2023 in Review

I spent some time today looking back at 2023 to remind myself of all the things I’ve accomplished. I like doing this sometimes – I so rarely take time to celebrate my achievements. It is so much easier to look at my to-do list and mourn the things I didn’t finish. Today I’m going to toot my own horn a tiny bit. Here it is – my 2023 in Review.

January

My 2023 Creative Hand Stitching Journey kicked off, and has been 12 months of fun, sharing my love of embroidery with my students. I absolutely adore the stitch book I made as part of the class, and am excited about making another one for 2024.

I started the year in our new condo in Florida. Jeremy’s plan is to ease into retirement. Step one was buying a home in SW Florida and enjoying it whenever we can now until it becomes our full time home. This is a challenge for me – I don’t do well managing two spaces. I’ve grown to love it, though.

I taught Kawandi style Quilting virtually – my favorite class to teach.

My monthly project series with AccuQuilt launched. I designed a small project to do each month of the year, with the goal of filling the Santa Stocking I made in January. 12 Months of Holiday Gifts was fun, and I won’t be doing that again.

February

Thomas Knauer released two books, both of which featured a lot of my machine quilting. My first time having my work in a book, and I got 2 at once!

I released a mini-zine pattern for a biscornu pin cushion. The reel of me folding the paper was seen by 13,460 people. This is 13,460 more people than usually see my reels. The Gram (Instagram) wants me to fold paper I guess, but I’m going to have to say no to that. The interwebs is a confusing place.

I co-hosted a virtual retreat with Gotham Quilts, and had a great time. We played with Sensational Quilts for Scrap Lovers by Judy Gauthier. The book is very cool, although her brain works differently from mine sometimes, so some of the patterns require reading out loud.

I taught and lectured for the Country Road Quilter’s Guild in Ocala, FL. My first time teaching Kawandi in person, and it was a blast!

QuiltCon! I worked with Deb Fisher of Fish Museum and Circus in her booth. What an amazing look behind the scenes. It was also fun listening to folks discuss my Big Kawandi quilt, which was hanging in the show.

March

I worked up a pillow size version of my Lorelei quilt for Threadsome Patterns. This is my favorite version – I’m obsessed with this color of Essex Linen, and it looks so good with the blue and purple felt.

I taught Kawandi Style Quilting and embroidery classes virtually.

I made several projects for AccuQuilt. A fox stuffie from wool felt, and several Christmas tree skirts. These projects are always a little confusing for me – I make them, write the patterns, then forget I did them. Then, three months later AccuQuilt launches them, and they look vaguely familiar to me. This went on all year.

April

I played with EPP and modified a flower petal to make it look more like a cherry blossom, inspired by my flowering cherry tree.

We went back home to New Jersey, so it was back into the longarm studio. I did some quilts for Mom, learned to hand stitch leather to fix my favorite dog leash, and repaired my brother’s tool belt.

May

I jumped into the Summer Lovin’ Seaglass Sew Along with Kitty Wilkins and Allie McCathren, and rather than do the SAL, I made the top before the SAL started. I’m not great with Sew Alongs.

I taught Virtual Kawandi Style Quilting.

I designed a quilt using AccuQuilt, made it, played with embroidery embellishments, did a big stitch binding, and did 90% of the work to release the pattern. And then I never touched it again. Don’t worry, though, because I found someone to help me finish my patterns, so I have a release coming soon-ish.

June

I started my 100 days of wool texture project, including releasing a free block pattern with Threadsome Patterns. I kept it up for 34 days. A record for me! Again, I don’t like sew alongs – I like to focus on one thing until I’m done with it, either finished or bored. If I try to hold myself back I get bored faster. ADHD anyone?

I turned 50. That created a lot of cognitive dissonance.

We (Gotham Quilts) launched a project I’m so passionate about. Thread Talks is our monthly virtual lecture series and it has been fantastic. I get to hire my quilting heroes and learn from them every month. (Irene Roderick is presenting next month!)

I designed an EPP quilt for AccuQuilt, then went on to design another because I liked the shapes so much. That one should release this year, if I ever finish it.

July

Welcomed CJ, the 8 week old mini dachshund into the house. Learned the true meaning of both chaos and exhaustion. Learned that family members who profess excitement over puppy and willingness to help with puppy mean they will help for 15-20 minutes, unless she is sleeping. Then the monster is mine again. Realized that I will be replacing all of the carpets in my house once she is fully potty trained.

Made sample blocks for Lovely Day, Gothams recent BOM project. Remembered that I adore needle turn appliqué.

Used my AccuQuilt to make dog beds for Oscar, CJ and Otto. Used Cuddle Fabric indoors. Won’t do that again. To be clear – I will use Cuddle again, I just won’t be cutting it inside my house. Holy smokes, the fibers are still all over the place after much cleaning for five months.

August

Assembled and quilted the Lovely Day Sample for Gotham Quilts. Woohoo!

I was diagnosed with diabetes, but you heard that story already. Learned to eat salad the right way from Bobbi Gentili. Her advice of not eating all of the “good stuff” first was life changing. Always save a crouton for your last bite.

I taught Kawandi Style Quilting by hand and by machine at Stitchfest in Lancaster, PA! My first time teaching at a show, and it was a very cool experience. (I’ll be back in the area this April for A Quilter’s Destination. More on that later) Family was very happy to get CJ’s handler back.

Made a Chunky Wee Bag using Splash Fabrics Laminated Cotton. What a cool project! And a great pattern from Sam Hunter.

Finally assembled some pages for my Creative Hand Stitching Journey Stitch Book.

September

Taught Kawandi Style Quilting virtually.

Recorded Kawandi Style Quilting On-Demand videos. Want to learn how to make Kawandi style quilts at your own pace? Head over to Gotham Quilts to sign up.

October

Taught Improv in a Framework for the Warwick Valley Quilt Guild.

Launched Kawandi Style Quilting On-Demand course.

Launched a Color Catcher Quilt Along. Totally lost my mojo on this one. Whoops – sorry guys. Any future sew alongs will be pre-recorded and written before I announce them.

Presented my “Quilter’s Lessons Learned” lecture to the Keystone Quilter’s Guild in PA.

Attended the QuiltPro retreat hosted by Purple Moose Quilting in New Hampshire, with my friends Lissa, Cassandra and Penny. What a great time.

Spent several Friday’s working at Gotham Quilts, as they closed down the brick and mortar shop. The end of one era, beginning of the next.

November

Helped get the new space set up for Gotham Quilts. Knocked down a wall. Felt amazing. I highly recommend knocking down walls for stress relief. Just wear good shoes, safety glasses, and make sure it isn’t load-bearing. Also, go get yourself some girlfriends who enjoy doing the same crazy stuff you do, whatever that is. A day with Andrea and/or Ivete is always a good day.

I graduated from SNHU with my BA in General Studies! It took me 30 years, and I’m finally a college graduate.

December

I wrapped up my 12 Months of Christmas blogs with AccuQuilt. I’m frankly astonished that I kept up with the projects all year. It was fantastic, though. I wish I had had a recipient in mind when I started, though. Instead, all of this stuff is sitting in my studio.

I used the Christmas Tree Skirt die to make a giant fan quilt for the Morris Mist Blog Tour. I love finding other things to do with my AccuQuilt dies.

CJ got spayed, which was supposed to mean a week of low-key hanging out with a puppy who didn’t feel good. Instead it was 24 hours of low-key hangout followed by three days of trying to control an insane puppy who was feeling fine. CJ wonders why any of us keep our uteruses, and I agree. I got rid of mine ages ago, and it’s fantastic. It took me more than 24 hours to feel better, though.

We ended the year with a 2 day drive from New Jersey to Florida, arriving in time to receive a special project for Deb Fisher for her Quilt Con booth. I’ll be at QuiltCon this year – day 1 in the Fish Museum and Circus booth, remaining days with Gotham Quilts. Come say Hi!

TahDah!

Wow. I’ve done a lot this year, and this is just what I’m seeing on Instagram and in my invoices. There has been a lot more work for AccuQuilt, but that is hard to keep track of. Some of these months have a huge amount of work done, and I had thought I didn’t do much this year. Do yourself a favor – go back through your calendar and do your own 2023 in Review. Give yourself a victory lap. You deserve it.