Best of 2019 at Busy Hands Quilts

This year was entirely different for me than any previous year as a quilter, so rather than featuring only the best of 2019, this is a brief history of all of 2019.

This year I made less quilts than last year and instead wrote a ton of quilt patterns.  So many, in fact, that I lost count and had to look it up myself, and when I saw the number I got so tired that I had to go take a nap.  No wonder I dropped off the blogging bandwagon this year - there was simply no time to do it.  In fact, to write this blog post, I had to make a chart listing all quilts made, patterns written, and custom quilting projects finished because I haven't blogged all of them.

This year almost all of my pattern covers were updated.  There are a few to go, and that's on my to-do list for this next year.

New Quilt Patterns

So the number of quilt patterns I wrote this year?  19  There are now 40 designs in the Busy Hands Quilts line of patterns.  Five of them haven't been released yet, and four of them have been released, but I haven't made cover quilts yet, so the covers include mockups rather than an actual image of a quilt.  I do prefer to have an actual quilt on the cover, but sometimes the time crunch gets in the way.

I've long wanted to make mini quilts of my existing patterns, and the first one was released this year - Mini Picket Fence features four sizes - Small and Large Table Runners and Small and Large Table Toppers.  All sizes use charm squares.  :)

Here are the 14 that were released in 2019.  All of them are available in my pattern shop except Calliope and Winter Solstice; they are only available at Connecting Threads at the current time.  I will get the rights back to them eventually and will be able to sell them myself.

Here are three of the five quilt patterns that haven't been released.  You'll have to wait to see the remaining two quilt patterns.  :)

Family Ties, 6 sizes Baby to King, jelly roll friendly.  I don't know what fabric the cover quilt will be made from yet.  Perhaps a rainbow jelly roll!  :)

Hampton Court, 100% strip pieced (but also includes traditional piecing instructions) and includes 4 sizes - Throw, Twin, Queen, and King.  This design is inspired by the exterior of King Henry VIII's castle, Hampton Court, built in the 1500s.  The bricks are made with varying sizes.  I am making the throw size with Nova by Basic Grey for Moda.

Mandalynn includes 6 sizes Baby to King and is layer cake friendly.  I am making this with a fat quarter bundle of rainbow batiks by Connecting Threads.  This pattern is Accuquilt friendly.

Quilts Made in 2019

In 2019 I made 39 quilts, less than the 70 quilts I made last year and definitely more in line with the usual number of quilts I make each year.  I have 11 quilts that haven't been documented in the history books here on the blog, so you'll be seeing those in the next month or so.  I will be featuring the 39 quilts over on Instagram shortly.  I'm behind on doing my annual review of quilts over there too, but I will get them up.  View my Instagram here.

Custom Quilts

In 2019 I made 6 custom quilts, intentionally decreasing the number of custom orders I accept.  I'm just too busy to make quilts for others now, but I don't mind quilting for others because that is much quicker.

Custom Quilting

This year I custom quilted 7 quilts but only blogged about 5 of them.

Quilt Kits Available in My Patterns

You can see all of my quilt patterns that have been kitted by fabric companies in one place right here.  You will be seeing approximately 14 more quilt kits in my patterns over the next nine months.  Hopefully this will be a perpetual thing.

Fabric Destash

After Thanksgiving I mercilessly cut my stash down by 50% and still have another 25% to go.  My aim was to clear out all fabric, leftover quilt blocks, quilt kits, and quilts in progress in my master bedroom closet (two walls with floor to 9' ceiling shelves) and from under all beds; leaving only fabric on two tall bookshelves in my sewing room.  I have thought about doing this for several years, and it finally felt right to do it.  I could never use all of that fabric in a lifetime.  I set it free to be appreciated, used, and enjoyed by someone else.  I want my stash to be fabrics that read as a solid color, or close to a solid, so it's usable in a rainbow.  Rainbow quilts sell the best in my quilt shop, so almost all quilts I make for sale, except pattern covers, from here on out will be mostly rainbow-ish.  

My destash account on Instagram is BusyHandsDestash.  You can follow this account to see when I start it up again.  Click here.

Plans for 2020

I have made the following commitments for 2020.

To purchase fabric only when the fabric is REQUIRED for a current project.  I will not buy fabric because I like it, it would make a good backing, or it's cheap.  One exception is I can buy fabrics that are in a rainbow.  PERIOD.  Yes this might mean I have to pay full price for fabric when I need it in a pinch.  It is cheaper to buy fabric at full price than to buy lots of discounted fabric that is never used.  My destash gave me a new perspective about fabric buying.

No over-committing in pattern writing.  Working all day every day is not healthy.

Making cover quilts for all quilt patterns that need one.

Adding one or two more Mini quilts to my pattern line.  Do you want to see a particular pattern in mini?  My minis will be table runners and square table toppers, and the patterns will include four sizes.

Making a few quilts for myself - Patriotic Picnic by Podunk Pretties in particular.  It's a fun queen size quilt that will look great on my living room wall.  You can see it right here.

Getting my BusyHandsQuilts.com website up and running - it's nearly done!

Finish updating pattern covers.

Visiting my friends more often.  I've sorely neglected them.

Quilting Sales

All quilts are on clearance in my quilt shop right here.  Clear 'em out!

You will save up to 70% off at Bluprint's end-of-year clearance sale right here.  

Save up to 60% off fabric at Connecting Threads' year-end clearance sale right here. 

One of my favorite things to buy is gift certificates when they go on sale.  Missouri Star Gift Certificates are currently $40 for $50.  :)  You can buy two per day during the sale.  Check them out right here.

Happy New Year!

Check out the Best of 2019 Linky Party hosted by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs!

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Brick Cottage Lane 2 Quilt Pattern Update and Sale!

Brick Cottage Lane 2 quilt pattern cover has been updated and is currently on sale, including a preorder of the printed version!  In addition to a new cover, there were a few minor updates in the pattern that reduced the number of pages, but the bones of the pattern are the same.

The joy of this pattern is that I have figured out how to strip piece this quilt and have worked out all of the math and techy stuff for you.  It would be extremely time-consuming to piece this quilt brick by brick - though not impossible.  To save you incredible amounts of time and sanity, you will sew together strips of fabric into strip sets and then sub-cut segments from the strip sets.  Then sew the segments together as shown in the pattern, and you have saved yourself BOAT LOADS of time.  And that means you'll have time to make more quilts!  :)

You could, of course, cut a zillion bricks and sew them together one by one; there's no judgment in that.  The pattern also includes the traditional piecing this quilt, one brick at a time.

I have made Brick Cottage Lane 2 three times, all in king size.  If you can imagine, I have another one cut out to make another king size, this one in Island Batik British Rose.  That's on the to-do list for 2020.

This one is made with Island Batik Boho fabric collection, made in 2018 as an Island Batik Ambassador.

This is the first Brick Cottage Lane 2 quilt I made.  The fabrics are various Bonnie and Camille collections.

This is Simply Color by V and Co.  All three of these quilts have sold in my quilt shop.

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Maribelle - a Layer Cake Quilt Pattern in 5 Sizes!

Meet Maribelle - a layer cake friendly quilt pattern in 5 sizes - Lap, Throw, Twin, Queen, and King!  Maribelle is a quick quilt pattern at both the cutting and piecing steps.  You know I am all about making more quilts, so many of my patterns are quick and easy, with a few more challenging designs thrown in for fun.

I love this happy version made with Sunnyside Ave by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter.  Click here to see more of this fabric.  I was saving it for just the right quilt design, and this is it!

Quilt Stats:
Pattern:  Maribelle, available right here.
Size:  Throw, approx 50" x 70"
Fabric - Quilt Top, Backing and Binding:  Sunnyside Ave by Amy Smart, available right here.
Batting:  Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 cotton poly
Quilting:  Posies on Gratitude, my Handi Quilter Fusion with ProStitcher in white thread

This quilt pattern is available at wholesale if you are a quilt shop and would like to stock this pattern.

Maribelle also looks great in fabric collections with two colors - such as blue and yellow for another happy quilt.

Maribelle is on sale at an introductory price through Sunday, including a preorder of the printed version.  Click here to save now!

Linking to:

♥ Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?!? ♥ Finished or Not Finished Friday ♥ From Bolt to Beauty ♥ 

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Looking Glass in Handmade - a New Quilt Pattern!

Meet Looking Glass, where your favorite fabrics can shine through!  This new quilt pattern includes five sizes - Lap, Throw, Twin, Queen, and King.  It's 10" square layer cake friendly, so choosing fabrics will be a breeze.

This is the Twin size made in Handmade by Bonnie and Camille.  Sometimes choosing fabrics for a cover quilt is difficult, but this one came easily.  In fact, when I first designed this quilt a few years ago {yes, years!}, I mocked it up in Handmade because this collection looks fantastic with black accents, and I wanted to use black in the cover quilt.  

Looking Glass also looks great in blues and yellows, timeless colors that are always so striking together.  

Looking Glass is on sale at an introductory price through Sunday!  Save right here.

I'm running a Veteran's Day sale on all patterns that includes stars.  Be sure to put this fantastic sale on your calendar!

Also on my December schedule is a new quilt for my living room wall, which you can see right here.  I'm making it in Harry and Alice, one of my favorite fabric collections ever.  Click here to see Harry and Alice.

The winner of the PDF quilt pattern from last week's blog post is Loris!  She chose Picket Fence. 

Linking to:

♥ Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?!? ♥ Finished or Not Finished Friday ♥ From Bolt to Beauty ♥ 

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Hometown - A New Quilt Pattern in 4 Sizes!

Meet Hometown, my latest layer-cake friendly quilt pattern in four sizes - Throw, Twin, Queen, and King!  This is the Twin size made with Simply Color by V and Co., a bright and happy fabric collection that really lets Hometown shine.

Hometown is a grab-n-go quilt pattern - grab your favorite layer cake squares, add a background fabric, and GO!  Don't worry about the on-point setting - the pattern walks you through the entire process, and you can do it!

Did you see that there quilt pictured on a bed???  YES!  Now that two of the kiddos have moved out, I have beds to take pictures of quilts on - both a queen and a twin XL.  :) :)

Below is Hometown in Tea Service by Connecting Threads, also in the Twin size.  I have stashed the fabric, along with Kona in Nautical, and will make this quilt when I have time.  I can't wait!  This fabric collection is selling out quickly at Connecting Threads - you can get the 10" square stack right here.

Hometown is for sale at an introductory price through Sunday!  Get first dibs on this pattern and save while you're at it. Shop the sale right here. 

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Linking to:
♥ Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?!? ♥ Finished Friday ♥ Needle and Thread Thursday ♥ Peacock Party ♥ 

Quilt Kits Available in My Patterns

Photo Credit Connecting Threads

I've added a page to the blog that includes all of the quilt kits that have been made in my patterns, including sites where my free patterns are available.  You'll find the page right here.  To view this page in the future, simply click on "Quilt Kits in My Patterns" at the top of the blog.

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Summer on the Porch Queen Quilt

Summer on the Porch hanging on my clothesline, a flashback to the warm, sunny days of summer.

This is the quilt that I broke the clothesline with, not because of its weight, but because of my impatience.  You can read about that over here.

This quilt kit has 4.9 star reviews on Bluprint.  :)

This fabric collection is called Garden Party.  When you click on this link, you will see the entire collection, as well as other projects made from the collection.  My Gooseberry Pie design is also kitted in Garden Party, in addition to the cutest Christmas Stockings!  You'll see all of them right here.

Photo Credit Bluprint

This pattern was designed for Bluprint, and they've kitted it in Twin and Queen sizes.  I wanted to let you know that the quilt kit is now on sale!  You will find the deal right here.

Linking to:  ♥ Show Me Something With Triangles ♥

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Happy 9th Blog Anniversary and Timeline of Events

Today is Busy Hands Quilts' 9th Blogiversary!  It's wonderful to look back and see how far my quilting has come in nine years.

I began the blog on October 28th, 2010.  My husband had been out of work since February of that year, and my medical transcription job ended at the end of October.  Voice recognition software was changing the field of medical transcription and eliminating transcription jobs in spades.  I worked at home and made great money because of my fast fingers.  While I was ready to be done transcribing, it was a huge deal to lose such a high-paying job.  Our savings were almost gone, and I needed a way to earn some cash, and that meant selling quilts and fabric.  I had long sold fabric on eBay and at this time began selling quilts and fabric on Etsy.

You can see the very first post at Busy Hands Quilts right here.  No judgment.  You'll see how far I've come.  :)

I purchased an antique Singer 31-15 that was mounted on a longarm quilting frame that same month, October 2010, and began to learn how to free motion quilt.  Because her rails weren't perfect, I only perfected an allover meander and an edge-to-edge organic wavy stitch, but these served me very well until 2017 when I purchased a Handi Quilter longarm.

2013 - 53 quilts made.  Year end review blog post is right here.

2014 - 24 quilts made.  Year end review blog post is right here.

My first quilt pattern was published in May of 2015, a rainbow star baby quilt.  You can see that blog post here.   This pattern is no longer available for sale.  It probably included 10 pages to tell you how to make this simple quilt.  LOL.  :)

July 2015 Picket Fence is released.  I made this quilt out of scraps in 2012 and received a request for the pattern, thus planting the seed that I could write quilt patterns.  It took several years for that seed to germinate, however.  Thank you to who ever it was that requested this!  I sent her the pattern for free when it was finished, but I don't remember who it was.

Picket Fence has been my all-time best-selling quilt pattern, still selling more patterns than all other quilt patterns four years later!  It's layer cake friendly and includes 6 sizes.  I am currently updating it to include rectangular Throw and Queen sizes rather than square quilts.

This is the original Picket Fence, a baby quilt made from scraps.

This is the original Picket Fence quilt pattern cover, still the best-selling cover of the many Picket Fence covers I've listed in my pattern shop.

2015 - 33 quilts made.  This included a Grand Illusion mystery quilt, a Gravity quilt, and a queen size Postcard From Sweden quilt.  Best of blog post is right here.

2016 - Purchased a Juki TL-2200-QVP Mini (identical to the TL-2010-Q except for body coloring) - and I still ♥♥♥ this machine!  It's an industrial machine that only stitches straight stitch.  

2016 - Made 67 quilted items.  You can read the year-end blog post right here.

March of 2017 I purchased a Handi Quilter Fusion with ProStitcher, whom I named Gratitude, and the quality of my quilts skyrocketed.  She is computerized and stitches amazingly well.  

You can see a pictures of my sewing room and longarm over here on Instagram.

2017, I began designing quilt patterns for Craftsy, now Bluprint.  

2017 - Made 54 quilts.  I didn't do a year-end blog post in 2017.  

In 2018, my design, Glorious Dawn, was chosen as Craftsy/Bluprint's September Block of the Month design and was kitted in three colorways - Hydrangea, Spectrum, and Sea Spray -  each in three sizes - Throw, Twin, and Queen.  These quilt kits are still available on their site - which means they've either continued restocking them because they sell so well, or less have sold than was anticipated would sell and they're overstocked.  :)  Since the brain inserts what it wants and even makes up stories when it doesn't have all of the facts, let's go with the first option, shall we?!?

Photo Credit Craftsy

Glorious Dawn in Hydrangea.  This is the queen size quilt I made for Craftsy.  The kit is available right here.

Photo Credit Craftsy

Glorious Dawn in Sea Spray in Twin size.  This kit is available right here.

Photo Credit Craftsy

Glorious Dawn in Spectrum in the Throw size.  This kit is available right here.

2018 is the first year I printed paper quilt patterns and began selling wholesale.  

2018 - Made 70 quilts.  I didn't do a year-end blog post, but you can see them all over on Instagram in the December 2018 posts.  

In 2018 I was accepted as a quilt pattern designer for Connecting Threads and have had 19 patterns accepted so far.  You've only seen 5 of them kitted so far, and you will be seeing the rest over the next nine months or so.  I do a huge {{Happy Dance}} when my Connecting Threads catalog arrives every few months and my designs are included in CT's amazing fabric collections!  :)

Photo Credit Connecting Threads

This is Calliope in Maison Rouge, kitted in the Queen size.  The pattern includes five sizes and is available separately.  View the quilt kit and pattern right here.

Photo Credit Connecting Threads

This is Granny's Square Patch in Maison Rouge, kitted in the Queen size.  The pattern includes six sizes and is available separately.  Go here to see the quilt kit and pattern.

Night Sky has been kitted in Penelope Grace in the Throw size.  The pattern includes Throw and Queen sizes and is available separately.  Go here to see them.

Photo Credit Connecting Threads

This is Winter Solstice, kitted as a Queen size in Faux Tonals for amazing texture.  The pattern includes Throw and Queen sizes and is available separately.  Go here to see the kit and pattern.

At this point in 2019, I have released a total of 33 quilt patterns for sale and have 9 patterns designed and awaiting the pattern to be written or a quilt sample made.  Stay tuned for those patterns!

Thanks for traveling down memory lane with me!  Because you read to the end, here's a treat for you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Oh My Darling Updated Pattern Sale!

My Oh My Darling quilt pattern has been completely updated, both inside and out, with new formatting and cover image.  I've also changed the Queen size from a square to a rectangular quilt.  This quilt pattern is jelly roll friendly and includes 6 sizes - Baby, Lap, Throw, Twin, Queen and King.  This is the cover quilt in Garden Club by RJR Fabrics.

This scrappy blue and orange Oh My Darling in the king size was a custom order.

 Below is the twin size in Fresh Cut by Basic Grey.  This quilt is for sale in my quilt shop.

The Oh My Darling quilt pattern is on sale through Sunday!  This includes the Printed version to help clear out the old covers.  The Printed version will include the new version of the pattern innards :) with the old cover. 

  Save on Oh My Darling right here!

Connecting Threads is celebrating 25 years of fabric fondling fun, and you will save $25 off orders of $100 or more at Connecting Threads through Sunday!  Use promo code 25YEARS at checkout.  That means you can save on quilt kits in my patterns! :)  You can also buy just the pattern without the quilt kit, and you know it - they all include as many sizes as I could squeeze in - up to six!  Scroll down to see them, and click here to see all of them at Connecting Threads.

Photo credit Connecting Threads for these five pictures.

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