Out with the old...

And in with the new.

2015 brought many life changes for me - some good, some bad - and had me re-evaluating the load I placed on myself with work, family, hobbies and other commitments. As much as I wanted sewing to be a priority because I enjoy it... over the summer I was so overwhelmed that sewing became an obligation and no longer very enjoyable. I dropped some sewing commitments that I enjoyed and wanted to be a part of, but just couldn't handle at the time and took a general hiatus from all things sewing related for about 6 months.

In the new year I'd like to keep up with the blog in order to keep track of my progress and not have to track down pictures of my makes, but I'm not sure if it will be realistic or not to make that resolution. Regardless I wanted to do a re-cap because even though I had a really turbulent year I still got a lot of sewing done.

I finished 1 baby quilt for a co-worker, and completed 3 tops from my long suffering WIP pile (not pictured are my first gemstone quilt blocks assembled into a baby quilt - I will use it to practice some FMQ).

1. Baby Quilter's Mixology medallion (blogged here)  2. Heather Ross Saw Tooth Stars (twin size)  3. starting to quilt my massive queen sized X-Plus quilt at the Nov. DCMQG retreat

I had the good fortune to attend 3 quilting retreats this year - Sew South, Mid Atlantic Mod, and the November DCMQG retreat. Sew South and Mod were back-to-back in April so I was a little burnt out sewing wise by MOD time but it was still a great couple of weeks. I participated in Secret Sister/Sewist at both retreats, and a private swap with my friend Jess at MOD.

1. Sew Together Bag made for Laurel, my Sew South secret sister (pic by @singallyouwant)  2. items made for my Mid Atlantic Mod Secret Sewist, Cathy from the Philly MQG (pic by Cathy)  3. Mug rug for Laurel (pic by @singallyouwant)  4. Jess with the Aeroplane Bag I made her, and me with my amazing mini she made me at Mid Atlantic Mod

I also participated in 5 mini quilt swaps (4 hosted through Instagram and 1 at Mid Atlantic Mod), and a guild hoop art swap.

1. Schnitzel and Boo mini for @fernsfrocks  2. Rainbow mini for @blotchandthrum  3. Selvedge mini quilt for Mid Atlantic MOD  4. Cotton +Steel mini for @eloquentmime  5. Anna Maria Horner mini for @emileemason  6. Winter Solstace hoop art for @smartash (DCMQG swap)

I also participated in my first craft show. I didn't sell much at the show, but I sold several items to co-workers who saw my pictures on Facebook. All-in-all it was a good experience and something that I hope to do again in 2016.

I wasn't going to set any year-long goals for myself but I did think of two that are pretty non-specific: 1. make things for me and my family/friends  2. use fabric in my stash! I did treat myself to a new sewing machine last month... so here's to getting stuff done in 2016!

Since I'm generally terrible at blogging, you can follow along on my Instagram where I'm much more active. Happy New Year :)

Sew South Recap

Holy cow, it's been almost a whole month since I went to Sew South! I quit my job on April 10, went to Sew South April 16-19, Mid Atlantic Mod the weekend after, and then started my new job April 27... so, needless to say, things have been in flux around here lately.

It was a rainy 6.5 hour drive from MD to NC!

Sew South is a quilting retreat hosted by Jennifer of Ellison Lane, held in Charlotte, NC. I was lucky enough to get a ticket this year, and I'm so glad I did!

I actually managed to pack a reasonable amount of projects. DCMQG represent! :)

The structure of Sew South is a little bit different than Mid-Atlantic Mod (2014 recap, 2015 recap coming soon!) After a longer-than-expected drive, I arrived right in time for the welcome reception. I had time to settle in between the reception and the opening of the sewing room at 8 pm, and boy did I need the down-time to get my stuff organized and to relax after the long drive.

The ballroom!

On Friday and Saturday mornings the sewing room opened at 8am, and there was a group workshop each day. In the afternoons and evenings there was free sewing time with various activities sprinkled in.

On Friday, the ladies from Sew South Sponsor, Dritz taught us how to make fabric covered rope bracelets.

My finished wallet that I use every day.

All the pretty wallets!

After the Dritz workshop, Jennifer walked us through constructing awesome wallets (yet-to-be-released pattern by Lindsey Rhodes).

On Saturday, Amy Gibson (from Stitchery Dickory Dock and the Craftsy BOM) came all the way from Colorado to talk to us about her new book, and teach us a nifty applique Drunkard's Path technique. I chose not to participate in the mini-quilt project, but it was so much fun to hear Amy speak, and to meet her in person, she's adorable!

My biggest achievement of the weekend was piecing the x-plus quilt top that I have been working on for years! All the ladies were so encouraging and the round of applause after the last seam was sewn was a reward in itself.

Jennifer had lots of other activities including Secret Sister (more later), a Fabric Basket swap, the Fat Quarter Game (based on LRC rules), get-to-know-you games, charity sewing for  and door prizes of course. I had so much fun I barely took any pictures, but you can see them all in the full recap.

my table-mates: Heather, Lori, Jonan, and me!

It was so amazing meeting old (internet) friends, and new. I was lucky enough to be at a table with Lori Hartman, Heather of The Sewing Loft, and Heather's mom, Jonan who was a riot!

My awesome Roomie and bee-mate, Laurel!

I roomed with my long-time #GraceCircle bee-mate Laurel (who was also my Secret Sister). I can't wait to go to Sew South again in the future. :)

Oh, and while I was in NC, I couldn't resist going out to the local BBQ joint, R&R Bar-B-Que... it was amazing!

best Hush Puppies I've ever had.