Year of Finishes 2022 WIP Round-Up – Quilting Version

Good day everyone! Morning, afternoon, or night, whatever it is where you are, I hope you’re having a great one.

So another Christmas has passed. I’m sure a lot of you got crafty-related gifts – or at the very least I hope you got something you wanted or needed. (Let me know what you got in the comments if you’d like to share!)

My Christmas was extra special. For quite a few years now my sewing machine has been on its last legs. A year or two ago when I tried to get on it to sew something I had issues that it didn’t want to stitch right. I obviously cleaned it up a bit, replaced a few parts…but none of that seemed to be the issue. It hadn’t yet been taken in for a servicing so I knew at the very least it needed that. But when we checked on cost it seemed almost more economical to replace my machine.

So…my husband schemed. 😆

Betty here has found her loving home. Yes, I named my sewing machine Betty. I don’t think it’s an unusual thing for sewers and quilters to name their sewing machines (is it?) and it only felt right after the passing of Betty White on New Year’s Eve. I adored her, and I still can’t see a clip of her on my Facebook page, whether it’s from Golden Girls or something else, without seriously starting to tear up. Anyway, I’m still getting used to my new machine, but what I know about her so far is that she can sometimes have an attitude if you push her…so yeah, she definitely seems to live up to her namesake so far.

But the new goodie in my craft room means that I have new WIPs to finish. It has been a long time, and it is far past time to get some of these done. So here’s what I intend to throw into Year of Finishes in the Quilting and/or Sewing categories.

Intertwined

This one just needs done already. I’d say I’m 50% of the way there – it’s all pieced, all sandwiched, and all pin-basted. I bought a couple of thread colors, may eventually pick up another. I’m looking into a few straight-line quilting designs to see what I want to go with. Just need to get this one on the machine and get it going soon.

Christmas Tree Skirt

Our Christmas tree skirt is also still not finished. It’s all put together and I actually started this one so it’s partially quilted. However…I’m actually having second thoughts about it. For one, the metallic thread I used is a pain. For another, I can’t seem to find the pattern I used for this one – and it’s pretty important, because I haven’t made the cut yet where the skirt goes around the bottom of the tree, and can’t remember how it was done. And one more thing – our seasonal decor has started to change colors since I originally started this. Last, it’s not a deal breaker but since I’ve improved a bit in skills since I worked on this one, I can see so many flaws in it. I’d be okay with continuing flaws and all if I really loved this one still, but if it doesn’t bring me joy why spend more time on it instead of something I really love? So we shall see, this one may go into the “permanently a UFO” category instead.

“Whirligig”

This one will take some work to figure out where I left off and finish it off, but I’m hoping to try! Like a few other very old QIPs (Quilts in Progress), this one has been stored away for a while and needs a good wash but I don’t like to wash tops until they’re done and quilted and bound off, so hopefully this one can be saved and come clean after it’s finished.

The Monkey Quilt

This one is actually a new start that I worked on right after I got my new sewing machine. It’s just what I could start at the time and has no place it’s destined to go right now, but I still intend to try to finish it off. Maybe an occasion will come along for it later.

Inspirational Mug Mats

Also a new start as of this year, I’ve pieced together these mug mats/mug rugs with inspirational sayings with the purpose of practicing my free motion quilting on them. However, I’m still working on that part of it, so we’ll see how much progress I make.

2022 Block of the Month

Another new start! This is the 2022 Block of the Month that I’ve joined on Facebook. Keep an eye out to see how much progress I make on this one, and whether I can keep up each month. 😆

Marcie’s Maze and Romance of the Rose

Two minor WIPs of mine are this Marcie’s Maze quilt and Romance of the Rose. I need to re-buy the Marcie’s Maze pattern when I can in order to finish, because I seem to no longer have it. Romance of the Rose is just further down on my to-do list. If I manage to finish quite a few of my other patterns I’ll try to pull one of these out to work on.

Memory T-Shirt Quilt

Another one I’d like to make some progress on this year is the memory quilt of my mom’s t-shirts. My focus is elsewhere currently but I have gotten these out of storage at least, and need to find all the pieces to this one so I can work on it.

Exploding Hearts Quilt-Along

Last but certainly not least, this year I’m participating in the Exploding Hearts Quilt-Along. It will probably be my main project so keep an eye out!

So that’s it for my quilting WIPs! I’ve got my work cut out for me, I know, but remember that the challenge isn’t about finishing everything, just making a conscious effort to not continue letting things linger. Are you joining in with me? Let me know!

Obviously I have a lot of other WIPs that are part of the challenge that I intend to share. So keep an eye out – I have several more posts planned for knit and crochet WIPs, cross stitch WIPs, and a few other random craft projects that need finished that I want to share. I probably won’t be making any of those posts for a few days, as it’s my birthday on Sunday and I’m committing to having that day to myself, to do a little crafting and also spend a little time with my family. But keep an eye out!

See you guys again soon!