My goal was to have an average of 2 finished quilts each month = 24. One month I only had one but I caught up with 3 the next month. When I got to December I had 4 quilts to finish before Christmas so I knew I was going to exceed my goal of 2. I also had 2 that were just waiting for binding. I ended up the month with 2 small colorwash wallhangings for a total of 8 which boosted the year total to 30.
I didn't have a chance of reducing the number of tops by much though because I made 29 new tops. 16 of these were finished in 2023 so they are in both collages. The rest of the finishes were from my backlog of 42 tops waiting to be quilted. I start this year with 41 tops begging to be finished.
I worked with fabric groups last year, 4 are Australian fabric, 2 are African fabric, 6 of Kaffe fabric, 2 of flannel, 7 are batik fabrics and 8 with a variety of quilting fabrics. My goal was to whittle down the stash of Australian and African. The batik ones used mostly scraps or leftovers from another quilt. The Kaffe quilts used mostly yardage, some which was already cut in strips and squares the sizes I needed. I'm rambling a little here trying to figure out what I'm going to be doing this year because I intended to use mostly yardage.
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So what did I do on January 1?
I put away the leftovers from the green Rosy quilt top.
I pulled out this project. Lots of plain colors are already cut. I needed to cut more prints to make more blocks.
I pulled out a bag of green full width less than a quarter yard pieces and found one that didn't need pressing and made one block.
I found 3 more greens that I will use and they need pressing before I can cut any pieces from them.
I also updated the notebook with my quilt tops needing quilting with three pages of sizes. This page had the least number on it. and at least 5 of these will be quilted by my longarm friend Robin. The bottom half of each page has room to list all of the new tops of 2024.
Other than that I tried to clean off a table top in my studio and only got halfway through it. Too many decisions of where to put things. I took a photo of it but it is too embarrassing to show to you. Just imagine a real mess, piles created in about 6 months.
14 comments:
41 tops! that's amazing! I'm over here like yea me I finished 3 tops 🤣 I've started a notebook on all my sewing projects too ,you are certainly in for a busy year for quilts,I live the idea of focusing on the tops ,I may give that a try this year,, happy sewing!
I'm exhausted just reading this. I think your process of organizing your fabrics and scraps contributes to your success. My goal for 2024 is to finish just 6 UFO tops and to get more experience on the monster in my studio. So what am I doing today? Starting a new quilt!
Oh, Wanda! I always enjoy your recap posts, even if they are somewhat humbling. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us and Happy New Year.
Love the recap! It is inspiring. I have to do a massive cleanup and reorganization because I had been stealing time from other things to do any sewing and so, it is a mess in my studio. I am finishing sewing one quilt, so I may wait until that one is sewn. I love all your varied fabrics and the wonderful colors.
Gladys Taber wrote, "Contentment is a list with half of it crossed off." May you achieve contentment with your quilts-to-be-quilted this year!
I am just constantly amazed with how much you get done - I know some of them are small but it is still amazing.
Just amazing, Wanda--you are really prolific. And so organized, too!!
[This mere mortal is not even up to keeping up with the Declutter challenge daily prompts already:(0000 ]
ah, well--good for you--beautiful works for 2023...I really love that green zig-zag quilt--it calls my name for sure...
Only 23 degrees this morning...frost on the lawns and all. We actually saw that we may get some S N O W over the weekend...
I am off to try to figure out what to keep, donate, and throw-- once again--"nose to the grindstone"...
Hugs, Julierose
I so enjoyed seeing your year end finishes. They are a wonderful mix of creative designing. Producing 30 quilts in a year is quite an accomplishment to say the least ! And yet you had time for family, friends and your garden on top of it all. WHEW ~ what a year you had !
JJM
You were busy this year! And well done on 16 tops made and fully completed in one year.
I should do some clean up, declutter, and reorganizing, but working on the 16-patch and some QOV tops is taking top priority for now. At least the QOV tops will be handed off to others in the group to quilt and bind. I'm not yet confident enough in my quilting for those, and there are people in the group who love binding and are fast at it.
Amazing and just plain wonderful quilts you've made to improve the Karma of the planet and to delight yourself and folks both near and far! Applause, applause and please take a bow, Wanda!!
I look forward to the wonders you make from your astonishing stash in 2024!
Hugs!
A 'working' studio is supposed to be messy !
You're in good company, so not to worry.
You had an amazing year! My table is a mess too. I keep trying to get things put away but then I get distracted! LOL!
You are so very prolific! What a wonderful array of quilts - all beautiful!
Happy New Year!
Your yearly recap is always a delight. I like your idea of noting the sizes of the quilts waiting to be quilted - I have their working notes folders but I have to pull out each one to see. Perhaps there is a master list in my future.
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