Plans for 2016

Recently, I've been thinking about how I tend to make mostly samplers in one form or another.  I rarely make the type of quilt that requires making one block over and over again.  If I do, they are usually scrappy so that every block looks a bit different.  I especially enjoy making medallion quilts with a center block and various borders.  All of these samplers are fun for me to quilt, too, because I can vary the quilting as I go along.  However, they do sometimes have an unplanned look to them.

While I'm not abandoning samplers for 2016, I'm going to try to make at least one planned quilt in 2016 and have been working on it over the last few days.  As I mentioned in my last post, I'm making 6" Birds in the Air blocks with a green floral Jinny Beyer print, a deep black and a somewhat ugly gold.  They can be turned a variety of ways, but I think I'm going to set them on a zig zag.  Will take a photo soon.  Just hope I have enough green to make a good-sized quilt as it has been discontinued for a while - it was in Dee's sale "attic" when I bought it.  That's the trouble with buying fabric you like without having any particular purpose at the time.

In preparation for a swap for an online group in 2016, I made a few sample blocks.  Two I like, and the third (below) is too low contrast, so I will set it aside.  The swap of Lover's Knot blocks should be fun, and signups start January 1 and end February 1.  When I ran a swap for the same group a few years ago, we made quite a few red and white nine patch blocks, enough for me to make a couple of nice crib-sized quilts.  One went to my mom to give as a new baby gift, and the other went to the Parkinsons Comfort Project.  Obviously, this will result in another sort-of-sampler for me, but I like the bright colors we'll be using.

My new year's resolution for 2015 was to use orange in every quilt, and I must say that I enjoyed the challenge and grew to like orange.  I don't know if I'll use it every quilt from now on, but I have a better appreciation for the "pop" it gives.  I do have an orange set out for the Lovers Knot blocks and generally make a few extra when I'm swapping anyway, just to make a bit larger quilt.

My resolution for 2016 is to clean out my quilting/guest room which means:
 - eliminate (or use) fabrics at the bottom of my stash tubs,
  - get rid of any patterns I don't think I'll ever use again
  - weed out books and magazines that contain things I don't plan to make
  - get rid of notions, especially thread, I don't think I'll use.
I started yesterday and have a tote bag full of purple and orange fabrics, along with some patterns to take to the next guild meeting.  And some more purples and oranges are going in the mail to Angela in Illinois to use in quilts for her graduating kids.

Happy New Year to all!