Saturday, December 31, 2016

2016 in Review

2016 - Looking back...


I want to thank all of you that visit my blog. I hope 2016 has been kind to you! If you are like me, life has thrown a few curve balls your way. Hopefully, you have been able to roll with them as they came. 

For kicks and giggles, I thought it would be fun to share the top viewed posts on my blog. Links are below.


Top 5 Blog Posts - in 2016
5. CQI UTS RR #2 - My Blocks are Home!


Here is a collage of my 2016 finishes. (I realized I forgot to share one with you. I'll add more picks of it in January. I also included a sneak peek of a project that will be shared next year after the Crazy Quilt Quarterly Spring 2017 Magazine is released through Magcloud.)


In 2016, I only participated in one round robin. It began in 2015. Here is a collage of the blocks I embellished for Barbara Nicki Lee, Kathy, Annette, Mary and Sandy


My "UFOs and Other Projects to Complete" page will be updated soon. Here is a look at the list from 2016 and the progress I made (or did not make - depending on the project!) 

Click on any photo for a larger view.

1. Complete this Under the Sea (UTS) purse. Finished July 2016. You may see more photos here.




2. Quilt and bind my Winter/Christmas wall quilt.  I added a few more snowflakes, but did not get very far. The first photo was taken at the beginning of the year and the second shows my progress.


3. Embellish the "E" and assemble a wall quilt with my Heart blocks.  No progress, but it is high on my To Do List!


4. Assemble wall quilt with my snowman/winter themed Crazy Quilt International Snowballs.  No progress. (To be honest, I am tempted to collect a few more...)


5. Have my Heaven and Earth Designs Santa and the Mouse Freebie Ornament framed or make it into a crazy quilted pillow.
Sigh... no. I learned through cross-stitch groups I should give my completed projects a wash in mild soap when they are done. I'm afraid the reds and blues ran a bit into the beard and fluff on Santa's suit, so I've set this aside until I gather the courage to deal with it...
(After typing this, my husband looked at this and insisted it looks amazing. He cannot tell the colors bled at all and wants me to make a small wall quilt with it.)



6. Complete Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) 2014 blocks for November and December. Make purses with blocks from May, November and December. (I already completed January, February, March, April, June, July, August, September and October.)
In 2016, I completed my November block and pieced my December block. Both are pictured below.





7. Complete my block from the Crazy Quilting International Under the Sea Do-Your-Own-Block Round Robin and sew all of the embellished blocks into a wall quilt. You may see more photos of the gorgeous blocks after embellishment here.

Close ups of completed block may be seen here and of the wall quilt may be seen here.



8. Create and embellish 12-inch blocks to make into a lap quilt as part of Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) 2016.

Sigh... Between the 12-inch size (which takes me forever) and making these so they may be washed (no ribbon or beads), I have had a hard time staying motivated. I will continue working on this quilt through 2017. January and February are pictured below.

To make it easier for me to look back on, I am collecting each seam and motif addition on this board on Pinterest.







9. My blocks for my second Crazy Quilting International Under the Sea Do-Your-Own Block Round Robin should return home in March returned home in March. You may see them here. I need to complete my block and sew together 2 wall quilts.
No progress.







10. Make significant progress on this Charting Creations Fractal White Tiger chart based on artwork by Ricky Barnard. This is for my eldest son.


11. Make significant progress on this Heaven and Earth Designs Twilight Duel chart based on artwork by Ruth Thompson. This is for my youngest son.

I completed 3 full pages this year. It was 6.42% complete in January and is 22.21% complete now. 

There is a page set up on my blog to share monthly photo updates. (If a month is missing, no progress was made.)



12. Make significant progress on this Heaven and Earth Designs QS Red Hearts chart based on artwork by Ching-Chou Kuik.

I completed 1 page this year. 2 of 9 pages are now finished.


13. Complete this crazy quilted stocking for my husband before Christmas. Finished in July 2016. You may see more photos here.



In September, I finally joined the modern era and upgraded to a smart phone. Of course, that meant I had to try out Instagram. *Wink*  Sharing my 2016 Best Nine on Instagram was fun. 


Happy New Year!
I am so incredibly blessed with the friendships I have made through the blogging world. Thank you all so much for your kindness and words of encouragement throughout the year.

Hugs to all,
Renee

8 comments:

Pamela said...

Wonderful review of the year! You've done some amazing stitching in 2016.

Justine said...

What a great review! I love the Under the Sea purse especially.
I'm with your husband on Santa and the Mouse. Looks fabulous and needs to be framed!
Best wishes for a very happy 2017 x

Christine B said...

Loved seeing your review of 2016 and despite your 'curve balls' you seem to have achieved an amazing amount of stitching!! Hope 2017 is a great year for you Renee.... looking forward to sharing more blogging friendship with you! Hugs Christine x

Mii Stitch said...

2016 has been a very productive year for you with some beautiful finishes.
Wishing you a very happy New Year!

Anthea said...

Wow, amazing to look back & see all the beautiful work from your hands during 2016, Renee... just beautiful!
x

Katie said...

Beautiful progress and a lot completed. Good luck with your 2017 goals. I will enjoy cheering you along!

Anonymous said...

So funny that we got smart phones at about the same time. I think mine was August, but could have been September. And I added Instagram, too, which I'm still figuring out and hardly ever post anything. If I have to do it from the phone, it takes longer because I don't use the camera on my phone very often. I like my Nikon instead. Haven't figured out if there's a way to Instagram from the computer. LOL

Your progress is actually pretty amazing. Each thing you do is very time consuming, and you don't have that much time to consume. =)

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I think you made great progress on your goals (and I know you snuck a few extra things into the list over the year). I loved seeing your review!