Bye Bye 2023, Hello 2024!

It is January 1, 2024. First day of the new year - one day to reflect and introspect before the onslaught of work and responsibilities.

A review post is always tricky. What do I include? What do I leave out? And how do I say it? Should it be just quilting? But my feelings are so entangled with the threads of my quilts. Can you really keep your work and thoughts in water-tight compartments?

Unable to separate my feelings from my work

I will try to focus on my quilts and if my feelings seep in so be it. Here are my favorite five quilts of 2023. Linking with Meadow Mist Linky Party.

1. Radiance (Island Batik/Accuquilt Challenge) - It was a challenge to use a new Accuquilt Block on Board with 56 pieces. I used EQ8 to design my quilt. A long arduous journey (many discards along the way) resulted in a very satisfying finish. 

Radiance was included in the November 2023 EQ8 Newsletter making it the top contender for yearly favorites list. In blogland, where comments are currency, 42 comments are proof that it was also a reader favorite.

2. Wednesday (Island Batik/Studio 180 Designs Challenge & Blog Hop) - The challenge was to use the Studio 180 Design Ruler and the Winter 2023 collection, Wild Blooms to make a quilt. Once again I used EQ8 to design. Several designs were considered and discarded. 

Most people associate batiks with traditional quilts. I am thrilled that I could create a modern quilt, using Island Batik fabrics and the Square Squared Ruler. 

3. My Checkered Past (Island Batik Ambassador's Choice) - This was the first time we had complete freedom to make a project. Any project, any size and any collection (except the ones reserved for the bloghop). I knew, from the very beginning, what I would make. It had to be improv pieced modern quilt. I could call it scrappy but those fabric bits are precious jewels displayed proudly for all to view and admire. No Accuquilt, no EQ8, just me and my machine :-) 

"My Checkered Past" travelled with me to Atlanta where I took many on-location pictures.  This picture where it looks like Coretta Scott King is admiring my work is my favorite :-)

4. Vrinda (Mercyful Quilts) - Made for Mercyful Quilts, a charity close to my heart, Vrinda is the only quilt in the top favorites list NOT made with Island Batik fabrics.  But I will remake this quilt using Island Batik Foundations in 2024, accompanying a pattern release.

Vrinda was sent to the palliative care unit at the Mercy Hospital where it may bring some solace to the terminally ill and then kept by the family in their memory.

5. Avantika Cool (Island Batik Ambassador's Choice and Rainbow Scrap Challenge) - I first made Avantika (Original) for the Island Batik Spring/Summer 2023 Catalog. But then I used the same block for Rainbow Scrap Challenge throughout the year. Avantika Cool uses only the cool colors. Click the link above to see her warm and sunny little sister (Avantika Baby). 

Avantika Cool uses 96 different Island Batik Fabrics in the top and is truly a celebration of color and joy! It is good to be an ambassador :-)

2023 was an eventful year. My quilts were published eight times. Nihal, Paroma, Mirabelle and Stairway to Heaven in Annie's Publishing; Mardi Gras Magic and Bourbon Street Bash in Golden Peak Media publications; and Window Dressing and Kashvi in Make Modern.

I released five new patterns including A Fishy Story, Avantika, Window Dressing, Nilsa and Olivia.

But the best part of the year is all the hugs I exchanged with quilty friends.

At Quiltcon Atlanta with Nann, Anna and Mell

With Sujata and Vasudha at Quiltcon Atlanta

With Anja at Quiltcon Atlanta

With Emily in Charlotte

With Bonnie in Fredericksburg

Mari and Me in Baltimore

There is one more bit of news. International news, actually! Topsy Turvy appeared on the cover of Norsk Quilteblad, the Norwegian Quilt Magazine. Thank you, Turid. Someday I will get to hug you in person :-)

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The most significant happening of the year is my new job. After 8+ years working with one firm on one project, I was anxious about making a change.  There were several stressful weeks, some nights of anxious tossing and turning and one very public outburst of tears.  Paul was holding my hand in a restaurant while I wept salty tears into my salad. 

The Model & me

Paul did not steer me one way or another, did not make any suggestions, but insisted that he supported my decision, whatever that may be.  I started my new job in August. I get to work from home which translates into zero commute time and more quilting time :-)  No complaints so far.

Professional Shot

Our house was built in 1970. The fabric storage/computer room worked just fine if I went there as needed. But if I spend eight hours working, it needed new non-drafty windows. This shift to "work from home" expedited the need for upgrades.

New windows installation

And here I am, happy in my new office space, cozily working from home.

Working from Home :-)

Me: Paul, my readers love our witty conversations and your funny comebacks.

Paul: Oh yeah?

Me: Would you like to say anything to my readers?

Paul: Live long and prosper!!!

 

May All Live Long & Prosper

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The time and place of my birth are two immutable facts that were chosen for me. Two things that govern every aspect of my life and I cannot do anything about it. This isn't a problem when I lead such a charmed and privileged life. But if I was born in Ukraine in 1990 or in Gaza in 2010, my life would have been so very different. Would I even have a life? It could have been me maimed by a bomb in Ukraine or buried under rubble in Gaza.

I am so blessed and I am so disgusted. This sentence sums up my feelings for the year 2023. As cliched that may be, all I wish from 2024 is World Peace. 

2022 In Review

As I sat writing about the year 2022, I wondered - what did I say about 2020? Unexpected. 

What did I say about 2021? It was a year marked by assault on democracy, our voting rights and our bodies. 

What can I say about 2022? The most significant world event has to be the unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

The most significant events in the US would include anti-LGBTQ policies and violence, continuing gun violence, and the monumental decision to overturn the landmark ruling Roe v. Wade.

Sadly (or appropriately) I made a quilt inspired (or disgusted) by each of those events.

1. Quilt for Ukraine - In March, I made this quilt to memorialize Zelenkyy's famous words - "I need ammunition, not a ride." It was my attempt to salute the courage of a nation and her leader in the face of most adverse circumstances.

Improv base of yellow

On October 16, I participated in a small local craft fair. I had set up the displays showing off cute zippered pouches, a table runner and some quilted placements. The Ukraine quilt was also displayed - because it just made the perfect focal point. I did not expect to sell it because it is something so specific that unless you are personally aligned with the cause, it is not for you.

Vale Club Craft Fair

That is when I met Luda. Acting the smiling/engaging salesperson, I said Good Morning. Luda mentioned the deep meaning of the words on the Ukraine quilt. Realization dawned on me as I noticed her blue/yellow t-shirt, blue/yellow earrings and a blue/yellow plume in her hair - Luda is UKRAINIAN!!! She, along with others, was representing US Ukrainian Activists, selling post cards, tree ornaments and jewelry to raise money to support Ukraine. I unpinned the Ukraine quilt, handed it to her and said, "this belongs with you." 

US Ukrainian Activists

When Luda asked me to pose at her booth with other activists, I agreed. I hugged each one of them. If I had tears in my eyes during the shot, so be it.

2. Harmony (supporting LGBTQ folks) - In 2022, at least 320 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were pushed through state legislatures. Lawmakers in statehouses nationwide sought to ban transgender youth from participating in sports; criminalize medically necessary, life-saving healthcare for transgender youth; and ban discussion of LGBTQ+ youth and families in classrooms.  I channeled my disgust into a rainbow colored runner.

Harmony

Continuing my support of LGBTQ youth, I donated Synergy Quilt to GSAFE (for a Silent Auction). Thanks to Lisa who pointed me to GSAFE. 

Synergy

3. Father's Day (processing grief) - The shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas was gut wrenching. As details emerged, it only got worse and worse.  How the law enforcement failed the community, how the politicians continued to offer empty platitudes, while making sure their interests are protected and pockets well-lined. The world condemned the shooting, the nation grieved, and most of us moved on. I made a quilt. 

Father's Day

4. We Persist (continuing the fight) - The monumental decision to overturn the landmark ruling Roe v. Wade is the most controversial in American history. 

The partisan nature of the decision is particularly distressing. There is no concern for women's health or popular opinion, or any acknowledgement of changing times. When Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 it was a 7-2 decision, with several Conservative judges siding with the majority opinion. Not today. The decision was split along party lines. 

According to the dissenting justices "young women today will come of age with fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers." Indeed, they said the court's opinion means that "from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of. A state can force her to bring a pregnancy to term even at the steepest personal and familial costs." "With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent," they wrote.

The following image (from the New Yorker magazine) showing the burden of an unwanted pregnancy that many will be forced to carry in a post-Roe America aptly captures what is difficult to put into words.

From the New Yorker Magazine

 

"Nevertheless she persisted" was the slogan of choice. I chose to make it more inclusive in this mini quit where all women wear green, the color symbolic of abortion rights.

We Persist

While there is so much upheaval in the world, in our country, and in our lives, we continued to live and love and hope for a better tomorrow. Here are my favorite quilts that convey love and joy.

1. Innamorato (In Love) - Made as a response to the Island Batik and Aurifil challenge, I celebrated my love for Paul in this mini quilt.

Paul and me - In love

2. Pobody's Nerfect - A row by row quilt made for the Island Batik challenge and blog hop. This quilt just makes me so happy. Every row has a mistake - on purpose!!! It does not have to be perfect to be joyful.

Pobody's Nerfect

3. Bollywood Beats - Made in response to the Island Batik & Studio 180 Design Tool challenge and Blog Hop, I am thrilled with this quilt. 

Thank you Paul - the best model ever!

Bernie supported me in the second Positivity QAL. I was disappointed because the responses did not meet my expectations, initially. Then there was more. I was thrilled and humbled.  

Naman for Mercyful Quilts

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2022 was also the year I got published! Here is a list of the quilts/projects that were published in three different publications - Quiltmaker (Golden Peak Media), Quilters World (Annie's Publishing) and Make Modern.

1. Make Modern #44 - Synergy

Fall Foliage, Rainbow Colors

2. Make Modern #47 - Topsy Turvy.  Also featured as "Meet the Maker"

Topsy Turvy

3. Make Modern #48 - Frolicking Fish (scroll down)

Frolicking Fish. Location Courtesy - Raj & Manveen

4. Annie's Publishing - Stars & Swirls

Stars & Swirls

5. Quiltmaker Nov/Dec 2022 - Diwali Lights. Also featured in "Designer Spotlight"

Diwali Lights. Picture by Quiltmaker Magazine

Designer Spotlight in Quiltmaker Magazine

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And one last thing.

I work as a transportation planner in the DC Metro region. For the last 7+ years I have been working on the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, connecting downtown DC to the Dulles Airport through Metrorail. This project has been in the making for 60 years, when the right of way (in the median of the toll road 267) was dedicated to a future transit line. The project was so large and so ambitious that it was split into two Phases. Phase 1 consisted of five new stations and was opened to the public in 2014. Phase 2 (six new stations and a maintenance yard for the trains) connects the end of Phase 1 to the Dulles Airport was opened for revenue service on November 15, 2022. 

I was there to witness the ribbon cutting and take the inaugural ride. It was a momentous occasion and I was thrilled. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was the guest of honor.  

Here is the NBC news clip. I am in it at 1:34, wearing a hat. Yes, it was freezing. Don't blink, or you'll miss it.

From my seat, I walked up towards the stage, as far as I could, without getting into a scuffle with security.  Handed my phone to a random stranger and shamelessly asked them to take a picture making sure that "Pete and I are in the same frame".  I took off my hat, ran quick fingers through my hair, and beamed 1000 watts into the camera.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Beaming me!!!

In retrospect, 2022 has been a rollercoaster year with a complete spectrum of emotions - love, loss, grief, anger, disgust, joy, hope and more. But if I have to choose just one theme to end this blogpost, it will be gratitude. 

Thanks to friends (Manveen, Mell, Connie, Bernie and Mari) who kept me sane. Thanks to Island Batik for the opportunities to play with fabric, to push me beyond my comfort zone, and for their support in my publication projects.  Most importantly, thanks to Paul! You love me when I am unlovable.

Wishing you joy, peace and creativity in the new year!

Linking with End of Year Linky Party at Meadow Mist Designs.