Tuesday, December 10, 2013

A Year of Quilting : :

A Year of Quilting

Early last week we were chatting about our goals and plans for the new year when I mentioned that this year I have finished at least one quilt each month. There was a little pause and then Kevin said, teasing at first, "well, sounds like you should make a calendar!" I'm sure I laughed and then I thought of the blog readers & friends of mine who had suggested this too, and I remembered seeing that one of my favorite bloggers, Julie Williams of Little Cotton Rabbits had made a calender that was super cute and well done. So, why not? Besides all the quilt finishing, I definitely put an extra effort into taking special photos of each of my quilt finishes this year, a calender was beginning to seem like a great way to celebrate my hard work! A couple days passed, the calendar was beginning to slip away on my to-do list, and then I received a surprise & very sweet email from Jayme, who had just read my Making Rows Quilt blog post, struck up a conversation about shooting in snow, and offered to brighten my photos for me since she's a professional photographer. Of course I said, Sure! And the difference was very noticeable, she did a beautiful job, quickly!

Making Rows -- photo difference

I mentioned to her this calendar idea of mine, she was so encouraging and offered to help, and by late evening a calendar was finished!

A Year of Quilting

Matching up a quilt with each month was both the most fun and challenging part! Of course I had to make a few cuts and even forgot about some of my finished quilts altogether! Now that's a sign you've been busy!!

Inside the calender, you'll find  --

: :  January  : :

January

: :  February  : :

February

: :  March  : :

March

: :  April  : :

April

: :  May  : :

May

: :  June  : :

June

: :  July  : :

July

: :  August  : :

August

: :  September  : :

September

: :  October  : :

October

: :  November  : :

November

: :  December  : :

December

Posting my first calendar on my Facebook page and now here makes me feel a little nervous inside, but excited too! And more than anything just so incredibly grateful! For this space, for all of you who I get to share with, for the sweet & generous people like Jayme who I've met through it. It couldn't be more wonderful!!

If you happen to be interested in my calendar  -- they are 12 pages, they measure 12" x 16.5", are printed on high quality satin art paper, and are finished with a durable, white wire binding and hanger! You can find all the details right here! I'm so happy to have made these to gift to family & friends and to offer here for those of you who might like one, too!!

Now I have to ask...which month/quilt is your favorite? Feedback like this is exactly what I'd love to read heading into a new year of quilting! 

Thank you for joining me here and for supporting my work the way you do!    Maureen 

145 comments:

  1. Great idea! I really like April and August.

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  2. I really like April and November! :D

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  3. My favorite quilt/photo combo is March! Followed closely by November :) A beautiful calendar!!

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  4. August is my favorite. I want to make one to use up a lot of scraps. February is my 2nd fav.

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  5. I love them all, but, November is my favorite!

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  6. Photography speaking I like April and August the best.
    Quilt speaking December hands down!

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  7. Great idea to make a calendar. I did that once with photos of my dog. We were doing performance events so I had lots of professional photos to choose from. All your quilts are lovely but the photo for February just blew me off my feet. I'm oh so jealous of all those wonderful photo shoots.

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  8. Hi !
    I prefer April, because of the butterflies (round forms) contrasting with the more formal square pieces. Nice colors also. I'd like to see june a little more to compare ;)

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  9. you got a lot of quilting done this year didn't you!

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  10. They are all beautiful! It's hard to pick but I think April is my favorite.

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    1. I like March the best - but then I'm a traditionalist. Love your site/s. Thanks for a year of fun. I'm trying to set up my own blog etc.but the tech is tricky.

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  11. This is such a great idea and you should be proud on finishing so much this year, it's very impressive! Not sure how you do it all??!!

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  12. I love April and September. The quilts and settings are beautiful.

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  13. I like June and July the best. Although, they are all beautiful!

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  14. Beautiful quilts - August is my favorite!

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  15. Oh, i mostly like from February to August and then December, but when you put them on a calendar like this, they are all so pretty!!! great work!!! thanks for sharing!!

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  16. March and June are my favorites, but they are all gorgeous!

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  17. You are so full of inspiration, my goodness! My sister puts together a calendar every year for me and my parents that has photographs taken through the year on special gathering, occasions, and holidays, I think she uses Shutterfly. It's so nice to have! As a quilter and quilt lover, this is fabulous too. I'm surprised more designers don't do it! Great job!!

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  18. April, August and December are my FAVORITES! All your photos and quilts are amazing! Love the calendar. What a great idea!!!!

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  19. I LOVE June!!! Then comes August, Feb, March, and April. I love May's kids quilt too! It is one of my favorite kids quilts I have seen this year! All of your work is amazing and beautiful!! Beautiful calendar and congrats on accomplishing your goal of 1 quilt a month!!!

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  20. My favorite is October already purchased the pattern!

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  21. I can't pick a favorite but I have to say I love how the backgrounds change with the months... okay I guess I picked a favorite. July because it is so stark and the quilt with the gold looks so good with the sand.

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  22. Love them all but my fav's are August, April & June :) They are all beautiful Maureen and I love the calendar idea!!

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  23. it doesn't matter how many time i see these quilts, they still amaze me!!!! and thank you for including me in the process!!

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  24. such a great achievement, to make this many beautiful quilts in a year and then managing to take such beautiful pictures of them! I think the quilts are all stunning (the skull one is maybe a bit macabre for my taste, but still beautiful). My favourite is the June quilt closely followed by December and when it comes to the picture, I think February has the perfect backdrop for those stunning colours!

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  25. It's hard to choose one favorite, they are all gorgeous! And congrats on a quilt a month, I am lucky to get a quilt done a year! My favorites are February, April and December.

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  26. September is my favorite! Thanks for posting...now I remember I really wanted to try it. Beautiful work Maureen.

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  27. Pops meant August not September, but they are all nice!

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  28. A brilliant job matching quilt photos to the perfect month. My favorite photos are Feb, July and August. My favorite quilt is April's quilt.

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  29. April and December though the others are nice also

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  30. Your work is beautiful and so very inspiring! I love April the best.

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  31. They are all wonderful but I love June the best. Thank you for the inspiration.
    lindagutierrez9@yahoo.com

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  32. How wonderful, Maureen! They're all terrific, but April is my fave!

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  33. Lovely idea. I almost thought that the alphabet one was going to be September for back to school! They all look great.

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  34. April, May, June, and November... but they are all very pretty!!

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  35. Way to go! It's such a beautiful calendar. I hope you sell hundreds and hundreds of them!

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  36. April & August are my favorite. Great job!

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  37. Love Oct and Dec's photos. My favorite quilt is a tie between April and Dec.

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  38. July and August! I see what all have different choices too! I am so happy for you, it's such a great idea!

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  39. Wow, what an inspiration. I love your calendar. My favourite month is December. What a stunning quilt and stunning piece of photography too. Have a merry Christmas!

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  40. Maureen, this is just stunning!!! I know you take gorgeous pictures but to see them all together like this, wow!!!! What a beautiful gift indeed!! I am in love with everyone of those photographs, but I think December would be my favorite. Absolutely Amazing!!!

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  41. So hard to pick one or even a few, but I really admire June , oct. and nov., followed by August and April. I love all the detail in June! And the fabrics!!!

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  42. Genius!!! This is beautiful, Maureen, and your photography is incredible! I may love August best, but it's got a lot of competition. Well done!

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  43. Wonderful job! All the pictures are beautiful. I Like the January quilt best.

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  44. Well I can honestly say that I love them all. I will say for feedback purposes that the quilts photographed as a whole calendar makes me love them all. I never thought I would like the Oct style quilt, but...in a calendar with the beautiful photography representing that month it is great.
    I think my favorite of all the quilts and its great photography photo is Dec. It just looks so crisp and clear like I can feel the cold and snow and want to curl up with that quilt. :) Great spectacular job.

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  45. They are all nice but I love March the best. Wish I could do quilts like you do.

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  46. It is so hard to pick a favorite they are all beautiful. But I'll say July & August. July because the beach really shows off that gorgeous quilt and August because the country background shows off this quilt beautifully. But I have to say when I saw your October quilt posted back in October I was really impressed at your creativity in getting that photograph. Congratulations on your calendar!

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  47. LOVE this! I love them all.... I'm terrible at favorites and when you do such beautiful work I just can't pick a fave!!!! :)

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  48. April and June, except you did show all of the June quilt. That is my favorite one of your.

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  49. I like February, March and December (especially December!), which is really odd because those are all significant birthday months for me.

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  50. January, March, June, July, are my favorites. Can't see all of June, but it might be my favorite. After that would be January.

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  51. December is a strong quilt. Good one to finish the year with.

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  52. All so lovely but if I have to choose it would be January.

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  53. I like them all having a hard time choosing. Amazing quilts.

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  54. This turned out so gorgeous! What a fantastic and fun project. I really, really love that butterfly quilt. Good work!

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  55. My favorite quilt is February. I'm planning to make a similar one of my own soon. For photography, I love December, and also the effects of October. What a terrific calendar and super bunch of 2013 finishes!

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  56. It is so hard to pick a favorite they are all beautiful. I like January, April and July.

    January because I am a retired medical transcriptionist who started out on a typewriter, brings back wonderful memories, my how far we have come!

    April because I love-love-love Butterflies. They hold a very special significance in my life and remind me of loved ones who have passed (no matter what month when a family member has passed away I am always visited by a butterfly or two). While my heart has broken there is beauty in the flight of a butterfly reminiscent of life, not lost, but life renewed.

    Then July - where was I that I missed this one! I so like the geese colors, they seem to fly off the quilt!

    Wonderful job and CONGRATULATIONS!!!

    Looking forward to the coming year - Best wishes to you and your family for a very Merry Christmas!!


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  57. Maureen,

    As an aside, I've seen some calendars that provide the block sizes, etc. Are the instructions for each quilt included in the calendar? I've not followed the link yet, but I'm on my way :D

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  58. January - I've loved that quilt since I first saw it.

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  59. Yay, love it! Can I say January, April, August and September? ;o)

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  60. I just started following your blog from the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, and I'm so glad I did. Love these beautiful and inspirational quilt photos! What a great idea to make them into a calendar!

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  61. December is my favorite because I love snow! But I love all of your quilts and think making a calendar was ingenious!
    tstanulis@mac.com

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  62. Tough choice! I love your settings. They are nice, crisp pictures...but I think, if only one, it is the December with snow and trees!

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  63. All your quilts are beautiful but April's quilt really caught my eye.

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  64. July and December, more about the complexity of the quilts I think.

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  65. i love the august and january quilt the best

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  66. I love them all as they are all so unique and unscripted. The October picture and quilt are beautiful but the one that really stands out is December. Probably because I love winter/snow (I know I'm weird) but the quilt is beautiful against that backdrop. I love the strong colors and I love black in a quilt. Thanks for your inspiration and all the sharing you do here and on Facebook & Instagram.

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    1. Thank you so much, Janet! I think that one is my favorite too, because of the winter background scene and for how homey and cozy it makes me feel! This is really interesting to me that so many have chosen this one that seems so much more traditional to me than any of the other quilts I've shared. I think there is just something about that style, even when made with such modern fabric choses, that just makes a quilt so special!

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  67. That's a great idea! I really love the december quilt. It seems you've been too busy this year, waiting to see more quilts this next year

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  68. April, June, December. Thanks for sharing all your work with us throughout the year. It is always inspiring!

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  69. What a wonderful idea. A few years ago, when my kids grew up, I made a cookbook for them of all my favorite recipes of theirs and attached a calendar with everyone's birthdays marked appropriately on the calendar. They loved it and use it till this day.

    I can't decide if your April or July quilt is my favorite. I hope I am able to purchase one and that you do well with the sale of yours.

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  70. Great calendar!! My favorite is August.

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  71. Yay! Congrats! They are all so beautiful and the photography is breathtaking :-)

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  72. It's a hard call, but my favourites are April, July and December. They've all got something a little extra special going for them/

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  73. I like them all and April is my favourite- Lovely quilts

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    1. Thanks so much for chiming in Merrill, I'm keeping a tally of everyone's responses and I really appreciate the input!!

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  74. Thanks for sharing your year of quilts. All of them are beautiful. But my favorites (in order) are December, July, and August. I'm in awe of you quilters that have a knack of combining just the right fabrics to make such awesome quilts.

    Patti

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    1. Aw, thank you so much Patti! This year I would say that most of the quilts I made were created using a designers full collection. Since I work with a few fabric manufacturing companies, I often get sent fq bundles to use in my quilting projects. With Art Gallery Fabrics and Cloud9, I tend to create something using just the collection, without breaking it up or adding to it at all. I know some quilters frown on this, but I believe that if you really love a collection why not keep it together?! You're pretty much guaranteed to make something beautiful that you'll love if you already love the fabrics!

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  75. My favorite is August. I am planning on doing one just like it as soon as time permits.

    Happy Holidays Maureen.

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    1. Thanks so much Ginger! Be sure to share a photo of your quilt with me when you do! Thanks again!!

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  76. I can't pick a favorite one over any other because I'm loving them all and the scenery with each quilt is just amazing! What an awesome accomplishment to get that many quilts finished in one year too!

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  77. I have enjoyed seeing all of your quilts this year. You amaze and inspire me. I love them all, but I think my favorite is December, because it is so bold and unique.

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    1. Thanks so much for chiming in, I'm keeping a tally of everyone's responses and I really appreciate the input!!

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    1. Thank you, Kate! The two quilts you chose are the ones I made for my boys. I'm planning to take some photos of them all together next chance I get! I'll be sure to share those here!

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  79. June because I love Anna Maria Horner, but December is the most stunning! Great job! I love your quilts

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    1. Thank you! Yes, you definitely can't go wrong if you just stick with all AMH's!

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  80. They are all stunning Maureen but I like the starkness of January and the richness of December. I also like the one with the barn in the background. The quilts are gorgeous and so are the photos.
    Regards from Alberta,
    Anna

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    1. Thank you, Anna! The two quilts you chose are the ones I made for my boys. I'm planning to take some photos of them all together next chance I get! I'll be sure to share those here!

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  81. like them all but December awesome

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  82. They are all great but I can't decide between August and December.

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    1. Thanks so much for chiming it, I'm keeping a tally of everyone's responses and I really appreciate the input!!

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  83. they are stunning photos of amazing quilts - I love it. November is my favourite - just love the colour and all those autumn trees - something I miss living in the tropics.

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  84. wow this is such a cool idea! i still can't get over how much i love your April quilt but the photos on all of them are so great (July! October! argh so good!)

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  85. Love them all - December is so striking & I love this picture.

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  87. I'm torn between November and August... I love string quilts, and bargellos absolute fascinate me! I haven't gotten brave enough to attempt a bargello yet; am a fairly new quilter. LOVE the calendar!

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    1. Thanks Valerie! When I made my Sunset Quilt I didn't even know what Bargello quilts were? A Facebook reader of mine mentioned the name and I had to Google. My pattern is very simple to the ones I saw when I was discovering that style of quilting -- there are so many complex and amazing versions!

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  88. I got a giggle seeing the legs sticking out from underneath March's quilt.

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  89. I got a giggle seeing the legs sticking out from underneath March's quilt.

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  91. What a great Idea!
    December and april are my favorites.

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  92. What a hard choice. I like February best. Makes me think a quilt a month and I could do my own calendar too! hahaha!

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  93. They are all gorgeous but January, July & August are my most favorites.
    peace & love,
    Barb

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  94. I love them all, but my fave is April. I just love the butterflies, flowers and stained glass windows together! How exciting to have a calender showcasing your beautiful work!

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  95. It's pretty hard to pick just one. I am fond of January and also August. Could be because I am contemplating a grey,white and black quilt for my 22 yr old grandson and have some issues deciding and making a string quilt has been on my bucket list for a long time. They are all awesome. Wonderful job.

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  96. June is my favorite! It is really beautiful!

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  97. Great idea to make a calendar. June and August are my faves and June definitely comes first given all the different techniques used and the percentage of hand work involved. Thanks for sharing your lovely work this year - hope to see lots more next year too! :)

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  98. This is an awesome idea! I love all the quilts and seeing the seasons go by... Beautiful! Shows your hard work and great taste in quilts and pictures. Congratulations!

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  99. Lovely idea Maureen - and such beautiful quilts to fill the pages :)

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  100. I like April and September, great year of quilts though.

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  101. All your quilts are lovely and amazing, but I think February is my fave! I love the fabric.

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  102. Maureen, I absolutely love your calander & went to checkout through paypal... unfortunately I can't justify $12 for shipping to Utah. Let me know if you have a different shipping method or promo to come. mariamiller81@aol.com

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  103. I love them all and the calendar looks great. My favorites are April and December.

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  104. love may if i had to choose, but they are all wonderful!!

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  105. I like April. Butterflies and lots of colours. Great Idea .

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  106. August and October! All great work, wonderful photos and a great year end idea.

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  107. this is so fabulous!! March and december are my fav! but really this december quilt has my heart!!:)

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  108. October, your Rock and Romance Skull Quilt rocks and love the graveyard background!

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