December: Endings/Beginnings

Unbelievably, December is...here. Although this is always a month of excitement with much to look forward to, it's also a month of endings. It ends a very busy and stressful 2019.  For youngest son, it is the end of his first term at school. For my business, it's year end...and the monotonous taking of inventory. It's also - sadly- the end of my tenure as Ambassador for Island Batik, as I am resigning effective the end of December.  It was not an easy decision to make.  Being part of the Ambassador team at Island Batik has been a unique experience, unlike anything I've done before in my many years of quilting, and I have enjoyed it immensely.  Not only do they produce the finest batiks on the market, Island Batik is a wonderful, generous company who give back. The talent among the Ambassadors is amazing, and it's an honour to be included in their ranks.  I will miss the camaraderie, the encouragement, and the ever-present support that comes from being part of a team.  I do hope to continue on with them in a design role, submitting proposals from time to time for their new collections.  And, of course, I have a ton of Island Batik in my stash just waiting to be sewn!

The theme for the final challenge this year is to make something 3-D, either texturally or by using perspective to create an optical illusion.  What a fun farewell project, and I look forward to beginning.  The piece shown at the top of this post is one I stitched several years back as an Advent banner for First Baptist Church in Amherst.  I will dust off my thinking cap and get started with my black and white Island Batik solids, saved especially for this project. (hmmm...and maybe a pop of red will be there, too!)