Retrospective for my 2024 year

 The phrase, "It's a wrap" has become a cliche.  As well as, "It's in the books".  Why do we repeat phrases over and over until they really have no significance or meaning anymore.  How about this one from a few years back, "it is what it is"....what does that really mean?  I would say in contrast, "it isn't what it isn't".  Please stop, take a little extra time to explain whatever you mean.  Afterall, it is true, we've lost the art of conversation.  Literature, poetry, ordinary conversation used to be one of  the arts of romanticism.  In todays times, people are inserting emojis, icons, abreviations, and frankly have lost patience for long winded paragraphs explaining absolutely everything.  

Thankfully, there is still a growing number of people creating and learning the art of stitching whether it's embroidery, tailoring, knitting and crocheting, crafting, or piecing and quilting.  It takes time, you don't want to rush through something just to be done.  Enjoy the process, examine and work through each step.  Technology has made learning anything you can dream of accessible and easy to obtain.   

Do people take time to make New Year's resolution lists?  I admit that I don't anymore.  Every year there are carryover projects or ideas that I never had time for or I get a mental block and want to let it sit in the corner longer.  

Looking back on the year, I am happy with the amount of work I have accommplished.  In retrospect, these projects were...

Mini challenge (Flower Power) for the Virginia Quilt Museum exhibit, was donated to raise funds for the museum.  I titled this one, "Nocturnal Garden Gate".

I taught a class on collage for my guild.  These are small mug mats, so it was a small project they could finish in one day.  

I made 2 Raven mini quilts.  One went to charity and the other went to my DS.  He loves Edgar Allen Poe.  

This is a quilt I call Alice's Fantastical Garden.  It's collaged using Emily Taylor's technique and most patterns from her book.  I added so many butterfly fussy cuts that every time I count them, I come up with a different number.  They're hidden in a lot of places.  

Still a work in progress, 89"X89".  This is the finished top completed by the end of December 2024, but it's been challenging quilting it on my Bernina 740 domestic machine.  The National Quilt Museum facebook group round 6 for 2024 and will probably the last one I take part in.  I've done every year since they began, so I'm pretty tired of making the sampler type quilts.  However, it's been a wonderful journey to be part of this group.  

There are more quilts I haven't mentioned, but these were the important ones that...dare I say....I am proud of.  Acknowleging God's gift and fulfilling my artistic need to create them.  So it continues...