Best of 2024

Each year, Cheryl invites bloggers to join the best of year link-up and share their 5 best blog posts of  the year and we get to define what 'best' means! It is hard to narrow things down but these are my favorites from 2024 listed in no particular order.

Favorite make:

I made a whole bunch of quilts this year - for gifts and for our guild's community giving project. This quilt is the one I made for ME! It was part of the Alison Glass Cozy QAL and I love all the words of affirmation. I use the quilt nearly every day with an afternoon nap!  You can read more here.

I loved each of the gifted quilts - the Puppy Quilt, London, and Colors of the Pacific Northwest.

Favorite quilting event:

Perhaps the biggest quilting thrill this year was to experience QuiltCon in my own back yard. I had the opportunity to volunteer for show set-up and tear-down and enjoyed the chance to see many old friends, make new ones, enjoy the quilts, the shopping, and having my family come see what the show is all about. You can read all about my experiences through a series of blog posts - My Quilts, The Quilts, The Workshops, The Best Bits and Final Reflections. QuiltCon returns to Raleigh in 2026 and I'm excited for this year's event in Phoenix.

Most Fun WIP:

Now that the QuitCon and holiday gift sewing is done, there are actually 2 projects I am excited to get back to! The first is my economy blocks using all Ruby Star fabrics. There are 120 of them done, last touched back in early October! (See that post.) The second in my denim jacket upgrade!

Favorite Bag Make:

I do enjoy a good bag make and look forward to the latest Noodlehead pattern. This is the larger size Oxbow tote. I also made a small Mickey Mouse themed Oxbow tote made from a recycled canvas bag, a rainbow tote for bringing my supplies to guild meetings, a picnic tote, the Grow bag, and a sew together bag for a friend. My final bag finish for the year will likely be another Noodle-head pattern - I've got the bag in progress right now!

My New Craft:

While I've knit on and off for many years, I haven't actually done any crochet since I was in High School. That changed this year. I am playing with 32 colors of cotton yarn in mini (25g) skeins to make all these small granny squares. I've completed the squares from 24 of the mini skeins and can't wait to spread out all the color and start joining them together. (Read more about my project.)

I enjoy participating in the link-up each year even though it is always tough to choose just 5 highlights.  You can find my previous yearly top 5 here: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020,  2019,   2018,  2017, and 2016.

Happy New Year!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Handmade Holiday 2024

I enjoy making just a few handmade gifts each year. Keep Out was a gift to my husband.

This mini quilt was compiled with patterns from Tartankiwi for the bunny, from Crafty Nomad for the plant, and Carolyn Friedlander for the alphabet. The bunnies made themselves at home in our raised garden beds until we surrounded them with chicken wire!

I had more fun with the alphabet pattern in making this pillow for my youngest, the writer. I made another pillow - not pictured - for my middle daughter and used Spoonflower to print a photo of them. 

The alphabet pattern is quite fun to work with so I decided to make a gift for my oldest. I wrapped the mini around a canvas frame so that it can hang by their front door. There was only minimal quilting around each letter. I like the way it looks and, frankly, it was all I had time to do!

Two gifts for friends - the first is a Harry Potter fan (see post)

and the other is a quilting buddy and our Friendsgiving gift exchange. (see post)

All this gift giving interrupted my other projects in a perfect way. None of them took very long - except maybe for the Sew Together Bag - and each project was unique and enjoyable in its own way.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Winter Stars

My friend Frances @offkilterquilt has released an original free holiday story for the last seven years. The latest story is very beautiful and is called Winter Stars. 

Frances is a wonderful writer and has published stories and books about quilters set in a fictional town called Milton Falls. On her QuiltFiction site, she releases an audio story each week.

For the last several years, I've written a block with a bonus quilt runner or wall hanging pattern to support the story. (See prior years: Dorothy's Christmas  Star and December Star.) 

The Winter Stars table runner finishes at 17.5" x 30". The star is constructed using HST - an easy way to construct a Lemoyne star. I love this color palette for January!

You can find the story and the block pattern for this block - written by me! - at QuiltFiction.  Make sure you check out Story Guild for access to more quilting fiction.  

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Harry Potter Themed Bag

Earlier this year, I started taking strength training lessons twice a week at my local fitness center. This has been the best gift to myself ever! Although I might complain a bit (ok, a lot) during the sessions, they have been very beneficial. I know I am getting stronger!

Sarah is a big time Harry Potter fan so I wanted to make her a bag for Christmas. The crest was from Fandom of Stitches and was a relatively quick FPP. The bag is Noodlehead wide open pouch in the medium size. (I boxed the corners at 2.25" but would likely go for 1.75" or maybe 2" the next time.) 

She really liked the bag!

I've got a few more homemade items to share but they will have to wait until gifted!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Denim Upgrade

Looking ahead towards QuiltCon Phoenix, I decided to upgrade a denim jacket with quilty goodness. The back panel was my first step but is only the beginning of the fun.

To create, I made a panel using scraps and skinny strips. I used fusible fleece and then had great fun with walking foot quilting.

Edges were folded over and basted down and then I used my walking foot to sew it down onto the jacket. I didn't switch to a denim needle. 

More upgrades to come - once I finish some holiday sewing. I can't wait to wear it!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Bag Exchange

We did a bag exchange as part of a Friendsgiving get-together. 

I made a Sew Together bag! I made one for myself 7 years ago (!!!) and had great fun tackling it again. I had some scraps of this gold fabric so I pieced it with the gold and added some to the binding.

More Alison Glass fabric (her favorite) for the inside. This bag can be a bit finicky but it went together quite smoothly.

I got these wonderful scissors bags in return (plus some yummy chocolate covered Oreos). Fabric is all Guicy Guice and pattern is from By Annie.

This was our first Friendsgiving and I suspect we will do one again!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Arcturus

Arcturus, a red-giant star, is the 4th brightness star in the Northern sky. It is easy to find for amateur stargazers (like me!) by following the curve of the Big Dipper's handle - extend the curve beyond the handle and you’ll find Arcturus. The star can be found right overhead in the summer night sky. 

Arcturus is also the name of the quilt I created for QuiltCon challenge using Ruby & Bee solids. The quilt design was loosely based on the concept of a medallion quilt and was a fun challenge to assemble. My favorite part was adding bits of hand quilting to complement the machine quilting.

I actually had enough leftover fabric that I created a second quilt for the challenge which also was entered into my guild's challenge - Stepping Stones. 

QuiltCon notifications come out in mid-December. Fingers crossed!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Over 80 Granny Squares!

Using the beautiful 32 color pack of Cotton Chirps from Purl Soho (pictured below), I am making great progress on my granny squares. Each 25 gram ball makes 5- 6 small granny squares. My original plan was to join all the color directly together but I then decided to wrap some white around them.

At this moment, I've got over 80 squares,  51 of these have the white border. There are 14 balls of color that I've not started on - yellows, pinks and purples. 

These are such a fun portable project. I last crocheted way back in my teens so returning to the craft has been quite enjoyable. My tension isn't consistent although it is getting better.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Scrappy HSTs

Another finish to share today!

This is my HST scrap quilt made from a random assortment of leftover 5" charm squares. I started making the HSTs a year ago in my guild's 2023 retreat. It has sat as a quilt top for months and the mindless spiral quilting was a calming mental health break after last week.

I donated it to my quilts Community Giving project. We focus on children in the foster care system. This is my second donation for the year - Lily was the first - and I've got another quilt top in process with a stretch goal of finishing it this year.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Currents

My latest finish, called Currents, is a wall hanging which is roughly 18" (tall) x 20" (wide). I made the quilt in a class - The Art of Bending Fabric -taught by Michelle Wilke. Michelle has made several quilts using this technique. Her quilt Rails is one of my favorites.

Al the fabric came out of my scrap bin and I really like the mix of solids and a few low volume fabrics. Assembling the quilt was like putting together a puzzle. The quilting is a mix of walking foot, in thread color to match the fabric, and hand quilting.

This kind of quilting is my favorite for smaller pieces. Dense machine quilting and a bit of hand quilting for texture.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Oxbow Tote - Overnight Size

I love patterns from Anna from Noodle-head and was excited to make another Oxbow Tote, this time the overnight size. Last January, I deconstructed an old canvas bag to make the smaller sized Mickey Mouse version of the OxBow Tote.

I modified the pattern slightly by putting a pocket on both sides of the bag instead of just one. I also added an inset pocket into the lining.

The outer bag is a Cotton & Steel canvas called Botanical Floral while the lining and pockets are a gold solid.

This pattern is a very fun make. The only issue I had was my own misread of the pattern which resulted in my cutting the handles and the zipper for the regular size instead of overnight. I've put them aside for a future bag!

I hope to take this bag on a trip later this month!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Stepping Stones

The theme for my 2024 guild challenge was to reimagine a traditional quilt block and create a quilt with the theme of Community. Stepping Stones is my entry. (Earlier this week I shared an entry to my guild's challenge for the year that I was a contributed to.)

I had several different designs in mind as I approached the project, each focused on a single community in my life. At the end, I decided to design a quilt to celebrate all of them. Each of these group of people - my Pickleball group, my neighbors, the other early morning swimmers, and, of course, my family - bring joy, laughter, and friendship into my day. Some are larger than others, but they are all important.

Stepping Stones is 27" x 36". I used Ruby & Bee solids in colorways rain cloud, stormy, unicorn, turmeric, and poppy. The walking foot quilting was done on the diagonal and is roughly 1/4" spacing.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Six Hours

In late September, I shared a beach house with 5 friends for a long weekend of sewing. (See my retreat post.) The theme of our guild challenge for the year is Community so we decided to make a quilt together.

The rules were simple. First, each quilter got 1 hour to add their bit to the quilt top. Second, you were allowed to cut apart what others before you had done but you had to add it back onto the piece. Finally, we drew numbers to determine the order.

Here are the 6 progress photos. I was #3 so my bit shows up in the top row, right photo.

The next morning, we all agreed to narrow that green strip and offset things.

Clearly, we also decided to let the shape develop organically and did no work to square things up. I measured it as 28" x 42" by estimating what it would be if we added fabric to make it a rectangle

The beautiful custom quilting was done by Sara Young. I added the faced binding.

The piece was incredibly fun to work on together and there were so many laughs through the whole process. We've entered it into our guild challenge - fingers crossed for Viewer's Choice!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Vote Mini Quilt

Early voting opens in North Carolina today! This mini was made with the free pattern from Carolyn Friedlander. I've been very interested in trying out her alphabet pattern and now that I've made a mini, I am certain I will purchase the full pattern. Just need to figure out what I want to say....

I've been busy finishing up my final quilt for submission to QuiltCon which has pushed other projects to the side. This mini was a fun quick finish.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Granny Square Adventures continue

A few weeks ago, I purchased a 32 pack of beautiful cotton yarn from Purl Soho. Each is 25 g and will make at least 5 granny squares. (There is yarn leftover of each color from which I might be able to squeak out another square or maybe combine them together into a single square for each colorway.)

I have been crocheting about one square a day and working my way through a specific 4 skein colorway. Just a few more to go from the blue package and then I'll move on to the greens.

There is no true plan here other than it will be a blanket of some size. I may by more of this mini bundles ... too soon to decide!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Sunny Blocks

One of the projects I brought to my recent retreat were blocks from Tara's Sunny pattern. I gathered together a stack of blue FQs with the intent of auditioning this pattern as a potential for a bed sized quilt.

I choose to print the fan blocks on FPP paper instead of using freezer paper just for the ease of sewing in a small space at retreat. After a few mishaps, I found that sewing the fan blocks was quite fun.

Adding that small quarter circle is another story. The curves in the block don't map to have of my drunkards path templates so I need to use paper templates which may be contributing to some slight cutting issues. I've had to resew each of these several times - glue basting helped tremendously but there are still issues to deal with. For my next batch, I will cut that quarter circle slightly larger and then trim.

This project will take a back burner for while as I've two others I want to finish first!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Retreat Sewing

I returned from a fun long weekend of sewing and friendship at the NC beach - it was a mini retreat for 6 friends. We all exchanged gifts. I made small notebook covers and also gave them mini magnetic pin bowls.

Gifts in return included several homemade items like this cork basket and awesome needlebook. The favorite for anyone was a two finger chopstick perfect for snacking while sewing!

I packed 6 projects and worked on 4 of the 6. I did get all my economy blocks done. There are 60 of each size - 3" and 3.75" finished size. (A few aren't in the photograph.) I had these all kitted up ahead of time and it was fun to see the sweet image as I sewed.

I've got a layout in mind but will be putting this project aside for a bit to get to work on some higher priority projects.

I also sewed up some blocks as part of the Sunny pattern plus made a small mini that needs to be quilted. I'll share more about those projects soon.

3 of the 6 projects I brought along were handwork. I managed to crochet 2 mini granny squares but that was it!

We had lovely weather, great food, so many laughs, daily walks on the beach... it really filled me up with joy.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Illusions Pattern Available

Earlier this year, I shared photos of my quilt Illusions and the pattern which debuted at QuiltCon 2024 in the booth from my local quilt store, Cary Quilting.

Illusions is a Foundation Paper Piecing Pattern (FPP). The quilt finishes at 30" x 30" and is perfect for a wall hanging. It is a two color quilt and requires just 1 yard of each color! My quilt was made using Kona Breakers Blue and Kona Jet Black.

I am pleased to (finally) announce that the pattern is now available digitally from my pattern shop.

You can order a printed version at Cary Quilting, my local quilt store. (If you order a paper version and would also like a pdf of the FPP patterns, please email me and I'd be happy to send it along.)

If you make a version of the quilt, please share it with me - I'd love to see it!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Art of Bending Fabric workshop

This past weekend, I took a all day workshop with Michelle Wilke @ml_wilke called The Art of Bending Fabric. Michelle's quilt Rails, exhibited in QuiltCon and elsewhere, is a beautiful example of this technique.

The theme for the class was "Let It Go" - frustrations, rules, fuss, even rulers! - and building up the quilt from the center was quite fun.

I brought a bunch of 1.5" strips in warm and cool tones and ended up using mainly blues with some pops of green and yellow. My vision of the quilt before I started was to have a lot more negative space but I realized I actually brought a single shade of white in what I thought was lots of different shades.

My piece is roughly 20" wide and 18" tall. It needs a really good starching and pressing or maybe even a blocking to get it flat. I have a plan on how to quilt it but will likely not get to it for awhile.

Michelle is a wonderful teacher should you ever get a chance to take a class with her.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Best Friends - The Puppy Quilt

Cuteness alert!!

Meet Bernadette, Edgar, Cookie and Jeff! These puppies were so much fun to put together. The pattern is Dog Park quilt by Elizabeth Hartman. I love using her patterns for baby quilts - I've made the Koala quilt a few times and the Delightful Desert.

For the quilting, I went with a 2" spaced cross hatch on the diagonal. When I started the quilting, I cringed when a quilting line crossed over an eye (ouch!) or was very visible against the fabric. Interestingly enough, all that "disappears" once all the quilting is done.

The quilt is a gift for my nephew and his wife for their first child. Baby shower is at the end of the month. I won't be able to attend in person but my sister - future grandmother! - will be sure to capture photos for me.

My youngest made this wonderful crocheted blanket for the new baby (pattern). I love it so much and wonder if I could hint for a mom sized version for myself! Their love of crochet is what got me excited to give it a try again. (See my crochet project.)

This little puppy is my favorite of the four!

Have a wonderful day! Patty