First finish of 2017

I'm so happy to share my first finish of 2017 - a first anniversary quilt for a dear friend and her wife.



I love the bright rainbow colors on the quilt. They're the opposite of this grey and occasionally snowy Minnesota winter weather we've been having. I spent a little extra time piecing the binding for this - I included 9" strips of each color in the binding.



The quilt measures 60 inches square. I quilted it with my walking foot, making straight lines 2 inches apart. I marked the lines with a hera marker so I didn't have to worry about ink, chalk or pencil lines that may or may not wash out. I sometimes have nightmares about marking lines not washing out.

The back is pieced with leftovers from the front, plus a second color of Kona yellow - I only had a small scrap of the yellow leftover and I had to make up the difference.

I'm so pleased with this quilt. I'm already working on a second (smaller) one with the scraps that will be auctioned off for a school fundraiser. 

2016 recap

It's kind of a bad habit of mine to set really ambitious New Year's resolutions. This year I'm taking a moment to reflect on what I accomplished last year before making plans for this year.

I published two new patterns, one embroidery pattern (available as a printed sampler on Spoonflower, and as a PDF on Craftsy) and one quilt block pattern (available on Craftsy and Etsy).

I did more mending, courtesy of a Heidi Parkes workshop through the MMQG.

I finished a few quilts.

A photo posted by @carriebee04 on May 19, 2016 at 7:51am PDT

A photo posted by @carriebee04 on Nov 23, 2016 at 12:27pm PST

I also made many sets of pot holders, sewed a few garments for myself and the kids, completed the #30daysofquiltdesign challenge, and finished knitting a scarf for myself. I'm sure there are a lot of things I'm forgetting - I forget and/or neglect to photograph a lot of projects. Sigh. That's probably the thing I'm hoping to improve most in 2017 - the quantity and quality of my photos. 

Christmas recap

Before looking forward to the new year, I wanted to do a quick recap of the holidays. I did a lot of sewing for friends and family for Christmas! I remembered to take photographs of (almost) everything I made, which is itself an accomplishment :) I made 8 pairs of mittens for nieces and nephews using the Oliver and S pattern in the book Little Things to Sew.

A photo posted by @carriebee04 on Jan 6, 2017 at 2:28pm PST

A photo posted by @carriebee04 on Dec 20, 2016 at 9:05am PST

I made an envelope needlebook for a friend who recently picked up embroidery.

A photo posted by @carriebee04 on Dec 19, 2016 at 5:59am PST

I made a set of Pixie Baskets for Isaac's kindergarten teacher. The pattern by Fabric Mutt can be found here.

A photo posted by @carriebee04 on Dec 18, 2016 at 9:42am PST

And I finished two pairs of Oliver and S Sleepover Pajamas for the kiddos.

A photo posted by @carriebee04 on Dec 18, 2016 at 9:20am PST

A photo posted by @carriebee04 on Dec 18, 2016 at 9:09am PST

Not pictured is a mini quilt I made for my sister with Oh Frannson's pattern.  I think this is my most handmade-holiday yet!