Apparently It Was a Small Year...

Here I was all geared up to do the typical "year in review" post and then I went to pool all my photos and said, "Huh.  Didn't realize that had happened..."  So to honor the cutest little viral video from last year (besides BatDad):

Apparently, I went small this year.  Turns out that 2014 was the year of the mini quilt.

I made them for challenges, for class samples, for swaps and for friends!  Not to mention Sophie's mini, of course :)

And apparently, my regular sized quilts took a teeny nosedive in favor of smaller projects because I only finished three.

Broken Oreos, Sari Feathers, Little One

Well okay, four - but I still haven't finished all the hand quilting on it yet.

But garments got churned out big time - probably because those small finishes feel so satisfying!

Fashionable Princess Poppy, Pixie Stix & Strawberry Dresses, & my Summer Dresses

And no surprise to anyone in this house, the Frozen Anna and Elsa dresses that I made for the girls last January were the most popular posts of the entire year.  By FAR.

And apparently all of those small projects added up to a whole heck of a lot!

Pencil Cases & Tote, Farmer's Market & Selfish Totes, Sewing Room Swap, Clutches Galore, Noodlehead Divided Basket

So what is going on for 2015?  Well besides the handquilting on my Rainbow Stars, I have two other things that I'm still smack dab in the middle of (I'm not even going to think about a couple of ancient WIPs that I can't commit to abandoning yet).

I am absolutely DROOLING over the new SkillBuilder BOM, Technicolor Galaxy, but still haven't made up my mind about it.  Maybe I need to finish some things before I give myself permission.  Plus I signed up for another mini swap on Instagram - and it sounds like it's right up my alley.

Can't wait to get going on it and see what comes my way in return :)

A Bee-autiful Year...

After last summer's amazing Plum & June Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop, a bunch of us new bloggers joined together to form the ScrapBeeLicious hive.  Thirteen of us started making blocks last August and we just wrapped up the year this summer!  The goal was to dip into our stashes and use up our growing scrap bins with fun and challenging blocks.

Looking back at the entire year of requests, I finished a grand total of 22 blocks over 13 months - not including my own.  There was quite a variety of techniques that we got to try out!  We did paper piecing, applique, flying geese, half square triangles, curves, improv piecing, and simple squares.  I know that I tried quite a few different block patterns that I never would have considered if I wasn't prompted!

I tried to blog about each month individually, but the last few months of the bee just got away from me and even though all my blocks were sent out, I didn't get a chance to post about them!  Which was a shame because Michelle, Stephanie, and Robin Sue requested some really nice blocks.  Take a peek...

In April, Robin Sue asked for two My Stars Align blocks:

In June, Stephanie asked for two Flock of Flying Geese blocks.  Cath was nice enough to create a paper-pieced template for all of us in just the right size.

I made one just from scraps of my Wavelength mini and the other in my typical rainbow palette.  With a bunch of fussy cuts, as always. :)

In July, Michelle asked for two Drunkard's Path blocks from Angela Pingel's book, A Quilter's Mixology.  AND she even bought us the book if we didn't already have it!  It was quite a treat to get that one in the mail - it was a book that I had been wanting to get but just hadn't gotten around to it yet!  

I was pretty nervous about it - I had never tried curves before.  But the instructions are so clear and simple that it really makes those curves a cinch to tackle!  Before I knew it, I had made four blocks.  Honest to goodness, these were the quickest bee blocks to make out of the entire year!

I don't know how some of you out there manage to be in multiple bees and swaps at the same time - it was hard enough for me to fall behind and I was only in the one.  I'm taking a bit of time off from the bee circuit, but eventually I think I'll get back in the game again.  It was lots of fun and pushed me to try new patterns, techniques, and color combinations that were out of my comfort zone.  If you're at all on the fence about joining one, give it a try.  What do you have to lose, except for scraps?

Thanks for a fun year, ladies!

Linking up:

Looking Back...

2013 has easily been my most productive and challenging sewing year so far!  I managed to create 4 square or twin sized quilts and 9 mini or cuddle-sized quilts over the year - far and away more than I've done before!

Clockwise:  Little Bookworms, Mon Amie, Elephant Parade, Twisted Heart for Dad 

Clockwise:  X's and O's, On the Boardwalk, IncrediBoy, Cuddle Quilts for DCC, 

Pretty Baby, Glam Rock Girl

This was the first year that I've joined any kind of group projects.  The biggest surprise has come from the ScrapBeeLicious bee that was created after the Plum and June Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop over the summer.  It's definitely stretched me to try some palatte's and block patterns that I never would have tried otherwise - and every one has come out fantastic!  Some ScrapBeeLicious and guild blocks from this year:

Not to mention all the fun side projects that have kept me going in between the big stuff...

Clockwise:  Superhero Alphabet, Princess Bride, Peasant Dress, Pleated Pouches, Heating Pad, Minky Scarf, Keychain Clutches, Posy Heating Pads

So what's in store for the new year?  I've got a slew of WIPs that I am determined to finish, I want to expand my skill set and get a little more polished, try a few more advanced techniques, finish that pesky Washi dress, and have even been given the opportunity to teach a class during the spring!  I can't wait to see what 2014 brings...