2011 in Retrospect

LeahDay

Leah Day has been teaching online since 2009. She's the creator of the Free Motion Quilting Project, a blog filled with thousands of quilting tutorial videos. Leah has written several books including 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs, Explore Walking Foot Quilting with Leah Day, and Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt.

19 Responses

  1. Jenny says:

    Can't wait to go along with you wherever you choose to go here.

  2. Jeannette says:

    Great post, change is what makes us grow and develope but this is a hard leson to accept at times.

  3. estonia says:

    Love the goddess! She's stunning!

  4. Linda says:

    Indeed, change is the only constant in life. Leah, I love reading your introspective posts; it is like settling down with a good book (sometimes almost an autobiography), and I'm always sorry to reach the end. You are not only a quilter par excellence, you are a teacher and an exquisite writer. Thank you for sharing your time, your thoughts, and your Self in this amazing blog.

  5. S says:

    Dear Leah,
    Thank you for your honesty. This is *your* journey and you speak from the heart. So please don't apologize. I personally feel your site, besides being an amazing educational/instructional one, is a judgement-free, 'safe haven'. (Although I can't speak for all your viewers) we are, after all, women, wives, mothers, friends, artists, who need one another for connection, support and encouragement. And we are human, so foibles and all, we long for unconditional acceptance.
    As for the artistic process, I personally find I'm most successful with & passionate about it when I'm simply 'in the moment', creating/doing without preconceived results. The end product becomes in a way, incidental to me. Thus far, I've displayed my quilts in a guild show but don't enter them for judging because 1) they aren't created as such, and therefore 2) they wouldn't win, which even though I intellectually know, would probably hurt anyway. (I have been starting to think that one day when I'm more confident, I'd like to enter one for judging, just for the experience of it!)
    It also took me many years to learn that it's okay to let go of a project I'm unhappy with & that's causing me unnecessary stress. You are wise beyond your years, Leah.
    Thank you for all that you give.
    Wishing you and your family a peaceful and pleasant 2012.
    Jae

  6. Katie says:

    What a wonderful honest post. Isn't it funny how we all have different fears..this post really spoke to me in many ways. Thank you. And, I thought your burning of sinkhole was an amazing art piece on it's own. I don't always comment, but I'm always stopping in, and I love your quilting, and you seem awesome. Don't be too hard on yourself. :0) Have a wonderful 2012

  7. Kay Lynne says:

    Leah–you are wise beyond your years 🙂 Love the new quilt and thank you for sharing. Happy New Year!

  8. Janet M says:

    Wow, you are so fearless and articulate. I think this post gives voice to the thoughts that many of us have. Thanks

  9. Polly says:

    Hi Leah! You remind me of me when I was young, although at that age I didn't have the insights you do.

    My insights came later, over many years, and here's something to think about: the fears don't go away, and the worry about pleasing others doesn't go away, even when you're old like me. So there are many layers of the onion to unpeel over the years.

    However, the fears lessen over time and it's easy to get to an "I don't care" attitude which makes quilting much more fun.

    Keep at it! Keep writing and stitching and sharing your life with those who admire and love you.

  10. janno says:

    Leah, you seem acutely self-aware…but also so self-doubting. Doubt not! You are talented and able and imaginative and accomplished. You teach and you create. If you never sewed another stitch, you would still be a success in the quilting world for what you have already done.

    Live in the moment. Enjoy your son and husband, and take joy from the miracle of life. Quilting too should be a joy; give yourself permission to have fun, and don't worry about perfection. Catharsis can be good, but only to the point where it still helps you. None of us are judging you. We love you!

  11. Klaudia says:

    Halloo…
    ich lese so gerne seit kurzer Zeit,auf deiner Seite…finde es aber ganz schade, das ich hier keine Seitenübersetzung finden kann? Oder habe ich es übersehen?
    I cann`t so good english;-)

    Ich wünsche dir einen schönen Jahreswechsel und einen guten Start nach 2012.

    Liebe Grüße aus Germany,
    Klaudia

  12. Ethne says:

    Thank you Leah for all that you share with us. We all have troughs of dispair and disappointment that we slip down into, but when we pull and claw ourselves out of them it's a revelation.
    I look forward to seeing that you have to share with us next year, and bless you for everything that you've shared with us so far.
    Best wishes to you all for 2012

  13. colleencl says:

    It is not an easy thing to be so open and honest in your struggles. Thank you for sharing that, because we all have similar struggles. I don't think your comments or thoughts are silly at all, just human. You are a wonder, and such a giving woman. Happy New Year! Colleen

  14. Judy says:

    Leah,

    Emergence is a beautiful quilt, the first of many more in the future. Wishing you a Beautiful and challenging 2012.

  15. Patti says:

    The goddess is stunning! I really related to your post. Well said.

  16. Barbara says:

    Entering a quilt in a competition is one way to be involved in this "hobby". Creating quilts to learn, explore and fine-tune techniques and then giving them to people you love is yet another way to be involved. While these 2 types of quilting can intersect, I think it is important to remember a quilt created by a human being most likely is not perfect in technique but is perfect in intent.

  17. Josh Day says:

    Hi Klaudia,

    Have you tried translate.google.com

    I use this all the time and it generally translates very well.

    You can copy/paste the text of Leah's posts and you should certainly get the meaning of her words.

    This is my post using translate.google.com…

    Haben Sie versucht, translate.google.com

    Ich benutze diese die ganze Zeit und es in der Regel sehr gut übersetzt.

    Sie können copy / paste den Text Leas Beiträge und Sie sollten auf jeden Fall bekommen den Sinn ihrer Worte.

    Dies ist mein Beitrag mit translate.google.com ….

  18. sewbest says:

    I am new to this blog. I have been reading your post for about one week. From the very start I was amazed by how much I relate to your story and by how much your sucsess has validated so many things I know deep down inside to be true, but living in this upside down world makes me feel that maybe I have all this stuff figured out the wrong way. But the pull to truth is something I can't seem to let go of. But at the same time the letting go of every thing I now to be false is so difficult. I am stuck but reading your post is some how showing me that it is ok to be me and maybe I'm not that crazy after all.

  19. Old Man says:

    Ms. Day
    Thank you. You are very much loved and there is perfection, but not on this earth. Since August first ( the start of this ) 14 quilts for kids, 4 for the children in church, and completed my mothers unfinished quilt. A queen Size King David's Crown.

    You are blessed and you do his work by sharing.
    It is by His grace and for His glory

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