My Plans for 2022

Greetings again, dear reader! When I last posted, I had no idea that it would be such a long time until I wrote again! I had some rather severe chronic health flare-ups over the past six weeks. I honestly feel that I am a month or more behind schedule. But I am trying so hard to go with the flow, realizing that life is not in my control…

A hand-formed beeswax candle that I made at the request of my girls.

I did write a blog post earlier this month, and I will be sharing the content on my blog in the near future, but until then you can read my post on how to make braided fabric baskets on fabric.com’s blog.

Today, I will share with you some of the projects that I did complete since I last wrote, and I will share with you an outline of my business plans for 2022.

In December, I completed another green and white Shoofly Star quilt and sent it to its new home for Christmas, where I hope it will keep the recipient warm and cozy for years to come.

During one of my flares, I hand-quilted this little doll quilt for my friend, Jenny’s daughter, Norah. They have a beautiful story, and you can find out more about Jenny and Norah and how God brought them together on Jenny’s blog at www.fitzgeraldlane.com.

I have been wanting to make new Christmas stockings for the family for several years. Two years ago, I quickly cut and serged white corduroy and appliquéd a unique piece of fabric on each stocking to identify each stocking. They weren’t lined or thick, and I knew when I made them that it was a temporary fix. This year, I made some new ones for the girls and myself and the dog. My husband is perfectly happy with his so it may be another year or more before I make another one for him.

I used vintage quilt topper scraps to make my stocking. I hand-stitched and hand-quilted the scraps that I pieced together.

Ellie, asked for a red velvet stocking with a snowman and tree on it. She drew the pattern, and then we worked together to make it a reality. It didn’t turn out exactly as I wanted, but Ellie was delighted with it, and that was all that mattered. She then decided that we need to make a new stocking every year for a way to remember the year. Until we have a larger house with more storage, I think that we will stick will smaller projects to build a collection.

Emma saw some scraps of Shannon Minky Luxe Cuddle fabric that I had leftover from scarf orders a year or so ago. She asked that I make her stocking with those scraps. It was a perfect fit for her personality—a warm, snuggly stocking for a sweet-hearted, snuggly girl.

And then, I used a quarter-yard of a plaid Christmas fabric that I purchased from Patchwork Plus a couple of years ago to make a bone-shaped stocking for the dog. He, of course, doesn’t care, but Ryan liked it—at least the dog’s master was happy.

I have also been continuing to knit and do hand-quilting, which I will share more about in a future post.

And, now, the moment that you have been waiting for…what am I up to in 2022? I am trying not to overachieve this year. If I find that I am failing in that one goal, then I will have to scale back on these objectives, but the items as follows are the big plans I have:

1) Publish a book of photos of my Grandmother’s crazy quilt squares. I will most likely be taking pre-orders for these once I get started so that I know how many to have printed.

2) Offer basic hand-sewing lessons to purchase online later this year. Eventually, I will add on more advanced classes and machine-sewing classes, but for now, I want to develop a foundational course such as every girl would have learned a century or so ago.

3) Continue to blog, obviously. My greatest desire is that I inspire you in some way to be creative and to bring some beauty to your day. I would love to hear from you what content you would like to see more of here—sewing or knitting or recipes or personal life or a combination of all of those topics? Do you like getting a weekly email or a monthly email? I don’t know about you, but I feel absolutely bombarded with emails. I don’t want you to feel that way, and I want each time I write to be something that you look forward to reading, not be another thing for you to do or email to delete without reading.

4) Offer a free, social stitching Zoom call one evening a month where we can bring whatever project we are working on and chat together. The next one will be held the third week of February, and I will email a schedule to subscribers once I decide exactly which day.

5) Offer a monthly, in-person social gathering at a local venue, known as Brix and Columns. These meetings will begin once the current COVID surge is over.

6) Offer unique handmade goods for sale at local events. I will also list things on my website occasionally, but my primary focus is going to be on selling locally this year. Of course, if you see something that I make that you are interested in, you can always reach out to me.

7) I may also offer a knitting class in-person or online…I am still thinking about this one…

Of course, I realize that life rarely goes according to plan, and so I hold onto these plans loosely. During the past six weeks, I have felt more than ever that I have to take time to be still and listen, to be still and trust. God’s plan is greater than mine. I simply have to take life one day at a time and do the next thing, realizing that life will happen, and that is okay.

Please let me know in the comments below what type of content you most enjoy reading from me and how often you like to receive blog updates. Thanks!