Greetings, dear pond readers! It has been a minute but I am here to share a whole bunch of crafty sewing projects that I did in 2022. I have written about some things like the cuddly 20-sided-dice that the Wee Bairn collaborated on with me and the scarf we made together. However, even though there are a couple projects I’ve been working on that I don’t have pictured below because I don’t want to spoil the surprise for the recipients, the rest of the stitchery I did in 2022 is shown.
In 2022, I finished a plethora of cuddly projects to keep family members warm. Few things are more vital to a sane, comfy life than being cozy in a warm blanket and I delight in making blankets, particularly for those I love. As pond readers know, quillows are one of my biggest, go-to projects. While I like making the blankets to go with the pillow pocket, it is loads faster to buy a blanket and affix a quilted pocket and that is what I do most of the time if I can. For two of the three quillows pictured in the slideshow below, I used fuzzy blankets that I bought and added the pockets to fit my space-loving family members. I did make the blanket for the pictured Star Trek quillow. The blanket is a match to one I made years ago for my sibling and I kept putting off making one for me because why I would make something for me? Yeah…I need to work on the whole “self-care” thing. In 2022, I actually did make some progress and made my own Trekkie quillow. It is mega comfy. Q’pla!
For the kiddos in my life, Wee Bairn and Steggie, I also made multiple cuddly things. Both kiddos got new fleece sleeping bags. I made the Wee Bairn a roll-up travel sleeping pad out of fleece and foam backed interfacing. For Christmas, both kiddos got new blankets. Steggie got a simple, double-sided fleece blanket while Wee Bairn got a super soft quilt with a medieval knights and dragons theme. A lot of the pictures are taken on top of my beloved Mostly Recycled Flannel Quilt which has survived admirably well all these years. I did take a shortcut on the Wee Bairn’s quilt. Instead of putting batting in a middle layer, it is a pieced front of flannels and cotton sewn directly to a backing of fleece and Minky. I cannot emphasize enough how supremely cuddly this quilt is. I got a seriously dirty look from the Wee Bairn when I was caught in the act of huddling under the quilt after snipping some straggling threads. The quilt has since been zealously guarded in the Wee Bairn’s sleeping bag in a manner that would impress all the dragons pictured on its fuzzy surfaces. Steggie is also a big fan of the fuzzy bird blanket and has been enthusiastically cuddling it since its arrival.
One thing I’ve been working on throughout the year but particularly during the 12 days of Christmas has been my Scrappy Memory Quilt. It is filled with bits and blocks from previous projects for friends and family as well as scraps of misfit blocks from my favorite local quilt shop’s end of year scrap-fest. It’s funky. It looks weird. No pattern has been followed and only the barest minimum of design principles about dark and light contrast. Working on it has been a joy. The pure dopamine rush of pulling scraps out of my basket and fitting them together as I bop to the rhythm of various Chillhop jazz mixes and sundry podcasts has been a balm to the soul. Something about straight sewing work clicks for me in an elemental way. I can hardly wait to sew it all together on the front and then to a pieced fleece back. At last, my hoard of fleece remnants will be used up to good effect.
Scarves were another thing that I made a bunch of in 2022. They are easy to sew, elegant to wear, and somewhat addictive. Because some are intended as gifts, I’m only showing one that I made for my birthday using fabric from one of Spoonflower’s fill-a-yard infinity scarf templates but I have made two others and have big plans for more. The other pictured scarf is a super fuzzy cuddly one that the Wee Bairn helped me sew in the spring. It is still mostly used as a lasso but that’s okay.
For as much as I beat myself up about not finishing everything I want to in the time I expect to finish, I’m struck that I managed to finish eight different blankets in one year as well as multiple scarves. The top of one secret snuggly fleece backed quilt is pinned and awaiting sewing on my sewing machine table. My Scrappy Memory Quilt is nearly ready to piece together. The Muppet Quilt I started for the Wee Bairn in 2021 only has a couple rows left to finish. I can’t believe how many projects that I finished for myself. Even though self-care is a struggle, I am impressed that I started to show up for myself in 2022. Even though 2022 had a lot of hard, mega-rough bits that kept me away from the pond as well as interfered in other ways in my life, I managed to keep things together and persevere stitch by stitch. None of this would have been possible without my awesome spouse who gifted me with time to sew uninterrupted many times through the year. I would be lost without him. Our Wee Bairn also proved to be an invaluable help as presser foot operator, pin picker-upper, and reminding me when it was high time to get it up and move about. I’m optimistic that I will continue to sew some more mega cozy projects and finished some unfinished objects (U.F.Os.) in 2023.
What are you working on, dear pond readers? Any U.F.O.s you’re completing out there? Do you have crafty ambitions for 2023 Please, leave a comment or question below and thanks for stopping by the pond today.
technicolorlilypond 