Tuesday, January 2, 2024

2023 Wrap-up

Happy New Year! I almost skipped doing this post because I posted a grand total of 9 times in 2023. I don't really have much of a reason. Just doing other things I guess. I sort of got in a habit of only posting when I had a finish, and there weren't many of those this year. But I do like having everything together in one post, so here goes. I thought I might do a countdown like in the Twelve Days of Christmas song. My finishes don't quite fit, but we'll imagine they do. So lets sing together:

Four bags of groceries 


These were a fun and much needed project made from scrap strips I made in 2022. Every bit of the bags are scraps, including the batting made from an old blanket. They are about the size of a standard paper grocery bag, and we use them all the time. And I love that I can throw them in the wash occasionally. My bagger really likes using them at the self check-out lane because they stand up nicely and take any amount of weight he throws at them. You can read about them here

Three placemats



These are part of a group of placemats I am making to donate to Meals on Wheels. I didn't make as many as last year, but I have until the end of March for the yearly collection. These are made from my multicolored scrap bin along with a supply of blocks and other scraps or pieces as needed. The battings are also pieced from scraps. Hopefully you will see more of these kinds of placemats soon. If you want to read about these, read here and here.

Three Giving Quilts  (See, this is where the song analogy falls apart.)


 


The first quilt (Turquorangellow) is actually a finish, as the top was made in 2022. It's from a pattern by Sew Katie Did. 

The second one (Rainbow Bear Paws) began with one block made way back during the pandemic in 2020, and then expanded in 2022 with blocks made during the Rainbow Scrap Challenge hosted by Angela at SoScrappy

And the third (Positivity Blooms) was made from a pattern/tutorial by Preeti at Sew Preeti Quilts (I can't find the original post, so I am linking to her year-end wrap up post where you can see her other version of this quilt) during a challenge by Preeti and Bernie of Needle and Foot (l'm linking to Bernie's finish) to make quilts for donation. 

Hopefully, all of these quilts will bring comfort and joy to whoever receives them. You can read more about them here, here, and here.

Two Baby Quilts





The first quilt was for my great-niece born in February of this year. It's my own design with Flower blocks inspired by Cluck Cluck Sew. You can read more about it here.

The second quilt was for my great-nephew born just a week and a half ago. No, you haven't seen a post about this quilt yet. You'll be able to read its story in my next post in a day or so. 

Now all together now...

And an Ipad Case (in a pear tree?)


This was a little squirrely project I made when I bought a new Ipad so it would have  something cushy and protective when I traveled. I made an extra big flap to close it, and it has worked just as I thought it would. You can read about how I made this little less-than-an-hour project with scraps here.

So there we have it, 2023 in a nutshell (or pear tree). No big goals for 2024. Just more making as the notion strikes me. I am almost done de-decorating from the holidays, and that always inspires me to make a quilty mess. I hope you had excellent holidays and are now well on your way to a Happy Quilty New Year. 




6 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

sometimes we just don't get done with as much as we do other years. I do love your bags for grocery's -- I don't worry about that here as they use plastic here and if and when that changes I will change with it.

Bernie Kringel said...

I like the song Janine. I kept the tune going through the post! Nice projects. I especially. like your version of Positivity Blooms and also the quilt with the flower blocks - the strip pieced blocks you interspersed are so cool. Happy New Year!!

Linda said...

Nice finishes Janine! Love those bags. The bagger at my grocery store is the Hubs, who refuses to go through the "regular" line. I think a sturdy bag is just what he needs, the way he tosses cans around - lol - if we could just remember to take them into the store. Have a wonderful 2024!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I thought that was a fun way to organize your end of the year post, JanineMarie! You've had somebeautiful finishes this year. I love those grocery bags - are they the ones you made with the adding machine tape scrappy strips? I have the adding machine tape - need to start sewing! Wishing you a happy and creative New Year!

Allison said...

Those finishes are well worth celebrating! Good idea to bring them all together for a sing-along post :-D I especially like the baby quilt you designed. Such interesting patterns and lovely colours.
Happy New Year!

Preeti said...

A beautiful wrap-up post. I love the baby quilt - such a perfect blend of traditional floral and modern/improv rails. Kudos to you! Wishing you loads of creativity and sewing time in the new year!