First Quilt Finish for 2021 and 2020 Recap

It’s a great way to start the new year with my 2020 Monthly Color Challenge quilt finished during the first three days of 2021. The last of the blocks were sewn during the last week of December and was briefly a flimsy  on New Year’s Day and a Finally Finished last night. Photos were taken around Midnight in my studio knowing that outside shots were going to be impossible with the cold, snowy weather coupled with cloudiness we’re experiencing lately and I’m sure the Master Quilt Holder appreciates not having to stand outside.

Last year when the 2020 Monthly Color Challenge hosted by Patterns by Jen and learning that the theme was going to be Birds, I knew I wanted to participate because  it met one of my major requirements for joining a QAL—I had the perfect fabric in my stash.

I purchased these fabrics during our visit to Granby, Colorado in June, 2018 at The Fabric Nook.These fabrics are from three different collections: the Birds are from a P&B Textiles, Bird Watchers by Norman Wyatt Signature, the black print on the upper left corner is from Henry Glass, Black, White & Bright and the ombré prints are E.E. Schnenk, Daiwabo Selection. The Bird prints probably caught my eyes first and was lucky to find the other accompanying prints which really went so well together with my quilt I named Sweet Tweety Birds. Not only did these fabric fit the Bird Theme but after seeing which colors were going to be featured each month, I knew these colors in the fabrics were going to “fly”.

I will admit that I tweaked some of the colors to better match the ones in the Bird prints. Also, I found early on that my ombré prints couldn’t be used as much since some of the patches were too big and/or the right colors were found elsewhere in my stash, mostly tone on tone.

After the blocks were finished, I had to come up with a layout which I could best include the Bird and Black Stripe prints and I came up three alternate blocks:  a vertical rail block with the bird houses, a horizontal rail block with the birds and the Puss In Corner (funny to use these for a Bird quilt) Block. I decided to exclude the feather and egg prints of the Bird fabric line and will save it for another quilt. I did not have enough fabric for a border and really didn’t want one anyways since this quilt already measures 52”x72”. These alternate blocks really are what we would call sashing but in order to get around not having a border and feeling less guilty, I had to think blocks. It could be a quirk of mine to think borders and sashings sew together in a quilt.

After going through my head the number of ways I could machine quilt Sweet Tweety Birds (horizontal straight lines, cross hatch with straight grid lines, etc.) vertical straight lines 1” apart, except for the alternate blocks, won. I decided, almost when I was done, to do some horizontal quilting to accent the black squares in the Puss in Corner blocks.  I used an #2105 Aurifil thread, 50 wt. and I love how this creamy yellow went so well with all of the colors in this quilt.

The backing is a multi-color batik print from the backing vault and might I mention is as colorful as the front of the quilt. I decided to bind the quilt with the same black fabric used in the Puss in Corner blocks.

I am loving my Sweet Tweety Birds quilt so much it will be hanging around the studio for a couple of months before it migrates to the GP House. I can say this is my favorite finish so far this year. It is so nice to already have a first finish and when you read my 2020 Recap a little less UFOs is certainly welcomed in the studio.

For the past several years, my New Year’s Day tradition is watching the Rose Bowl Parade while recapping my 2020 projects and compiling my 2021 projects. This year, I forgot about the parade, recapped my 2020 projects and just didn’t want to commit to anything for 2021 except to participate in the Famous Canadian Birthday QAL which I’ve been doing for the past five years and to continue with the last six months of Country Threads Dirty Dozen Challenge.

2020 Recap 

I had 29 Finally Finished quilts/projects for 2020 which my goal is to have 24, two for each month. 

• Fifteen were new projects in which only two of them used new fabric purchased last year and fourteen were UFO’s and a big sigh because three of them were over 20 years old, one from 2004, two from 2013 and four from 2016.
• Nine of these were lap size or larger and twenty-two were smaller (wall hangings, table runners or baby quilts)
• Five of these projects were for the darling Granddaughter.
• Nine of these  projects were squares which almost is unusual for me who prefers rectangles.

I also have twelve flimsies which for the past several years I had zilch or just a very few. What’s making me wonder is that only two of these involved new fabric and I tried but fail to observe a 2020 fabric fast and must have mostly bought basics. I am going to have to reorganize my two backing vaults since my 2020 projects gave me some room which I should have no problems filling up.

Also, I have and sure most of you have finished in 2020, countless face masks which I know I’ll be making more in 2021.

Here is a Link to my 2020 Quilts and Projects for your viewing pleasure.

I’m glad to be able to post this before we head to the GP house tomorrow.  I plan on bringing my Country Threads Dirty Dozen project for January which will involve no sewing, just pressing and trimming blocks and, of course, staying warm.