#quilt21in2021 Parade!!

Let me start today's post with a big THANK YOU for all the encouragement and cheering you shared with me this past year as I pushed through #quilt21in2021 -- you kept me accountable!!

So here they are -- all in the order of finishing!  

No comments necessary as this parade is mostly for my benefit and memory.

#1 -- finished January 25 -- sent it out to be quilted as a "kickstarter" for the year.

Lap robe, pattern from Country Threads, gifted to a long time friend relocating to the south.

#2 -- finished February 3 -- quilted it myself.

Crib size version of my pattern, Mississippi Mud -- waiting for the right baby to come along!

#3 -- finished February 15 -- quilted it myself.

Lap size -- 8 point star blocks made with Marti Michell's Stripper Set -- added to my stack!

#4 -- finished February 25 -- quilted it myself

Crib size, another version of my Mississippi Mud pattern -- added to my stack!

#5 -- finished March 13 -- quilted by myself

Lap size -- a Trip Around the World variation from Blanche and Helen Young's classic book using the pink/teal version of the print I colored for King's Road Imports in the early 1990's.

Gifted to my oldest granddaughter for her birthday.

#6 -- finished March 26 -- quilted by myself

Large wall hanging, original "mash-up" of random blocks to merge and expand two UFO's into my birth year temperature quilt.

Just try to get this one away from me!?!

#7 -- finished April 11 -- quilted by myself.

Lap robe using a Mary Ellen Hopkins "spools" pattern variation and another of the colorways from my brief stint of fabric design for Kings Road Imports.

Gifted to my oldest grandson for his birthday (but it seems to have escaped without a proper picture?)

#8 -- finished May 7 -- quilted by myself.

Large lap rob -- a merger of two sets of hexagon/star blocks from two different "quilt alongs" that were happily the same size blocks!  

Love this one so much -- it's a keeper!

#9 -- finished June 2 -- quilted by myself.

A small wall hanging with 6" Bride's Bouquet blocks made using Marti Michell templates.

In the stack!

#10 -- finished July 4 -- quilted by myself.

Lap robe -- the final color exercise from Gai Perry's Color From the Heart book.

In the stack!

#11 -- finished July 26 -- quilted by myself

Lap robe version of my pattern, Stars All Around, using Marti Michell Sashing Stars templates.

In the stack!

#12 -- finished August 7 -- hand quilted by myself.

The long twin size quilt started with Marge Sampson George's English paper pieced Dodecagon blocks and ran amuck as I incorporated other design styles -- a medallion setting and fussy cut fabric motifs.  It took 7 months to hand quilt and it might be sold?  Special friends have asked to buy it!

#13 -- finished September 25 -- quilted by myself.

A small experimental version of a design from Quilters Companion magazine.

Waiting for the right baby!

#14 -- finished October 3 -- quilted by myself.

Large lap robe/wall hanging pieced using Marti Michell's Feathered Star Set P.

This is my new Christmas quilt for the living room!

#15 -- finished October 31 -- quilted by myself.

Large crib size pieced using Marti Michell's Drunkard Path template set.

Make me an offer!

#16 -- finished November 4 -- quilted by a professional machine quilter.

This is the double-size version of my pattern, Courthouse Stars, and has been gifted to a young friend to inspire her bedroom makeover!

#17 -- finished November 15 -- hand quilted by myself.

Large lap robe using six of the twelve blocks in the @lemonshark's BOM in 2019.

The other half are layered and being quilted in January.  Family members are muttering about this one so it may find it's way into one of their stacks.

#18 -- finished December 9 -- quilted by myself.

A twin size quilt made from antique blocks that I rescued from horrible green sashing.

(For the purists in the crowd, I believe the woman who pieced this would be happy to see it finished and used by quilt lovers.)

#19 -- finished December 10 -- quilted by a professional machine quilter.

Twin size sample of an old pattern that is no longer available.  I was going to let this one go, but now I'm not so sure -- it turned out so lovely!

#20 -- finished December 22 -- quilted by myself.

No pattern for this large wall hanging -- just combining hexie mosaic elements I liked.

The plan is to hang it in my home after some winter painting.

And last but not least #21 -- finished December 28 -- quilted by myself.

Crib size pieced from a panel of pre-prints by my mother and now waiting for the birth of her next great grandchild!

What a year!!!  

Not what I was expecting but with good bits just the same.

Not only did I eliminate a stack of quilt tops rendering them more useful but I also gained confidence about my ability to finish/quilt my own work.  

My quilting skills improved.  

I gained a new understanding of the productivity of daily work to make progress.   

I hope the future will see me moving through my projects all the way to the end instead of stopping and turning to something new.  

The satisfaction of finishing can't be overrated!!

For the past week, I've been returning to my studio every day for a few hours to sort and tidy up the chaos.  There are still UFO's up there to motivate me and keep me busy. 

 I'm making a new list and some new goals for 2022.

2021 has been a challenging year for all of us -- I've been lucky -- the hardships have been generally manageable for me.  2022 could be more of the same but it will also be what I make of it.

I've been looking back to find the good parts of the past year in search of insights into the possibilities for the new year.  I hope I'll find ways to pay attention and lift up the "exhausted" around me who are being crushed!

Onward to 2022!!

Mary