Best of 2021 Blog Posts

Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs is hosting her sixth annual Best of 2021 Linky Party as an opportunity to share our top blog posts of 2021! Our top blogs may be those with the most views, most comments, the best discussions, best tutorials, or simply our favorite 2021 finishes!! So without further ado, here are my Best of 2021 Blog Posts in chronological order:

1. Keep on the Sunny Side of Life with Project Quilting 12.1: Illuminating + Gray

Project Quilting's first challenge motivated me to get a jumpstart on several of my 2021 goals: experiment with mark making on fabric, adding texture, and elevating my longarm skills. Starting out with all solid fabrics, I created my own prints and textures and quilted it on my longarm machine. Plus, I worked in a bunch of corny knock knock jokes into my blog post.

2. 100 Days of Mark Making on Fabric: Celebratory Wrap Up

In late January, I set out to experiment with a variety of mark making mediums and techniques by creating one or more 10" swatches each day. 100 days later I created 492 swatches/37 yards of mark making magic and learned so much along the way! In fact, I'll be sharing some of my favorite mark-making techniques in a brand new Mark Making Magic live, online 3-hr workshop that will debut on January 26th as part of QuiltFest's Virtual Schoolhouse Series. Registration is open if you'd like to join the mark-making fun!

3. An Exciting New Episode of The Quilt Show!!

Earlier in the year I participated in a taping for The Quilt Show. Given concerns about Covid, the scaled down TQS crew adapted their taping process to create a safe experience for all: masks worn by all, taping at an Air BNB, Alex Anderson solo hosting, and I was invited to lead three teaching demos in addition to a show and tell session. Despite these unusual circumstances, I had a lot of fun and am really pleased with the episode! 

4. 100 Days of Dice Compositions: Celebratory Wrap Up

After creating 37 yards of mark-making fabric, I planned 100 Days of Dice Compositions in effort to use the fabrics by starting and finishing a 12" art quilt each week. Not only did this project yield 15 finished quilts, but I absolutely loved playing with design at every step of the design process: pulling/making fabrics, laying out the composition, adding stitched texture, and other fun embellishments. 

5. November HeARTs Giving: Wrap Up and Celebration

This 30-day project provided me with the opportunity to upcycle my quilt sandwiches, play with materials and embellishments already on hand in my studio, end each night on a creative note, and ultimately channel some love out into the world. Finished heARTs were sent out into the world as part of the I Found a Quilted Heart Project. While my goal was to create one or more heARTs each day, a total of 75 heARTs were created during November. I hope they brought their new homes as much joy as I had making them. 

Thanks again to Cheryl for hosting this annual linky party. The linky party closes on Sunday, January 2nd leaving you plenty of time to reflect on your favorite blog posts and link up your favorites. Be sure to check out the other amazing bloggers and be inspired by their favorite 2021 blog posts.