I cannot believe we are at the end of another year. So much for me saying I will blog more! It’s something I will fulfill at some point but really I just love creating. I did turn 60 this year so that was a major milestone! We spent a lovely time visiting Oaxaca and Mexico City. Oaxaca is somewhere I would love to return to and take some workshops. It’s a city I would highly recommend visiting if you love a small town feel, color, textiles and great food!

I like to write here at the end of the year and document how I spent my year, my achievements, my travel and how many quilts I made! Looking back I see how my quilt production has gone down and my travel and teaching time has gone up!

Can you see me!

A courtyard inside the textile museum in Oaxaca, Mexico

2025 was a year when I achieved many of my “bucket-list” of quilting items. In May I visited the opening of the Quilt National exhibit in Athens, Ohio with my quilt guild friends Marylee and Lynn, and we saw my quilt ‘Let’s Talk Color’ on display. This quilt was actually sold towards the end of the show and is now traveling on exhibit and is at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. My other bucket-list items I will talk about later.

I made 15 travel trips for quilting, many involving a plane flight and some more local. I taught at the Festival of Quilts in the UK, Quilt Wyoming in Rock Springs, WY, Road to California in Ontario, CA, International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX. I visited quilt guilds in Portland, Seattle, Eugene, New Braunfels and Blanco, TX, Paradise, San Diego and more. I was lucky enough to attend quilting retreats in Lake Tahoe and Capitola, CA.

I sold 7 quilts this year from exhibits and a lady at a quilt guild meeting in Portland. I sold: Lets talk Color, Baby Birds on a Wire, Three and a half Blue Chickens, Blue Chickens, Smooth Cat, Ruby the half Cow and Join me for Tea ( see below).

It’s always hard to say exactly how many workshops I taught and presentations I made this year but approximately 31 workshops, 15 lectures and 9 Zoom events. Three of these Zooms were workshops I hosted and arranged myself. This is something I wish to do more of and also to sell online more of my PDF patterns. These can be found both in my website shop and also my Etsy shop ‘Quilts from Clothes’. I have planned 2 upcoming Zoom classes for January and will make those available soon.

I have found a lovely studio in my home town where I am lucky enough to hold a monthly class and also host some multi-day workshops. These are at Auburn Sewing Studio, 1119 High St, Auburn, CA. Thanks Ellen for your support. If you live close enough to attend email me to be added to this email list for current happenings.

I spent more time this year creating workshops that use handwork. I am making hand stitched samples using birds and flowers as inspiration. Poppies continue to inspire me but sadly this year I lost my Poppy jacket while traveling home from Ohio! I do have another one in progress to replace it!

Now onto the quilts I made this year. I am happy to report I caught up on all my T-shirt quilt commissions! I do have a few planned for next year but not having a backlog is a wonderful feeling. Since 2015 I have always had at least one commission quilt to make .

I made 12 T-shirt quilts and 2 pet portrait commissions.

I made 22 quilts that includes Stars and Stripes my Quilts of Valor donation, Ode to Freddie, the Foothill Quilt Guilds raffle Quilt for 2026, various class samples, finished a couple of UFO’s, made gifts for the family, and a bag or two.

I donated 5 quilts this year to SAQA, Stand Up Placer, Quilts of Valor and Foothill Quilt Guild.

A few years ago I wrote some of my quilty dreams… to get a quilt into Quilt National, teach at Asilomar, Australia or New Zealand and on a quilting cruise. All these have come to fruition in 2026 and 2027! If you wish to take a workshop from me these might be great places to find me. I will add the links to the websites.

Empty Spools Seminars in Asilomar, CA March 6-11th Session 2. Spaces available.

Reno Quilt Show June 9-13th and I will have an exhibit here too.

Garden of Quilts, Thanksgiving Point, Leih, UT September 16-19th.

Quilt Symposium, Christchurch NZ Oct 1-6th,

International Quilt Festival, Houston , TX November 9-15th,

World of Quilts Travel Quilting at Sea Holland America Cruise January 9-26th 2027

and finally May 2-8th 2027 Hudson River Valley Art Workshops

These are samples of my hand stitching projects I am working on for Quilt Symposium in New Zealand

Thanks for catching up with me in 2025 . And thanks to all my students and supporters, purchasers of my patterns and book, attendees at workshops and more, I really appreciate you all. Sign up for my newsletter if you want to stay in touch with my schedule and new offerings I will have in 2026

Happy Holidays