Happy New Year’s Eve to everyone! I have been seeing loads of memes on social media reminding us that today’s date is 123123 – or 12/31/23. I think that is a fun bit to notice and posting this is also just about all I will do to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Ray and I are not night owls and will likely be in bed long before midnight. We are sure to wake at midnight however because the fireworks will start popping all over the place. So noisy!!
Anyway, I do have a finish to share. Actually I almost have two but I didn’t get the binding on one of the quilts so it will be my first finish in the new year.
Last summer I bought a small pack of charms while at quilt show. The pack was an assortment (probably left from a variety of charm packs) with colors that work well together. I quickly made a top with them. I love the colors and plan to hang this in the sewing room. When my friend Sophia was here in September, she showed me the tricks for spray basting. It was so nice to have this project basted and ready to when I had the time to quilt it.
I started out by quilting the nine inch blocks using a straight ruler and making interlocking squares. Using the ruler was really enjoyable and great practice. With a pale green thread, I stitched from block to block by cutting across the green cornerstones. After this I quilted loops on the black borders. These were free hand. The narrow green and the blue polka dot borders were not quilted.
The backing is rather homely. I used an odd fabric off the shelf. I decided since it was made to hang on the wall, the backing really didn’t matter at all.
Yesterday I finished stitching the black binding down and am really happy with this quilt. It still needs a hanging sleeve but that won’t take much time at all.
This morning Ray and I took a (rather chilly) walk along the harbor in Port Orchard. We were extremely surprised to see a huge abundance of jelly fish.
The water was dotted with them – We walk the area often and this is by far the most we have ever seen. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Jelly fish in this area are supposedly most abundant when the water is warmer during the summer months. We have had a warmer winter season (as most have in the US). My daffodil stems are pushing already which is really early. Maybe this plays into it somehow? At any rate, we enjoyed watching them. They were really moving all over the place. I am sure we saw hundreds of them.
Looks like 2023 is a wrap and we are moving on to 2024. Wishing everyone joy, good health and many hours of creativity in the new year!
Happy new year! What a fun finish for your sewing room. Those jellyfish are pretty neat too!
Thanks Tracie. We are hoping to get back to the harbor today to see if the jellyfish were just a random thing that day or are they still there. It was so unusual. (Kinda hope they are still there.). Have a great day!
Loved this quilt and your choice of fabric colors, as well as the pattern itself.
Thank you Margaret! I like the colors quite a bit. Hopefully I can get the hanging sleeve on it asap because I really want to hang it up. Hope all is well with you. :0)
I no sooner will fall asleep then the fireworks will start – in fact some started early so I will just wait for them to finish before going to bed I think – happy new year
Happy New Year Karen! Hope the fireworks didn’t keep you up! Ours seemed to stop shortly after midnight and didn’t really bother us too much. 🙂
I had a charm pack of that same line and made a tote bag out of it. I love your quilt, though! The blue border is really pretty with it. Happy New Year, Bernie!
When I read your comment, I had to go search your blog to see a picture of the tote. It is fun to see the same fabrics used in a different way. The tote is super cute. Do you still use it? I haven’t made one for quite a while and have to admit some of mine are looking a bit worn. Hmmm……..
A very pretty finish to wrap up the year! I love the colors, and am excited for you to have this one hanging where you can enjoy it! Happy New Year to you and your family!
Hi Wendy – This quilt will remind me of our fun collaboration on the border colors. I like having a consultant to reach out to as needed!! Happy New Year to you too. 🙂
I love those fabrics Bernie! The pattern is perfect for showcasing them, and I rather like the “homely” backing too. 😉 I like the way you highlighted the blues. What is that line of fabric?
I was standing near a back-of-the-house window last night around 10:00 when the first fireworks went off. I had forgotten about fireworks on NYE and thought someone was trying to get in via the window – lol! I ended up staying awake until after midnight watching reruns of House Hunters and then we overslept by an hour this morning!
I was pleasantly surprised when the fireworks stopped just a few minutes past midnight. Not so bad at all.
I really don’t know what the fabric line was. I think the charm pack was made up of various pieces some quilter had left from her projects. The colors were great together though.
Wishing you a very happy New Year Linda!
What a fun finish! Thanks for sharing your quilting process. I love the zing the blue border provides! It must have been a sight to see so many jellyfish in one place at one time!
Thanks Terry. It is great how one border can change the look so much. That is what the blue did for this quilt.
The jellyfish were really amazing. It was like one huge tank at the aquarium – but multiplied many times over. I loved it.
Happy New Year to you!
What a great way to wrap up the year, Bernie. Congratulations on the finish and I hope you share a photo of it hanging in your space when the hanging sleeve is on and you have it installed. And a walk – the best way to start a day in my opinion. I hope your 2024 is off to a good start, and I wish you and your family the best this year!
Happy New Year to you too Yvonne! Seems like each time we celebrate the New Year I am amazed that we are at the start of another one. Time buzzes by so quickly. 🙂
I love that you wrapped up the year with a quilt for you! It is beautiful and you will enjoy looking at. It makes perfect sense to me to use a random piece that works for a backing that will be towards a wall. Happy New Year and may your year be filled with quilty goodness.
That’s a cool number and somehow I missed it – not a lot of free time spent on social media lately. Not even a lot of blogging time. But that’s ok. Love that quilt. What is the pattern called? It looks so good and I can see why you decided to hang onto it. I don’t really know what quilting rulers are so will have to look them up. I do some free motion (not a lot ) and mostly stitch in the ditch. Bernie
I don’t really have a pattern for the quilt. I used a charm square and a 2 1/2″ square. Did a stitch and flip on a corner of each and then sewed them into a block. Does that make sense? If you need more info send me an email. I made up borders as I went along to get it to the size I wanted. Rulers are fun – they are thick with a stickiness to them, place them on the fabric and stitch along the design or edge and move it with the fabric. Sounds harder than it is. 🙂
It does make sense. Thanks