Announcing One Monthly Goal 2021 Sponsors!!

Just a few hours until we ring in the new year and I'm very pleased to announce that One Monthly Goal will return with another amazing group of sponsors!

The basics for One Monthly Goal remain the same - share your goal for the month then visit Elm Street Quilts to link-up your goal share.  Return at the end of the month to share your achievement.  (Need more information?  Read all about it on the One Monthly Goal page.)

The goal can be whatever you want - any step of the process in making something with fabric, thread or yarn.

Each month, there will be a random drawing to select a few participants who will win a prize from our sponsors.  Winners are selected from those who joined both the finish link-up and the goal link-up!

Fat Quarter Shop,  Quiltfolk, Aurifil, Make Modern, and  Paper Pieces are returning again this year as sponsors.  I truly appreciate their continued strong support of our link-up event!  

New this year, join me in welcome Oliso with a quarterly prize of a Oliso M2 Pro Mini Project Iron!

Fat Quarter Shop offers a tremendous selection of fabric, notions, books and just about anything you will need for your project. Consider their Sew Sampler box to receive a monthly surprise delivery of fabric and fun. 

Aurifil is home to a beautiful rainbow of thread in all weights, perfect for any of your sewing and quilting needs.  My favorite product is the designer collection boxes which coordinate with various fabric lines!  

Make Modern is a digital magazine launched by a collaboration of quilters based in Australia. Their magazine is filled with modern quilt designs and a wonderful source of inspiration. 

Oliso's goal is to design products that simplify everyday life. The Oliso M2 Pro Mini Project Iron  was designed just for sewing, quilting, and crafting and delivers the power of a full sized iron in a compact and lightweight design.

Paper Pieces has provided pre-cut paper shapes for English Paper Piecing using quality card stock and exact point-to-point measurements for over 20 years. They strive to provide excellent customer service and sewing to support to our customers and community.  

Quiltfolk is the magazine for quilters, by quilters, with about 180 pages of inspirational stories and stunning photography. Featuring four new locations each year, it’s like taking a vacation with your favorite quilt friends without ever leaving home!  Each issue of Quiltfolk is completely free of advertisements and their pages will showcase all of  beautiful quilts uncovered during their travels. Whether you’re looking for traditional, modern, antique, or art quilts – Quiltfolk‘s got you covered. 

Aurifil   

(Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram)

Fat Quarter Shop 

 (Website  \  Facebook  \  Instagram)

Make Modern Magazine

(Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram)

OLISO

 (Website   | Facebook  |  |Instagram)

Paper Pieces  

(Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram)

Quiltfolk  

(Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram)

In the days remaining of 2019, take a few minutes and think about your creative goals for the new year and how One Monthly Goal can provide an extra bit of incentive.  I can't wait to see what you make!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Reflecting on 2020 and Welcoming 2021

The end of one year and the beginning of the next is a wonderful time to reflect on goals accomplished and to set new ones for the upcoming year.  I'll be linking up to the #2021PlanningParty!

And this year was clearly like no other we have every experienced!  I shared my Best 5 (well actually 6) of 2020 in this post along with some quilting eye candy so take a peak.)  In today's post, I'm including some more photos of quilts from 2020.

My Happy Pineapple Quilt

In December of 2019, I set my goals for 2020 (see that post) and I feel good about the results.  My word for 2020 was boundaries - as in set them to find balance in my day AND break through them to push myself to use try different colors in my quilts and work hard to improve my skills in my quilting, in my writing, and in my daily exercise.   (My words for the year have been balance (2019), bold (2018) and brave (2017).)

From a quilting perspectives, I burst through my own creative boundaries as worked on techniques and color combinations that were new to me and stretched me out of my comfort zone.  The pandemic created an interesting world for all of us and as a result, I found plenty of time to quilt and enjoyed some respite from the stress of the day as I did so.

For 2021, I choose the word seek - as in seek new challenges in quilting and seek opportunities to connect and collaborate with others.

My specific goals are simplified for 2021. (The status of my 2020 goals are below.)  Basically, 

• Experiment with color and design and play outside my comfort zone  
• Seek inspiration everywhere and work to provide through my blog posts (tutorials, OMG etc.)
• Establish a social media plan - when and what to post
• Collaborate with another quilter(s) on a QuiltCon submission

In addition, I intend to stay focused on fabric purchases specific to projects and to make an effort to use up my stash.

Improv Stacked Curve Quilt

As I did in prior years, I had very specific goals for 2020, some were achieved and some not so much!

Create

• Participate in a group quilt for submission to QuiltCon 2021- this didn't happen (other than my guilds submission) and is something I'd like to strive for in 2021
• Submit new quilt design for publish - Accomplished!  The quilt will be revealed in February and I can't wait to share
• Improve my design skills through weekly challenges - did nothing with this goal
• Keep pushing my boundaries on color - my quilt Carnival and my improv Curves WIP fit this goal as will the quilt to be revealed in February.   That said, I still tend to gravitate to the same shades of blues, aqua, green with plenty of gray!

Motivation and Inspiration (my blog tag line)

• Collaborate with other quilters/bloggers on a project - Kristin and I held a successful hand pieced QAL called Book Club.  We are planning another for 2021, details to be released soon!
• Encourage participation in One Monthly Goal - Overall the number of participants stays about the same; some people have stuck with it for years and others drop off as yet others discover the link-up.  Still more to be done there.
• Figure out how the purpose of the ESQ Facebook group - Did nothing on this one.  I've ignored it completely, sadly.
• Publish tutorials at least quarterly - While there were several posts ( stacked improv curves, left-right geese quilt block, and two from our hand-piecing QAL on partial seams and templates), I really did not focus on this goal

Improve my skills

• Practice and perfect a new FMQ design - Did not focus on this at all - I was having too much fun hand-quilting.  Perhaps with this new book, I will give it a try in 2021.
• Practice my photography flat shot - Nothing on this
• Do more with the fabric I already own - Definitely - the pandemic gave me time and motivation to sew with my stash
• Improve my technique in quilting and in my exercise - Most definitely - this year it was all about the curve!

It's Circle Time!

Happy New Year!  All the best to you and your family for a wonderful year!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

100 Day Project Update - 53 Days to Quiltcon Together

Back on Tuesday, November 10, Cassandra kicked off the 100 days to QuiltCon countdown.

I decided to join in and make as many 4-patches as I can with the goal of having enough to make a 60'' x 60'' quilt.  Into my bottom-less bin of solid scraps I went and started trimming down to 1 1/2 '' strips and then sewing things together.

I'm sewing the 4 patches into 6'' blocks with the secondary goal of having 100 of these pieced together.

How am I doing so far?  I've got 36!   With 53 days to go, I should have 47 of these altogether.  I've likely got enough 4 patches to make 11 more blocks so I think I am in ok shape although I am falling behind every day!

Probably no surprise to anyone who has made one of these quilts in the past, they take a lot of time.... probably more than I anticipated.

The project is very satisfying though so I'm off to make some more blocks!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

One Monthly Goal December Finish Link-up

Ready to link up your December finishes?

Don't panic - this link-up is open until December 31 at 11:55 pm ET.

My goal for December was to make a bunch of mini journal covers for gifts.  I just love making these and suspect I'll keep making them!

Now it's your turn to link-up!

There will be three winners this month - Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate,  Make Modern is offering a 6 month subscription and Therm O Web is offering a collection of Heat n Bond products. 

Congrats to Deb, Kate, and Mary - the lucky December winners!  (updated 1/2)

Visit the One Monthly Goal event page for the specific requirements for links and social tags. 

And remember, to be eligible for the prize(s) by random drawing you must linkup at both the goal setting and the accomplishment linkup in a given month. (December Goal Setting Link-up)

Make sure you add a link to this OMG post so others can follow where you are linking.   Let's make that easy -  just paste this into your post:  

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - December Finish Link-up

Sign up to receive email notifications when the One Monthly Goal linkup is open.  Think of it as a helpful reminder!  Joining the link-up from Instagram -see the tutorial.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Best of 2020

Each year, Cheryl invites bloggers to join the best of 2020 link-up and share their 5 best blog posts of  the year.   And the best part?  We get to define what 'best' means!  


 My best of 2020 all correlate to some major things that happened in my life or for my blog.

My biggest quilt / blog related thrill came with the selection of Astro as a Modern Quilt Guild quilt of the month!  The pattern for Astro is available to all members of the MQG and the quilt will hang - virtually of course - at QuiltCon Together in February!  ( MQG members can find the pattern here!)

I enjoyed the straight line quilting and then highlighting bits with some hand quilting.

The second best was a publish of my quilt Flying Colors which appeared in the October issue of American Patchwork & Quilting!  The quilt looks so pretty in the magazine photo!

USED WITH PERMISSION FROM AMERICAN PATCHWORK & QUILTING®.
©2020 MEREDITH CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

My #3 is the hand pieced QAL I hosted with my friend Kristin. The QAL was called Book Club and each block was named after a character in a favorite novel.  The Book Club pattern is available for purchase.  Kristin and I are working on our QAL for 2021 - all will be revealed soon!  These blog posts were as much fun to create and the quilt was to piece.

Number 4 of 5 may be the quilt I had the most fun creating - I smiled through every single step of the process.  Carnival was an exploration of a color palette out of my comfort zone, intense walking foot quilting and then highlights with hand quilting.  Several of my quilts this year featured an exploration of curves but this was my favorite finish!  I got more compliments on this quilt on the blog and IG this year!

Finally, my year long WIP is my Temperature quilt for 2020.  I posted about it each month and have enjoyed sharing the recording of high and low temperatures here in NC on my blog.  Just a few days left in the year and I'll have a finished flimsy!  I've got a tutorial available about making a temperature quilt plus some more information on my project available from this post.

Sneaking in a #6, the posts that regularly generate the most views is One Monthly Goal which will be returning in 2021.  More on that soon! 

I enjoyed the look back into the past year and hope you did too!

Happy New Year!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Book Review - Step by step Texture Quilting & Modern Curves and Bold Stripes

I've been enjoying flipping through two new books and building a list of projects to play with once my holiday sewing is done. I'm excited to share a peak into each of these today.   (Note these books were supplied to me by C&T Publishing.  The opinions are my own.)

First up is Quilt Modern Curves & Bold Strips by Heather Black and Daisy Aschehoug.   I've been a big fan of Heather and Daisy's work for quite awhile and I was excited when I first learned they were collaborating on a book together.   And this book does not disappoint!

Since I've been playing a bit with curves this past year (Astro, Circle Time, Carnival, and Pebble Blocks) and have taken two quilt classes on curves - with Daisy (!) and another at QuiltCon, this book is really appealing for me.  

There are 15 beautiful modern quilt patterns inside and I can see myself making several of them.  The cutting instructions are laid out in an easy to read table (shown partially in the above photo) to help you cut your fabric in the most efficient way.

The second book is Step-by-Step Texture Quilting by Christina Camell.  There are 65 quilting patterns inside - a mix of free-motion quilting and walking foot quilting.

I've seen Christina in action in several virtual classes including a couple of episodes of the Modern Quilt Guild's Fresh Quilting.  I love her work and her teaching style.

The texture in the quilting comes through strong in the photos - although I do wish there was a way to run my fingers over things!

The book looks to be filled with a lot of tips to enhance your quilting and I am looking forward to giving it a try.

The quality of both books is really good - paper feels smooth and the colors in the photographs really shine.

If you are looking for a book for a quilter in your life - or maybe yourself :-) - consider either Step-by-step Texture Quilting by Christina Camell or Quilt Modern Curves & Bold Strips by Heather Black and Daisy Aschehoug!  You will find lots of inspiration inside.

(This post contains affiliate links.)

Have a wonderful day! Patty

November Temperatures

And another month in 2020 is behind us.  2021 is coming up fast and I sure hope it is the year that things get back to normal.

November (the last 2 columns) certainly brought cooler temperatures probably best seen as the low temperature rectangle in each block. High temperatures most days were in the 70s (yellow) or 60s (greens) but a few of them dipped into the 50s (blue).

I have been enjoying the creation of this quilt and am already trying to figure out what I will do for 2021.  This is my 3rd year of making a temperature quilt and I can't stop now!

You can read more about the design here.  The net is the 2020 quilt will be functionally sized at 48'' x 48''.   The quilt records both high and low temperatures for each day.   The block is a simple one - the low temperature is the smaller rectangle - vertical for odd numbered days and horizontal for even numbered.  

The fabrics are all Painters Palette solids and I keep the color gradient at the top of my design wall so it is always available to reference.  

I've made temperature quilts for 2018 and 2019.  Want to make your own temperature quilt - check out my tutorial!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

100 Day Project update - 76 days to go

Back on Tuesday, November 10, Cassandra kicked off the 100 days to QuiltCon countdown.

I decided to join in and make as many 4-patches as I can with the goal of having enough to make a 60'' x 60'' quilt.  Into my bottom-less bin of solid scraps I went and started trimming down to 1 1/2 '' strips and then sewing things together.

24 days into the 100 days, I find that I am working on this project in spurts as opposed to making some every day.  I think that's ok - there is other sewing I want to do.   But the challenge for me is to try and make 100 of these units to mark the time to QuiltCon.

As luck would have it, I've got 24 ready to go!

My little postage stamps will finish at an inch!  The squares above will finish at 6'' square.

And a pile of 4 patches ready to go!  New Year's Eve will be the halfway point.  :-)

Have a wonderful day! Patty

December One Monthly Goal

Welcome to December!  There were 71 people who joined the link up last month - let's see what this month brings.

New to One Monthly Goal?  Welcome!  To join, share a photo of your project, some words about what you want to accomplish in a blog post, an Instagram post (tutorial) or a post on Flickr and add that photo to the link-up.  Return at the end of the month and share your results.  You can read about the event and the rules on the main event page.

We have wonderful sponsors this month - three (3) winners will be randomly chosen from those that link up in both the goal and the finish event.  

 

Fat Quarter Shop offers a tremendous selection of fabric, notions, books and just about anything you will need for your project. Consider their Sew Sampler box to receive a monthly surprise delivery of fabric and fun.  Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate to one lucky participant

Make Modern is a digital magazine launched by a collaboration of quilters based in Australia. Their magazine is filled with modern quilt designs and a wonderful source of inspiration. Make Modern is offering a 6 month subscription to one lucky participant.

Therm O Web offers one of the most trusted, innovative and complete lines of adhesives for both the sewing and paper crafting markets, as well as a full line of interfacings and stabilizers for sewing, quilting, embroidery and crafts.  Therm O Web is offering a collection of HeatnBond® products including EZ print Featherlite sheets and  PeelnStick ruler tape.   (This prize can only be shipped to US addresses.)

My goal for December is to finish my holiday gifts including more journal covers for these moleskin notebooks.  I want to try some in smaller sizes.

Now it's your turn!

Make sure you visit the One Monthly Goal event page for the specific requirements for links and social tags.  Your blog post (or Flickr post) must contain a photo of your project, a clearly stated goal and a link back to Elm Street Quilts.  Your Instagram post must include a photo of your project, a clearly stated goal and the tag #onemonthlygoal.  (Entries which don't contain the required information may be disqualified.)

And remember, to be eligible for the prize(s) by random drawing you must linkup at both the goal setting and the accomplishment linkup in a given month.   (The One Monthly Goal accomplishment linkup will be available on December 26.)

Make sure you add a link to this OMG post so others can find the OMG link-up from your blog.  Let's make that easy -  just paste this into your post:  

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal December Link-up

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Thanks for linking up!

Have a wonderful day! Patty