Skip to main content

Looking Back

Current disasters aside, 2022 was one of the most productive years I've had in a while. While I was writing six novels (technically, six and a half) for the day job I was also finding new ways in my spare time to sew, quilt and even make garments. My focus was using more sustainable and recycled materials, like this koi quilt I made for Katherine from remnants and bolt ends.

I also tried to use up every scrap of leftover fabric, as I did with this quilt bag from the remnants of the koi quilt.

My art quilting was practically non-stop, as making smaller projects was easier for my arthritic hands.

I'm still dealing with the loss of my mom, and art quilting helped a lot with channeling those emotions in positive directions.

Rescuing orphan patchwork via an estate sale and making those pieces into projects was fun, and gave my spirits a boost, too.

I made a lot of bags.

Pillows, too.

Thrifting and making over three boxes from Goodwill into journal keepers was really a delight, and a great creative challenge.

I tried to work in colors that I've never used much in the past, with happy results.

My summer art quilt didn't turn out like I'd hoped, but even when I failed I learned something (like downscaling instead of trying to keep doing things as I have in previous years.)

Right after the frustrations of summer I discovered Fabscrap, a service that helps keep unwanted material from the fashion industry out of landfills, which started me on using their scrap packs and creatively mending sample garments.

Fabscrap has really made my sewing time fabulous.

I partly lost the use of another finger on my one working hand, so I took up crochet again to try to keep what function I have left from slipping away.

Like riding a bike, really, and I've missed crochet.

Holiday pillows from Fabscrap flannel swatches.

My reward for myself for writing six novels in 2022 was building this 1:18 scale dollhouse sewing room from a Rolife kit in December.

It's been a good thirty years since I've made miniatures, and with my definite decline in dexterity it proved to be a real challenge.

It also made me very happy to cross this off my creative bucket list.

It was a busy year, but (primarily) a happy one. I forget sometimes how greatly creating, quilting and sewing adds to my personal joy. In that respect, 2022 was bliss. I hope to keep that momentum going in 2023, and while I will probably scale down and only make one or two quilts (the linen quilt I've yet to finish is at the top of that list) I'll look for new ways to stay inspired.

Comments

Maria Zannini said…
You have been busy!
And you surprised me. I used to make miniature furniture too back when I had working fingers. I gave way every stick of furniture I ever made.
nightsmusic said…
That dollhouse is amazing! And I know that bird quilt. It's absolutely gorgeous ;)

Popular posts from this blog

Other Stashes

Along with clearing out the spare bedroom and tidying my office and our guest bedroom, I decided to reorganize some of my stashes. This is all the yarn I have on hand, sorted by color. It looks like a lot, but lately I've been using up a minimum of half a bin every month, so this is approximately a year's supply. All of my solid color cotton perle thread. I go through a lot of this every year, too. I need a container in which I can fit all of it together, but I haven't found the right one yet. I won't show you all of my fabric -- I'm still reorganizing this stash -- but I went through everything and donated two bins of fabric I won't need to the local quilter's guild.

Goodwill Gamble #2 Arrives

My second Goodwill gamble arrived; this is one I paid ten bucks for last month. Just inside the lid was a big roll of plastic mesh that I think is for latchhook work. In the auction listing it looked like fabric to me, so that was unexpected. Someone at the seller's end was nice enough to put a note on this pinned fabric. I'll put on my gloves before I take it out to inspect it. The embroidered green fabric turned out to be 1-1/2 yards of sequinned and three-dimensional designer fabric. I'll guess this cost somewhere between $20.00 to $30.00 a yard, and it's in pristine condition. But here's a shot of everything in the lot, which is mostly crafty odds and ends with a small amount of cotton fabrics, a large amount of synethetic fabrics, and some other surprises. The original owner of these was probably a Catholic school teacher; these beads, crosses and medallions are the kind of rosary kits for kids to make at Sunday school or Bible camp (and s...

Love Means This

Invested in a couple of hand-dyed bundles from one of my favorite fabric artists. This one said "Make me into something for Valentine's Day." So I went for a quilted and embellished tote. I kept thinking about what love means to me as I worked on it. Here's the finished tote. Although I was tempted to embellish with beads and pins, I got sick and only felt well enough to do a little stitching every night. As I worked I thought about how often love seems disappointing to us, especially when it fails to live up to our expectations. But now that I've experienced love in many forms, I can say that it's made me a better person than I might have been without it. Love is a precious thing, and should be appreciated in all its forms. I am very grateful for the love of my guy, my child and my friends who have stuck with me all these years. That's you two, in case you're wondering. :) Also finally found something to do with a ve...