2018 in Review

It's that time when we turn the page to a new year, and take a sweeping look back on the one that's just passed.  It was a busy year for me professionally, and much was accomplished. 

As in previous years, I designed and made the Row By Row quilt for Mrs Pugsley's Emporium.  The theme was "Sew Musical" and the Musical Ride fit nicely with the Canada 2017 banner from the previous year, in terms of both colour and content.

It's not an easy thing to design a piece to fit in the bizarre 9" x 36" shape, have it adapt to hang both vertically and horizontally, be easy enough for a beginner to stitch...and yet not too easy that it lacks substance...and have the instructions fit on as few pages as possible.  Even trickier, was persuading a Mountie to lend his gear for the photo shoot! I am pleased with how it all turned out.

 Early in the year, I answered a call from the Quilt Show to be paired with a partner in the U.S. for an International Miniature Quilt Exchange.  Throughout the year, I got to know my partner from New Mexico and we sent our quilts to each other in October.  You can read more about mine here.

The beautiful quilt I received from Terry hangs in our bedroom:

It was a wonderful project and one I encourage you to look into for the next session.

My big news was being selected as an Island Batik Ambassador.  What an amazing experience this has been!  Monthly challenges stimulate creative juices and keep you on your toes to be a good steward of your time.  The goodies, sent by Island Batik and their partners,Aurifil and Hobbs batting, have been phenomenal!  It's manna from heaven when those boxes arrive. These are the projects I've created for the monthly challenges.

Island Batik also provided opportunity for projects to be shown at Quilt Market in Houston, and to travel in a trunk show to shops across the US, and my Felicity joined this program. The pattern is being distributed By Island Batik and is available for purchase from them, or directly from my website. I have another large quilt to be exhibited at Spring Quilt Market 2019, and I will show that later on. 

Additionally at Houston Quilt Festival this year, I had 3 previously completed quilts in the exhibit "You've Got Talent", one of which was Global Warming:

In the spring, I had the nail-biting opportunity to be interviewed by Pat Sloan for her podcast.

My involvement with the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival kept me hopping in October.  I taught two workshops on machine quilting, and had a booth of Aurifil thread at the ever-popular Zonta Bazaar.  This was my 11th year as part of this festival, and I was thrilled to be asked to put in a display at Mansour's Menswear.  I chose to showcase my Island Batik projects.

My Aurifil thread store continues to grow, and I have big plans for its expansion.  Already there are over 60 colours in the 50 weight thread, various weights, and many beautiful collections.  I am happy to say that prices will remain the same for the upcoming year. Work is underway to improve the functionality of my website, including easier pattern downloads.

This month, I am participating in the final activity for the 2018 Island Batik Ambassadors. The Getaway Blog Hop is now underway, and I can't wait to show you the quilt I made from the gorgeous collection they sent!  Please check back on January 23rd.

2019 begins with news that I have been asked to return as an Island Batik Ambassador, and I am beyond happy to remain part of this incredible team.

It's been a busy year, and I thank you for allowing me to share that with you.