Monday, January 11, 2016

Fresh Start

The worst thing about being absent from your blog is getting back to it. It seems like the longer the time between posts, the harder it is to get back in the groove. So... I have decided to just start fresh, not worry about what time has passed and just begin. 
If you look around the internet this time of the year you will see a lot of talk about resolutions and lots of folks choosing a word for the year. My plan is to be present! Show up! Not just on my blog but in my business and life too. This may sound silly to those of you who have your crap together but I am pretty sure there are some out there who know what I am talking about. The year 2015 was a pretty good year for me, don't get me wrong. I strengthened my working relationship with Quiltmania and several other magazines. I released several new designs that I am pretty proud of and did a ton of travel to speak and teach to name a few. But, I could have done so much more. I let some hard situations with my personal and family life drag me down and paralyze me. Instead of using hard work to keep me moving, I focused too much on the negative situations and that slowed me down and held me back from doing all I could have done. So, without further speculation I will be present in 2016 and I will show up! So look out, I have a lot planned for the year.
After being absent from my local guild for a year,  I made the decision to get involved again. I am now six months into my term as the president for the evening chapter. I am doing a block a month exchange with them.. (forgive the bad photos, it's very dreary here and my phone takes awful pictures) My hope is to pass along my love of applique to everyone. So the deal is- every other month I offer an easy applique block as a free pattern. Everyone is asked to make a block and turn it in to me the next month. Then we do a drawing from the names of those who participated and someone wins the stack of blocks. Instant quilt top! We have done a Scotty Dog and Sunbonnet Sue and now for February we are doing Hearts. By keeping it simple I hope to increase participation especially among those who are not confident in their applique skills. A heart is an excellent shape for learning applique, it has points, valleys and curves. Everything you need to know and even a simple block can make a dynamic quilt.

I am using a grey print from Art Gallery for the background of my block and French General reds and pinks. Here is a simple mock up of what the blocks would look like set on point with black sashing and borders.
How about no sashing and a red border?
Easy peasy! Participation grows as folks feel more confident in their skills and isn't that what quilting is really all about? Building each other up?
Happy Quilting,
Dawn



9 comments:

  1. Happy New Year! Great to see you back on the blog - can't wait to see what you are working on this year!

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  2. Glad you're back! I've missed your blogging.

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  3. Dawn, I have similar feelings. I am tired of the constant stress of reading Facebook. I may go back to my blog and read other quilters' blogs.............only good news there. Missed seeing you Monday. Hoped to see you. Going back to Day Guild just made me "homesick". I need to rejoin. Love seeing your work.

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    1. You should definitely rejoin Marilyn. I let things bog me down and drifted away from guild. I had forgotten how much it lifts me up to share that time with others who are like minded. I HATED missing your program but had something with my son that could not be moved. Hope to see you soon!

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  4. I too have missed your posting. Needle turn applique is a dying art. Young Quilters will hopefully become inspired. Competing with machine applique in Quilt Shows in South Texas is a bummer as the machine applique seems to win over the hard work of needle turn. Sounds like you and I had the same 2014/2015. I have stated my goals on my Blog which provides me with an incentive to make every attempt to stay upbeat and positive in my quilt journey. I really admire this post! Good for you and I will be hoping that this year is better for you. I wish I were closer to a Guild. I do miss being around other quilters, but the Blog world has provided me with some great quilters. doitrightquilter.wordpress.com

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    1. I think slowly but surely hand work and all the benefits are coming back into vogue. I think there is a method for everyone but I can't always be at my machine. I can take my handwork everywhere which lets me get a lot more done! I am wishing you a great 2016! The internet has been a fantastic gift for connecting quilters everywhere.

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