New Year's Eve - A Year in Review

I know that most of us are ready to say goodbye to 2020, and I totally get that. But, I always try to find the positive in things and today is no different. So, here are just a few things for which I am thankful about 2020.

1) Lynn and Ty welcomed Jordyn and Jayme to their family April 24th. Lynn and Ty are both teachers and the fact that the pandemic caused a shutdown of the schools, both of them were able to stay home after the birth. They entire family - all seven of them - were home together, every day until school started up again in the Fall. What a blessing! 💗 💗 💗 💗 💗 💗 💗

2) Jack and I have spent almost every day together since the shutdown - and we still like each other. 😂 Seriously, it was wonderful to spend so much time together. It was nice to slow down and talk, to prepare meals together, to discuss books, quilts, etc. We were mindful to take time and "smell the roses," as they say. Even after a terrible rain storm, we took time to enjoy the rainbow and it's awesome colors. 

3) It was a rough year medically around here. Jack's back surgery that was originally scheduled in March was postponed until June. That went well and all was good until the third week in July when he fell (swatting a wasp) and broke his ankle. That was rough, but I was home and helped with his recovery. We were even able to have a sense of humor during all of this. We have wonderful friends and family who wanted to be sure that we kept laughing. 

Yep! That's a can of wasp spray that mysteriously showed up on our doorstep.  hahaha

There's a joke in my family about my talking, (I do a lot of it!) and that taffy will help with that. I was taught to not talk with food in my mouth, so if someone wants me to stop talking, they hand me taffy. The same person who sent the wasp spray also send this package to Jack. Laugh all you want. It was delicious!

We were blessed with wonderful home health care providers during the whole ordeal. We were also blessed with family and friends who helped out. Every call, letter, card, etc. was a virtual hug and I know for certain that it has helped put things in perspective and has helped the healing process.

Healing is continuing, and we are so grateful for the health that we have. 

We are blessed!

4) I love to teach classes and we all know how that didn't happen much, right? This pandemic forced me to try new things. I joined forces with Dawn at Chestnut Ridge Sewing and organized and ran some Facebook sew alongs. I'd talked about doing that for quite some time, but never took the time to make that happen. That was fun and I'm working on more of those. 

  

 

5) I had the opportunity to meet (social distancing, of course) a few amazing quilt designers Krista Moser, Tammy Silvers, Christa Watson, and Janine Babich to name a few. 

    

This quilt is very special to me. It is my version of Krista Moser's Rockn' Roller Coaster, using Tammy Silvers Kismet fabric line. I was honored to meet and spend three days with both of these awesome ladies back in September during the much-revised Ohio's Amish Country Quilt Festival. I knew that I wanted to create something special from that time together and this is the result. I always find it amazing how something as simple as rotating a block or quilt can make a big difference. 

 

6) I joined a number of sew alongs and enjoyed every single one of them. There are lots of pictures one earlier blog posts and on my Facebook page, so I'm not going to repeat them here.

7) I tested a lot of patterns for designers this year and sewed some samples for others. I am blessed to be trusted by Rachel Rossi, Tammy Silvers, and Myra Barnes. I look forward working with these ladies in 2021 and sharing their amazing designs. (Like the pictures about the other sew alongs, there are lots of pictures previously posted. Be sure to check them out.) 

8) Most recently, our Christmas celebration was a little different than usual, but it was still wonderful. Spending time with family is extra special when it hasn't been able to happen often. 

We even took time to make and enjoy some Grinch Punch. 

I'm still sewing and working on lots of projects. Some UFOs have been finished, while others have been set aside once again. I've started and finished some new projects, including this little cutie. (I don't have a button for the center, but I still think it's cute.) 

What's to come in 2021?

Tomorrow will see the 2021 Color Challenge begin and I'm thrilled to be participating in that again. Jen of Patterns by Jen does such a great job with this and is quite clever with how she introduces the color each month. This year, she is using fruits and vegetables as the color inspiration. What fun!!

There is so much more to look forward to and I am choosing focus on that. 

I am choosing to challenge myself in my quilting. I am going to step out of my self-imposed box and try new things. I'm going to try new techniques, use more color, and learn to be more creative overall.

I'm choosing to work hard at being more organized in all aspects of my life. This will be a major undertaking, but I am being realistic in my expectations. I'm going to learn that saying "No" is totally acceptable.  

And finally, I am choosing to not take myself too seriously. Actually, I've already started that. Just imagine how I felt when I was getting ready for bed the other night and took off my earrings only to find that these were the earrings that I had been wearing ALL DAY LONG!  

I decided that had anyone said anything about the two different earrings, I was going say the same thing that I tell students. I don't make mistakes, I make design changes. I was choosing to make a fashion statement.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the end of 2020 and the hopes you have for 2021.

Thanks for spending 2020 with me! 

Happy New Year!