I didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted to this year — admittedly, my big machine spent a lot of time being repaired, but I also procrastinated on many projects. I have been sewing regularly but most of those things remain WIPs at present (Hawaiian appliqué quilt, maple leaf quilt, flame rose quilt, hexagons quilt).

1. Aussie Hero Quilts
I made four quilts and two laundry bags myself, plus I made a further two quilts in collaboration with my sewing friend Sue. They were all bespoke, not generic, so I won’t post any photos. I need to cut more laundry bag kits so that I can supply generic bags fast when required.

2 Personal Quilts

Blue Christmas
I started this in 2019 and set it aside part-way through the FMQ — I can’t remember why. I retrieved it and finished it in September.

Queens Tile
I started this way back in 1990, but it languished as a top for many, many years. I finally got it basted in July and finished in September.

Hexagon table topper
This was a one-and-done project in November. I’d like to give the bind-as-you-go hexagon technique another try with the backing cut larger — maybe next year.

I have another quilt almost finished — it was the one I was working on when the machine pitched a fit in October. I have the machine back now but in the interim the sewing table has accumulated a large pile of stuff that needs to be sorted. I’ll get onto it in the new year.

3. Doll clothes

Three chemises

1750 underpinnings

I have another two outfits that have been almost complete for several months — one needs buttonholes and the other needs the doll to have her hair arranged to fit the period. I’ll get around to them soon. Honest.

4. Human clothes

Three tent dresses
Not the prettiest of outfits, but very comfortable on days when the temperature is above 30°C (all four days so far …).

Plans for 2023
Finishing a few WIPs is obviously a high priority, as is doing a little more for AHQ. I have a huge list of projects I would like to do, of course, but I don’t want to start anything new this year — I’m hoping to move interstate and that will take up a lot of time and energy.

Although my handcrafting year was curtailed by RSI I still managed an impressive ten historical doll outfits (listed here in historical order rather than crafted order):

1000 Viking Dress and overdress

1790 Round gown in gauze
Petticoat for 1790 round gown

1790 Regency Dress

1800 Bib-Front Gown

1810 Bib-Front Dress

1810 Regency Dress

1820 Regency Gown

1824 Christmas Dress

1920s dress in gold

1940s Panel Dress

As for 2022, I’m planning more of the same.

1. Doll clothes. I have three outfits that are close to being finished (including the one that killed my wrist) and several more in the planning stages. I need to experiment with clothing for non-AG dolls, even if it means drafting new pattern pieces.

3. Human clothes. I’d like to make a couple of casual items for myself — nothing fancy, just tops and shorts for summer. Because summer clothes are laundered frequently they don’t last as long and with Covid still affecting us I’d like to avoid clothes shopping if possible. I have plenty of quilting cottons and also a small stash of dressmaking fabrics so I won’t lack for materials.

2. Patchwork and quilting. I’d like to complete at least two tops out of the numerous WIPs I have stacked in boxes. My hand quilting days are over but I might be able to quilt one on the machine.

4. Doll acquisition. Makena from American Girl for sure, and probably Corinne (2022 GOTY) as well. I was looking at the images on the website last night and I’m pretty sure this is a new mould. At first glance she resembles Nanea but Corrine’s eye sockets are narrower vertically and wider horizontally and I think the jaw is slightly different. That makes three new moulds in two years which is fairly impressive. It also means that Maritza and #86 drop in priority, which is a shame, but new moulds are more important.

I should have made this report yesterday, but the bushfires held my attention and I make no apology for that. I’ve been affected by smoke haze for the last month, but luckily there are no actual fires in my vicinity (fingers crossed it stays that way). I was very relieved to learn that Rosemont The Patchwork Shop (their Facebook page) survived the fire in Mogo, though I have no doubt that the fabric will be badly affected by the smoke.

2019 was a reasonably good craft year for me: some achievements, a couple of fails and a surprising new direction.

Firstly, I managed to finish and send off seven quilts and twelve laundry bags for Aussie Hero Quilts. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph two of the quilts which I regret deeply, as I like to keep a record of what I make and there’s no way to get a photo now unless the recipients choose to send one to AHQ.

For myself I was able to finish one large quilt (En Bourgogne) and one small quilt (Tumbling Blocks), both as part of the 2019 Finish-A-Long project.

Other work during the year included 30 stained glass blocks and the partially completed Blue Christmas, which is still only half-quilted. Eh, I’ll get around to it before next Christmas, I’m sure. I also worked on Pentastic 2: Flame Rose as my wrists and thumbs permitted — I overdid it in March and I’m still feeling the effects, though it’s much, much better than it was a few months ago. I haven’t finished the green units yet but that’s not a huge issue as there is no deadline for this project.

Last, but by no means least, I had a sudden and unexpected diversion into doll dressmaking, which I would like to continue into the next decade — there’ll be much more on that next month when I write up my FAQ Q4 project.

My goals for this year are modest:
1. Finish one full-size quilt
2. Finish piecing Penrose 2: Flame Rose
3. Make a dust cover for my 9400
4. Improve my doll dressmaking skills (those tiny curves are so hard!)