taking the plunge
It has been a completely transformative 48th year for me. Despite the heartbreaking start of losing my dad five days after my birthday, I’ve been overwhelmed with the creative opportunities that have been sprinkled into my life since.
I was able to take part in Heidi Parkes’ year-long Quiltmaking class, in which I received incredible support and inspiration from Heidi and all of my lovely classmates. I quilted through a lot of grief, made many discoveries about myself and my style, and was inundated with ideas and inspiration. If you are looking for a life-changingly rewarding experience, I highly recommend taking a look at her course.
Heidi, a remarkably generous artist and teacher, also invited some of her students to participate in her mid-career retrospective at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts. Here was my humble contribution, #30 from my 52 Stitched Stories project.
I was thrilled to be asked by Jamie Chalmers- aka Mr. Xstitch- for an interview on his podcast Needlexchange. In prepping for the interview, I went down a deep rabbit hole of listening to prior episodes and checking out the profiles on his website. I was blown away by the incredible artists he has profiled and so humbled to be included among them. Jamie has a wonderful way of both asking engaging questions and putting people at ease- it was a joy to chat with him. You can listen to part 1 and part 2 of our talk at these links.
I was also hugely honored to talk to Lynn at Create Whimsy and answer some questions about my practice. Lynn’s site is another wonderful place to let yourself get lost in endless profiles of inspiring artists and delightful projects. My spotlight is here.
All of this is to say that I’m feeling deeply grateful this year!
Having this kind of creative community and support has encouraged me to take the plunge, begin a newsletter, and start this blog. I’m also hoping to start creating some tutorials to share. Let me know if you have any special requests.
Wanting to share my gratitude, I made an extra special batch of tiny offerings. They were/will be given away on Sunday, November 30th at 7pm CET. If you are reading this before then, please leave a comment on my Instagram to put your name in the hat, or sign up for my Newsletter (at the bottom of the page) for an extra entry.
Thank you all for your support this year, it absolutely means the world to me!
And here’s to 49!
-Claire
