I’m sure I’m not the only one who gets to this point in the year and wonders where the days and months have gone. Suddenly we find ourselves in December with Christmas around the corner and the year winding down to a close.
The old me would get to this point and wonder what I have done with all this time? Why have I not completed all my goals, why have I not finished more projects, or got more done in the garden and around the house. The old me would have felt a bit like a failure, like I’m not working hard enough to get everything done.
But I have learnt and become better at giving my self a break! I have become aware of the season of life that I’m in and that there are limitations to what I can realistically achieve. I’m a Mum, a wife, a daughter. I wear many, many hats in daily life and I own and run my own business. That’s a lot for one person to take on, and whilst I might like to think I am Wonder Woman, I most definitely am not.
I look back on everything I have done this year with a happy and fulfilled heart. Doors have closed and doors have opened. Opportunities have come and the ones that felt right have been accepted, the ones that did not were let go of. I feel I am walking towards the end of this year instead of madly running, and I feel better at this point then I did last year.
The year began with the closing of my second business The Blue Mountains Makers. It also meant the closure of a business partnership with a good friend. I left that business with grace, with gratitude and with a light heart. We were both ready to close that chapter. Closing released a lot of stress and anxiety I had been carrying, a load that was so heavy I could hardly walk.
I don’t look back on the experience of co-owning the Blue Mountains Makers negatively, though we had many hard times, there were also good times. I felt privileged to be able to support many local and Australian hand makers and artisans and I enjoyed being surround by so much creativity.
The closing of Blue Mountains Makers meant for the first time I could solely focus on The Maker’s Stash full time, something I had been wanting to do since I first started it five years ago. Of course, going fulltime would mean new challenges and new stresses, but I can honestly say I feel like I’m finally doing exactly what I’m meant to do.
This business brings me so much joy. Everyday I walk down into my studio to start on the days chores I feel happy and so lucky. I enjoy curating beautiful fabrics and threads for customers, putting together fun bundles and slow stitch kits. Working on new pattern designs, filming videos for YouTube and of course writing blog entries and my Slow Stitching Journal.
This year I took my shop to five Shows: The Blue Mountains Quilt Guild Exhibition, Craft Alive Hawkesbury, The Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair, Camden Quilt Show and the NSW Quilt Guild Exhibition. While it is an enormous amount of work and exhausting, it is so rewarding to do these shows, and I thoroughly enjoy meeting and chatting to customers face to face.
This year I didn’t release many patterns; Granny’s Flower Patch Quilt and the Jewel Heart Pouch were the only two. I did release some sweet hexie flower kits and Large Star Ornament kits, and I released lots of fun bundles, pretty patch packs, slow stitch packs and my new EPP Starter Kit.
My biggest achievement this year was releasing my Guide to English Paper Piecing. This digital PDF download book contains over 80 pages bursting with all of my knowledge, tips and tricks that I have learnt in my twenty years’ experience. I am so proud of all the information, the photography, the diagrams and the layout.
My hands have held and stitched on many projects this year. Slow Stitching has become such an important part of my life and business. The joy I get from passing needle and thread through fabric is enormous, and I love that I can share that joy with the stitching community.
My Fleur Woods Joyful Embroidery course project was started in 2023 and worked on throughout this year. I’m not in any real rush to finish this one and work on it when it calls to me. I made these pretty flowers using Lillabell Lanes templates and eventually I have an idea to turn these into a tablecloth, appliqued on some gingham fabric. I love stitching with Vintage sheets, especially to make hexie flowers!
I worked on my Vintage Patches quilt and started the Gosling Quilt. I haven’t worked on the vintage quilt for awhile, but happy to share I am piecing on the final outer edge blocks to my Gosling Quilt. I finished the quilting on my Hexie Flower cushion but it hasn’t been made into a cushion yet.
I made some lovely pincushions to sell at shows, started work on an Equilateral triangle cushion, and of course a favourite project, started the Skip Around the Garden Quilt on an inspirational whim (pattern coming early 2025!).
I am always making hexie flowers, whether for a specific project, as a palette cleanser, or just for fun. These ones are intended for a cushion. I also worked on my Flying Geese quilt, hand piecing using paper templates. Another favourite start for this year is my Connecting Hearts Jewel quilt. Jewels featured quite heavy in my stitching this year and I started another quilt made form jewel star flowers.
On the spur of the moment I started a slow Stitch blanket project after being inspired by Rachael of the Roxy Sisters on YouTube. While clearing out some old kids linens I came across a wool blanket that they both used as babies and decided to turn it into a cozy quilt featuring an EPP panel that I started over 20 years ago.
Quite possibly my favourite finish for this year is Floralee, my Vintage Embroidered Tablecloth who needed a Hexie Heart. You can read more about her in my last blog post. Most recently I have been playing with some different diamond shapes and having a lot of fun.
All of these unfinished projects I will continued to work on in the new year, along with a list of new projects and ideas. One thing is for absolute certain, my fingers are going to be very busy stitching in 2025!
I was super thrilled to host my first Sew-Along this year Connecting Hearts. This is a very low key; no restrictions or deadlines Sew-Along where we are stitching jewel heart blocks into a quilt or project. I have loved seeing everyone share their progress on Instagram and seeing the joy that these little heart blocks are bringing. The Sew-Along is still open and will continue into 2025 with no real end date in the works just yet. Follow along or join in using #connectingheartsepp
At home and in the garden, things have been moving along very slowly. Much of my focus and time has been spent on The Maker’s Stash. The garden this year has I guess largely been left to its own devices. The battle with grass and weeds continues and I suspect I won’t be winning the battle anytime soon!
Plants have been added, plants have been removed. One garden bed has been extended. I don’t feel like I have made a lot of progress this year, but it has brought me joy and many beautiful flowers.
Like always I have many grand plans for our home and garden and I hope that by scheduling my work and the time I use to do that work, I will have better work/life balance in 2025 and can start to tick off some of the items on my home and garden to-do list.
This year I have watched as my daughter Matilda (aged 8) and son Leo (aged 4) grow and flourish. Tilly finishes year two at school today. Next year marks Leo’s last year before starting kindergarten. There of course have been tantrums, there has been fighting between the two of them, there have been times where I have wanted to pull my hair out and hide in the closet with a bottle of wine and a block of chocolate! But as any mum I’m sure would agree, I wouldn’t trade in these two precious souls for anything.
The world has seen a lot of turmoil this year. It seems it will continue into the next. I admit I walk around with rose coloured glasses on most of the time and I try not to think about all the crappy things that are ging on out there. It’s not because I don’t care, it’s probably because I care too much and as it gets me both angry and sad. I choose instead to have a hopeful and optimistic outlook on life. I try to focus on the positive things, I try to spread love and joy.
In this space I share with you here on my blog, or on YouTube and through social media, is a place where you can be free to live calmly, to be mindful, to escape into beauty and be inspired. It is I hope a safe space where you felt seen and heard. It is where love and kindness live. It is where we can share creatively and lift each other up. It’s a place for friendship and a place for unity.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for your support and your encouragement. Thank you for reading this blog, for watching my videos, for liking, commenting and saving those little pictures on Instagram. If you have made a purchase in my online shop, at a craft fair or shared my business with a stitchy friend, Thank You! It means more than you could ever know.
I hope 2025 brings you much love, peace and joy. I hope it is a beautiful year for you, full of time spent with loved ones, amazing thrifty finds, endless cups of heart-warming tea, pleasant strolls through the garden, time spent lost in the pages of books, and of course lots and lots of soul soothing slow stitching.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Friend. Miss Leela xxx