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2015 [reflections]

So it's that time of year again to look back over the previous 12 months and proclaim it good! My year has been somewhat mixed, I feel...

We spent 11 months of the year moving house.... from the day we started clearing out and packing on 3rd January to when we finally completed on the house on 3rd December! We swapped houses with Michael's Mum, Linda, and while this meant we avoided estate agents, we couldn't avoid the packing, the unpacking, or the solicitors. I always thought that no matter what my children decide to do when they are adults, I would be proud. But I think I'm changing my mind. My recent dealings with solicitors have not been successful, so here's hoping they don't pick that career path! We physically moved on 4th April - Easter Saturday, and both of us then proceeded to do a lot of work on the houses we moved into. Our builder came in on 7th April, and the final new carpet was laid on 5th November. I know I've said it before, but never again! But we do now have a beautiful house - big enough for us to grow into, entertain the family, and live very comfortably. It's full of the memories of Michael's child hood, but we've put our own stamp on it and it feels so right to be living here now.

The day that the living room carpet was laid was also the same
day that Mia walked by herself with no encouragement at all!
The other thing that has dominated my year has been my pregnancy. I can't wait to welcome our new baby girl in April next year, and I had a bit of a turning point mid-December, where I stopped feeling quite so ill and just started feeling pregnant! An improvement of sorts! Mia is a bit little to fully understand what is happening, but she has her own "baby" and will tell anyone who asks "what's in Mummy's tummy?" that it's "cake"!



In between 11 months of moving and 6 months of feeling ill, we've had some fantastic family holidays: a week in my favourite place in the world - Tenby in South West Wales, and a week in Sidmouth for the Folk Festival.



And you know what, I've been doing a little sewing as well! Though I haven't been anywhere as prolific as last year! Working full time on top of everything will have that effect! Here are the stand out sewing moments and themes of my year:

The only large (read: bigger than a baby quilt) that I finished this year, was my oldest WIP, this sampler quilt. But I finished it way back in January, so it really feels as though there have been no big finishes this year: something I hope to change in 2016.



But 2015 was the year of the swap for me: I took part in 10 swaps in all: here's what I sent.

Modern Fabric Postcard Swap; Easy Swap UK zippy; UK Mini Swap; Cotton and Steel Swap (angel); Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap (round 3); Thimbleblossoms Mini Quilt Swap; Hand Pieced Mini Quilt Swap; Harry Potter Mini Quilt Swap; Whimsical Woodland Mug Rug Swap; Cotton and Steel Mini Quilt Swap; Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap (round 4)
And what I received: there's a slight discrepancy between then two mosaics: I also made an angel mini for the Cotton and Steel Mini Quilt swap, and I never received anything in the Harry Potter swap and the Swap Mama stopped communicating.... I also sent three modern fabric postcards and only received two. Despite these disappointments, I still really enjoyed participating in the swaps this year. Next year will definitely be quieter - I'm not currently signed up for anything and it needs to stay that way for a good while!



Hand sewing has been a feature of the year: for starters, why begin one long-term EPP project, when you can begin 2? I decided to take the plunge and make a La Passacaglia quilt in the spring: I'm picking anything and everything from my stash and looking forward to seeing where this adventure takes me over the next few year.



At about the same time as I started this project, I stumbled across the New Hexagon Millefiore quilt. And because I couldn't chose between the two projects, I started that too! To make it specifically different from the La Pass, I'm limiting myself to aquas and low volume fabrics for this quilt.

And then there have been the mini quilts and cushions for me...and some for Mia!

Rainbow Squared cushion, Jingle Bells cushion; Camper Van cushion; Woodland log cabin cushion; Lucky Stars mini; Darth Vader cushion; Karen Lewis Mini; April Showers mini mini; Wildflowers Mini; Mia's advent calendar; Marsala Clams; Patchwork City mini
And the baby quilts....

Trellis; Pink Plusses; Mia's Cat Quilt; Power of Nine Baby Quilt; Whales quilt

And even some clothes: a hat for me and a dress for Mia!





And the nursery hoops....



I started and made differing amounts of progress on a few other quilts as well. I'll have a separate post on those: I have plans to finish some things next year!


Comments

Diane-crewe said…
lets hope the positive start for the year continues and 2016 is a GOOD one xx
Anthea said…
hi Jennie, happy new year! wow you sure packed a LOT into 2015, it's been great reading your blog & IG, & seeing your beautiful work!
Allison said…
Happy New Year! Hope these next few months give you a chance to really enjoy your newly completed home and sweet little Mia before the baby arrives and the next phase of your family life takes shape.

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