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I found A Lovely Year of Finishes in May of 2014 and joined in setting my first goal in June. I'm proud that most of these were very old WIPs. It feels good to have gotten some old projects done. 2014 ALYoF mosaic1In June, I finished a pile of lined drawstring bags for teacher gifts (and a few extras). This one wasn't a WIP, but it did use some older fabric from my stash.

In July, I used some decade old orphan blocks to make a 4th of July table runner named Frieda.

In August, I finished Goldfish, a mug rug that I made specifically to learn the new skill of machine turned-edge applique.

In September, I finished Candy Shoppe, a mystery quilt I started eleven years prior. I love it so much it got a second photo shoot. ;-)

2014 ALYoF mosaic2In October, I finished the guild philanthropy dinosaur quilt I'd had in my possession for longer than I care to admit.

In November, my goal was to finish the quilt top for my #IGminiswap quilt. I finished and mailed the mini quilt the following week.

In December, I finished an 8 1/2 year old WIP. Bold Blooms is a twin sized mystery quilt (with my favorite backing fabric ever!), a gift I look forward to giving to a friend.

Linking up my 2014 finishes with the ALYoF 2014 Finale Party.

 

For January, I've decided my ALYoF goal will be to Finish my Stellar Winds quilt. The top and back have been finished since August(!) and the binding is even made. Now to sandwich it together and get quilting. Oh! I can use my new Aurifil color card to choose just the right thread color! :-) I'd like to do something a little decorative with my quilting instead of an all over pattern.

Also linking up to the ALYoF January Goal Party.

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My final finish of 2014! I bought the fabrics: 7 light fat quarters (black on white), 12 dark fat quarters (reds), accent and binding fabric (black on black), border (white on black) and backing... eight and a half years ago during the 2006 Shop Hop by The Bay. I had no idea what I was making, but loved the mystery of it. (I had pieced the mystery quilt from the shop hop two years before using bright, bold colors and I'd loved watching the design emerge.) I started it immediately, but back then I wasn't sewing very regularly. I worked on and off over the years and this year I finally tried to really focus on finishing since I was able to carve out regular sewing time. There have been so many progress posts about my mystery quilt over the last year. It's so great to finally have a 100% finished quilt to show you.

I've come a long way in my skills since starting this. I think this is one of the frustrations of working on a really old WIP. My piecing has improved (yay for a nearly perfect 1/4" seam allowance), I can free motion quilt now, and my understanding of value has improved, to name a few. I've also started using Aurifil thread to piece and quilt and I press my seams open.

I quilted in Aurifil 50wt grey #2605 I like to match my top and bobbin thread and decided anything more bold would fight with the fun backing fabric and I wanted it to just blend. It finished at 65" by 83". I'm really looking forward to wrapping this up and giving it to my dear friend.

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts and ALYoF December Finishes. By the way, I'm a little jealous of all of you aren't feverishly trying to finish your December goal today because yours has been done for a while already. ;-)

Also linking up to Finish Along 2014 Wrap Up Party. Here's my full list of (mostly still incomplete) Q4 goals.

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Mystery Quilt

Here's my progress on my December ALYoF goal... a mystery quilt I started in 2006! I have just under 48 hours to crank out a finish with some uncomplicated free motion quilting. I'm so excited to have the quilt top finished. I'm looking forward to giving it away, but I might have to spent some time looking at it first. :-)

completed red, black and white mystery quilt topdetail view of red, black and white mystery quilt

 

Little Letters

I finished piecing all my letters for my two little letters quilts. I need to cut about a million (okay 84) 1.5" corner squares for the sashing. Then I'll be able to get these all pieced together. Little Letters blocks in brightsLittle Letters blocks in blues and greens

 

do. Good Stitches

Here are my December do. Good Stitches blocks for the Promise Circle. These scrappy domino blocks went together very quickly. I was even able to raid my 2 1/2" strip scrap pile for some of the pieces. They are on their way to Diana in New York. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished quilt.   scrappy domino block with low volume backgroundscrappy domino block with low volume background

 

Drawstring Bag

My mother-in-law does embroidery and a while back I noticed that she was keeping her supplies in a plastic shopping bag. Then I saw this adorable fabric and I decided that she needed a large lined drawstring bag for her project and supplies. This one is the Artist Bag size of Jeni Baker's Lined Drawstring Bag.

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lined drawstring bag with red and white fabric featuring embroidery diagrams

 

#disneyminiswap2015

I started making progress on my Disney Mini Quilt. I won't be able to show too many progress pictures, because I think it would give it away to the recipient, but I'm very excited about my plan and hope she'll love it!

pieced striped background

 

Cookies

I made 10 dozen holiday cookies... Here are the quilt block cookies I brought to my guild's holiday party and a selection of the 7 dozen that I brought to the annual cookie party that I attend.

quilt block royal icing cookiesChristmas royal icing cookies

 

 

I guess I've been busy. We also celebrated Hanukkah and Christmas with family. I hope the holiday season was enjoyable for you and your family.

Dozens of hanukkiahs lit for the 4th night of Hanukkah.
Hanukkah celebration with our congregation (4th night).

Hanukkiah with candles for last night of Hanukkah.