What a year! I don’t know that any of us could have predicted how 2020 was going to turn out. If you were like me, back in January you were glad to be rid of 2019 and were hopeful about what 2020 had in store. And boy did it have some surprises in store. Despite a lot of social obstacles, plus kids being constantly around, my personal day to day wasn’t all that changed. Granted, it was topped off by about 1000x more anxiety than normal, and I’m generally an anxious person regardless. But we were fortunate that our employment was unchanged and uninterrupted, and that we are truly homebodies that don’t really go anywhere anyway.
I am proud of all that accomplished this year. And if you accomplished a lot, or not a lot, you should be proud too. Here’s the highlights, the ups and downs, of my year of quilting.
January
I always have a big finishing party at the end of a calendar year so that in January I can start off fresh with new ideas. Because the end of 2019 was [at the time] an emotional roller coaster, I went into the new year with a lack of inspiration. I had a few projects I still needed to finish from the previous year and set a goal to try to write some of my own patterns. My word for the year was going to be “balance.” I was striving for a good amount of creating, family time, exercise, and healthy eating.
February
I was still in a bit of a sewing/creative slump come February so I continued to work on, and finish, my I Heart You quilt top (pattern by Pen and Paper Patterns). I made a last minute decision to go to QuiltCon for a whirlwind weekend. I had so much fun and was so honored to have 6 quilts hanging in Austin that I made or contributed to. And I was blown away that my More Is More quilt won an award.
March
Everything was going swimmingly at the beginning of March, except the strange toilet paper shortage. We expected to have our spring break extended but none of us could have predicted that was the beginning of [at present] a 9 month quarantine. I had come home from QuiltCon inspired to create again. As things were ramping up I was contemplating an idea of putting out a call for quilt blocks. I had been watching the Instagram community of quilters come together in times of crisis for years and thought the pandemic would be an interesting time to document. I put out a call for quilt blocks on March 13, our first day of shut down.
April
With more time at home during a stay home order I was getting a lot of sewing time in. However, most of that time was spent sewing masks knowing that a mask order was going to be implemented soon. I continued to work on both my Quarantine Improv quilt and my Social Distancing quilt but I found it easiest to work on small projects or individual blocks (#laurasbearpaws). I had my first pattern published in Curated Quilts magazine and was also honored to have More Is More selected for the cover.
May
May came and we were still at home. It was the first month that I found myself not sewing as much. The kids had been home for school and weren’t going back and all that inspiration from QuiltCon had been stomped on by quarantine. I finished a long time UFO project and I kept sewing more masks. I also continued to enjoy small projects and worked on both quarantine quilts.
June
By the time we got to June not only was there a toilet paper shortage, there was also a demand for sewing machines and sewing machine maintenance. While sewing masks I noticed a timing issue with my machine. After calling around and doing a lot of research I decided that since I had made a commitment for a time sensitive project I was ready to invest in a new machine. This is the most significant thing that happened in June, it took my domestic machine quilting up another level. I also was happy to be contracted by the MQG as the Modern Monthly photographer.
July
By July the anxiety of a global pandemic hit hard and I lost almost all of my creative energy. I had depleted my reserves and was running on fumes. I knew I needed to step away and figure out where to go next but I kept trudging through with more mask sewing with the promise of the kids returning to school (which did not actually happen). I tried to stay afloat with some smaller projects but ultimately I resigned to the need for rest.
August
With the realization that I needed a break from sewing, I took most of August off. I signed up for a color class with Tara Faughnan and did my best to apply what I learned. I turned back to small projects to try to get the creative juices flowing and I worked on some WIPs.
September
Slightly cooler temperatures and some relief from the smoky skies we had for most of the summer was met with creative energy again. It also helped that the kids were going to go back to school at the end of the month and we all had that to look forward to. We settled into a school routine at home and I was asked by PBS fabrics to sew something with a new fabric line. This was just the push I needed to remind myself of the goal I set in January to start writing patterns. I also decided on an improv bear paw quilt to get back into my sewing groove.
October
With the kids back in school I needed to use all the time I had as wisely as I could. I had decided on a deadline to change my business to Quilt Fort Company on November 1. I had a lot of work to do. I spent a lot of time finalizing Moon Phases and Embers Quilt patterns for a double release when I launched Quilt Fort Co. Sample sewing and a lot of quilting happened. I’m still not certain how I got it all done. I also finished my bear paw quilt top because I wanted to give myself the entire month of November for quilting it before the QuiltCon submission deadline.
November
November kicked off with launching Quilt Fort Company, a double pattern release, and a federal election that probably took 10 years off every adult life in the US. I jumped right into sewing a sample and writing my next pattern that I release just before Thanksgiving. The month flew by and the kids landed back at home to finish their semester online. I managed to finish and photograph 3 quilts to submit to QuiltCon Together.
December
By the time December rolled around it was old hat that I wasn’t getting enough sleep or socialization so I poured my energy into finalizing my fourth pattern release of the year. Back in January 2020 my goal was to release 4 patterns this year, I didn’t know I would actually be able to do it! What a year it has been! I was notified my 3 submissions to QuiltCon were accepted. I even took a couple weeks off away from sewing intentionally to strategize 2021. I have exciting ideas for the new year and I can’t wait to share them with you!
This is a great summary, and I love all the photos. It looks like a fab year despite the challenges, and hopefully 2021 will be even better, happier and more successful.