A Year of New Beginnings

I expect everyone in Blogland will be doing the "year in review mosaic posts" soon, and hey, who am I to buck a good trend!? Plus I do love making those mosaics!

So here I am looking back at 2014. You know what, this year has absolutely rocked!

First, the Quilts. I made twelve quilts this year! Well actually thirteen, but one is under the Christmas tree so I can't show you yet. This has been the most productive quilting year I have ever had.

I also hosted my first Quilt Along - The Library Project. This was a super fun endeavor and I have gotten to know a lot of fabulous quilters. I didn't accomplish all of my goals but overall I am super happy with what I did get done, and am now more than ever committed to hitting my library and using it! I shouldn't need to buy any more books this year. But if I see something I really want, I'm getting it. No more crazy goals of not buying things. Silly goals.

I also ventured outside of quilt making and made some other quilty things like pillows. Love making pillows! I see more of this in my future.

This year was also the year of the zipper. Not sure that they are my favorite things but now at least I know I can do it! Flag bunting, some hedgehog totes, sewing circle tote and a few zipper pouches rounded out my non-quilty stuff. Smaller projects are fun!

 

And of course Bee Blocks! I organized two Bees this year, Global Scrap Bee and ModQImprov Bee Canada. I had a lot of fun with these bees, but I can honestly say that I am a bit over bees right now. I don't think I will ever be the main organizer for another one, a participant for sure. But not this year! No bees for me this year.

And then there was the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild. Can I just say that being the President of this Guild for its inaugural year has been an absolute blessing. We started the year with seven members and now we have forty. We sew, we share, we problem solve, we have fun! I cannot wait for another year of MMQG. It has seriously changed my life -  in all of the best ways.

And then Patch Halifax arrived in our handmade community! Not only has Chris partnered with MMQG to allow us a beautiful and inspiring place to host our monthly meetings, but she has also opened a door for me that I have been thinking about for 10 or more years. I taught my very first beginners quilting class in September at Patch and have a few more booked for the new year. Teaching and quilting - my dream combination!

 

Of course blogland has been great this year as well, I have to say thank you to you, dear blog readers, for keeping me company on my journey this year. It makes my heart sing every time my e-mail tells me I have a new comment:)

 

To sum up - this year has been completely amazing. Through the guild, and teaching and all of the folks that I have met through both, my little sewing machine and I feel part of a generous handmade community. How awesome is that!

 

I feel like I should wrap this post up with my goals for 2015. But you know what, my goal is no goals! No more Bees, no more quilt alongs. I am sewing for fun this year, not deadlines. I plan on focusing my quilty time on the MMQG and teaching and just sewing for the fun of it. I think this is a good plan.

 

So how was your quilty year? Do you have big goals for the new year? If you do or don't, I hope your new year is filled with fabric and thread and quilty friends.

 

Happy Holidays

Adrienne