Happy New Year! I am so ready to tackle 2023. I just have a feeling that this year will be a good year. I do have a few personal goals, but I’m going to share with you all my 2023 quilting goals!

This year will be the year of applique!

I am very used to doing the applique stitch on the many Bucilla projects I do each year, but have been a bit of a chicken when it comes to mixing applique and quilting. There is just something a little daunting about it. So to overcome this I decided to make a whole year full of it! And I already have plans. Who comes mind when you think of applique? Well I have one designer come to mind that I immediately think of. Lori Holt!

Lori Holt has a new sew along (I know, Leslee is doing another sew along…) that involves all the applique I could ever want starting at the end of January. So I plan to join in on the fun and learn all I can! I think this will be the perfect way to learn. If you are interested in doing this sew along too, look up Calico Garden on Fat Quarter Shop. The kit should be shipping soon and they have all the stabilizer and buttons you will need!

I did mention I have other goals for this year, too. I plan to finish all the current sew alongs I have going on right now, learn In Designs and Electric Quilt 8, and start selling my patterns! I had hoped to be selling my patterns by now, but have found that I need more prep time. Apparently, writing the patterns and sewing the samples is the easy part! Now I need to learn the program that will make them look professional. I’m pretty excited for this year, can you tell?

Oh, Happy Day Sew Along Weeks 4-9

This last week I finished the rest of the blocks for this bright and easy sew along by Corey Yoder! I still need to do the final setting, but I’m getting so close to finishing this quilt. Let me show you how my blocks turned out!

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Look at those beautiful blocks all put together! I still need to make the star blocks and patchwork border units, but I think I will save that for next month. I’m currently waiting on more fabric from this line in order to finish the quilt top.

What a fun sew along! I would definitely recommend this one in the particular for a beginner. I have hope to do the finishing setting next month and will eventually show you all what it looks like once it’s all done!

Next on my list of quilting to-dos is to catch up on Lori Holt’s current sew along called Scrappiness is Happiness, and then I’ll also catch up on Sewcialites 2. I was so busy with the holidays, I just fell behind on all my sewing plans! Now is the time to catch up before the end of the month. Wish me luck!

– Leslee