Some Quilting Highlights of 2011

Today I thought I would post a little bit of my quilting highlights of the last year.  I wrote these goals last January:

1.  I would like to start using solids in my work a lot more.
2.  I want to check out Jean Wells newest book and have a go at creating an artistic quilt, I especially am  interested in quilting in different color threads.
3.  I want to try doing some more applique in my quilts---like in my Birds of a Feather quilt...
4.  I plan to do a lot more free motion quilting in the next year.
5.  And now that I am more confident in free motion quilting I plan to finish many many more of my quilt tops over the next year.

I had also added that I wanted to blog a lot more than I have in previous years and break out of my shell a bit more.  I definitely have blogged more, breaking out of my shell, well, a little bit--maybe in a different way than I had expected to.  This year I got involved in online Bees and Swaps and that for me was breaking out of my shell.  I did use solids a lot more this past year, in particular I took part in the For the Love of Solids Swap.  I did purchase Jean Wells's book and did some more free sort of piecing, but have not yet pursued what I really had in mind when I wrote that post.  The applique thing never really happened this year either.  I did one wall hanging that was a mini of my Birds of a Feather quilt, but that is all.  What really took over for me instead was paper piecing, which I hadn't tried previously.   I did do a lot of free motion quilting though!  I finished many quilts and on top of all that I started my long arm quilting business!  Actually, looking back, I didn't expect to do so much in one year--especially when my days are so filled with the boys, but I did!  I will write a new list of goals in the New Year...