Past, Present, Future

Now that the crafty deadlines of November and December have passed, I can do anything I want on my sewing machine. Anything. I could make a bag or finish a WIP. I could start a brand-new quilting project. That should feel empowering, but it feels a little overwhelming and I’m not sure where to start.

I thought I’d participate in Meadow Mist Designs’ Best of 2017 Linky Party as a way to review my sewing accomplishments of the past year and provide myself firmer footing to plan the next few months. (Could this also be a procrastination ploy, avoiding making any concrete decisions about future craftiness by looking at past projects? Why yes, yes it could be.)

Without further ado, here is an overview of From Bolt to Beauty 2017 in five “most” posts ...

Most Trafficked Post

The most popular post of 2017, according to log reports, is actually not from 2017. It’s my Ridiculously Easy Jelly Roll Quilt post, which was published back in November 2015. I attribute the phenomenon to all the pins and links that point to that post and the allure of a title like Ridiculously Easy Jelly Roll Quilt. I think of a lot of you are like me, suckers for a thick roll of 2.5-inch strips and attracted to the notion of an easy sew! (My follow-up to that design—my Still Pretty Simple Jelly Roll Quilt tutorial—has been on the back burner for months. It will have its day in the sun sometime in early 2018!)

Most Noteworthy Finish—According to You

My most popular finish, both here on the blog and on my Instagram feed, was Grape Fizz. It’s a showstopping design by Amy Garro that I rendered in shades of eggplant and lavender. I’m not the connoiseur of purple that some of you are, but this design is so bold and graphic in its purple-osity that I can see why it was so well received. To see more pics, including close-ups of Mary Gregory’s quilting, read the post.

Most Noteworthy Finish—According to Me

I love Grape Fizz, but I also really love my Ode to Art Gallery quilt. It was fun to play with all of those different prints and see them come together, with the help of navy plus signs, in a cohesive quilt top. I gifted the quilt just recently, and the recipient was elated. I don’t know much about her design sense, but I felt good about sending it off with her. The quilt is modern but not too modern. It has a lot of some colors and a lot of other colors, as well. It’s pretty and feminine, and I like gifting pretty and feminine quilts to friends who are like me, the lone lady in the house. 

Most Triumphant Sewing Feat

Hands down, the technical sewing I was most proud of this year is all the Y-seams I sewed! These appeared first in my Happy Hexie Baby Quilt. I’ve since sewn more, in a yet-to-be-unveiled project. (To learn more about my approach, see “How I Machine-Piece Hexagons” under the Techniques tab.)

Most Triumphant Quilting Feat

I tried two fancy-for-me quilting techniques this past year, both from Jacquie Gering’s book Walk. The first one, an orange peel design, went well but left a lot of room for improvement. The second, a cross-hatch with a secondary diamond pattern, however, rocked my world. It was a super fun experience with my walking foot and worth every stitch.

Do any of those “mosts” resonate with you? If you have a noteworthy finish or quilting feat or other “most” you’d like to share, the rest of us would like to celebrate with you!

Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday and Finish It Up Friday ...