I haven't been entirely unproductive in these 18 months, even if I haven't written anything here. I didn't get a great deal done in most of 2006, but some time last year I finally managed to convince my boss that the company would survive if I only worked 32 hours a week instead of 40 (heavy hints that otherwise the company would have to survive without me entirely probably helped ;-)) and since January of this year I've had Wednesday and Friday afternoons to sew.
In my usual way, I promptly started work on far more projects than I could handle...
1) I signed up for a block swap at the German quilters' forum I belong to. Never again. I put a lot of time and effort into producing 30 blocks that I was really pleased with, and if they weren't 100% perfect, I'm not boasting too much to say that they were at least 90% perfect. I was so incredibly disappointed with what I got in exchange. Of the 30 I got back, I like the fabrics of about 5, the rest are just horrendous. And some of them are so badly made - corners nowhere near matching, etc., etc. At the moment, they're sitting in a ziploc bag in my "Works in Progress" collection, but I have no idea what I'm going to do with them.
2) I signed up for a Block of the Month (BOM) quilt project from a German quilt store. You get the patterns and fabrics sent each month for 10 months. I'm about a third of the way through, as other projects got in the way... It's a big quilt of all different types of stars, all in batik fabrics. I loooove batiks. I'm really enjoying working on it, when I do.
3) Our quilt group had its exhibition in May this year, and I swore that I would finish my sampler, which I started in April 2005. In January of this year, I had made only 6 of 12 blocks, and had only quilted 4. I finished the quilt the day of the exhibition hanging, on May 26:
4) I started on a free BOM for a small Advent wallhanging, from Sulky International. I think I've got January and February done so far. I think this might end up hanging on the wall next Advent...
5) Two female colleagues announced they were pregnant, so of course they each have to get a baby quilt. One of them gets two quilts in fact, since she's had twin boys. I've just finished the first quilt for the colleague whose baby girl arrived at the end of July. I'll start the second quilt later this week, I still have to get fabric for the third. This is the quilt for little Zoe:
I managed to start and finish a few small things, mostly bags, a mini quilt for my un-godson:
and a table runner for a good friend's 40th birthday:
