2024 in review

Some of this year's fave quilts!

I've been pondering this post for a few days. Possibly in that I published novels this year, woot woot! The quilting felt luke-warm until I scrolled through photos, which revealed I'd made ten quilts, all simple patchwork save an English paper pieced finish. Another woot for that, as well as only three of them remaining at my house, lol.

2024 was a year of.... Change. No kidding! I had covid for the first time, which sidelined half of summer. My sewing machine has never been under cover for as many WEEKS as it was, and still is. The defeat of Kamala Harris was, and still is, gut-wrenching, yet the passing of Jimmy Carter could mitigate the agenda of the incoming administration if people choose to honor selflessness and service to others over narcissism and greed.

We'll see what happens.

Yet this post is not about the future. This entry regales what doesn't go in our Christmas/Hanukkah letter sent to family and friends. To them I mention I still write and sew, glossing over details. To you, dear Reader, I give the low-down, insert winking emoji here (followed by a facepalm for good measure).

Books first, because in my crafty life novels emerged before quilts: While I managed scant writing (other than this blog, to which I remain exceedingly faithful LOL), I released three books, two of which are a new series! A Love Story and Life Stories fall under The Enran Chronicles (of which two more novels are awaiting release, hehehe), a sci-fi/women's fiction mashup steeped in life right here on Earth.

This series was inspired by cathartic prose after the death of my brother-in-law in early 2023, and while I haven't added to it this year, I have deeply considered the plot, which matters when a saga's scope is, um, several installments. Check it out if you like science fiction, women's fiction, chick lit or some amalgamation of those genres!

Then there is The Hawk. Oh my goodness, 2024 could also be called The Year of The Hawk, as I spent many months reading through that saga. Not going to dissect my love for sagas (another post entirely), yet I'm currently hip-deep in two of them. Thankfully The Hawk is fully finished, the first installment released earlier this month, Give Her My Love. If magical realism, 1960s historical fiction, and women's fiction are your thrill, here's a tale that won't disappoint. And like all my ebooks, these are FREE!

Needless to say, REVISIONS were my authorial focus this year. Which is FINE, in that not every year can I write new fiction. All to emerge on that front were three middling chapters of what might be resurrected for The Enran Chronicles. Because when you're wrapped up in an amazing (if I do say so myself) tale of those altering form and the resulting drama, it's hard to find time to write, 'nuff said.

As for the sewing.... Other than finished the MARVELOUS Cornflower Quilt (pictured above), my fabric passions were satisfied by simple patchwork. Which sounds wholly undramatic, yet baby quilts were a joy to make, completing my husband's comforter a relief (as it has been waiting patiently for my attention), then there were two near the end of the year that captured my heart. One was for our postmistress, who went above and beyond the call to rescue a package (of fabric and paper pieces no less).

This quilt used much of a stack of 4.5 inch squares and was a design I'd been eager to make! What a great combination, especially when gifted to someone with a large heart who LOVES quilts, which I didn't know until she opened it and gushed with delight. Now that makes this maker's heart pound with joy!

The other thrill is incomplete, but FINALLY I returned to working on Alexandria, an EPP project started two years ago, then set aside (kind of like The Enran Chronicles, ahem, so just be patient with yourself there Miss Writer!) due to other shinies muscling into the arena. I've spent the last six weeks hand-stitching my heart to rapturous crafty joy, and am eager to continue the excitement. Something about hand-sewing brings me utter pleasure, so we'll see how long the sewing machine remains under cover.

Then there is my Bluesky account. Suffice to say I am fully enmeshed in it, which is good, also strange because I previously didn't have a Twitter account. Dabbling in that element of social media is the result of threatened democracy and a need to reach out to others feeling the same sense of WTF. And that's all I'm gonna note on that subject.

All things considered, it was a physically healthy year, after I incorporated twice-daily stretches to alleviate hip/back/knee pain, as well as saying adios to gluten, once I found how badly it affects my achy hip, back, and knee. Covid left me with no long-term complications, whew! Emotionally has been a different story, mostly due to the election, but I'm feeling less anxious for what will emerge, trying to rely more on grace and love. Maybe Jimmy Carter's death will have an impact, highlighting what matters most, not money or power but people.

Mr. Carter Quilt in progress....

People matter and people have hearts, and my jewel-based heart quilt which has also tightly wrapped itself around my stitching hands will be called my Mr. Carter Quilt to honor a person who truly realized the best elements of life are those not concerned with who we are and what we want but what others need. If I can harness that devotion to serve others, then it won't matter how much writing is accomplished in the coming year or how many quilts are made. A happy, honest, authentic existence cannot be focused on self. It must reach outward, into places thought beyond our abilities, trusting in strength that emerges from Love. Wishing you a safe celebration as 2024 comes to a close, and a most peaceful, joyous new year!