2024 was definitely the “year of the longarm” for me! I finished several UFOs and a couple new quilts, and really enjoyed spending time in my garage/longarm studio. Another thing that stuck around this year was handwork in one form or another, including blackwork and cross stitch and crochet.
In 2024 I finished 8 large quilts, 2 baby/wall quilts, 1 mini quilt, 2 bags/pouches, 1 set of holiday ornaments, 1 string of bunting, 5 crochet amigurumi, 2 cross stitch/embroidery pieces, 8 blocks for my bee…and probably a few more things that I’m forgetting about.
On to some highlights!
Favorite Finish(es):
Can I say multiple things here? Sure I can, because it’s my blog! My favorite finishes this year were all of the quilts I was able to quilt with my now-computerized longarm. After getting the Intelliquilter installed in March, I spent many hours out working on both older quilt tops (like the two pictured above) and newer makes. I look forward to more in 2025, and starting to expand my skills beyond stock pantographs.
Most Spontaneous:
I decided to make a “Peach Fuzz” mini quilt for the Pantone challenge as a spur-of-the-moment decision, and it turned out so fun! This quilt was juried into the “Small Quilts” category at QuiltCon so it will be on display in Phoenix next month. (To be honest I’m pretty nervous about it, because I’m not sure how well the illusion will show up under convention center lighting and if the quilt is wrinkled. But I’m trying to let that worry go!)
Most Cozy:
I joined the Alison Glass Cozy quilt-along, and I’m happy to report the quilt does indeed live up to the promise of its name! We have a LOT of couch quilts in our house, but this is one of the coziest, especially this time of year. The knit fabric feels like a comfy sweatshirt, and it’s got a lovely weight to it. I kinda want to make another one!
Most Popular Pattern:
I only released on pattern this year — Alpha — so it’s not too surprising that it was also my most popular one. Since this is a block-style pattern instead of instructions for a specific quilt, I wasn’t sure how it would be received, but I’m happy that people seemed to love it!
Most Popular Instagram Post:
Instagram really really liked my Waves Illusion mini quilt, made back in the spring. I already wrote about this one above, but it was a spontaneous make that turned out great!
Most Popular Blog Post:
Yet again my quilted fabric postcard tutorial takes the crown. It lives on and on! The tutorial itself is now a downloadable PDF, but I guess there are enough links still out there from 2020 that I still get traffic to this post. My most popular post actually written in 2024 was the Pantone Quilt Challenge kickoff. Since Elizabeth and I are hosting the challenge again for a third time, I expect the kickoff post will be popular for 2025 as well!
p.s. Highlights from previous years: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013
I look forward to seeing your illusion quilt at QuiltCon. I think most quilters know at this point that shipping and convention centers don’t do quilts any favors!