Wednesday's Wanderings Quilt

Here it is.  All the Wednesday's Wandering blocks sewed together into a quilt. I have not decided if I want to add borders or just bind it the way it is.  It needs to ruminate.  I would love your input.

I had to surf my blog to put the blocks into the correct chronological order. 

I was surprised that over the course of a year, I needed assistance for this, but it gave me the opportunity to reflect upon my activities and travels of 2012.

I was surprised at how much was squeezed into a year. Reviewing the highlights, it started with our sojourn in Key West, then a trip to Israel.  After purchasing my cute little blue convertible Beetle, my second book came out with a coinciding trip to the wholesale Quilt Market in Kansas City to promote it.  My first lakeside quilter's retreat was then followed by the unveiling of the chuppah and the wedding of my youngest son. Then I delivered a torah cover commission, visited Mark Lipinski and his radio show, and finally "Frosty Flakes" was published in the December issue of The Quilt Life. 

I don't think I could have squeezed much more into one year.  Looking at the blocks and reminiscing about all these events and the many others gives me such a warm feeling.  It was indeed a very good year and a very busy year.  I feel so fortunate that I have been able to elevate my love of quilting  and designing into more than just a hobby.  I have connected with so many people that looked forward to see where I went each week and how I depicted it.

I have been conflicted about whether I want to continue this weekly chronological fiber trip.  It has brought me so much joy to come up with an idea each week and then figure out how to share it.  Some weeks it was easy, other weeks it was hard.  But it was always fun.  But at this point I have some large quilts and projects that I want to work on that I need to devote a concentrated amount of time to design and develop.  So I am going to bid WW a fond farewell with melancholy in my heart.

I will continue to share my journeys both quilting and travels.  This brings me great joy to share what I know and have learned with others. In this vein, if you want to see how I put all of the blocks together, come back tomorrow. You may be surprised.

Wednesday's Wanderings #54 - CELEBRATE!

This is the final block for my 2012 Wednesday's Wanderings. 

It is with a sense of joy and relief that I created this block.

  I am so happy that I made it through the year without too many hiccups. 

 So ring the bells and throw the confetti!

I started with this polka dot fabric and quilted it with wavy lines.

 I used a metallic thread. 

 The bells were added using raw edge fusible applique after positioning the rick rack.

I like to use a rayon thread for the blanket stitch 

It has a bit of a shine.

The block needed a bit more of a celebratory theme, so after adding the bells

 I decided to add some streamers.

 The streamers were too thick to be created from fabric, so I chose to do thread painting. I searched high and low for my beloved blue soluble marking pen, but couldn't find it.  Instead I used a water soluble film (Solvy) and drew my streamer pattern on it.

 I thread painted the streamers by stitching over and over until I thought there was enough coverage.  I tore away the remaining Solvy.  I did not need to soak it.

And then I added some confetti!

The satin stitch was perfect for this.

THE LAST BLOCK!!

The 54th block.

One block a week plus 2 for good measure (and to make an eye pleasing layout).

A wall hanging with a year's full of wanderings and memories. 

Thanks for hanging in there with me on this journey.

Finished quilt to follow.

CELEBRATE!