2021 Review: Top Nine

 

Hello! Is it too late to say Happy New Year? If it is, it's probably also too late for a year-end review but what the hell. I haven't felt much like blogging, so I might as well seize the moment while I'm in the mood. Besides, I like to keep a record of my makes to look back on, track progress, etc. It's nice to take some time to review projects that occupied so much of my time and thoughts instead of constantly looking to what's new on the horizon. 

So instead of following Gillian's Top Five this year for hits and misses (She did advise folks to make it their own. ;), I chose my favorite nine projects, which included pottery this year. Why not? I still love to sew my clothes, but my wardrobe is already where I want it to be. These days, I'm more interested in quilting up all the scraps from years of sewing and playing with clay. 

First up, is a quilted pillow I made from linen scraps. I LOVE how it turned out. The linen is Stonemountain's Nevada linen in a shade of brown called nutmeg. I modified a quilt pattern from the book Simple Geometric Quilting,  by Laura Preston, which is a book I've recommended on this blog before. It's not an affiliate link or anything--I just think it's a great basic quilting book that provides a lot of the building blocks to design your own quilts. 

I've made a few of these coil-built, carved bowls. There is something about the size and round shape that feels so nice in the hand. I experiment a lot with different surface designs on other pieces, but these carved bowls are just how I want them to be. They make great gifts, too. 

I never got around to blogging these Agnes PJs, by Paper Theory. It's a really lovely pattern, simple but thoughtfully designed. The pants are one piece so there's no outer side seam--i.e., maximum comfort if you're a sidesleeper. Similarly, the top has grown-on/batwing sleeves. I would love to get creative with an old set of sheets--shibori or ice dye, or maybe avocado pits--for my next set. The fabric is quilting cotton, Robert Kaufman I think, that I specifically bought to make these. 

I almost never like how my underglaze pieces turn out. This one completely surpassed my expectations.  I've been trying to recreate the moment ever since but haven't been successful. 

This is Ike; his job is to hold salt. One of my top 2021 experiences was a clay class that focused on making jars. I learned all about flanges and gallery lids.  See those two dots.  They're there so the user can quickly fit the lid on when a jar isn't perfectly symmetrical like this pinched pot. This is something that goes back to ancient pottery and was on some of the inspiration slides the instructor provided. I just love simple design features like that. 

Not a completed project...but a completed quilt top based on a really beautiful area near Point Reyes called Inverness. We had a short getaway for my birthday and stayed right on the water. The design is something I worked on over a few weekends, sketching, tweaking, changing my design based on what I had on hand fabric-wise. I hope to finish this year and describe the whole process. 

This is one of those projects where I was like, "That was this year?!" Not sure if that's because of how our sense of time has gotten weird due to the pandemic, or if it's because it's such a part of my daily life. I wear it ALL the time. For more details and pics, here's the post. 

Another coil-built bowl. I ended up giving this one to a good friend. 

Yay, last project! Again, that was 2021? I've really gotten into pattern mixing and patchwork these days. This one even made it to the blog. 

So those are my favorite projects for 2021. Thank you for following along! My hopes for 2022 are much the same as last year--peace and good health. Hopefully, more travel this year. I don't have any sewing goals--other than to finish all my quilt projects. Thanks again for letting me share and have a safe, happy, healthy 2022!