Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

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Hi friends!

Merry Christmas! Another year is winding down, and I’ve continued writing here for another year. Thanks for following along and more so, thanks for those of you who leave comments. I love hearing your insight and tips! You come with so much experience, and I’m truly enjoying connecting with others who love to create too.

Our Christmas festivities are winding down in our home. I’m ready to take the tree down and have the additional space back in our living room. We had some great fun these last couples weeks. We also had some hard memories to face. Holidays bring out the best of emotions, don’t they?

Before I go on about how much I enjoy this little space on the internet and what my plans are for 2019, I want to show you a bit of quilt block inspiration from James and Gracie on Etsy. They hosted a giveaway on their Instagram feed a couple weeks ago, and I was the fortunate one to gain a festive decoration for Christmas. 🙂

Amanda, the owner of James and Gracie, is exceedingly sweet, and I encourage you to check out her creations.

The year is coming to a close. Like most of us do around this time, we ponder the year behind us and the year ahead of us. If you spend much time on my blog, you may realize I don’t spend a lot of time here.

I post, on average, once a week. Usually I post on Monday mornings. I post on Instagram usually once or twice a week.

Last January, I said that 2017 was the year I became a quilter. I think that was true. I remember going back to the basics that year. I didn’t know why my points weren’t lining up, and I was always having some sort of frustrating hang up on everything I made.

I solved most of my quilting ‘problems’ in 2017.

2018 was a year of joyful sewing. My points do line up, and my projects don’t always end up frustrating me in some way or another. My heart has not lost its desire to sew or create.

I still love to browse fabrics. I don’t buy as much fabric as I used to. I quickly learned I can’t sew as fast as my eyes think I can. 🙂 My favorite projects are still large quilts for my family.

This little place on the internet comes with no deadlines and no pressure. It’s been a joy meeting some of you and learning from so many of you. I plan to continue writing and encouraging and maybe inspiring a few of you.

What are my plans for 2019?

1. Finish my quilts in progress.

I’m hand quilting my half-square triangle quilt right now. My husband has been reading to our boys most evenings. I sit in my rocking chair stitching away. I thoroughly enjoy having a project to pursue while be physically present with the family.

I’m losing interest in my Dresden Plate quilt, but my stubbornness really wants me to finish it this year!

My Outback Wife fabric covers our couch most of the time right now. My eventual plan is to sew a whole cloth quilt with it. Maybe I’ll finish it this year. I still absolutely love the Outback fabric.

I have a stack of Cotton & Steel fabric that will hopefully be cut apart and sewn back together into a two by four quilt. I think this quilt will go together relatively quickly.

2. Continue posting here on Monday mornings.

I enjoy having a schedule. As long as I don’t waste away my spare time on social media, I have the margin in my life to continue this online record of my quilting journey.

3. More pillow covers for my Etsy Shop.

I’ve never spent much time focusing on my Etsy Shop. I love the thrill of finishing a pillow cover. They’re enjoyable to make, and I can finish them so much faster than a quilt.

My husband’s aunt gave me a nice tall stack of older quilt books a while back. Some of them are on the verge of vintage. I’ve flipped through them multiple times longing to sew a few of those blocks with my favorite scrappy fabric combinations.

Considering our living room is overrun with pillows already, my only option is to continue making them and listing them. 🙂

4. Continue posting sporadically on Instagram.

Sporadically? Yes, just a couple times a week at most. I noticed a pattern this last year related to Instagram. I don’t spend an immense amount of time on it. The days I post though? I spend way more time on Instagram.

This just wasn’t pairing well with my goals to have my phone out of sight in the mornings and afternoons.

That’s about it here, my friends. I tried Tailwind this last year. I set a goal to send out monthly newsletters last year. I set a goal to list a pillow monthly in my shop. I didn’t enjoy the additional pressure of any of those. I like this blog a lot more when it’s just a blog. You know? Just a place to enjoy.

I hope that’s okay with all of you. Thanks for sticking around with me.