~ Best of 2018, Part 2 ~

For part 2 of the Best of 2018 hosted by Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs I decided to once again leave it to my fabulous followers.  Today's "best" is the top 5 post that generated the most conversation.  Boy do we quilters love to chat!  Once again I'll be going listing them in order from small to large.  I also didn't include giveaway posts in the list.

Stars and Stripes, 7-8-18, comments 18

What a patriotic group!  This quilt stirred up quite the conversation on all my social media.  I've had several quilters ask for the pattern.  Well I started writing it and when it came time to add the instructions for the border I stopped.  The reason? Finding a way to describe how to made the border on this quilt.  I would hate to have someone buy the pattern, cut the fabric, and then my instructions for the border be unsatisfactory.  The border is what makes this quilt so wonderful.  So if you've been waiting on this pattern I've a question for you.  Would you be ok with no templates for the border?  The instructions would be to measure and eyeball the curve because that's how I made it.  So if you are okay with that, then I would be more than happy to finish the pattern.

This and That, 1-22-18, comments 19

I can tell I've a lot of followers that love babies.  This post was to announce my newest grand child, Mason.   We all go ga-ga over babies!  I have to admit every time a see a baby picture I can't help but smile.  I'm not sure why we do this.  Is it because we reminisce about our own children or is it a instinct of being a woman to love all babies?   He has grown so much and soon will be a year old.  But you'll have to wait till then to see how big he has gotten.

Oh How Do I Quilt Thee, 12-17-18, comments 20

The comments on this post were so much fun to read.  It's always interesting to hear what other quilters like and why.   Sometimes something someone says can alter the way I design a quilt or quilt a quilt.  Inspiration can come in many forms.  This post was also hard to share due to I don't have a big fancy machine.  My hope was to inspire others to do the best they can with what they have and keep trying.  It breaks my heart when quilters get discouraged and think the only way to improve their skills is to buy the newest shiny object.  Many beautiful quilts have been made with the very basic of tools.  

Blue Quilt Marker=Brown Marks, 1-16-18, comments 22.

Who hasn't had issues with marking a quilt only to find the marks are permanent.  Over the years I've found there is not one fail safe method.  Just when I think I've found the perfect product to mark my quilts it will fail me.  So all I can do is find a way to fix the problem.  Recently I was thinking about making the switch to Crayola Washable Markers.  They were on my shopping list until a fellow quilter shared her devastating story of the marks staying on the quilt.  Oh that poor lady!  But I was also grateful for her honesty.  And we won't even talk about the horror stories I've read about Frixon pens.  For now I'll stick with this method of marking my quilts until they come out with a fail proof method.

Fudging It, 12-6-18, comments 29.

You just never know when you're going to stir up commotion in blog land.  This turned out to be a great post about getting real.  So many quilters felt relieved knowing the accurate piecing challenge is real.  We all struggle to make great quilts.   I want to thank everyone who came forward and commented on this post about their own quilting struggles.  It was a great discussion that encouraged many quilters to keep moving forward even with a few errors.  We tend to show our best in most situations whether it be about quilting or in our real lives.  It's nice to just let it all hang out and be truthful.  We've all heard the old saying....."Honesty is the best policy".   I think one of my biggest pet peeves in the quilting community is on Facebook and other social media sites when quilters ask other quilters to stop mentioning their mistakes and faults.  If you never acknowledge a mistake you can never improve.  You must first know there is a problem before you can fix it, right?  Right!    But just because we are honest and share our faults does not mean we dwell on them. 

Thanks again for following along on my quilting journey.  I'll see you tomorrow for the last of the

 "Best of 2018" series.  You can see Part 1 by clicking here.  Don't forget to hop over to Meadow Mist Designs to see more Bests of 2018 posts.

#bestof2018 #meadowmistdesigns #podunkpretties #baileyhomequilter

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~ Best of 2018 ~

When I saw the new linky party hosted by Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs I thought it would be an easy blog post to write.  The topic is The Best to 2018.  Cheryl gave several ideas for a blog post.

Posts with the most view
Posts with the most comments
Posts that provoked the best discussions
Posts showing favorite 2018 finishes 
Posts of your best tutorials 
Posts that are simply your favorites

All of these are great ideas, how could I choose only one?  Well after about a hour of trying do decide on one topic I decided to write several different post over the last few days of the year.  Each with a different list of the best. Today's list is based upon you the readers.  I'll be sharing blog posts with the most views.  As many of you might have guessed giveaway posts almost always get more views and comments.  While I love the visitors and the comments on giveaway posts,they are not a true measure of my followers.  So they will be excluded from this list.  The next group of post that gets the most views is tutorials or free patterns.  It was no big surprise that 4 of the top 5 were tutorials or free patterns. So here's my list of the 5 blog post with the most views.  Starting with the smallest of the 5 first.

Attack of the scraps, posted on 2-19, 814 views.

In this post I share the starts of a new scrappy quilt for my spare bedroom.  I had a little giggle when checked on the progress of the quilt.  4 Blocks made!  Oh my, that's not real progress.  The plan was for a leader and ender project.  But I find the leader and enders a pain and they slow down the progress of the quilt I'm making.  So I think this leader and ender that has become a UFO needs to be completed in one big sewing marathon sometime soon.

2 HST's a Time, No Drawing lines, posted on 12-4, 938 views.

This is one of my more recent posts where I shared a quick and easy way to make half square triangles with a easy to make reusable template. 

Autumn Star Tutorial, posted on 10-23, 968 views

One of my favorite tutorials this year was the Autumn star.  This tutorial used some bonus 2.5" HST's leftover from my Podunk Plaid quilt pattern.  The quilt block could be easily resized to use any size HST.  It would also look super cute with scrappy HST's.

First Day of Spring, posted 3-20. 1096 views.  

In this post a follower has shared her quilt an very touching story about the quilt she made using my free Podunk Posy quilt pattern.  It's stories like this one that make everything I do in the quilting world worth every minute.

Bee Skep Pin Cushion, post 7-27, 5330 views.

This year I was a featured blogger for the Save the Bee's quilt along hosted by Jacquelynne Steves.  The cute bee themed blocks inspired so many cute sewing projects.  The Bee Skep was the one I just couldn't resist making.  It was a big hit.  And it's still free!

I hope you enjoyed this list of " The Best of 2018" and found a project or two to start out your New Year.  Check out the linky party over at Meadow Mist Designs for some great quilting inspiration.

#bestof2018 #podunkpretties #meadowmistdesigns 

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