Thursday, December 29, 2016

Best of 2016!



Hi, all!

Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs is hosting the Best of 2016, encouraging us to list five favorites:  blog posts, finishes, tutorials, whatever you want to highlight from your year.  Sounds like fun!  So here are my five favorites:

My Big Project!


This year I made and donated sixteen quilts to my doctor's office in celebration of my five-year checkup.  They are being used in the infusion center - one for each chair in the center!  You can read more about them, and see the quilts in detail, on this blogpost.


My First Time Hosting a Quilt-Along and Blog Hop!


This year I threw caution to the winds and hosted a 12-day blog hop! Twenty-five bloggers shared great ideas for Christmas sewing in July to give us time to actually make things before the Christmas rush.  And I also shared daily tutorials for a quilt-along to create this quilt...


...in about an hour of sewing a day for twelve days!  It appeared to be a big success, and it looks like we'll be doing it again this year.

My Money-Making Gig!


This was definitely the year of the t-shirt quilt!  I made at least eleven of them, and while they're still not my favorite type of quilting, they do go a long way towards helping support my quilting lifestyle.  And it's kind of fun to figure out how to incorporate everything the customer wants in their quilt.  I also learned how to use a spreadsheet program to design them, which was definitely a bonus!

Hands2Help Reaches New Heights!


2016 saw the highest number of participants (106) and the largest number of quilts (198) donated to charity since H2H was started six years ago.  That is SO AWESOME!!!  We'll be doing it again this year - come join in the fun!!  

Artisan Fabric Release!


One of the highlights of my year was being asked to help with the release of Kaffe Fassett's new line of fabric, Artisan!!  It was such an honor to be asked, and I hope I did them proud - I had a blast creating lots of fun pieces with these beautiful fabrics!  In fact, there were so many pieces I spread them out over three blog posts. You can see all of the pieces here, here, and here.

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

Wow, what a year!  2016 was amazing in so many ways, and I'm super-excited to see what 2017 has in store!  Starting in January, there will be a series of posts similar to the Sweet Sixteen and Nifty Nines series called Stunning Stars, featuring simple quilts with star motifs.  These posts will lead into Hands2Help 2017, which will run from March until early June.  Then in July, there will be another installment of the Twelve Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop.  And that's just the things I know about!  Who knows what else will come up?  I hope you'll stick around and be part of the fun!!

Hugs!

Sarah

21 comments:

  1. What a wonderful year. It always amazes me how many quilts you create. Your generosity and concern for charities is so inspiring. I will be donating again for Hands 2 Help in 2017. Blessings to you.

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  2. you got a lot done and that is a lot of donation quilts and so nice to do that

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  3. Looking forward to seeing the Stunning Stars series! Happy New Year!

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  4. Congratulations on such a great 2016 and I'm so happy I got to watch it all happen! I can't wait to participate in H2H again this year and I'm looking forward to Stunning Stars too :-) Have a Happy & Blessed New Year!

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  5. Sarah, congratulations on a great 2016. I can hardly wait for 2017 to see all that 2017 brings.

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  6. Congratulations on all of your accomplishments in 2016. Can you share which spreadsheet program you used for designing your tshirt quilts? ctbledsoe(at)gmail(dot)com

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  7. I'm so looking forward to following you in 2017 - and being part of Hands2Help and 12 Days of Christmas in July! Happy New Year!

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  8. Sarah, 2016 is going to be hard to beat as far as successful accomplishments for you! I am amazed! I admire you for creating 16 quilts to celebrate your 5th anniversary...so kind and generous of you. I loved your Christmas in July series and look forward to that again when the sun is hot on my skin! Looking forward to whatever goodness 2017 brings us!

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  9. Wow! That's all I can think of to say. What a great gift to give to the doctor's office.

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  10. What a great year!! You are a wonderfully talented person with a big heart, the world is a better place because of your efforts and blog. :)
    Happy New Year!

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  11. Congratulations on a wonderful 2016. You blessed so many with your quilting talents.

    I look forward to your stunning stars series as I have been able to participate in H2H the last two years and look forward to doing it again.

    Happy and blessed 2017!

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  12. Congratulations on such success in 2016! You are pretty amazing and a great inspiration for many of us. I'd love to join in with some of your plans and activities this year. May you have a 2017 that's as blessed as 2016 was!

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  13. What a super year Sarah! Can't wait to see what you do in 2017!

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  14. Looks like you had a great year, Sarah! I'm looking forward to all the fun you have planned for 2017 :)

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  15. Wow, what a year (and these five were only part of it). I'm looking forward to H2H and hope to donate 2 quilts this year.

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  16. Busy this year, with great plans for next.
    Happy Quilting!!!

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  17. I'm so glad I discovered your blog in 2016, Sarah! Happy new year!

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  18. Happy New Year Sarah! I'm looking forward to your Nifty Nines and Stars post and always...H2H!!!

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  19. You definitely had a great year my friend and I know the new one will be just as terrific.

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  20. Congrats on such a wonderful 2016, I really enjoyed your Christmas sewing in July hop. Thanks for linking up to the Best of 2016 party!

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  21. What a stellar year! Congrats on all your amazing accomplishments. You are an inspiration!

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