Farewell 2015, Hello 2016!

Earlier in December when Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs announced the Best of 2015 Linky Party I wondered if I would even have 5 posts by the end of year considering my first post was December 3rd. This month I have published 11 posts including this one, all having one common thread...

Link Parties! 

I have participated in only a few of the link parties, but there is a great list of quilting and craft link parties at Quilt Along.net.  I found a great post written my Mandy at House of Rose about the benefits of link parties and how to link up. Here are my most popular posts with linkups.

Best of (December) 2015 Posts

5.  I linked to Molli Sparkles with Sunday Stash 4 times with Sunday Stash #1 showcasing Blueberry Park by Karen Lewis receiving the most views.

4.   My very first post linked up to Throwback Thursday with Jenn @ A Quarter Inch From with a Christmas wall hanging, The Greatest Gift, made in 2013.

3.  I participated in the ever popular biannual event, Giveaway Day on December 9th, hosted by Sew, Mama, Sew!  In the past, I have entered the giveaways for fabric, patterns and homemade items and have even won before.  So for me to give something away this time was exciting.  My blog gained over 60 followers on Bloglovin' alone and many on my Instagram account also.

2.  Fridays and Saturdays are popular for showing off your finished projects and linking up to  Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday, Link-A-Finish Friday, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Friday, Fabric Frenzy Friday, Finish It Up Friday and Show Off Saturday.  The mini Christmas Tree I made is the second most viewed finish.  I was thrilled when Lindsay at Fort Worth Fabric Studio included my quilt on Fabric Frenzy Friday Features.

Christmas Tree on the door of the Clock Tower in downtown Easley, SC

1.  The most viewed page with over 1,000 views was Witco's Daisies which was specifically made for the EZ Quilting triangle challenge for QuiltCon West.  It is my favorite finish of 2015 even though it is labeled a #QuiltConReject.  (I can not be upset, I had two other quilts juried into the show.)

Witco's Daisies by Paige Alexander

Thank you and credit goes to Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts and her Finish It Up Friday link up for generating the most traffic.  While writing this post, my all time pageview history exceeded 5,000.  I really do not know if that is a decent number or not, but it is fun to look at the stats page and see number of page views and where the visitors are from, like Belarus and the Netherlands.

2015 Quilting Accomplishments

There are 3 other quilting accomplishments for which I am proud of for 2015.

1.  In February at QuiltCon 2015 in Austin, Texas, my Michael Miller fabric challenge, After Dinner Mints, received 2nd place in the challenge category.  Thank you for Michael Miller Fabrics sponsoring the challenge and Elizabeth Hartman for making the awesome ribbons.

After Dinner Mints at Quiltcon 2015 with 2nd Place fabric challenge ribbon

2. I was a member of the The National Quilting Association and entered their nonjuried quilt show a few times.  With NQA you always received an entry evaluation with comments by three certified judges giving the strengths and areas of improvement for your quilt which was most helpful in helping one become a better quilter.  At their 46th annual (and final) quilt show which took place in June in Little Rock, Arkansas, my quilt, Variegated, received an honorable mention in the modern quilt category. (There ribbons were beautiful.)

Honorable Mention ribbon received for Variegated at NQA quilt show June 2015

I was saddened to receive the final letter by email from NQA today. The National Quilting Association will be dissolving in 2016 and was a nonprofit organization run by quilters for quilters.  You can read about their history here.  On a positive note, the certified judges program will be continued through the newly formed National Association of Certified Quilt Judges.

3.  I am excited to be apart of the The Modern Quilt Guild.  Until this year I was an individual member but in July was instrumental in the formation of the local Greenville MQG chapter and currently serve as treasurer.  We are excited and have planned out the 2016 year.

2016 Blogging and Quilting Goals

Blogging Goals

• Photography - One of my favorite things about looking as blogs is the photography and I want to post great photographs.  I plan to go through a Craftsy class in my library, Basics of Digital Photography.
• Write and post at least one tutorial
• Participate in the 2016 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop
• Develop a brand identify starting with a logo

Quilting Goals

• Make one Quilt of Valor (I have a recipient in mind)
• Make at least one charity quilt for my local traditional guild
• Complete the Midnight Mystery Quilt hosted by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs
• Continue to create a monthly block for the Everything Old Is New Again Block and Quilt Challenge sponsored by Modern Quilts Unlimited and complete a quilt with the finished blocks
• Write and publish a quilt pattern 
• Participate in at least one online quilt or block swap

It was fun to glance back at 2015 and am looking forward to see what 2016 holds for quilting and sharing it here.  Thank you for coming along with me on this quilting journey.

Linking up to Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs for the Best of 2015 Linky Party and Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl for the 2016 Planning Linky Party.