End of the Year Recap

Oh my, it’s been ten days since I’ve written anything. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, regardless of what you did or did not celebrate. I hope it was warm with the love of family and friends, that the spirit of giving and sharing was present, and that everyone enjoyed good times and good health. It was all that here, and I am so filled with love and contentment as I write this 2017 recap post.

I’m going to divide this post into two sections; quilting and personal. Feel free to skip one or the other as your interest dictates!

QUILTING

It was a great year in which I finished 19 quilts. You can see them in my Quilt Gallery tab at the top of the blog, under the header.

I also made 4 whole cloth baby quilts (for donation) and 84 kennel quilts/beds for Best Friends that are in addition to the regular quilts. I plan to continue making donation baby quilts and some kennel quilts in 2018. The latter will be primarily to use up specially-dedicated (animal-themed) fabric stash.

This first collage shows the five quilts that were 2016 Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) quilts that were finished during the first quarter of 2017.

Top Left: Rainbow Rails, made of vintage sheets

Top Center: Cool Improv, made of tiny bits of blue, green, teal and purple fabrics

Top Right: Warm Improv, made of tiny pink, red, orange, yellow fabrics 

Bottom Left: Rainbow Dresdens, with doily and yo-yo centers

Bottom Right: Rainbow 16-Patch (I’m so original with quilt names, eh?)

Next are the 4 Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts I started and finished in 2017.  

Top Left: Scrap X+plosion, a quilt made of “kitchen sink” fabrics 

Top Right: Color Me Quilt (pattern by Emily Herrick). I added one extra crayon.

Bottom Left: Reading Rainbow

Bottom Right: Rainbow Selvages (more creative naming) (*insert dripping sarcasm*) 

I have five other RSC2017 quilts which are in process at the end of this year. They'll be finished in 2018:  Starry, Starry Day, the Plus Quilt, Bow Ties, Rainbow String Quilt (started 2016), and Geese Migration.  I’m planning of participating in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge again in 2018. What a great and supportive group of quilters! Come visit the RSC linky party at So Scrappy to see some other rainbow finishes

And finally, I’ve picked the following three quilts as my overall favorites for 2017 (one is a repeat picture). All of them were such enjoyable makes. Each step of the process was fun, although I had different reasons for enjoying the making of each quilt. 

  

Reading Rainbow. What a fun journey this quilt was for me! From the piecing of “books", to the hunt for great selvage “book titles”, to the silly additions that were added to the “shelves” as the mood struck, I couldn’t wait to see “how it ended”!  I would do another bookshelf quilt in a heartbeat. Well, maybe in another two or three years.....  It will be a gift for my friend Nancy Burkey (see post HERE from last year). Her home burned down in the Santa Rosa fires this fall. When I finished it, its purpose seemed so clear to me. You may recall that Nancy had her first book published last year. She was lucky in that the manuscript for her second novel wasn’t harmed in the fires. But I figured she could use the quilt for warmth of the figurative and literal kind. I’ve love the notion that a quilt is like a hug, and this quilt is my hug to Nancy. 

The Tulip Quilt. This was a joint effort with my friend Terri, for another friend Diane (are you still with me?)  It was fun to find out what colors Diane liked and then find fabrics to fit our ideas. We settled on this tulip pattern, the quilt color way, and both pieced half the tulips. I sewed together the quilt top and quilted it. Terri did the binding. Each step was a collaboration over the course of six-plus months. And I’m thrilled that in the process, Terri and I have become closer friends. 

The Pineapple Quilt (another original name, brought to you by me)

For the pure joy of each step of the quilting process, this quilt takes the cake fruit! It was another fun ride during the long, languid days of summer. When it was finished, it was such a soft and dreamy quilt! I’m happy to say that it captured my granddaughter Lauren’s heart, and she wanted it. And so it’s now serving her well. 

PERSONAL

Life had it’s ups and downs this year! There were twice as many of the ups as there were downs, and the year is ending on a high note.

In February, we learned that DH Bruce once again had cancerous growths in his arm. After almost 8 weeks of tests, surgeries and recoveries, Bruce is cancer-free with all arm function intact. That was confirmed in his 6-month post-op checkup this fall. Down, then way up. 

Trump was elected President and took office in January. What a downer! But the spunk and sheer number of of supporters of the Women’s March immediately followed. Exhilarating! A real UP! I’ve never been overly fond of politics, but this Presidency has been a personal source of depression for me all year. 

My brother Steve came to stay with us in July. He is transitioning from a working citizen to a retired one. I helped him with all his retirement paperwork, healthcare, etc. He isn’t good with that stuff. Now Steve has begun making plans about where he wants to live and travel, etc. Definitely ups and downs here. But we figure he’ll be out and on his own by next April.  

I began a personal weight loss and good health journey mid-year. I’ve lost about 30 pounds (final weigh-in for year still to come), and got a Fitbit for Christmas. I’m walking more, and enjoying it. This will journey continue into 2018. I’ve got some more weight to lose, and becoming more fit is always a win.

We had a great Christmas season! My daughter Megan lives in Seattle and visited us (and her two brothers, who are also local) for a week. She was masterful at splitting her time between her dad’s family, us, her siblings and friends. I asked my kids if they’d humor me with a group picture. To my surprise, they were all enthusiastic, not grumbly. 

My three: Megan, Shane, Ryan

Shane with granddaughter London (AKA Rudolph)

Bruce’s daughter Stacy with our granddaughter Oakley

There were lots more fun pictures of the family, but I won’t bore you with them here. Although family gets a smaller share of blog space, they have the lion’s share of my heart.

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In my first 2018 post(s), I’ll be sharing my quilting goals for 2018, my planned Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects, My “On Ringo Lake” progress, and whatever else is under the needle. In the meantime, friends, have a Happy New Year from all of us (Cathy, Bruce, Alfalfa and Darla)