It seems kind of silly to do this post. I only posted 6 times this entire year. But it's important to me to keep a record of the year this way, so here goes. You can click on the blue headings for links to my five projects.
Placemats 1 I made 7 placemats at the beginning of the year (donated to Meals on Wheels in the spring). I made them from Bear Paw blocks mostly constructed in 2020 during the pandemic.
Front Door Quilt Redux I made over a decorative quilt that I had made in 2022. You can read about how I changed the quilt and why if you wish.
Farm Quilt This was my favorite project of the year. I pieced it based on two photos I took in the 1970s. If I were to focus on just one type of quilt, this would be it. I love doing landscape quilts pieced with the methods of Ruth B McDowell, my favorite designer/quilt book author.
Billie-inspired Quilt I made this quilt with a charm pack I bought on vacation supplemented with fabrics I had on hand. I donated it to an organization that provides therapy to mothers experiencing postpartum mental health challenges. It was inspired by a photo of the Billie quilt showcased in the Foundry section of the Quiltfolk magazine website. This photo--not part of my original post--was taken after washing it, which reminds me that I need to update the blog post with the washed dimensions of the quilt.
Placemats 2 These three placemats are like bookends to match my first project of the year. I made them during autumn to start my batch of Meals on Wheels placemats for donation during the collection next spring.
What a lot has happened to rock our world during the time between these two sets of placemats. This has been my least productive sewing year ever since I began this blog more than 11 years ago, and I am sure that that has much to do with my state of mind. While I have had many spots of joy, the year has felt heavy indeed, and sewing did little to distract me or build resilience. There was always that background of discouragement, and so, as much as I have always resisted goal setting, it is easy to see that my goal for the new year needs to be changing my mindset and working harder to use my hobby to build myself up and support others.
I'm linking up to Cheryl's Best of 2025 Linky Party over at Meadow Mist designs.
I do wish you all a happy, healthy new year. Let us all hope for peace, mercy, justice, and love, and do what we can to contribute in 2026.
2 comments:
I'm happy to see an end of the year post from you, JanineMarie! Your placemats made from the bear paw blocks are so fun, and I know they are appreciated. I love your barn landscape quilt, too. You should definitely make more of those. So many of us are discouraged and disheartened by the current state of our country - it definitely affects my sense of well-being. You are not alone in that!
The Farm Quilt is my favourite too! I do hope you get back into sewing more, even just quick little makes, or join in with RSC and make a block or two a month. :-) I allow myself one newscast from CBC per day, usually the noon one, as I have the radio or stream on pretty much all day. I have a remote handy that I grab and hit 'off' for the other hourly 4-minute newscasts, or hit 'off' on my phone if it's streaming. I will scan the headlines, usually four across the top of their site, because CBC is my homepage, but rarely do I read an article, or a full one. I have curated my private Instagram so it's maybe filled with about 20 good accounts, animals, positive thoughts type ones, and staying off Instagram (I go on once a day unless I am posting something) all have made a big difference.
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