Happy New Year to all! 2025 has been a very busy year! I wanted to write a recap of last year’s creative journey and update my progress of quilting the mountain of tops-in-waiting, as I’m definitely making progress! But I’m also making more quilts…I quilted 10 tops and made 25 quilts last year. At this rate my mountain is growing and not shrinking. But I have a plan for this year to finally finish the remaining 18.
My favorite projects this year:
This fall I worked on quilts for a children’s charity in Raleigh NC – Hilltop Home. I’ve completed 12 tops, and my dear friend Elizabeth quilted 6 of them. She also generously made 2 more fun quilts to add to the donation. I have one other quilt already done and my goal is to complete 20 quilts and gift to this center. I will be working on the final 5 in January/February before leaving for QuiltCon to delver them personally. There will an updated post with pictures of the quilts and their delivery at a later time.
I’ve also made lots of progress on my long-term EPP project. The original 17 blocks and additional 6 half-blocks were finished in August. At that point, my quilt seemed too small and I contemplated making it bigger… story of my life! Read more about this English Garden EPP here.
I traveled to France and UK in the spring and brought some gorgeous Lewis & Irene fabrics from Scotland. Thrilled to have been in London for the 150th anniversary of Liberty fabrics! It was a real treat to see the entire department store and walk thru the exhibit of fabrics.
In July I took an impromptu trip to New York to spend time with my best friend from HS. We had a wonderful time visiting MOMA, walking thru Central Park and enjoying yummy food. MOMA had the same Woven Histories Exhibit that was at the Smithsonian in the summer 2024. I took the train, which was very relaxing and I worked on my EPP blocks. Double win!
In September, I celebrated my big Birthday with close friends and family. Both of my sons came from CA to spend a week with me, and many of my dearest friends and their grown children attended my party. Its was a reunion of sorts and we all had a fantastic time catching up.
One of the best gifts was a pillow my son made and quilted for me! Even though I haven’t formally taught him, he was obviously paying attention all these years while I was quilting. He designed this pillow, picked fabric, stitched it together – with mitered corners and tiny HSTs – and then quilted it with gold and copper thread. Sasha is an electrical engineer and made a circuit board layout with fabric and thread!
I’m looking forward to a wonderfully creative 2026 and hosting our Quilt Club at my home this year. Happy quilting everyone!
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