua block, which is made from Island Batik fabrics as a tribute to my two years as an ambassador for them.
 

  Here is the finished top laid out on my deck, a colorful and happy quilt top. There is a black fabric which is remnants from a party clutch I made in 2011, and an apple fabric in the peach ball that I bought this September.

 My whole quilting career is represented!

 

 I love taking outdoor pictures of my quilts, and for this one it was perfect to show off the bright colors together with the fall surroundings.

The quilt is about 47" x 57" after the spiral quilting with Aurifil 50wt Dove.

 

 The quilt also brightens up a new apartment complex.

  The railing on my deck is always a good spot for quilts.

 

 The apple tree in the background is also a good backdrop. All the apples were picked before the photo session.

This quilt will be donated, and it is my eleventh charity quilt for the year 2021, and number 75 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

 

Keep on quilting!

 

 

Forget Me Not

 

 This is the Forget Me Not quilt which I pattern tested in February this year for Erin & Sarah of Quilts For Good. I was finally able to quilt it during the last days of September.

The dense crosshatch quilting gives a crisp design and complements the pixel pattern.

The photo session took place early in the morning on my deck catching the sunrise. The gentle breeze helped getting the "dramatic" picture.

 Most of the fabrics used in the quilt are remnants from my two years as an Island Batik ambassador. It is no secret that I have a soft spot for blues.

The pattern features a pixel design of Forget Me Not flowers. These flowers are tiny in real life, often considered as weeds. Actually they are my favorite flowers.

This was my first pixel quilt, the smallest squares were cut to 2.0", finished size 1.5".
 

 

The texture of the quilt is brilliant with those densely spaced quilt lines. They were all done using the walking foot.

The finished size of the quilt is 48" x 66".

 

This quilt was pin basted for a long time, but then I needed the pins for another quilt, and so I was "forced" to finish this Forget Me Not quilt. The pixel quilt begged to get quilted in a dense crosshatch design.

The quilting lines are approximately 1" apart, and were marked with a hera marker. The thread used for quilting is Aurifil 50wt white #2024. 

 

Keep on quilting!

 

Curvy Log Cabin

As for most of us quilters there is always an abundance of scraps after finishing projects. I have a problem with throwing away fabrics, so my scrap bins are always overflowing.

I was inspired to make a scrappy, curvy log cabin quilt. I dug into my scrap bins and started cutting 1.5" colored strips and 1" of the neutrals.

 

I'm trying to make a couple of these 10.5" square blocks a day. I always knew that my scraps would come in handy one day!

Keep on quilting!

512 - A Valued Scrap Quilt

 I love making scrap quilts! It feels so good utilizing every little piece of my leftover fabrics. I can't get myself to throw away fabric, that's why my scrap bins overfloweth!

When Erica Jackman of Kitchen Table Quilting came out with the tutorial for the #valuedscrapquilt I just had to try making one.

 

This is the result. The tutorial called for a 60" x 72" finished size, that's 720 pieces of fabric scraps cut to 2.5" x 3.5", but I went for a smaller size; 48" x 64" which is a perfect size for a charity quilt.

 

This is early in the designing process, testing out the placement of the blocks.

 

 During the photo shoot of the finished quilt I tested out this amazing tree as a quilt holder. I have never seen any tree like this in my corner of the world, I hope it will stay there forever!

 

A closer look of the finished quilt on my deck shows the complete design. A total of 512 scrap blocks cut to 2.5" x 3.5", laid out in a pleasing design of 16 x 32 blocks.

Even though a lot of scraps were used to make this quilt, there is still an abundance of fabrics in my scrap bins...

A black and white version of the previous picture shows that there is good color value gradation in the quilt.

I used this fun print from Ikea (2015) for the backing.

This is my tenth charity quilt for the year 2021, and number 74 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!