2023 in review

-
Not quite finished, but certainly the last quilt of this year.

Books, blog posts, quilts, English paper piecing.... My creative life was awash with words and colour, fabrics and chapters. Not the series I though twelve months ago I would write, but then life turns into the passing of a life and my life took a turn too.

Twelve months cannot be summed up within one entry. I could denote the novels written, but I'm still not ready to spring titles from purgatory, lol. What I will say is I plan to release the first installment soon-ish. Like perhaps February. We'll see what happens between now and then.

I will also say that spending a year writing was marvelous; I didn't expect it, allowing these characters and ALL THEIR DRAMA to fill my brain and nerve endings in a manner that eased a tumultuous death in my family. A year ago.... No, I can't go there. Because now is all we have and now is slipping away with every sentence I type.

A sample of my sewing/crocheting accomplishments!

As for the quilts.... I made a dozen, plus two tops, one of which is basted and waiting for time at my machine. The other is buried under fabric, ahem, waiting for its turn in the basting queue. The quilts I made weren't huge; five of them were large lap-sized. The other seven ranged in size from medium to, well, medium. Some were simple patchwork, some were artsy, some were rainbow-themed. All of them made me happy, and most of them were given away. I think I kept two, which is exactly how it should be or the quilts could stage a coup and boot us out of the house.

In the English paper piecing department.... Early on I discarded the Alexandria quilt, then concentrated on Cornflower blocks that as of right now are stitched together in rows, a big win! I futzed around with some Mandolin and Ice Cream Soda blocks, stitched random hexie flowers, made quite a few appliqued Onesies for parents to dress their new babies in, as well as crocheting baby blankets for said infants. And I made several cowls with yarn, enjoying the ease with which that hobby travels.

I did some traveling, always with sewing tagging along for the ride. I'm considering taking the writing along in 2024, or rather the revisions. I have some big plans, no idea if they'll come to fruition. Maybe in a year I'll remark whether or not that worked.

We have yet to endure a hard frost, which means my nasturtiums on the back steps continue to flower, woo hoo!

Gardening was a bust for me this year, other than random flowers that brought great pleasure. My husband did well with green beans and strawberries, although the snap peas were kinda meh.

Mostly I wrote. And sewed. And got to see a lot of my family, which also calmed my soul, and tired me out, lol! I'm not the same person I was when the grandkids started arriving nearly nine years ago, but that's fine because change is necessary, as well as beneficial, even when it hurts like hell. The beginning of the year was an emotional mess, but 2023 is finishing up rather peacefully. And for that I'm grateful. I'm also thankful for you, dear Readers, and wish for you a joyous and calm start to the new year.

Popular posts from this blog

Good to be home

-
Image
This Mandolin block was waiting for me last night; I added four perimeter diamonds and it was finished! Subsequent pics are all EPP made during our holiday. Despite a head cold that emerged late Monday/early Tuesday, our holiday was marvelous! I add this disclaimer because right now I feel pretty crappy, so if this post rambles, it's due to my current state of health. Ice Cream Soda block My goodness, there is a lot I want to say, perhaps the best way to get back into the blogging swing is to eke out bits here and there. The Gee's Bend Quilts Collection was AMAZING! Thirteen quilts were on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art , beautiful comforters I never thought I might see in person. All were hand-quilted, most were completely hand-stitched. Designs, colors, and purpose made me grateful for my minor contributions to the quilting world, as well as causing me to wonder at future projects and ponder my fabric stash. Much food for thought at that deeply touching exhibit, wh...
Read more

Always good to be home

-
Image
  Heading west on I-580, just having crossed over a lengthy bridge. My goodness, where has the time gone? I've been back for two days, but no moment has been free to post here. I enjoyed a lovely getaway with an old friend, some warm temps, and an environment wholly altered to where I live. All in all, a terrific holiday, and now guests are arriving, which will probably preclude my usual flow of entries, although I truly am hoping to release my next book VERY SOON, lol. Getting out of one's routine is full of positives, the sense of adventure, especially when going somewhere new. Spending time with a pal from the the past enhanced the sojourn, much over which to chat. She knew our locale well, for which I was grateful. And I didn't miss my hexie box at all, instead spending my downtime reading one of my old novels, again falling in love with the sense of writing merely for my own pleasure. Our impending visitors will preclude me from diving into the prose, but I'm certa...
Read more

Earthquake recovery

-
Image
Records and box sets spilled out, blocking the door to a closet. An unexpected beginning to our day yesterday; at 2.34 am a 6.4 quake roughly stirred us from bed. In all my years dwelling in California, I have never experienced such turbulence, and boy howdy, this one packed a punch. Several striking memories remain, reaching for my bedside phone, but finding it had been tossed to the floor along with a small bookcase. Putting on shoes as a 4.6 aftershock rumbled through. Locating my computer tower on the floor next to my desk (spoiler alert; once power was restored at 8 pm, both my machine and my husband's were just fine!). A large bookshelf was toppled, vinyl albums flung from shelves in the living room, a few dishes scattered on the floor. Several framed photos had fallen, but only two sported cracked glass, one from which I was able to extricate the picture. No structural damage to our knowledge, and we had hot running water and a generator going all day. For all that could hav...
Read more