things 2020 taught me

 oh boy, where do we begin with this year end round up?

it truly is a weird year to be saying farewell too...
and who would have thought that this photo that was from exactly a year ago today would have truly set the tone for the year's emotions.

and now here we are, bidding farewell to the year that was terrible for many, confusing for most and just straight up different for all.

what did 2020 teach me?

travel when you can.  and often.
i was able to go to quiltcon right before everything shut down, which also meant spending time in texas with my best friend.  i was supposed to go back over the summer, but hopefully next year...
hopefully.
i was also able (by way of work) to take a quick trip to SLC in september, which was nice to get some cousin time and shop hop a little bit.

curves aren't scary
i sewed TWO quilts with curves this year
parallel path and take heart were totally not scary at all, and have opened my eyes to new possibilities for quilting.
it was great to be able to challenge myself in a new way, in the midst of all the chaos.
plus, doing them as baby quilts really helped the new challenge seem a whole lot less daunting

take the plunge

with the shut down, playing the waiting game to go back to preschool was HARD.

happening in to the position at cali quilt co, which has clearly spiraled in to so much more than i could have imagined.  it was easily one of the HARDEST decisions i've ever had to make, and so many options were vented and tears were shed...but i don't regret it one bit.  preschool, from what i've heard from coworkers, is still in limbo anyways, so i would still be playing the waiting game.

taking the plunge in to something new and scary has pushed me in to wanting to come up with other new and challenging experiences, both in real life and virtual life.  block party has been it's own adventure with the shop, but i'm also looking to push and challenge myself in my own way via youtube.
nothing is "official" on that front yet... but given that i wanted to kick things off TOMORROW... i will probably be up late getting situated and what not.

as far as real life plunges... you'll have to wait on that until something official happens :)

breathe
one particular line from "everybody's free (to wear sunscreen)" by baz luhrmann always sticks out to me.  

"don't worry about the future. 

 or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum"

boy did 2020 bring some worries to a whole lot of people, and rightfully so.  but sometimes, you just gotta step away, take a breath and let things settle before jumping back in to it all.

sometimes it helped.  sometimes it needed an even longer breath.

and a whole lot of dr pepper.

other things from 2020
i binged a whole lot of tv...
schitt's creek
emily in paris

community

dash and lily

unorthodox

love on the spectrum

new girl

i stayed in touch with all my friends, both near and far.
i became proficient in wal mart grocery ordering. at least so i think...

i do miss sitting inside restaurants and eating... and hanging out with my friends.  and movie theaters. OH how i miss movie theaters...

but most of all

i made a lot of quilts, many of them for very important people.

can you tell it was hard for me to pick just a few favorites?
this is nearly all of them that i made from start to finish throughout the year!

but my FINAL quilt of 2020 will be revealed tomorrow!

goodbye 2020.
you were really something.  

but now i'm off to an adventurous 2021!