Wednesday, December 28, 2022

My Best of 2022



Hi and welcome to my stop on the Best of 2022 blog linky party!  I had such fun going through my posts from the year to figure out which 5 posts I would be highlighting today.  It was a great way for me to review the year and revisit some finishes from earlier in the year that I had forgotten about.  I'm looking forward to 2023, how about you?

Click on any of the titles to be taken to the actual blog post for more details and pictures.

1.  Melodic Mystery Quilt

The Melodic Mystery Quilt kicked off in July and is going strong.  If you want to join in the fun, you can find all of the information about the Melodic Mystery Quilt here.




2.  Macaron Mystery Quilt

The Macaron Mystery Quilt kicked off in July 2021 and wrapped up this April.  The reveal parade had almost 200 Macaron Mystery quilts in it!!  Check out all of the quilts here.  





Between the end of the Macaron Mystery quilt along and the start of the Melodic Mystery quilt along, I hosted a quilt along for the Just One Charm Pack Quilts book.  There were three "official" patterns from the book as part of the quilt along, but there were versions of each book pattern made.  You can see some of the finishes here.








4.  Checkers Pattern

One of my favorite patterns this year was Checkers, a fun, fat quarter friendly twist on the classic nine-patch design.  You can see more pictures and read about the quilt here (you can find the pattern in my shop in both digital and print versions).





5.  Favorite Tutorial - "ele" Quilting Design

My favorite tutorial for the year was my "ele" quilting tutorial where I showed how to add some simple loops using the grid of the quilt top piecing to create a fun and easy quilting design.

I even figured out how to make a video showing how to quilt it!  See the video and blog post here.

And remember, the Board & Batten Quilt Along is starting soon (January 5th) so grab your pattern and pick out your fabric to join in.



Thanks for stopping by my blog!  I hope you will consider linking up your favorite posts from 2022 or stopping by to see other blogger's best of 2022 posts!  You can visit the Best of post right here.




 

 

 




Monday, December 26, 2022

Best of 2022 of Linky Party

Welcome to the Best of 2022 Linky Party! 
 This is the eighth annual "Best of" blog party to share your and read others top posts of 2022.



Please enjoy the best of posts below and leave a comment for the blogger, your kind words will bring a smile to their face.

To include your blog in the link party, simply write a new blog post highlighting your "best" 5 posts from 2022 and linkup.  There is no set way or rules to pick your best, you can pick and highlight your posts anyway you would like.  Some examples include:
  • Posts with the most views
  • Posts with the most comments
  • Posts that provoked the best discussions
  • Posts showing your favorite 2021 finishes
  • Posts of your best tutorials
  • Posts that are simply your favorites
I invite you to grab a cup of tea, coffee, apple cider, or your favorite blog reading beverage, relax, and have some fun reading the best blog posts of 2022 :)

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Please note that this year end party will take the place of the Favorite Finishes Monthly Linkup, so there will be no monthly linkup for December.


 

 

 




Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Blocks and Fabric Pulls :)

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful December.  I wrapping up for the year and planning for next year.  I have three in progress or new projects coming up:

Melodic Mystery Quilt

I have December's blocks for the Melodic Mystery Quilt finished and am loving the Fabric from the Attic prints combined with the navy solids.  You can find all of the instructions for the free monthly quilt along here.




Board & Batten Quilt Along

The Board and Batten quilt along kicks off on January 5th and is the perfect quilty start to the new year :)  For the quilt along, I am making the throw sized version using Honey by Ruby Star Society and Kona Pepper.  You can find out all of the details for the quilt along here and purchase the pattern here: digital and print.




Diatom Quilt Along

Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl is hosting a super awesome new sample quilt along called Diatom starting in the new year.  I am going to join in and make a wall sized version using either 4 or 9 of the blocks.  I wanted something super bright and fun for my wall so I am going to be using some neon lime green, magenta, and black prints along with a white solid.  I have never made a quilt with these colors and am excited to see how it looks.  You can see the fabric requirements here and purchase the pattern here.






Wednesday, December 14, 2022

2022 Goal Review and 2023 Goals

Where did 2022 go?  Is it just me or was it just the spring?  Wasn't September last week?  My kids are now in high school and middle school and all of their school work and after-school activities has made the time fly by.

My wonderful bloggy friend Yvonne, who blogs at Quilting Jetgirl, hosts an annual planning party to layout goals for the upcoming year. I thought that I would use this post to first go back to my 2022 goals to see if I had actually accomplished them and then post my 2023 goals.  See her post here.



2022 Goal Check-In

Due to the uncertainty of life this year, I kept my goals for 2022 pretty simple...and I was able to accomplish them :)

  1. Working on my next book - this is going to be taking a good amount of my time this upcoming year. - Done, woohoo!  Just Two Charm Pack Quilts releases May 2023.
  2. Teaching - I hope to teach more in-person next year and work on some new workshops.  Done, I have done tons of teaching, both in-person and virtual and have enjoyed seeing quilters again.
  3. Mystery quilt - the next mystery quilt will kick off in July 2022 and the design is actually already set. Done, the Melodic Mystery quilt along is in progress.

2023 Goals
  1. Just Two Charm Pack Quilts book launch.  This will be my main focus of next year, preparing all of the launch content.  I hope to have videos, a virtual trunk show, giveaways, and more.
  2. Next mystery quilt - My next mystery quilt along will kick off in July 2023 (right after the book launch) so I want to make sure I have everything set a little early this year.  I have a rough idea of the design.  Any ideas on naming the mystery quilt?  I always use an "M" word.
  3. Kids - I had a bit of panic when I realized that my oldest would be graduating high school in 2025.  I need to soak in all that I can while they are still little

 




Monday, December 12, 2022

Best of 2022 Linky Party Coming Soon

It is no secret that I love blog link parties.  One of the main reasons I started my blog was so that I could take part in the sharing of knowledge and inspiration through the parties and so I am very excited to announce that I am hosting my eighth annual blog linky party, the Best of 2022 Linky Party!




Please note that this year end party will take the place of the Favorite Finishes Monthly Linkup, so there will be no monthly linkup for December.

To take part in the link party, simply write a new blog post highlighting your "best" 5 posts from 2022 and linkup.  There is no set way or rules to pick your best, you can pick and highlight your posts anyway you would like.  Some examples include:
  • Posts with the most views
  • Posts with the most comments
  • Posts that provoked the best discussions
  • Posts showing your favorite finishes
  • Posts of your best tutorials
  • Posts that are simply your favorites
This post is not only a great way to find new readers, it is also wonderful to be able to highlight some of your best posts for those readers who have joined your blog throughout the year.

The link party will open the day after Christmas, Monday December 26th and will be open for one week ending on Monday, January 2nd.

While you are waiting for this linky party to start up, you can take a look through the Best of 2015-2021.  Thanks!









 

 






Thursday, December 8, 2022

Announcing the Just Two Charm Pack Quilts Book!!

I have some exciting news today....I get to officially announce my new book, Just Two Charm Pack Quilts!!  The book will be published by Stash Publications in late May.




This book is a follow on to my previous book, Just One Charm Pack Quilts, which came out in 2020.  The one charm pack book was really popular, but many quilters asked me about making larger quilts with their charm packs (most of the one charm pack quilts are baby to small lap size).  

Like the name suggests, this book is full of pattern goodness that uses two charm packs per quilt to make generous throw sized quilts.  

Don't have charm packs or two matching charm packs?  No problem, the book teaches how to create your own charm packs, combine different charm packs together, and to use your stash to expand one charm pack into two.

I can't wait to be able to share more about the book in the coming months!


C&T PUBLICATIONS SPRING CATALOG

I might have done a little happy dance when I got the C&T Publications spring catalog in the mail and saw my book was on the cover.  The book also has a two page spread in the catalog which shows some additional quilts in the book.






LAUNCH DATE

Publication Date Late May- Just Two Charm Pack Quilts will be published towards the end of May.  The exact date is still unknown depending on shipping times/delays.

Amazon Pre-Sale - Just Two Charm Pack Quilts is already listed for pre-order on Amazon.

My Pre-Sale Special Deal - I am going to be offering a super bundle for signed books that will include additional patterns and more!  More details in the spring :)


I hope that you are excited about the book too, thanks!!


 







Thursday, December 1, 2022

Melodic Mystery ++ Flower Blocks


Let's Make Some Flower Blocks!  

Welcome to the December set of instructions for the Melodic Mystery Quilt!  December is a busy month for many people so I designed this month's piecing to be a little quicker.

The Melodic Mystery Quilt is a free quilt-along that runs from July 2022 through April 2023 with a set of directions revealed the first Thursday of every month. 

There is plenty of time to join in on the quilt along, instructions are published monthly so there is plenty of time to catch up! You can find all of the information about the Melodic Mystery, including schedule, past instructions, links to the Facebook group, sneak peek, and more in the Main Melodic Mystery Quilt Page.


Easy to Print PDF Instructions

Now that the Melodic Mystery quilt along has ended, you can find a easy to print, full version of the pattern for sale in my pattern shop.







Flower Blocks

Combine the following pieces to make 9 flower blocks 9 ½" x 9 ½". 

1.  Arrange the following units and pieces according to the diagram. 
4 C/bg HST units 3 ½" x 3 ½"
4 fabric A squares 3 ½" x 3 ½"
1 bg square 3 ½" x 3 ½"

2. Sew together the units and pieces into rows, pressing seams open or away from the fabric A squares.  Each row should measure 3 ½" x 9 ½".

3. Sew the rows together, pressing the seams open or towards the HST units, to make a flower block  9 ½" x 9 ½".  

4. Repeat steps 1-3 to make a total of 9 flower blocks.





Quarter Blocks

Combine the following pieces to make 4 quarter blocks 6 ½" x 6 ½".

1.  Arrange the following units and pieces according to the diagram. 
2 A/bg HST units 3 ½" x 3 ½"
2 bg squares 3 ½" x 3 ½" 

2. Sew together units and pieces into rows, pressing seams open or away from the HST units.  

3. Sew the rows together, pressing seams open, to make a quarter block 6 ½" x 6 ½".  

4. Repeat steps 1-3 to make a total of 4 quarter blocks.





Many thanks to the generous sponsors of the Melodic Mystery Quilt!





Any questions? Leave them in a comment below or post them to our Facebook group page. I look forward to seeing everyone's fabric selections. The next set of instructions will be published on the first Thursday of next month.