Where did 2025 go?
Anyone feel like the year just flew by? Feeling a little overwhelmed by... it all?
I've had occasion recently to scroll through the photos I took this year (approximately 8,000 of them!) which is a reminder that we did what we intended at the beginning of the year. We spent time with people. Friends and family, and in my case, students and guild mates and quilty friends. We believe at this difficult time community and in-person connections with people are more important than ever.
My business intentions for the year were to teach a bunch. I certainly did that with 15 lectures and 10 workshops for guilds. It was so nice to connect with folks both in-person and on Zoom. Thank you to the many guilds that invited me to join them in 2025!
I had the best of intentions of finishing those 6 UFOs with @jandidean's 2025 UFO Challenge. A big nope on finishing those, so I'll try again this year. While I intended to spend more time in my studio, for a variety of life related reasons, that did not happen. I did participate in Project QUILTING at the start of the year, completing projects for 5 of the 6 challenges. I completed monthly bee blocks. (I haven't shared them all on the blog yet.) And I made a kickin' Halloween costume for my daughter. In November, I brought a few of my WIPs to work on at a guild retreat. It felt great to sew with people and make progress on some older projects.
Looking forward to 2026
So, what will 2026 hold? Here's some of what's on my mind.
Cleanup: I've already started chipping away at cleaning up my studio space so I can be in here creating more regularly.
Design walls: I want to make rolling frames for my design wall panels. I have two 4-foot by 8-foot insulation boards covered in batting. This was perfect in my old studio where I didn't have the wall space to permanently mount them, so they leaned in front of the window or the cabinets or the closet doors. Despite my larger square footage in my new studio, I still don't have dedicated wall space to mount them. And there are less ideal places for them to lean for regular use. Rolling frames will mean I can double my design wall space by mounting boards on both sides, and I'll be able to more easily position them for Zoom teaching and lectures.
UFOs: I should finish some. I've updated my UFO list of 6 projects, not because I finished any, but because I brought one on retreat that wasn't on the 2025 list and I'm more excited about finishing it. So hard to narrow down to 6 when there are so many to choose from. More on that list later.
Teaching: I'll be at Road to California in January to teach 4 workshops. There is still room in two of my classes, including Building an Improv Toolbox, my most popular and personal favorite! If you're already signed up to join me I look forward to seeing you there! The schedule for the first half of my year is pretty full, but I'm still scheduling with guilds for the second half of 2026 and into 2027. I also plan to self-host at least a couple workshops for open enrollment. Be sure you're on my newsletter list to be the first to hear when those get scheduled.
Wishing you a happy, healthy, and creative 2026!
No new planning party this year, but I'm linking up with Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl for her #2025QuiltingCheckIn. Thank you, Yvonne! I've enjoyed linking up every year with my wrap up and new goals.
