A Year in Review: The Quilts of 2021

Every year I do a bit of year in review and look back on the quilts that I finished during that year.  I thought I would share the year 2021 with you today.

I started out the year finishing this quilt.  It was a wedding gift for my daughter’s best friend and our neighbor girl when we lived at the farm.  Read more about the quilt HERE.

Kalissa’s friend was going with a farmhouse-type decorating theme and I wanted to design something that would compliment that.  This is what I came up with.  I went with straight line quilting to add to the simplicity.  The picture makes it look like lots of browns but it’s really taupe colors…grays and taupe greens too.

This is the quilt that launched the great Halloween fabric mailing.  I had designed this quilt and made it then contacted American Patchwork and quilting to see if they wanted to feature it.  They asked me to make it for them in Halloween print fabric.

Here is the Halloween version… they named Halloween Hoopla.  Read more about it HERE.  See lots more pictures there too.
I can’t thank you all enough for sending fabric.  It was such a fun project.  You can find it in the pattern in this issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.

The next quilt was designed by… Bonnie Hunter.  It’s called Holy Toledo.  You can find it in her book, Scraps and Shirttails II.  HERE is a link to Amazon for the book.

I made mine entirely from recycled shirt prints.  I LOVED making this.  It was a UFO that I had cut out but had never sewn.  This one is a favorite of mine.

HERE is a link to the original post about the quilt.

This is Old World Fantasy.  A mystery quilt put together by Becky at Quilted Twins.  It’s still available.  You can find it HERE.  This one was a quilt along that ended up falling into the UFO pile.

It was so sweet of Becky to design the pattern and have us all quilting along.  I did the red and gold option there was a blue and gray option for the quilt too.

Next up is another quilt that was featured in American Patchwork and Quilting.  They named the quilt, Moment of Zen.  You can read about it HERE.

This fabric line was my absolute favorite.  It was called Cider.  I love the mix of colors and love the Grunge fabric that was added to the collection.

The pattern can be found in this magazine…

Here is another from the UFO box, Spider Web String.  Read about it HERE.  This one started as a UFO that I bought from the thrift store.  Then I had to find a matching red.  It’s a fun story…
…and a fun quilt.  I think the machine quilting really added a lot to it.

When Georgia’s birthday came around, Kelli asked me to make her a doll quilt.  She wanted it to match Georgia’s baby quilt, so I obliged.  This is Georgia’s Doll Quilt.  You can read about it HERE.


This is the back of it.  SO FUN!


Here is our next collaboration with American Patchwork and Quilting called Fly the Flag quilt.  You can read about it HERE.  This was made with recycled shirts.  This was a really fast quilt to sew and it was a fun project too.  I would term this quilt beginner-friendly.


It was featured in this issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.

When I was at Kelli’s house in June helping her with her twin boys, we were doing some cleaning and I came across a finished quilt top, Half Logs, read about it HERE.   I ended up taking it home and finishing it for her.

My childcare families surprised me with the best present.  They made a great quilt top using the kids’ handprints.  Read about it HERE.  I just love it.
They gave me the finished top along with the backing and binding fabric.  I finished the quilt.

When our grandson Carver went to preschool he needed a preschool quilt for rest time.  Here is the one I made carver.  Read more about it HERE.

It was made entirely of recycled shirt fabrics.


Eli and Emmett, our twin grandsons, were born in April and needed baby quilts.  These are the ones I made them.  Read about them HERE.


They were also made from recycled shirts.  So fun.


I dug into the strip bins and came up with the pieces to make this quilt, County Fair.  Read more about it HERE.

I jumped in on Lori Holt’s quilt along and made her Red Sampler quilt.  We did three blocks a week over the summer.  I typically am not a sampler quilt maker.  I had a lot of fun making this.  Read more about it HERE.

Carolina Chain is another quilt top that I found finished at Kelli’s house.  I took it home and finished it.  The quilt can be found in the book Addicted to Scraps.  (The book is currently free for Kindle Unlimited Users)

In the picture below you can see that the original quilt didn’t have a border.  We opted to put on on it.  You can read more about the quilt HERE.

Show Off was another quilt that was finished in 2021.  It was a UFO.  I had cut it out and then never put a stitch into it.  This was a free pattern from Quilted Twins.  Read about it HERE.

The quilt was super quick to make.  Essentially the “blocks” are already made being larger pieces are cut for the center block.  I made this one from recycled shirts too.

Our quilt Bow Tie Bliss was featured in Quilter’s World Magazine.

It’s the Autumn 2021 issue.  You can read more about it HERE.


We had another quilt featured in Quilter’s World.  This one was in the Summer 2021 issue.

This one was called Star Crossed Lovers.  You can read more about it HERE.

Now it’s our Christmas quilt.  Here it is…


This one was featured in the December 2021 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.  You can read more about the quilt HERE.

Inspired by the Past, is our last quilt that was featured in American Patchwork and Quilting.  This quilt was inspired by a quilt I found at a local vintage store.  It was so fun.  You can read more about it HERE.

I stepped out of my quilting box and tried something different.  I made this quilt.  Typically I don’t make a quilt in the style you see below.  I did have fun with it and, it was picked up by Annie’s Publishing and was put into a book.

You can read more about it HERE.

A blog reader sent this quilt top.  I finished it and will be donating it to the local fire department benefit.  Read more about it HERE.

This was definitely the year of lots of published quilts.  I think what happened was that when Covid hit, I had more at home time and that lead to more quilting and that lead to me submitting more designs.  Next year doesn’t look as full of quilt projects that will be published.  The end of 2020 took me back to childcare and that took my free time.  It was fun while it lasted!!

30 thoughts on “A Year in Review: The Quilts of 2021”

    1. Jo, I’m so impressed with the number of quilts you finish and get published. Way to go. My goal is to just keep quilting. I’m working on UFOs and making progress. My quilting buddy and I are cutting scraps to make the Carolina Chain quilt. Wearing out the mat to the AccuQuilt.

  1. Fabulous show and tell. Quilting plus cross-stitching and all you do for family and childcare. Lovely and amazing and understanding if this year is a little slower. Thanks for sharing.

  2. You are absolutely amazing Jo! All your finishes are beautiful. I’m working on the quilt Show Off right now using the men’s shirts you gave me. I’ve been collecting patterns appropriate for men’s shirt along with Bonnie Hunter’s books. I’ll be busy for a long time. Thank you again.

  3. 22 beautiful quilts and all of the cross stitching you did. AMAZING! My goal is to manage my time at home better to get more quilts finished. In 2019 I finished 13. Most were already tops that just needed quilting. I tried to get at least 1 a month done. It was a great year for quilting. Then Covid hit. I finished 3 in 2020 and 5 in 2021. This year is the organize and scrappy year. My goal is to make 3 scrap quilts to have on hand for gifts. Plus finish the 4 quilts I started a few years ago. Halloween Hoopla is on my for me list. Hopefully this year. Thank you for the motivation!

  4. What an amazing amount of quilts – I hadn’t realized how many quilts you had done this past year until reading this post. They’re beautiful! You are so talented – thank you for sharing your work and thank you for sharing so many of your quilts patterns freely.
    Love and prayers

  5. Judith Fairchild

    Wow! Covid benefitted us when it put you on your sewing and long arm machines. All the quilts are beautiful. I think I like the grands quiltz best. Somehow when we make things for our grands they come out more interesting and beautiful.
    Youe deserve a year of taking it easy and doing just what you want to do. We all enjoy your work whatever it is.

  6. Wow, you had a busy year of quilts! They are beautiful. I must have missed a couple of your blog posts along the way, because I don’t remember all of these.

  7. So many beautiful quilts!! Each I scrolled down to the next one, it became my favorite, but I have to say, I still love the quilt you made for Georgia’s doll – the colors and the style. I just like it!

  8. So…..what do you do in your spare time??? Lol! Wow, you are an amazing, talented woman. I had my cup of coffee and thoroughly enjoyed the show and tell. I can only aspire to do a fraction of what you accomplish, but I’d be happy with that.

  9. Wow, Jo! What a stellar year (filled with SEW many wonderful quilt finishes!!!) Thanks for taking the time to put together a Year in Review post. It’s a lot of work, but a great record for you and fabulous eye candy for us!

  10. Will you be doing a roundup of finished crosstitch? I may have missed it. All your quilts are lovely, but I have my eye on the Christmas star. Blessings!

  11. This was such fun to scroll through! My absolute favorite of the bunch is the Moment of Zen. I even bought the kit when it first came out. It is next on my to-do list once I am down with a special UFO.

  12. Thanks for the mini quilt show to start my day. While they are all beautiful, I love the ones you made for the twins. It definitely was a busy year for you and fun and inspiring for us to look at and enjoy. Do I remember correctly that you have a quilt with a tulip block coming out this spring? If so, I can’t wait.
    Thanks for sharing your year of quilts.

  13. Seeing them all in one post is amazing—I have enjoyed another year of following you and your work! I second Carla’s thought on a cross stitch roundup!

  14. I can’t believe what you gt done in a year! I love your style Jo. You must buy shirts at the thrift stores? You inspire me.

    1. I do buy shirts from thrift stores. When they have a bag sale, I get them for about $1 each. The regular price at my thrift store is only $1 each.

  15. Kathy Henderson

    It’s neat to see the seasons change behind the quilts! Thanks for revisiting last year’s quilts – so fun!!

  16. WOW Jo you have been busy!!! You ar3e amazing and I am so happy to see your beautiful work. I love to see what you are doing next. You have inspired me and encouraged me to quilt, enjoy life and love my family even more.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top
%d bloggers like this: