best of 2023

As each year comes to an end, Cheryl from Meadow Mist Designs hosts the 'best of 2023' party. You can pick and highlight your posts anyway you like, and this year I've opted for the posts with the most views.

My Daylesford quilt #2 won hands down with the most views this year. And, it's my favourite finish for the year! 

I started this quilt in July 2023 & finished September 2023, it was the 2nd time I'd made this quilt. The #daylesfordquilt really is the perfect one to let your imagination run wild with.
I love the play of colour in this quilt, especially the hot pink & teal combo. I hunted high & low in my sewing baskets for some of my most treasured fabrics for that mood I was looking for palette-wise. So, it's a real mix of fabrics, old & new, designer, florals & geometrics!
For my backing I used a wide back Tula Pink sateen. Machine quilted by Cheryl at allthingsbernina in a simple leaf & vine pattern. And I opted for a Kaffe teal/blues stripe for my binding.
The finished quilt has a lovely soft drape, very cuddly & light, and measures 60" x 68". 

Courthouse Steps: colour play.

Next up was a quilt I'd actually finished the year before (does that count?) but it showed up in this year's figures too. Anyways, about my Courthouse Steps quilt - I'd been super keen to have a go at spicing up this classic courthouse steps block. Lots of colour blocking & fabric play happening here and the pretty star quilting pattern called 'compass rose' adds the ultimate texture. Read more about the quilt here.

The next three quilts all had very similar counts for the number of views. 

My post titled 'emptying the UFO cupboard' (see back here) was about a quilt I had pieced way back in Feb 2014 but never actually finished. I remember using Jen Kingwell's pattern 'broken glass' and my blocks are 12" finished, but I'm unsure of my actual 'rules' regarding my fabric choices - I probably went with the "anything goes" concept, all the colours and all the prints. It's still my favourite way to put together a fun and colourful quilt.

So, one hot summers night earlier this year, I turned up the fan and joined pieces of leftover backing together, and pin basted the quilt top. 

I finished this quilt by machine quilting edge to edge straight vertical lines, spaced evenly across the quilt. Simple and functional lines which at the same time gives the quilt a lovely texture and a soft drape, especially with the lightweight batting that I used for this quilt. 

Unfortunately, I couldn't get the quilting bar to stay tight, so my quilting is organic, jumping from point-to-point, so it's not perfect but done! 

I used a striped fabric for the binding, pulled from my stash. I love how the black & white adds a final accent.  Finished quilt measures 60" x 60".  Super happy to have another ufo ticked off my long list!

Making it work

This next little quilt had a long journey before becoming a flimsy even, sometimes things just don't go together as planned! While looking at a few more unfinished projects, I spotted my 4patch blocks (a 'penny patch' variation, see back here in December 2022). I was all set to start joining them together, but things still weren't really working for me. 

Then I had an idea! 

And the next thing I knew, I was faffing around shuffling my blocks around down on the "design" floor! I put most of the really light blocks/fabrics all to one side and began laying out my 4patch units. Some deconstruction was required (= unpicking & resizing), had to happen given my change in direction! 

This sweet selection of blues & purples had been on my mind for so long, it felt good to get them out of my head and rearranged pleasingly. Some blocks are definitely high contrast, but not all, resulting in a subtly broken chain. 

I do love mixing up all the different fabrics too, old & new Tilda, Liberty, Kaffe, AMH, along with a little gingham to achieve a real vintage floral look. It's now in the 'to be quilted' pile. 

1000 Flowers quilt was the final quilt in this little collection of my most viewed quilts for the year, see back here for more details & pics. Super happy with this whispery palette for my strippy triangles quilt, inspired by a vintage quilt. I may never be a true “modern” quilter or make a quilt from all solids, but you know right, if it's all scrappy and all floral around here, I'm okay with that.
There really is a great mix of pastel florals in this quilt - Kaffe, Tilda, Outback Wife, a little AMH, and a couple of other nameless brighter bits & bobs from my stash - and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This quilt earned a trip to the "quilt spa" for longarm quilting treatment by Leeanne from quiltmekiwi. I asked for edge-to-edge quilting in the Baptist Fan pattern, a real fav of mine and perfect as a wee nod to the original vintage inspiration quilt. For the backing I pieced together a few large strips of grey florals.
I chose an {oldish} small floral print in plum for my binding, 1000 Henley Flowers from Makower. It seems to contain things nicely ... and draws out all the warm pink colours ... and I love the idea of lots & lots of floral fabrics front, back & sides, hence the quilt name!
Finished quilt measures {approx.} 62" x 56".

Hope you enjoyed this little review of my 'Best of 2023'.

To see lots more creativity & colour pop over here to Meadow Mist Designs. 

Simply click on the link and have fun reading about everyone’s favourite posts for 2023.

Loving this quiet time between Christmas & New Year ...

taking it slow, with no plans, no dinner decisions just lots of leftovers,

 and enjoying all the family time together.

Happy New Year

🍹🍷🍸

Linda