I Love Thursday #63

While most of us found 2021 to be a trying year there were some incredible highs and lows. Personally I experienced being on Wildfire Evacuation Alert which had me sewing almost non stop and taking a break to go outside to watch the helicopters picking up water from the river in front of our home and dumping just over the ridge (or on top of it) just behind us. I had a new great granddaughter arrive, but have still not met the 3 youngest great grandchildren. I managed to get my new longarm set up at the studio 5 hours away from home and have been enjoying the whole process from loading quilts to figuring out how to do pantos, rulerwork and even FMQ on it. Vaccines, boosters and masks became a contentious issue within family. Friends contracted (and recovered from) Covid. Cancer reared it’s ugly head in a dear friend’s life. Through it all I sewed because sewing and quilting kept me sane and relatively calm. I will be happy to ring in the new year but do have some great memories from this past year and made several new on line friends.

My favourite quilt of the year was this one:

I enjoyed making that quilt so much I reused the pattern with some modifications to make another quilt from bright batiks for a blog hop project for the Orange You Glad Blog Hop. It was inspired by the wildfires here in British Columbia and the experience of being put on Evacuation Alert. Just click on the photo below of Phoenix Rising to get the details!

In 2021 I had set a goal of finishing UFO’s and trying to complete every new project I started. 95% of my UFO’s are finished tops that need to be quilted. One of the quilt tops in those bins that haunt me is the quilt I made for the Winter Blues Blog Hop in 2019, hosted by Carla from Creatin in the Sticks

Over the year I took part in several Blog Hops and had so much fun coming up with projects that fit the theme. My highest viewed post was my post for the Seaside Adventure Row Along which is linked to here and was one of my best posts for a block pattern being downloaded.

I was fortunate to be able to do some pattern testing for various designers that I admire.

Sandra Walker of MMM Quilts is a Canadian designer that I really enjoy. Her patterns are always well written and over the year I tested one pattern Follow Your Own Path (linked to my post) and then joined in her QAL with a larger version. It’s still in the To Be Quilted pile but will be finished and blogged about soon. 😉

I also had tested another of Sandra’s patterns Waltzing With Bears but hadn’t finished it until my granddaughter decided that she wanted for a quilt for her best friend and how it needed to be added to.

Then Sandra had me with this sweet quilt;

I enjoyed it so much that I had to make it two more times:

One of my favourite quilting adventures is to take part in the Project Quilting Challenges (which will be starting January 2) and who can resist Cheryl from Meadow Mist’s Mysteries (I read on her recent blog post that she has already determined the pattern). I did manage to cut my fabrics for the Macaron Mystery but must confess to being at the start up stage of this project still life interfered with my plans this year but at least I have this project to look forward to so far.

While quilting makes me happy and has kept me sane this year, my family brings me the greatest joy. This week my oldest great granddaughter, Nova-Lee turns 4 and it was fun to see photos of the great grands together on Boxing Day.

I enjoy challenging myself to get things done but find having some accountability helps. Of course we do have One Monthly Goal @ Elm Street Quilts , To-Do Tuesdays @ Texas Quilt Gal and the PHD Report @ Quilting Gail to help ourselves, set goals, be accountable and finish projects. If you follow my blog you can see how these linky parties keep me moving projects along.

Each week I try to link up with LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color for our weekly I Like Thursday posts. I really like taking the time to find things that I am grateful for. It’s always fun to see the things that spark joy or provide inspiration in so many people from around the world.

Thank you for stopping by to read my post. I do reply to every comment and appreciate it if you hit the follow me button on my home page. 😉 Carol