2010 in Review

Here is the obligatory mosaic of some of my best crafty bits from 2010. I'm actually very pleased I figured out how to make one of these. 1. Raw Edge Circle Quilt top, 2. Redbud Blossoms Quilt, 3. Tickertape Doll Quilt 3, 4. Camera Case Wristlet, 5. Hexagon pillow, 6. Summer Sunshine, closeup, 7. Pure Baby Boy, 8. Summer Sorbet, 9. String Pieced Pillow, 10. Voile and Linen Sewing Machine Cover, 11. Neptune Quilt, closer view, 12. Out for a Walk #2, 13. Plume Sails, 14. Quilted French Press Cozy, 15. Be Merry mug rug, 16. tickertape doll quilt, 17. My First Bee Quilt, 18. Scrappy Squares Baby Quilt, 2, 19. Coordinating Bunting, Pillow and Quilt, 20. tickertape mini quilt, 21. Around Town, 22. Busytown Quilt, 23. Ruffled Wristlet Keychains, 24. whirligig doll quilt - close up, 25. Monogram Pillow

Thanks to each of you for visiting my little blog over the past year and for all your kind comments both online and off.

Template-free, Trim-free Whirligig Blocks

This tutorial is the result of my quest to find a way to make whirligig blocks without using a template or having to trim the block. There are a lot of great tutorials out there, but they do include templates or trimming, and I'm afraid I don't have much patience for either of those, unless they are absolutely necessary. My first clue came from this tutorial using charm squares. No trimming and no template! Unfortunately these blocks are way bigger than I wanted, since I was going to make a doll quilt. I took the principle and shrunk it to get a 5 inch finished block that is trim-free (hooray) and template-free (yippeee). Enjoy!
Trim-free, Template-free Whirligig Block Tutorial

The little doll quilt I made used 12 of these blocks with three small borders. The finished quilt is 19 x 24. It is a birthday gift for a special little girl, but it's twin is for sale in my shop!
I think my free motion is slowly improving.