Friday, January 1, 2021

Goodbye 2020 and First Sewing challenges for 2021

Well what can I say other than 2020 has been a different and difficult year for all of us.   Life changed dramatically in many ways and in some cases still has.    While masks in some parts of our country were never mandatory it was recommended when out and about that they were worn which in turn saw many of us sewists making masks for family and friends.     I ended up making a total of 20 masks. 


Many started working from home, parents became teachers overnight,  you consulted the doctor via the  phone.    More and more people turned to on-line shopping, having meals delivered and when the local libraries were able to re-open you could get home delivered library books.      Zoom, Facetime and Skyping became the new norm where to meet up and have a chat, coffee or  sewing sessions together via the screen.  

Shopping did prove a bit of a challenge  as there were shortages of several items for a period of time and customer numbers were limited in shops that were open.   You were greeted at shop entrances with hand sanitiser and hand washing stations as well as having to follow the arrows on the floor around the various isles.

During the height of the pandemic when we were restricted to a "partial lockdown" my garden received much attention that it was desperately needing.   Many books were added to the "read list".    Jigsaw puzzles were dug out from the bottom of the cupboard in the garage where they have been stored for many years and long walks were all part of the day.   


Sewing was a big part of my life during the year and while large sized quilts were not made my projects included many smaller items such as cot size quilts,  coasters, tablemats, tablerunners, wallhangings, fabric baskets, babies' bibs, aprons for adults and children etc.    At the beginning of the year I set a couple of goals to reach  namely a landscape quilt and a collage quilt both of which were achieved.  





Hubs and I along with the members of our immediate and extended families were all spared the horrors and effects of suffering with COVID and apart from not being able to visit each other in person for quite sometime we count ourselves amongst the lucky ones. 

As the year  progressed restrictions on social activities were relaxed somewhat which meant that we were able to meet up with groups of family and friends both inside and outside our homes again so life for us had just about returned to normal for which we are thankful.    Travelling overseas as we have known in the past will not be available  for sometime to come but we can now move around our own country freely which was not the case for many months.    Many families living in different States were unable to see each other and even within different local Council areas were unable to travel.  

When I  originally started typing this post little did I know that there was going to be an out break  in our local area just 10 days prior to Christmas which ended up seeing hubs and I as well as thousands of others being locked down and not able to join our families for Christmas Day.   We are on lockdown now until 9th January with a review to be made then and hopefully restrictions will be eased.      

That was 2020 and hopefully as we move forward into the New Year progress will be made medically so none of us will need to experience such a nightmare again in our lifetime.    I did say to Miss M -  even though she was only 6  at the time when COVID was at its worst -  she is living through what will become a major part of history and when  older  will be able to tell her grandchildren about the times when she could not go to school or the  park, visit her family or play with friends, the year that our family Christmas Day was put on hold as well as wearing a mask when outside your home was part of lives for many months.

I am linking up with Elm Street quilts again this year for OMG.    My goal for January is to turn these pink scraps into my next fabric basket. 
I had made a bit of a start a few weeks ago but put it away to have a break from 2 1/2” squares. I still need to cut quite a few in order to get it finished.

Over at the Joyful Quilter a new challenge - Table Scraps - is being held on the last Saturday of each month.   It involves making anything that covers a table from a mug rug to a runner and the colour is to correspond to that chosen for  the RSC each month.    Seeing that pink is the colour for January I will keep going with the pink scraps.

Wishing you all a safe, happy and healthy 2021.   Cheers everyone.   

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all    

14 comments:

ButterZ said...

I enjoyed reading this post. Happy sewing pink.

Janice said...

A great summary. Happy New Year.

jude's page said...

Great outline of what you achieved in 2020. Do hope you get "let out" again soon and do love those pretty pinks you have there.

Gail said...

It was good seeing you last night! 2020 was a challenge, I'm really hoping that 2021 is better! Good luck with your goals for this year.

Susan said...

Lots of good in 2020 for you! Best of luck with your new pink basket.

kiwikid said...

Great post and it was good to see what you had finished in the year. It certainly has been a year of changes and border closures, hopefully 2021 will be a better year. Enjoy your pink basket.

Fiona said...

Great to look back... so much was accomplished in spite of any difficulties...
Hugz

Maria said...

Great post, even with our weird year you've achieved a lot...
Haven't joined up to anything yet but think there are a few I may do...

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Great post, now Happy new year ;)

Bethan said...

Lots of lovely sewing in 2020 for you! Happy New Year, hopefully filled with lots of sewing but far less chaos!

Ivani said...

Despite the difficulties and everything we lived during 2020 you made beautiful quilts.
I liked the table runners and placemates especially the pine tree and the pumpkin.
Happy and healthy New Year

Chookyblue...... said...

thats a good wrap of the year and lovely that we could spend time together with zoom and that you have progress from the PC to be able to zoom and sew......

dq said...

I enjoyed your 2020 summary post. I have yet to do mine.

Marsha Cooper said...

I am not sure how many masks I made...lost count. I do still have several ready to sew in a bin. I really should finish them.