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!

year in review - 2017

where oh where has this year gone by?
this year has been a year of learning a lot of new things including long arm quilting and free motioning on my own janome.  i've begun adventures in vlogging, joined a quilt guild and also found a group that meets monthly to hang out and sew with.  i've been a certified renter on the long arm machines at meissner and also took a class from a national quilting instructor.
now, it's time to recap the projects that have been completed this year!  i've also decided to notate which ones were quilted on the long arm as well, just for kicks.  so any project link that is followed with an asterisks means it was quilted on the long arm!
finished projects
bronco diamonds baby quilt
star wars strip quilt
olaf panel quilt*
feelin' blue fancy fox quilt*
tiger lily swoon 16 baby quilt
garden snails quilt*
musical charm (and 10!) squares quilt 2.0*
musical himalayan pink quilt
blue and gray baby elephant quilt
pink, gray and white stripes quilt
old fashioned cars pow wow quilt
twin dogs in sweater quilt*
teal, burgundy & orange boardwalk quilt*
black, white and red comfy quilt
himalayan pink quilt for mom
alaskan batik quilt*
patchwork pumpkin quilt*
civil war hazel hedgehog quilt*
18 quilts done for this year, can you believe it?
9 of those quilted on the long arm!
(actually i quilted 10, since i did one at my grandma's request with a meander.  i only have the photo on my instagram though... oops!)
granted, i have two tops done waiting to be quilted that i will *hopefully* get done soon and a few more quilt plans are already bouncing around in my head ready to come to life.
all about me november was successful, finishing two quilt tops all for me!
i also had some great adventures this year:
colorado for spring break
alaska in the summer
new apartment adventure in october
fall out boy concert in november

what will 2018 have in store?
you'll have to wait to find out!
one year long project will be announced soon, and perhaps i'll figure a few more things out real soon :)
happy last day of 2017!

2016 look back

it is currently 3am on december 31st and i have NOT prepared this blog post at all.
(why am i awake at 3am?  melissa's birthday dinner, 3 dr. peppers, dance moms... wide awake)
anywho, i spent today getting certified to rent long arm quilting machines (more on that later) and realized it was time for my year review of everything i've done!
while this year may not have been as blog filled as previous ones, it was rather eventful in many ways.  2 weddings, a handful of babies and birthdays were all valid reasons for crafting for some of my favorite people.  here's the run down of 2016's posts!
quilts: 13
science ribbon star quilt
dragons & knights on the nine patch
baseball baby quilt
peter pan mini quilt (plus a sew together bag and onsie)
blue, white & gold argyle wedding quilt
goodnight, quilt - winnie the pooh
baby a's charm (and 10!) quilt
musical charm (and 10!) quilt
musical amy butler's daisy chain 2.0
andrew's disney i-spy quilt
fandom filled amy butler's daisy chain
stripes & triangles elephant quilt
giraffe abstractions for baby a
cross stitch
bridal shower cross stitch collection
miscellaneous sewing
boba fett pillow
blush & gold rose ruffle apron
bridal/baby showers
aileen's nerdy bridal shower
erika's gender reveal
erika's baby shower decorations
big events
alaskan adventure
aileen got hitched
surprised lisa for her 30th (forgot to blog anything here.  but it totally makes the list)
this year in my personal life
i survived my first dog bite
bridesmaid for the 4th & 5th time (1st time not being a maid of honor)
took 2 major vacations
became lead teacher in a preschool classroom
turned 28
photographed 5 weddings
didn't sleep enough, but made up for it by eating lots of mexican food
stay tuned for my "plans" for 2017 post.  perhaps that won't happen at 3am.

2015 look back

ack!  i saw lisa post her yearly review, and realized 2 things.
1.  i didn't blog as much as i had anticipated i would
2.  today is the LAST day of 2015!
well, here's a summary in look back of some projects and events that happened throughout the year.
january
i said i was going to participate in the "sew your stash" following.
but didn't.
BUT it wasn't totally wasted, because i went from fabric in tubs, to fabric stored like this:
it is SO nice to be able to see everything!
february
i jumped in as a swap angel on craftster and made some beauty and the beast pillow covers.
this was my first fandom in stitches pattern, and as you'll later see, i'm hooked.
march
went to colorado again to hang with lisa and her peeps.
visited the lovely quilt cabin and hung out over spring break before heading back to the real world of work again.
april
i sent off my first instagram swap mini quilt (it was cat themed, of course - kitten mqs)
also cat related, i made a middle school friend of mine a baby quilt for her little one.  i love elizabeth hartman's cats... that's for sure  (daffodils and kitty cats)
may
aileen finally got her nerdy ruffle apron
but more importantly...
my pudge cat quilt was finished!
see?  i love those cats...
and i suppose this one...
june
this is apparently the month of actual events i didn't post about.
we had our first family reunion in 10 years, and while we were missing a few cousins and an aunt, we still managed to party pretty hard.  for us being 14+ cousins that are rather spread apart, we get along quite well when we're all back together.  we got pedicures and jamba juice at one point to just chill.
we also had our 30th anniversary dance recital this year,
which was a LOT of work and chaos.
but i got to dance with a handful of my old classmates again as well as some of the "big kids" that were there when i was growing up.  i also got to perform "make someone happy" with my students and my favorite andrew. :)
july
apparently nothing worth blogging.
or remembering...
august
erika and i saw fall out boy again.
never gets old <3
also posted two music quilts for donner mine this year
left: daisy chain
right: musical triangles 2
september
i made this turtle quilt for my aunt to give to one of her coworkers.
and then, we threw amy a surprise baby shower!
thanks to lisa, i found a car seat canopy tutorial, which turned out wonderfully
and then, the main project was finally revealed.
probably my favorite outcome of 2015 was this quilt, which took hours upon hours in construction
but SO worth it.
this lion king baby quilt was perfect for the lion king lover that amy is, and her enthusiasm for it was well worth it :)  fandom in stitches totally rocks.
october
this was the last that i blogged anything, which was those lion king projects.
so i'll just skip to november.
oh wait!  this was the month melissa got engaged and asked me to be in her bridal party next year.  so that's something :)
november
i had a birthday.  whoot.
i also took a painfully long road trip to idaho and froze my butt off doing this.

yep. aileen got engaged this past september, so my mom and i trekked out to idaho over thanksgiving break to go dress shopping with her out there as well as take their engagement photos.  we got really lucky with a fresh coating of snow the morning of, and  even though we froze, they were worth it.  (no, you didn't miss out on a blog post.  they were posted on my website here: freeze frame - aileen & ben)
december
it totally zoomed by, that's for sure!
i made about 20 pillowcases this year for various gifts, and all that good stuff.
baby leonidas was born on december 19th - just one day after his due date!
2 quilts were given at christmas, with a third one finished as we drove to disneyland on the 27th.
i'll do a full disneyland post soon - but here's a little disney goodness in the meantime :)

overall
it may have not been a post filled year like the last one, but i'd have to say some of the things done were pretty monumental.  and with 2 weddings that i'm in next year, it is safe to say some crafting will absolutely be going down for bridal showers & wedding gifts!  hope your 2015 was fabulous, and i'll have more posts to come soon :)

the 2014 look back - completed projects list

i feel like 2014 just started, and here we are already looking at the end of the year.
pretty certain i've made more quilts this year than years prior, and i've become more and more pleased with each new venture.  i got braver with my block piecing, ventured in to paper piecing, and even auditioned for a sewing contest.  in total, 14 quilts were blogged this year, with only two of them being not done from start to finish in 2014.  maybe 2 1/2.
i quilted my first queen size quilt all by myself on my little machine.
i also made a quilt all for myself.  that is actually "me" sized.  which hasn't happened in years, if ever.
so here is a collection of every finished project posted in 2014 as lovely reminder of how much i churned out this year, and how much i can't wait to see where we are at next year :)
quilts & quilted items
joshua's t-shirt quilt
catvent 2013
amy & luke's quilt - pair of logs
the modern baby - baby natalie
mod chevron - baby everett
classic winnie the pooh daisy chain - baby jason
music themed triangle quilt
musical pinwheels
fun with flags - sewvivor sewalong
petite trellis - baby mark
pink & purple parallelograms
hexing around - sewvivor sewalong
coloradifornia camera quilt - sewvivor sewalong
where in the world? - map quilt
place mats & potholder set
quilt blocks
quilt block swap round 6
sewing projects
betsy & dillon's pillowcases
nurse themed ruffle apron
amy's keepsake garter
sweet retreat's little sister - sewvivor sewalong
andrew's olaf filled birthday
sarah & raymond's wedding pillowcases
christmas gift pillowcases
cross stitch
classic winnie the pooh - baby jason
paper crafts
amy's bridal shower invites

in 2013...

in 2013 (in no particular order) i...
saw fall out boy & backstreet boys live in concert with my best friend
went back to school
did two bridal shows
made 10 stash bust quilt tops
obtained a new car, and now in the joyous process of paying it off
was officially asked to be a bridesmaid for one of my dearest friends
went to disneyland.  twice.
completed a 30 day blog challenge
had love, then lost it, & overcame it faster than i ever thought i would
went to two costume parties, one being a murder mystery dinner, and a  fantastic girls night out
got all As for the first time in forever
booked 2 weddings for 2014
turned 25, quickly followed by erika turning 25
had my first upside down roller coaster experience
worked 3 different jobs in addition to my normal dance class teaching & photography business-ing (not all 3 at once though)
attended a wedding as a guest
second shot 9 weddings
did two bridal shows, and booked 2 more big ones and 2 small ones for 2014
got some well over due bonding time with the not so wee one, complete with fabric store shopping with lisa
chopped my hair off 8" and donated it
in 2013 i did not....
write as many blog posts as in 2012
crawl up in a hole and die
learn to enjoy seafood
lose any limbs, have any surgeries, or get vastly ill
punch anyone in the face, slash any tires, or any other hurtful revenge tactics
sew as many stash bust quilts as i had hoped
do any extensive traveling past a reno trip or two & disneyland
read as many books as i had hoped
give up

see you all soon in 2014!

2012 - a look back

wow.  so hard to believe that 2012 has already come and gone in such a short feeling amount of time.  i swear this year went by faster than years before.  of course, i'm sure i will be saying the same thing at the end of 2013.  and i guess it is a good thing that the mayans were wrong about the world ending.  at least i would have gone out with a bang!  here is a brief look back at little things here and there in 2012!
january
new logo for freeze frame
bridesmaid dress shopping
february
disney on ice
wppi
march
benny & the jets formation
flash mobbed it up in SF
kasey's visit from germany
april
lunch time meet up with mrs blake
erika's first bridal shower
march of dimes
baby shower for jessi & adam
may
erika's second bridal shower
met wayne brady
jenny turned 24
erika's first dress fitting
june
erika's bachelorette party
watched my best friend get married <3
dance recital
sushi & fro yo for chris's birthday
kicked off the benny & the jet's chevy's birthday celebration with andrea turning 20
july
headed to reno
floated the river, resulting in a ferocious sunburn
state fair shows
lisa left for colorado... boooooo
august
stephanie's "benny & the jets" chevy's birthday
first date: august 10th.
country in the park
napa trip with jenny to see colin mochrie & brad sherwood
granddad's early 90th birthday celebration
september
kelcey's a little bit late birthday celebration
gold county fair
jelly belly factory
half moon bay
super hero bowling night
farewell to stephanie as she leaves for college
the end of late night driving back and forth to grass valley
october
10 years since stephi & kristiana passed away
the boy turned 27
band spectacular
november
first date, revisited
folsom band competition
birthday celebrations
the me turned 24, and had a job interview on my birthday
the boy also took me to chevy's for my birthday
got the job, and proceeded to work from 3am-noon on black friday... yay.
december
erika joined me in the ranks of being 24
had my first chico experience
four varieties of christmases this year.  yep. mom's side, our family, dad's side, and the boy's family
saw snow for the first time in years.  and was promptly hit with a snowball
old fashioned photos with the wilhelm clan
leatherbys, before josh was sent off to the circus