Donna's Year - A Retrospective

This year I learned to sew.

I made 4 baby/toddler quilts, two doll quilts, and a quilted advent calendar. I go into the year with 4 WIPs, two of which I'm handstitching on binding pretty much as I type, so I will share these very soon.

I appliqued some 45 baby shirts, made pins, magnets, fabric ornaments, candy and cookies and set up shop at the indie Craft Sale that I, along with two friends, conceived of, organized, and pulled off.

I worked with a designer friend and came up with a logo and a shop name in time for the sale. (Thanks, Nadia!)

I was reunited with my long time friend and co-blogger, Sara. We, of course, worked on a quilt.

Sara and I started this blog, have written more than 150 posts in almost a year and look forward to our one year blogiversary. Stay tuned for a little celebration!

In my non-sewing world, I went back to work after my almost year of maternity leave and have been juggling life with two kids, and two parents with full-time jobs. On minimal sleep. And we all still love one another.

Not a picture heavy post (read, none at all as they're all on the system upstairs, and I'm downstairs, and lazy.) But I wanted to capture a bit of what, for me, has been a stellar year in terms of sewing, community, and life, in general.

Today, my family and I threw open our doors and held our annual open house, with about 40 people streaming through over the 4 hour period. It's a great way to bookend the holidays, relax, eat some good food, toss back a few bevvies, and one thing that has been so amazing is watching all these darn kids grow. Four years ago there would have been nary a kid present, and this year we were close to being outnumbered. I'm feeling full, happy, and looking forward to moving ahead into this year with open eyes, goals to be met in several areas of life, and a smile in my heart.

All my best to you, lovely blogging community!

- Donna