Looking Back

At the end of this week, I will celebrate my first anniversary as a quilt blogger, and it has been fun to look back over the last year's worth of posts and what I have accomplished.  Getting involved in the online quilt community has been fun, inspiring, and full of lots of learning for me!  Thank you to everyone who has hosted linky parties for me to join, posted tutorials that I have learned from, or taken the time to visit my blog and comment on my projects.  I think I have accomplished more in this one year than ever before in my 15 or so years of quilting.  It has been a year of many firsts!

My first Block of the Month to participate in, thanks to Kristy of Quiet Play.  From this first block in January:

to the finished product in November:

From my hours and hours (and hours!) spent reading blogs and tutorials, I have completed a Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt:

  

 an Open-wide Zipper Pouch:

 

 

several baby quilts:

and many other smaller projects, like this fun pincushion for my quilt group's Christmas gift exchange.

 

 

Of course there are various WiPs that I have plans for in 2014 as well!  And finally, yesterday, I finished up a Christmas quilt (only a few days late!) that I slept under last night.  I think it is true that I always love my current project the most, and that is definitely true of this particular quilt.  It is made from a layer cake of Aspen Frost, and the Layer Cake Lemonade pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop, so it went together quickly and was fun to make!

  

I love the bright, modern colors, especially the aqua, red, and olive green together.  I machine quilted it simply, mostly echoing the seams, but with a few curvy, "organic" lines through the middle of the bigger blocks.

I added a row of the leftover main fabrics to make a pieced back, which makes the back interesting to look at, too!

Even though Christmas is past, I'm going to enjoy this quilt well into the new year because it just makes me happy to look at, and isn't that what creating is all about?!

I am wishing all of you the Happiest of New Years, and a 2014 full of quilty inspiration!  I can't wait to see what I learn about next!

Linking up to Freemotion by the River for the last linky party of 2013!