2023 Looking Back

The last quarter of 2023 got away from me. After our trip to Ireland in late September, things just snowballed and my productivity fell. I was still working and quilting but never really got back into the groove.

I am terrible at recordkeeping (trying to do better), but I probably finished 30-35 quilts in 2023. I’m okay with that. I did not make a dent in either my stash or huge pile of UFOs. I would like to do better there, but I simply have no interest in finishing many of the UFOs so am figuring out ways to repurpose them.

Here are a few highlights from 2023.

First was The Reflections Quilt. 

It is the first (and only) paid pattern I have published. That was a learning process and super scary to put it out there. I’m over it now and plan to publish more patterns in 2024.

Another of my favorites from 2023 was the Saturday Sampler quilt. This was a free block of the week. 

I am really happy with how this turned out (I can’t believe I don’t have a picture with the binding finished!!). When I started the weekly blocks, I was unsure of the setting, but it ended up being a nice-sized quilt considering these are only six-inch blocks. All the patterns for this quilt are still available for newsletter subscribers in the Free Resource Libray tab at the top. Not a newsletter subscriber? Sign up at the link on the Patchwork Sampler homepage. 

These two quilts are also among my favorites of 2023.

Both are super simple, but they made the list because of the memories associated with them. Most of my quilting is done in solitude. I enjoy that because I also use that time to think, listen to podcasts or audiobooks, or simply do mindless busy work. But sometimes, it’s great to sew in community. Quilters are just the best people on earth and I’ve made so many friends through quilting.

Both of these quilts were projects during a little “retreat” at my house with two of those very best friends. We have so much fun sewing together, but know enough to keep the projects simple. We spend too much time talking and laughing to do much thinking! These quilts hold great memories!

The first quilt is Granny Patch by Lo and Behold Stitchery and the pattern is available here. The second quilt is made with 3″ finished nine-patches and solid alternating squares. I had hoped to get rid of my 30s fabrics with the nine-patch, but 238 little blocks didn’t use very much.

One of the best things I did this past year though, was take the Quilt Pattern Writing Course from Quilters Candy. I have been writing patterns in one form or another for about 30 years, but this course is on a whole other level. Typically, I design quilts in EQ8, and then write the patterns in Microsoft Publisher. It works well, but the industry standard is Adobe Illustrator and InDesign which are much more robust, and professional, (and for me, complicated!). It was time-consuming and at times, frustrating, but I completed the course and have a pattern ready to publish. Even though it was so much work, I think it will make the pattern-writing process quicker and easier in the future. And I’m always happy to learn new skills. I highly recommend this class if you want to write and publish quilt patterns.

That is a quick recap of my 2023 quilting journey. Check back tomorrow to see what’s in store for 2024!