2017 in Review

2017 - Looking Back...

2017 has been a fun year of crafting and making friends. I appreciate you all and love hearing from you. More details about the finishes in the photo above may be found on this page.

Unlike last year, several Top Viewed Posts of 2017 made it to the Top Viewed Posts of All Time list.

Top 5 Blog Posts in 2017

TAST 76 - Whipped Chain Stitch

1. TAST 76 

2. April 2017

3. Crazy Quilt ATC Tutorial Part 1 - Piecing

4. May 2017

5. June 2017

Top 5 Blog Posts Since 2012

1. TAST 76

2. Joyful Embellishments, TAST Week 1, 

and Stitchery Link Party #14

3. April 2017

4. Crazy Quilt ATC Tutorial Part 1 - Piecing

5. May 2017

2017 Activities

2017 UFO Challenge

11 UFOs were finished! More details are here.

My 2018 UFO Challenge list is here. 

Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP)
December 31st is the last day to sign up for CQJP 2018! Details are here. 

To see some eye candy, I encourage you to check out the CQJP 2017 blog - here - when you have a bit of time to drool over admire the pretty CQ blocks others created. My progress is below.

CQJP 2017 January Block

A tutorial to piece a crazy quilt block is here.

CQJP 2017 February Block

This tote bag was donated and raised $150 for engineering scholarships in Oregon.

CQJP 2017 March Block - in progress
The most recent blog post is here.

This will become a pocket on a tote bag that will be added to my Etsy shop.

CQJP 2017 April Block - pieced

This project was added to my 2018 UFO list. Once finished, I plan to add it to my Etsy shop.






InCoWriMo 2017

INternational COrrespondence WRiting MOnth is in February. 2017 was my first year participating. I will definitely join again in 2018! You may find my 2017 experience here and the InCoWriMo website here.



Sun, Sand, and Sea Block of the Month

This was hosted by Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy. It was my first BOM and I absolutely loved it! 

The orange & black Oregon State University theme made it all the more fun.

Find more details on this page. 



HAED "QS Red Hearts"

13,385 stitches were added to this piece based on artwork by Ching-Chou Kuik.





Charting Creations "Fractal White Tiger"

10,207 stitches were added to this piece based on artwork by Ricky Barnard.

HAED "Twilight Duel"

17,213 stitches were added to this piece based on artwork by Ruth Thompson. 





HAED "Storykeep Effects of Caffeine"

1,425 stitches were added to this piece based on artwork by Randal Spangler. 

This is my travel piece and it only received 8 days of attention this year.


Instagram

This was my first full year using Instagram. You may find me here.

2017 Best Nine on Instagram. 

HAED QS Red Hearts, Block 3 of the SS&S BOM, HAED SK Effects of Caffeine, and HAED Twilight Duel photos were popular.

Hand Stitched Treasure on Etsy
In 2017, I stepped out of my comfort zone and began listing products for sale in my Etsy shop. Etsy makes this easy and I have some fun plans for 2018.


Hand Stitched Treasure on Facebook
Encouraged by a few of you wonderful blogging friends, I started a Facebook page featuring blog posts and a few sneak peeks of projects in progress. 

I wish you all an amazingly

Happy New Year!

Thank you for visiting!

-Renee

This is Day 31 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge hosted by www.muppin.com.

You may find more details and other participating blogs here.

Fractal White Tiger December 2017

My Charting Creations Fractal White Tiger only had about 1 hour and 20 minutes of attention this month, and I spent a fair chunk of that time frogging stitches. So, I am happy with the 158 stitches added.

The art is by Ricky Barnard.

This is how it looked last month. 

I scheduled 7 days to work on it this month, but spent a fair chunk of time helping a relative. (I was happy to be able to do so, too!)

Thank you for visiting! 
-Renee

I began this project on January 1, 2016 to participate at stitchystart.blogspot.com. You may see what others are working on here.

This is Day 30 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge hosted by www.muppin.com. Learn more about it and find other participating blogs here.

Twilight Duel Update #23

Page 13 of my Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED) Twilight Duel cross-stitch project was finished this month! 6 of 24 pages are done.

This piece is based on artwork by Ruth Thompson. A full picture of the art is on the right sidebar of my blog.

The photo to the left shows how it looked on November 30th. 

And this is how it looks now.

Page 19 (a partial page) should be finished by the end of January and that will complete the bottom row!

3,266 stitches were added this month. 97,605 stitches to go!

My goal: complete this within 4 to 5 years. I started August 30, 2015 and am right on track. With 100 stitches a day it will be done September 1, 2020. 



Percent Complete:
Project:        33.87%   (It was 31.66%)
Pages 1-2:  100%
Page 3:         32.26%   (It was 32.04%)
Page 4:       100%
Page 5:           1.83%
Page 6:           0%
Pages 7-8:   100%
Page 9:            2.73%
Page 10:          0.25%
Pages 11-12:   0%
Page 13:      100%      (It was 63.49%)
Page 14:          5.02% (It was 3.69%)
Pages 15-18:   0%
Page 19:        43.47%  (It was 31.66%)
Pages 20-24:   0%

Thank you for visiting!
Renee

This is day 29 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge hosted by www.muppin.com. You may learn more about it and find other participating blogs here.

2018 UFO Challenge List

American Patchwork & Quilting is hosting another UFO (unfinished object) challenge in 2018. This will be their 4th year and my 2nd year participating.

This is a great motivator to finish some UFOs. The list does not have to be quilt projects. Other crafts qualify!

You may find the directions to participate and a link to print out a chart to make your list of 12 UFOs at allpeoplequilt.com HERE. 

The Facebook Group for the challenge may be found HERE.

Below are photos of the UFOs I plan to work on in 2018. (You may click on any picture for a larger image.)

Note: January's project was revealed early and it will be #12.

1. Make my "Love" Wall Quilt from the CQI Hearts Round Robin. See the embellished blocks returned to me here and the "E" embellished last year here. The blocks need to be sewn into a wall quilt.

2. Complete the "Hearts Askew" quilt from the book Hearts Aplenty by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith. I need to sew the heart appliques in place, add a second border, quilt, label and bind the quilt.

3. Finish embellishing blocks for my pink Oregon State University messenger bag. Previous posts about this project may be found here.

4. Sew the pink Oregon State University messenger bag. The bag is based on the messenger bag design with Butterick pattern B4147. I traced the pattern pieces onto muslin and pieced them for a crazy quilt.

5. Embellish December CQJP 2014 block and make a purse with it. 

6. Fully finish this cross-stitch. I no longer have the book, but believe it is a Janlynn Counted Cross Stitch pattern. I finished stitching it more than 13 years ago and it has been safely tucked away. At the moment, I think it will become a pillow.

7. Finish hand quilting, label and bind my CQI Winter/Christmas wall quilt. You may see the embellished blocks that were returned to me here and the block I embellished here. Each snowflake takes about 10 minutes. I need to finish quilting it with snowflakes, label and bind it.

8. Embellish this block and make a Christmas stocking.

9. "Red Barn" by England Design Studios was paper pieced 10 or 11 years ago. One little section in the mountains needs to be fixed (a raw edge made it to the front of the piece - so it became a UFO.) Then, I need to finish adding the red and blue borders, quilt, label and bind it. Now that I have discovered my passion for embroidery, it might need a bit more embellishment, too!

10. This quilt was started at least a decade ago. This is the design I followed for my very 1st quilt and the idea of having to applique the vines on this one resulted in another UFO. I plan to embroider the vines, finish the applique and other embroidery, sew on the borders (most of which are pieced already), quilt, label and bind it. This one will be a Christmas gift in 2018.

11. Create a wall quilt with these crazy quilted snowman "snowballs" I received through CQI swaps. You may see them all better here.

12. Fix this tote bag. I finished embellishing the block in 2013 (as seen here.) In December of 2015, I created this tote bag, but sewed the handles on wrong (that post is here.) I need to rip the seams, correct the handles, and reassemble the bag.

#12 is the project selected for January 2018. 

If I manage to complete all of these, I am not sure I will have a full list in 2019. We shall see how it goes. Every bit of progress is closer to a finish.

Thank you for visiting!
Renee

Related blog posts:
UFO Challenge 2017 - My List
UFO Challenge 2017 Review



In case you are wondering...
CQI = Crazy Quilting International - This group originally met on Yahoo, but is now an active on Facebook as the Crazy Quilt International group. You may find it here.

CQJP = Crazy Quilt Journal Project - This is a personal challenge to complete a crazy quilt block each month that is at least 8" x 8" in size. Sign ups are open for 2018 until December 31st. Learn more here.


This is Day 28 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge hosted by www.muppin.com. Learn more and find other participating blogs here.

UFO Challenge 2017 Review

Last December I created a list of UFOs (unfinished objects - not the ones from space) that I wanted to complete or make progress on this year. 

The challenge was offered at allpeoplequilt.com and members were invited to join the American Patchwork and Quilting's UFO Challenge group on Facebook. 

How it worked:

• List 12 UFOs you wanted to complete in 2017.
• Each month a number between 1 & 12 was selected as the project of the month.

Click on any photo for a larger view.

1. Finish my Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) 2013 January block into a finished project.

July 2017 Project

Progress: 
Completed in July.

It was shared in this blog post.

2. Embellish the "E" block from my Crazy Quilting International Heart Round Robin and make a wall quilt with the blocks.

May 2017 Project

Progress: 
The "E" block was completed in June.

It was shared in this blog post.

3. Complete the "Hearts Askew" quilt from the book Hearts Aplenty by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith.

October 2017 Project

Progress:
I found the fabric and finished the first border in October.

4. Complete my Pink OSU Messenger Bag. 

December 2017 Project.

Progress: 
A few seams were embellished.

5. Make a clutch purse with my CQJP 2014 May block. 

August 2017 Project

Progress:
Finished and donated in October.

It was shared in this blog post.

6. Make a bag with my CQJP 2014 November block. 

January 2017 Project

Progress:
Completed and donated in January.

It was shared in this blog post.

7. Embellish December CQJP 2014 block and make into a bag.

September 2017 Project

Progress:
None

8. Finish quilting this CQI Winter/Christmas Round Robin Wall Quilt with snowflakes, add a label, and bind it.

February 2017 Project.

Progress:
I added a few snowflakes along the far right side and beaded a few existing snowflakes.

9. Frame or fully finish Heaven and Earth Designs Santa and the Mouse Freebie Ornament based on artwork by Scott Gustafson. (The pattern is retired, but there was a similar one available at the time of this post found here. Both of these are from a larger piece of art found here.)

November 2017 Project

Progress:
Picked up from the framer at Michael's on December 20, 2017.

It was shared in this blog post.

10. Embellish and sew a CQ Stocking for my son.

June 2017 Project

Progress:
Finished December 23, 2017.

It was shared in this blog post.

11. Make a wall quilt with my CQI Under the Sea Round Robin #2 Blocks Set 1.

April 2017 Project

The "Sea Dreams" wall quilt was finished in May.

It was shared in this blog post.

12. Embellish block  from the CQI Under the Sea Round Robin #2 Blocks Set 2 and make a wall quilt. 

March 2017 Project

Progress:
"Ocean Frolics" was completed in March.

It was shared in this blog post.

UFOs completed that were not on the list:

This mug rug I started in 2015 was finished in January.

The blog post is here.

I made a wall quilt with my "February" block in January. This was the 2nd crazy quilt block I ever embellished, and it had been tucked safely away since June of 2012.

The blog post is here. (It includes a link to the magazine the photo was published in.)

The pumpkin I cross-stitched last year was finished into a crazy-quilted fabric postcard for a swap in October. 

The blog post is here.

In 2005, I made this quilt. It was adapted from the pattern "Sealed with a Kiss" in the book Hearts Aplenty by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith. This December, I finally added a label and a hanging sleeve.

The blog post is here.

January 2017
UFO Project List

December 2017 
UFOs completed in 2017.

I am happy to say I fully completed 11 UFOs this year (12 if I include the "E" embellished for project #2) and made progress on 4 more. 

I am looking forward to the 2018 UFO Challenge! The printable list and details may be found here. The January project was announced early and it will be #12.

Thank you for stopping by.
Renee

Related Blog Posts:

UFO Challenge 2017 - My List - here

This is Day 27 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge hosted by www.muppin.com. More details and other participating blogs may be found here.