Quilty Bests of 2022

For the past several years I’ve participated in Cheryl/Meadow Mist Designs’ “Best Of” blog party so I can’t let 2022 slip away without reflecting on some of my quilting accomplishments this year!

I felt rather “off” this year in terms of my making and creative motivation. Nonetheless, I’m pleased to find that I have quite a lot to show for myself. This year I finished 2 large quilts, 5 baby or mini quilts (including 1 with each of my kids), 4 drawstring bags, 1 bag/pouch, 1 pillow, some quilted postcards, all 12 blocks for the Houston MQG block of the month, and quite a few blocks for my bee and various other group initiatives. I released 3 patterns and did plenty of tech editing and graphics work for others. I gave 13 guild lectures and taught 4 workshops.

Most Popular Pattern:

Triangles at Play was my top seller this year! Pathfinder was a close second. These are both “oldie but goodie” patterns, and so versatile — the scrappy version of Triangles at Play above was made by my guild for this year’s QuiltCon Community Outreach Challenge.

I did release 3 other patterns this year, so it’s quite interesting to see that my top seller was NOT a new release. There are probably a few conclusions I could draw from that going into 2023.

Most Popular Instagram Post:

This post sharing 3 of my QuiltCon 2022 quilts had 2,171 likes. A close second was another QuiltCon 2022 post with 2,138 likes. I know I’m not alone in saying that Instagram has felt like a double-edged sword this year. I love the quilting community and friends I have made and connected with through the app, but I don’t love the constant algorithm changes and the pressure to chase likes and followers. Social media strategy (or lack thereof) is on my mind for 2023.

Most Popular Blog Post:

My Quilted Fabric Postcard Tutorial from 2020 continues to be my most popular post, but my Quilt Math 101: Backing and Binding post was the most popular that I published this year. I enjoyed making postcards on-and-off through the year, and teaching my postcard workshop at QuiltCon and to a few guilds.

Favorite Finish:

No question, my Cosmic Shores quilt was my favorite this year, and had the “bonus” of being a huge longarm quilting learning experience when I had some major thread tension issues and had to re-quilt half of the quilt. I was thrilled to learn earlier this month that this quilt was juried into QuiltCon 2023, so I’m looking forward to seeing it hang in Atlanta!

Biggest Learning Experience:

I started my annual 100 day project in February….and called it quits in early May at day 75. This is the first time in my memory that I haven’t completed the full 100 days and I admit it bugged me for quite a while. But it was a good, if unanticipated, way to “practice what I preach.” Whenever I’m asked for advice about 100 day projects, I always tell people that they make their own rules, and there is no shame in stopping a project that is no longer working for you. (Also, 75 days is plenty of time to learn other things, like how to wrap fabric pieces onto small canvases!)

Most Slow-but-Satisfying:

In May, I felt the urge to do cross stitch for the first time in a few years so I went with it and started this piece. I worked on it here and there and just finished it earlier this month! Seeing a slow-burn project like this come together is very satisfying, and I plan to hang the finished piece either in my sewing room or in our bedroom.

Bonus Best:

Seeing quilty friends in person at monthly guild meetings, QuiltCon in February, and the International Quilt Festival in November. The community continues to be my favorite part of quilting. ❤️

p.s. Highlights from previous years: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013