2023 may be remembered as the year I did a little bit of quilting…and a lot of other stitch-related crafts. I am in a season of life that doesn’t lend as much time to sewing. This feels somewhat ironic given that my kids are less needy than they were a few years ago. But as I’m sure many parents of older kids will confirm, I’m finding that older kids means more activities and later bedtimes, and thus less quilting time for me!
Nonetheless, I have plenty of things to show for last year. In 2023 I finished 1 large quilt, 2 baby/wall quilts, 2 bags/pouches, 2 pillows, a hand-stitched book, 5 crochet amigurumi plus several tiny crocheted accessories, 1 blackwork embroidery, 1.5 cross stitch pieces, at least a dozen quilted postcards, 11 months of blocks for my bee and at least one block for another group initiative. I released 2 quilt patterns and 2 cross stitch patterns. I also did a lot of tech editing and pattern work for others, gave 9 guild lectures, and taught 9 workshops.
On to the highlights!
Favorite Finish:
I gotta give this one to Alpha, my most recent quilt finish. I was stitching a sleeve onto the back of this quilt just last night — because it’s going to QuiltCon, hooray! — and kept turning the quilt over to just admire the front. Heh. I’m so happy with the alphabet design, and really pleased that the care and effort I put into getting accurate points with all of those curves paid off. I think this quilt is some of my best work ever and I’m thrilled it will be part of QuiltCon.
Favorite Handwork:
I discovered The Woobles crochet amigurumi kits this year, and they became a minor obsession for the last few months. I decided this was my favorite handwork for the year because it taught me a new skill — I know how to crochet now! Or the basics, anyway. I’m really enjoying it, and plan to branch out from amigurumi in the coming year to build my newbie crochet skills.
Most Useful *and* Memorable:
I really enjoyed making these two pillows from kits that I bought at Liberty of London during our early summer family vacation. They both live on the couches and chairs in our living room — they get moved around by the kids! — and every time I see them it’s fun to remember our trip.
Most Popular Pattern:
Ripple & Rise, which I released in early summer, was my best-selling pattern this year. This is a relatively simple pattern that I designed with the intent of having broad appeal — everyone enjoys making a fun, fast quilt from time to time. It’s definitely gratifying to see that one of my most recent patterns resonated with my audience! (Charlotte’s “Best Quilter Ever” postcard isn’t a pattern, but it was another best seller, and a heartwarming one at that.)
Most Potential for 2024:
No surprise here — it’s my recent longarm purchase! I’m excited to see how I can build my longarm skills with this new machine, and the capability to do larger quilts and pantographs. At the moment I can do hand-guided pantographs from the back, but I’ll be adding computerization this spring — I already ahve it on order with an expected arrival date of early March. Eek!! I’m super excited to start playing with that — and also a bit intimidated! I have to remind myself that I will make plenty of mistakes, but all in the name of learning.
Most Popular Instagram Post:
The modern tree postcard (plus free pattern) that I shared December racked up 1,700+ likes so it took the crown this year. Second place was a photo of me with my Cosmic Shores quilt at QuiltCon back in February. (I still love this quilt, and I’m planning to enter it in the Houston Rodeo quilt competition this year.)
Related: my most popular Instagram reel was washing a cross stitch piece that I finished at the end of 2022. Not even quilt-related! Social media is flukey, y’all.
Most Popular Blog Post:
My quilted fabric postcard tutorial still reigns supreme here, even though it was written in 2020 (and has been edited so that the bulk of the tutorial now resides in a downloadable PDF from my shop). Honestly I don’t know whether I’ll ever have another post that rivals that one!
My most popular post that was actually written in 2023 was the Pantone Quilt Challenge kickoff. Elizabeth Ray and I had a lot of fun hosting that challenge, and we’ll be back soon with details for 2024!
p.s. Highlights from previous years: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013
Chris C says
I love your alphabet quilt!
Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl says
I am looking forward to seeing your alphabet quilt in person at QuiltCon! It looks like you were able to really focus your energy on things that were worthwhile in 2023 and that your limited time was put to really good use. 🙂