Whew. 2017. What a year, am I right? It was good one, but also exhausting!
In January, I set crafty goals for the first quarter of the year and started my barn quilt project with the Dogwood Star block. With half marathon approaching and me not running, I rambled on running and races. We also enjoyed a mild day by covering our patio in sidewalk chalk. In February, I finally wrote Charlotte’s birth story and the then-17-month-old got ear tubes. We also had another fun day at the park with our neighbors in some lovely weather. (Can’t wait to have a few of those nice “winter” days in 2018!)
In March, Charlotte hit 18 months and I turned 39. We went strawberry picking (I heard they are already open — in December — this year) and after a looooong 6 months, finally sold our old house. In April, I published my Intertwined quilt pattern and set crafty goals for spring. The goal-settings on a quarterly basis worked pretty well and I plan to continue it! Jose and I went to Astros opening day, so forevermore we’ll be able to say we were there on day 1 of the season they won it all! I made my Pentagon Star mini quilt for the Riley Blake challenge, and it turned out to be one of my favorites this year. I also started my 100 Day Project, although I didn’t post about it until the following month.
In May, Jose and I celebrated 8 years of marriage and made a few updates to our living room. (I guess we could call the furniture an anniversary gift? Hmm.) I did some pattern testing and my L Is For… quilt was published as the Modern Quilt Guild’s pattern of the month! Emma had a dance recital and “graduated” from preschool too. In June, I ran my first 10K race in quite a while. I made a Trolls dress for Emma and finished my Diamonds Galore quilt for my mom (a belated Christmas gift). And last but definitely not least, Jose and I spent 6 days in Belize!!
July kicked off with Independence Day, of course, and the next day we flew to Seattle to spend a week with my sister and her family. Right after we got back from the northwest, we headed to Corpus Christi for the weekend to celebrate my mother-in-law’s 60th birthday. I set another quarter’s worth of crafty goals and delivered my Pueblo Mesa quilt to my new niece Avery. I also wrapped up a very successful 100 day project. August was just crazy crazy crazy — the month began with the joy of Emma’s 5th birthday and ended with the stress of Hurricane Harvey. In between all that, Emma started kindergarten, there was a solar eclipse, I finished my Long Time Gone quilt (a favorite for the year for sure), my Triangles at Play quilt kit collaboration with Craftsy went live and I took a relief printmaking class.
In September, Charlotte turned 2 and we had a low-key celebration with friends. We went to Corpus Christi for the weekend to celebrate both girls’ birthdays with family and I delivered my Plus quilt for my new nephew (born the following month). Jose started teaching a class as an adjunct professor at a local community college. October left me feeling a bit beaten down due to several sad occurrences, but there were bright spots too. We watched a TONNNN of baseball but it was all worth it because the Astros won the World Series!! I made a final list of crafty goals for the year and also enjoyed visits to both Quilt Market and Quilt Festival. There was plenty of fall family fun as well, with visits to the Art Festival, the pumpkin patch, and of course Halloween itself. And oh — Emma lost her first tooth!
Jose went to Moscow for 10 days in November, and my mom came to help me out with the girls which was great. We spent Thanksgiving in Corpus Christi as always, and Emma lost another tooth the day after we got back. I finished and submitted two quilts to QuiltCon — Intertwined and Backyard Chatter. And that brings us to this month — and since I’ve been blogging every day, there’s plenty to highlight. I finished Charlotte’s Christmas stocking, it snowed(!!!), Jose and I got to see the James Webb Space Telescope, I set crafty goals for 2018, and decided 10 year plans are dumb, and finished my Gypsy Wife quilt top. Annnnd of course we had the Christmas that will live in infamy thanks to the flu.
All these germs have really put a damper on the end of 2017, but nonetheless, I’m excited to see what 2018 brings!
(Previous year-in-reviews: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
p.s. I’m doing a 31 day blog writing challenge!