Fifteen years!

Fifteen years blogging!  OMG!

Where has the time gone?  It doesn't feel like I've been blogging that long.  Yet, the math tells me so.

How can I sum up my 15 years?  

When I first started blogging in February 2007, my first post wasn't much to read about.  Would anyone even bother.  Well, yes you did.  It took a while to get into a rhythm and my posts became more interesting as the years went by.  

What happened during all those years?

Older family members have passed on and new ones have arrived to take their place.  The circle of life.

My Mom loved to read my blog posts.  I would print them out for her and take them with me when it was my turn to stay with her.  She passed away in 2008 at age 90.  Miss you Mom!  She would be so proud of me for still posting all these years.  She was the person that started me on my creative journey.  The older I got, the more creative I became and she would always ask me why I had to start a new craft by making something hard to do.  "Because I can" was my reply and I still do to this day.  The more challenging, the happier I am.

Quilts.  I counted the number of quilts (all sizes) made and totally surprised myself.  How in the world did 126 quilts get made?  One by one they came out of magazines, patterns, my own designs, swaps, and challenges.  They sure added up and no, I don't have most of them anymore.  A lot were gifted or donated. 

Patterns.  From time to time, a person will ask me about a pattern for a quilt that I've designed.  Thank you for your interest, but no, I will not be writing patterns to sell.  At this time in my life, there is no energy to do that.

EQ.  Since getting my first EQ software program, I've never looked back.  Designs just flow out of me and there are so many quilts that have been designed but will never get made.  Not enough time in my lifeline to make them.  Still, it is fun to sit and put my creative thoughts onto a computer screen and watch a new design come to life.

Friends.  So many friends have been made through comments over the years.  Blogs that I loved to read are no more.  What happened to all those bloggers?  

Two international friends are Jennifer and Kevin from Australia.  They stayed with us three times (2012, 2015 and 2018) after we moved to North Bay.  Jennifer blogs at http://bronzewombat.blogspot.com/  Who knew that a simple comment would lead to this kind of friendship?  That is what I find so interesting about blogging.  A friend is just a comment away.

We inherited two cats (no longer with us) back in 2008.  Miss Hank (we were her third owner) and Miss Ashes (we were her second owner).  Gosh, how we loved those two girls and they are sorely missed.  They truly loved my quilts and always wanted to help out when I was trying to quilt.

In 2012, Hubby and I moved from Toronto to North Bay.   We have gotten older but are content with our lives and our home.  Three conditions for buying our new home.  There had to be a garage (we get a lot of snow), a studio space with high ceilings for my design wall and walls for displaying my quilts.  Tick, tick and tick.

Quilt Shows and Ribbons.  Since starting my blog, I've entered quilts into three quilt shows here in North Bay ..... and Lordy, came away with ribbons.  Most of these ribbons were for my hand quilting.  Nowadays, my quilts are machine quilted by a LAer, but there will be a small quilt that will be hand quilted.

2013

2016

2019

Slowly, but surely, I'm getting my blog printed into book form.  Three books so far have been made.  The rest of the years will be done this year.  My DH is thrilled and so are my family.  It is time.  I'm not getting any younger, you know!  LOL

Furniture.  My love of refurbishing furniture took a major upturn when we moved here to North Bay.  Our home is much larger than our bungalow home in Toronto and we needed furniture to fill the spaces.  Enter thrift stores and Kijiji.  Our biggest project were these chairs and we are most proud of them!  There are many more projects that were done, but too many to show here now.

Technology is constantly changing and how lovely to sit at a computer and chat away with other quilters from around the world.  Zooming is a new thing for me and so interesting.  I can chat with one person or over 20 in one meeting.  What next?

Squirrels.  There has been so many squirrels over the years and there will be more to come.  I have so many UFO's to keep me busy for many, many years to come.  One by one, they are getting addressed and finished.  This makes me happy!

So, this has been a small recap, but a wee glimpse to what my blog has been about all these 15 years.  

Will there be another 15 years?  No, I don't think so, but a few more years for sure.

To all of you who have hung on since my first post, or to new readers ..... thank you for stopping by and reading my quilting diary!   If only one of you has been inspired to try something new .... something a wee bit harder .... you are welcome!   It has been a blast and it continues!

Cherish your day, cherish your life!