Welcome to the New Year!

I am looking forward to sharing the beauty of the world as I see it through my art this year. Thank you for your love and support in making 2025 such a meaningful year for me. Through it all, I learned that even amid chaos, kindness and compassion are everywhere.

I began the year feeling uncertain about the changes happening in our country, but I came to understand just how resilient we truly are. When we choose love and hope, we allow ourselves to envision a better future. As I step into 2026, I carry the belief that beauty opens the heart—where love and hope live.

Because my art process is all-consuming, I intentionally take time from mid-November through the end of each year to step away from all creative work. This is why you do not hear from me during the holidays. That time is reserved for family and friends, as well as for rest and renewal before the new year. It is wonderful to slow down, take time for myself, and reconnect with the people I love.

I started 2026 refreshed and ready to create! I am having fun exploring the supplies I already have by using them in new ways, along with trying out a few new products. I recently discovered a stabilizer that allows me to stitch through my painted fabrics more easily and without wrinkling. This has been a great find, as stitching through multiple layers becomes more challenging over time.

I began the year by giving myself a challenge. I decided to explore this year’s Cherrywood Challenge. Each year, Cherrywood selects a theme and color palette and invites quilters from all over the world to participate. The challenge is to create a piece using a very limited number of colors while showcasing the company’s hand-dyed fabrics. This year’s theme is Story Time.

I look at this challenge every year, but I don’t always participate. This year, however, I felt especially inspired because I love the idea of depicting a story that influenced me as a child. I chose The Secret Garden because of my love for flowers and the joy I find in bringing a garden to life. The funny thing is that once I committed to the challenge, I discovered the new stabilizer that is now making my art easier to stitch—perfect timing!

Here I am working on the Cherrywood Challenge

As soon as the quilt is finished, I will share it with you. I love exploring new things because they give me new tools to improve my art and allow the creative process to flow more freely through me and into existence. I hope this year you find the tools that open the door for your own creativity to emerge. Remember—we are all creative in our own unique way.

Thank you for being part of this creative journey. I’m grateful you’re here, and I invite you to keep walking alongside me, visit my website or simply reply and share the beauty you’re noticing and how you’re expressing it.