Looking back on 2015

Blogs and Instagram feeds are flooded right now with best of’s and upcoming 2016 goals, and while I tend to be a spontaneous, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, procrastinating kind of gal when it comes to my sewing projects, I recognize the importance of reflecting on accomplishments and successes, while looking for areas to improve. I thought that Cheryl from Meadow Mist Designs had some great insights for looking back at top projects in 2015.

To start out, one of my top accomplishments for 2015 has simply been blogging on a regular basis. I never put this in black and white, but it has been my silent and personal goal this whole last year. 2013 was a low point for me as far as blogging goes, only blogging about once a month… but I had just had baby number two, was working a lot, and with my husband being gone so much, not to mention a complete loss of inspiration, something just had to give… and that was blogging. But in 2014 I was slowly able to get back into thing and managed to double my posts, and  this year I almost doubled that and posted at least once a week. Posting once a week may not sound like much, but for a mom of two kids under five, it’s huge!

As far as actual sewing projects go, my project with the most views was my Swell quilt finish… geez, this thing was so huge and took such a long time to make, but considering the fact that it was my second quilt, I have decided to not be too hard on myself for taking so long to finish it. While I am not new to sewing, I am new to quilting, and I learned quite a few things from this one!

My Best Conversations Posts were actually what I call “life” posts… the kind that aren’t just talking about which quilting techniques, etc, but about life and emotions… the thing that makes you feel more connected to other bloggers. If you missed this top conversation post, read at your own risk, or at least wait until you have some tissues with you… this project has actually inspired me for another special project in 2016!

Best Free Pattern Post actually has a couple of winners… my Deck the Halls pattern has had the most visits, but I couldn’t end the year without talking about my mini’s just one more time. While it might not appear as a huge project with a fantastic finish posts, I was able to learn so much from such intense little projects… 

And also noteworthy was my “Mochi Necklace” tutorial that I did for Sew Mama Sew at the beginning of this year. While the tutorial is technically “not mine” anymore, it was still a big accomplishment for me in many ways, and a kick off post back into the land of blogging.

At the end of last year “While She Naps” blog author, Abby Glassenberg, had broadcasted a fabulous interview with Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Fabrics and  Kristin Link of Sew Mama Sew. This was exactly what I needed to hear to inspire me to move forward with the hardest thing I have done this year… shutting down my long time online fabric shop. It’s amazing that when I reflect on it just a few short months after the fact,  it’s the best decision that we made in 2015,  and I don’t regret it... not for one second! I’m not sure why it took me so long to figure out why I was holding onto something for so long that was simply not bringing any benefit into my life!

If you prefer the condensed version of a little less talk and a lot more action, you can check out a few of my IG best… the irony of it is that while I am a windy girl myself, I'm totally a picture girl!

What was your biggest accomplishment in 2015? 

Linking up with Meadow Mist Designs Best of 2015 Linky Party

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Super Size Me!

Since I've been in an everything in XXS phase lately, I thought that it was high time that I come back to the land of normal size. Oh, don't get me wrong, I think that I could probably carry on for a good number of months, enough to write a book Kitty suggests, but I do love a good distraction! 

So, to get back to normalcy, I thought it would be fun to super size my mini mini sunburst pattern to make a little something for myself, and I've shown a good amount of the process on Instagram. It actually took me a good bit of thinking, planning, and test cutting to figure out the seam allowance and size of the inner connecting piece for the two opposite sunbursts. Since I was making this into a pillow, I wanted to hit the right size from the beginning since trimming down would cause me to loose some of my design.

As far as other design choices, you might be a little confused thinking... hey, wait, I thought she didn't like solids?!? If you know that much about me, then you are absolutely right! I don't like working with solids, but in the same breath I can sing my never ending praises of Basic Grey grunges, which can work like a solid, but have so much more depth, in my opinion, than a true solid. I really mean it when I say that I have them in almost everything that I make!

Another off the beaten path detail that you might notice are my color choices. I guess I have a pretty true and standard palette that I tend to grab for first, sometimes without realizing it until the project is together, but it would seem that I have favorite colors to sew with and favorite colors to decorate with. Since this pillow is for my living room, you get a taste of the Art Nouveau inspired color range that adorns one of my favorite rooms in the house.

Quilting? Now that was my bear! Seam ripper... oh, how I love you! Let me count the ways... and the number of stitches that came out of this one!?! I started out simply outlining and then shadow quilting the sunbursts, but that just didn't look right. Then I started spiral quilting with the intention to spiral quilt on both ends towards the center... and as you can see, that didn't work out either! So.... simple, no fuss, (as usual) and after having lived with it a few days, I'm pleased with it.

Background: Essex Linen, Espresso from Robert Kaufman
Points: Basic Grey grunges
Quilting Thread: Aurifil cotton 50 wt 2326 Sand
Rashida Coleman Hale, "Mochifloral" purple 

Linking up to WIP Wednesday.

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Mini Mini Sunburst Free Pattern

When Kitty first e-mailed me to ask if I would like to participate in a mini mini quilt swap, I sat there for a bit having an inward discussion with myself: Would it be fun to join a swap? Do I have the time? Will I commit to this and end up having another WIP just lying around waiting to be finished? Can I really sew something that mini mini? After much debate, I decided to just do it!

I knew that in order to be able to sew something so teeny, tiny, I would have to paper piece. I have noticed that the smaller my fabric bits get, the more crooked my seams become. Once I started sewing on my paper pieced Facing East quilt, I've never looked back and have become a total fan!

I thought that it might be fun to get more people in on the mini mini quilt craze and share my free "Mini Mini Sunburst Pattern" to tempt others to hop on board. WARNING: Use with caution. Making mini mini quilts is extremely addictive. Even just one mini mini project could lead to additional and frequent use. Mind wondering may occur and finishing current WIP's may become increasingly difficult.

Picking colors was not hard for me since Kitty and I share the same passion for color and all things Alison Glass. But when I was working on additional mini's I decided that I really wanted to push my limits and work with colors that are not in my usual palette of colors. I've been sitting on a fat quarter pack of Cotton & Steel fabrics from Sarah Watts for a long time. The designs are fantastic, and I really like the colors, but I have a tendency to mix softer shades with fairly bold colors because I prefer a stronger contrast.

It was a challenge to think muted, soft, and delicate... basically the complete opposite of every one of my other projects! I am always amazed at how designer's like Carolyn Friedlander can take the most quiet and understated fabrics and turn them into WOW - it really is an art all of it's own.

  
What pushes you or is challenging when it comes to working with colors? Do you have your "standard color palette" and stick to it, or do you force yourself to step outside that comfort zone?

Linking up this week to WIP Wednesday and Let's Bee Social.

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