This year has been one of transition. I retired late in 2022, so 2023 was the first year since I was 16 without a work schedule. At least a work schedule outside the house. So it's been a year of adjustments and discovery as to what one does when there is not a demanding job requiring daily attention. Spending time in the sewing room has gone up, but not as much as I thought it would. There are still days I have to remind myself to get my 15 minutes of stitching time in. I've certainly posted more this year then in the recent past. It's a good time to go back and look at what stands out for 2023. Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs is helping us do that with her Best of 2023 Linky party.
This is my 9th year linking up or the Best of party. Here's my top 5 "best of" for 2023
1. Most views (357): Week 58 Photo Challenge: Recreation of a Movie Scene
Our family photo challenge has been going on for about 2.5 years. We don't post every week, life sometimes gets to hectic for one or all of us. But we try to keep up with it. I can't say this is one of my favorite posts, because Grad Girl just didn't have time to get a shot. But My Guy came through with a classic, which turned out to be a really cool photo for the prompt.
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| My Guy: Homage |
It's been a fun to see what we each come up with for each challenge card. We have enough cards for all of next year, so there will be more family challenge photos posted in 2024.
2. Most Comments (36): Just Two Charm Pack Quilts Blog Hop: String Lights
Cheryl Brickey (Meadow Mist Designs) is one of my favorite quilt pattern designers. She offers a mystery quilt almost every year, so when she asked for volunteers to participate in the blog hop for her newest book, I was more than happy to stitch a project from the book.
String Lights is probably one of the easiest quilts in the book, but that meant I had a good chance of at least getting a finished quilt top done before the hop started. The fabrics came from a kit that had been in the stash for a long time, so I was happy to finally find a home for them. Plans are to move this project to finished quilt in 2024.
3. Stitching Stuff: 15 Minutes to Stitch, most link ups (22, Week 1)
Not every one who links up is working on meeting a stitching time goal, but many of the long term participants link up each week to share how they did on getting in their stitching time each week. Thank you to everyone who links up regularly and shares that having to post how often they got to the sewing room is motivating for them too.
4. Finish I'm most proud of: Unity (Helianthus)
Helianthus is far from being one of my favorite quilts. It's not that I don't like it, it's that I made so many mistakes in putting this one together that it was a bear to finish. I tried so many times to fix the issues, to the point I had to take out parts of the sashing and replace it with new fabric. It was so tempting to just bypass this quilt. But I knew if I did that, it would remain a quilt top forever. I owe a huge thanks to Trudy who agreed to quilt it. I told her if it puckered, it puckered, do what you can with it. It didn't come out too badly. It's become one of our trip quilts, it was loaded into the car and used over Christmas. So I'm glad I pushed through and got if off the UFO list.
5. Most fun project in 2023: Stay at Home Round Robin 2023
I've watched this quilt along sponsored by Quilting Gail from the side line for the first 2 years, but last year decided I had the time to play along. Well that went how I expected, I did well at first but got behind. But I was really happy with my finished quilt top.
I used my blue, green and teal scraps for this quilt. It came out so much better than I expected. I enjoyed deciding on what my version of each prompt would look like. The 2024 SAHRR kicks off in a couple of weeks and I'm on board for that one. I just need to get my fabrics washed and make my center block. I have a plan this year! Still probably means I'll get behind, but that's OK, it's all for fun.
This year was a good year, definitely better than last year. I didn't get as much done as I wanted, but there were still some fun accomplishments during the year.
14 comments:
you might not get done with all you think you should - but you keep on going with your projects and that counts!
It's fun to see a review of your year, Kate!!! Love your 2 charm pack quilts! I have the book and am looking forward to making something from it. I love the colors in your Unity! Good job making it to the finish with that one!!! I just did the center square, fell behind and made mine a mini quilt. I know those medallion quilts can be tricky to keep flat from experience. Nice job! Blessings in the new year!!!
You certainly had a great year, Kate. Unity is such a beauty and your Round Robin quilt is gorgeous. I also loved following your progress on your Butterfly quilt. Wishing you another fabulous year! Hugs!
I don't believe any of us get as much done as we plan or even may need too--I feel like I sew on something all day--unless at meal time--yet--I have lists of projects to finish or to start--so welcome to the 'club'--
Happy New Year--hugs, di
I love your Helianthus quilt - it's fresh and spring-y! The good thing about being a quilt blogger is that we can show quilts without having to highlight our mistakes since they don't show up in the photos. It's always fun to see the photographs you all end up with from the challenge cards. Glad to know you're continuing that in the coming year. Here's to a fun and creative 2024!
Lots of nice details on the unity & round robin quilts
Fun posts! Somehow, I think I missed the first one when you posted it originally. I love that recreation of a movie scene. And your quilts are gorgeous. Happy New Year!
Great recap of your top five posts. The knife behind the curtain photo is perfect! I need to get my family going on that again maybe.
How fun that your quilt could be in her book. You have certainly been a great supporter for many years. I have sort of dubbed you the mystery girl.
I plan to start over again with 15 min challenge. I love it but got all side tracked again later in the year.
I think these end of year reflections really show us how much we actually accomplished over the year. The SAHRR is especially pretty!!
I enjoyed getting to see the progress you shared this year. I really could tell that the SAHRR was a lot of fun for you this year, and I hope you find as much fun working on the challenge next year!
Love seeing your review post! That Unity quilt has always been one of my favorites of yours. Seeing that pretty string lights quilt makes me want that book even more. Looking forward to seeing your finish!
Great highlights from your blog this year - I really enjoy seeing your photo challenge and quilt progress and also like linking up on the stitching time goals, thank you for hosting them!
You have a lot of great finishes for 2023. Your String Lights quilt top is awesome and Unity is awesome (so much piecing!) Thanks for linking up with the Best of 2023 Party! Cheryl
Retirement is a big adjustment and you will settle into a new pattern soon enough. So sorry about the Covid. It can have lingering effects. Take it easy. I enjoyed your recap of 2023. Your style is so refreshingly different from mine. Wishing you lots of sewjo and sewing time in 2024.
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