Doodlebug and Quilts of 2024
Amazingly we are about to head into 2025! How can we be a quarter through this century already?!
I’m so pleased I’ve continued to write this blog even though the distance between my posts stretches a little more each year, but these annual round ups of quilts are an important marker and I managed to fill all 9 blocks of the mosaic with quilts for 2024!
This tally includes 3 orphan block charity quilts, a temperature quilt, a sustainable quilt, 3 quilts created for The Thread House Academy classes and one new quilt which I’m sharing here for the first time (and properly christening!).
This is Doodlebug which was begun, as so many of my quilts are, with a class sample. I had been teaching my Journey to the Centre of the Earth workshop at a rare in-person class for a group in Blaigowrie.
I came away with this quarter block which of course I had to use somehow (it’s a compulsion!).
Having made these quarter blocks into a number of different quilts already, from a giant flower to a giant eye (and one other I have yet to reveal) I was looking for something different and decided to try the block on point. This then evolved into a type of weird butterfly/insect.
For a while I called this quilt ‘Hornet’ but after asking the usual suspects for name ideas (my Golden Bobbins group and my Thread House partners) I ended up with two contenders ‘Love Bug’ and ‘Beatlejuice’.
I could’t decide between them so I put these both to my Instagram followers and asked them to decide. Love bug definitely won but somebody suggested Doodlebug which I thought worked even better due to the doodling nature of both the quilting and the improv style construction.
I left plenty of negative space around this one so I could really go to town on the quilting. I’ve been developing this ‘Modern Improv Doodle’ quilting style all year and I was feeling at my most confident when I began to quilt this one.
As always I’ve quilted this on my Handi Quilter Moxie XL, available from Pinhole Quilting here in the UK). I took the doodle in really tight and developed more of the intricate designs. It took a lot of hours to finish (it’s not a big quilt, about 55″ square). I think it’s my best quilting ever and I’m so pleased that this is something I continue to improve on every year.
I didn’t get this one finished in time to enter to QuiltCon but I am planning to enter it to the new Professionals category at the Scottish Quilting Competition in March.
But I did enter 3 other quilts to QuiltCon and actually got one in! The successful entry was Pop Art Dandelion which I wrote about here in July as a WIP. So I thought it would be nice to share the finished quilt here too.
More improv doodle quilting but a very plain style for the background and some very fancy filling in the centres of the flowers (which I am 90% happy with!).
Every year I enter a few quilts to QuiltCon and every year they pick the one that I personally like the least! Still I am always so grateful to have one included at all! I’m not attending QuiltCon 2025 in Phoenix so will have to rely on friends for photos.
So on to 2025 and I have something very big planned which I can’t talk about yet! As soon as I can I will post here (and everywhere!!). Meanwhile I am just on the last few days of this year’s temperature project so will be back next week with a post all about the finished fabric book!
Happy New Year everyone!
It’s wonderful to see your makes, especially gathered in one place. I admire your color sense, and your ability to – seemingly – easily make a quarter curve shape and turn it into something wonderful – symmetrical and yet a little wonky. Doodlebug is an example of your skill at this, and I love it! As you point out, your quilting is the best! Isn’t it gratifying to know you’ve pushed yourself into creating design in your backgrounds? It’s a real skill to “see” a design that isn’t there. Even though Pop Art Dandelion isn’t your favorite quilt, I’m delighted jurors included it in QuiltCon. Of course, I’ll be looking for it on the show floor, and will admire the way you quilted the centers. It’s great that you’re still blogging, as, like you, I agree that it’s the best way to document one’s makes, and feel fulfilled about one’s creativity. Well done you! Happy 2025 my friend!
I’m so glad this blog post popped up in my scrolling. I love your quilts! I’m a big fan of how whimsical your color scheme and blocks are, yet the more you look at them, the more details you find to indulge your eyes! Thank you for inspiring me for the coming new year!
I’m so glad you’re still posting on your blog. With the current social media changes, I think we may all migrate back to this way of sharing our work. Congratulations on all you accomplished in 2024. Looking forward to seeing where the new year takes you.💕