2022 in Review

It's good to reflect on one's misses (also known as WIPs and UFOs) and accomplishments over the course of a year.

One of my favorite things to review is which Instagram posts others liked best. I went to https://topnine.co/ entered my Instagram name - FlourishingPalms - and this is the picture Top Nine came up with of the most "liked" posts I posted to Instagram in 2023. 

The #1 Instagram post with 2,847 likes (wow!) was of the first Seaglass quilt I made and gifted to a Bible study leader who's in the bottom right photo.

#2 is my 2019 Temperature quilt hanging at QuiltCon Phoenix;

Then there's a Patchwork Pony (pattern by Jo Avery);

the quilt that sold at QuiltCon (yay!);

EPP Prudence quilt blocks arranged on the design wall (remaining unfinished, though an active WIP);

2023 QuiltCon acceptances;

and a Kawandi (lower left).

Surprisingly, during a year I thought I would cut back on quiltmaking, I completed 14 quilts! Yikes. I'm not doing so well!  Pictures of each quilt are on a different blog page. Tap the tab at the top of the home page: "2021-2022 Quilts" if you'd like to see them. 

Of these 14 quilts, I'm noting that four quilts have been given away; three are for sale (while hanging at QuiltCon 2023); and five are small, table-top size. So, my net gain isn't too bad.

In addition are other assorted creations:

1. hand appliquéd pillow
2. scrappy zipper pouches
3. ukulele case
4. knitted dish cloths
5. Patchwork Ponys
6. camera tripod case
7. braided rag rug
8. travel trays
9. sleep masks
10. thread catchers

1. hand appliquéd pillow; 2. scrappy zipper pouches; 3. ukulele case; 4. knitted dish cloths;
   5. Patchwork Ponys; 6. camera tripod case; 7. braided rag rug; 8. travel trays; 9. sleep masks; 10. thread catchers

The items I kept for myself are the pillow (#1); ukulele (#3) and tripod ((#6) cases; and a sleep mask (#9). Friends and a charity received everything else. 

I've been in a bit of sewing slump. Which project will get me going again? Stitching hasn't been more than continuing to add big stitch hand quilting to Tilted Tiles, and doing prep work to ready three quilts for the January 27-28 Quilting Guild of The Villages Showcase of Quilts (a biannual event).

Each quilt needs its own drawstring bag with an outside label - name, phone, and quilt number - and another label with the quilt number sewn to the quilt back. Along with sewing on sleeves and covering homemade labels, it's several hours of work. 

I don't know when I'm going to call Tilted Tiles "done," but it will be before the end of 2022, to count as #14 among this year's finishes. See this quilt in the tab "2021-2022 Quilts".

Book Recommendations

The Girl in the Garden by Melanie Wallace takes place in a small coastal town in New England. June and her baby are abandoned by the baby's father at a resort cabin. Mabel, the resort owner takes pity on them and allows them to stay. But with winter coming and no heat in the cabin, Mabel determines to find a more suitable place for them to stay. A cottage on the grounds of Mabel's reclusive friend Iris, is where she goes, and where each of them find much-needed restoration.

Linda's score: 3.5/5.0

The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths is the last book (thus far) #14 in the Ruth Galloway series, and it did not disappoint. In fact it was - in my opinion - a great "last" book.

This one finds Ruth still living with her daughter Kate, now 11 years old, in the small house on the Saltmarsh. A young woman, Zoe, a nurse, has moved into the rental next door, along with her Maine coon cat, Derek. As Ruth and Zoe are getting to know one another, DCI Harry Nelson and his team are investigating a series of apparent suicides by elderly women. Just as they're suspecting foul play, the world turns upside down -the Coronavirus pandemic. Everyone's lives change when schools begin remote teaching (Ruth learns to teach via Zoom), and a dear friend is felled by the virus. 

I appreciated how the author reviewed the ways different people responded differently to the pandemic. Still, the book ended with an I-wonder-what-will-happen-next, "Let's talk." I hope that means Ms. Griffiths will continue to the story. 

Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

I anticipate listening to two more books before the end of 2022 at which time I'll share a complete listing, with scores, of the 99 books I listened to and/or read in print during 2022. Hopefully such information will be a resource for choosing your own books to read. 

A recent golf cart drive to line dancing, at 7:10 am, presented me with this glorious sunrise sky! It's another of many things to be grateful for. 

Linda