2013 in Review

I've gone back and forth on how to best summarize 65 projects - top 10 list, favorite of the month, oldest, newest - you get the picture! Looking back through my blog I noticed how often I wrote about projects being a favorite. And, when I look at these photo mosaics I still can't play favorites because each one tells a story. The collective sum of their stories is so overwhelming to me that I am finding it hard to write this post.

So I will step back to data instead of feelings. I finished 65 projects in 2013 - 57 UFOs and 8 new projects/WIPs. I set 2 ambitious goals at the start of the year: 1) to finish a UFO a week and 2) to learn to FMQ. In short, I nailed goal #1 because I learned that goal #2 wasn't the only way to finish pretty quilts! I will revisit this topic in January because I have a lot to say about it.

I decided to break down my projects into 3 categories: Donations, Keepers and Gifts. Donation Quilts were the biggest group with 36 quilts - 1 to Quilts of Valor, 1 to Heartstrings and 34 to Project Linus.

1. Primary D9P, 2. Bouncing Balls, 3. Scrappy Chevrons, 4. Cool Sparkles, 5. Batik Noodle Recipe 3, 6. Batik Noodle Recipe 2, 7. Batik Noodle Recipe 1, 8. Kitchen Sink Feed Sacks, 9. Bright Hopes, 10. Pandora's Box in Teal, 11. Scrappy Snowball, 12. Mod Art, 13. Easter Stacked Coins, 14. Charm Quilt #5, 15. Charm Quilt #4, 16. Charm Quilt #3, 17. Charm Quilt #2, 18. Charm Quilt #1, 19. Autumn String Set for Heartstrings, 20. Kitchen Sink Strings, 21. Come Sail Away, 22. Scrappy HSTs, 23. 9 Patch Novelty, 24. Bright Blue Strings, 25. Scrapped Up Animals, 26. Polka Dot Cats & Dogs, 27. "Cats in Dressy Hats", 28. "Cats on Skis", 29. Rainbow Sherbet - Hold the Lime!, 30. Boxed in Brights, 31. Purple 9 Patch on Lime, 32. Color Me Happy, 33. Ballerina Cats, 34. Animal Pairs, 35. Sports Kid, 36. Patriotic Squares

The next group are Keepers and there are 25 of them that have found their home here with me.

1. Christmas Fantasy, 2. Christmas Rail Fence, 3. "And Sew On" BoM, 4. Arkansas Crossroads, 5. Thimbleberries Jacob's Ladder, 6. Patriotic 9 Patch, 7. Pin It Blog Hop, 8. 9 Patch Swap, 9. Schnibbles "Gentle Art" in Bonnie & Camille's "Marmalade", 10. Schnibbles "Hat Trick", 11. Watercolor Spring, 12. Shabby Strings, 13. Pastel Tulips, 14. Patchwork Stockings, 15. Charming Stars, 16. Easter Egg Table Topper, 17. Garden Cats, 18. Log Cabin in the Pines, 19. Triple Zip Pouch, 20. Threadbias QAL - February Project, 21. I Heart Pink, 22. Leoni's Floral Stars, 23. Shabby Roses, 24. Shabby Heart, 25. Minnesota Ladyslipper

Last but not least - the Gifts. Choosing to focus on UFOs this year really limited my gift making. Our theme for the holidays this year was practical gifts... shall I say that I am ready for creative gifts in 2014!

1. Puppies for Rylan, 2. ABC Charm Quilt, 3. Scrappy Summertime, 4. Quilted Redwork Pillow

I also broke down the numbers by project size:

11 lap quilts
40 kids/baby quilts
9 table topper/wall quilts
5 other

As I have said often over the last 15 months... thank goodness I am not a king/queen size UFO maker!

I can't end this post without going back from data to feelings. It is truly hard to express how my Year of Finish has changed me. I have been a Serial Project Starter my entire life! To finally "crack my code" and prove to myself over and over that I CAN do this is so powerful. Looking at all of these beautiful projects that were stuffed in drawers, bins and closets for years makes me eager to dig in and finish more. Not because I feel like I SHOULD but because I WANT to - huge difference!

Maybe this is the sum of my UFO Journey - that the creative spark that begins a project can stay dormant for years but the full beauty isn't revealed until the last stitch of binding is sewed. I am finally a person who finishes quilts.