February Newsletter

NO. 43 | February 2025

Whew, January was pretty nice. It’s not often that I start a new month feeling so rested. That’s the power of winter, baby. I hurt my back and spent about 2 weeks inert while waiting for it to feel better, and I gotta say, I’m not mad about it (though I definitely was mad about it).

I got a lot of rest. I slept a lot. I didn’t push myself. I stayed cozy on a heating pad. And all of that made a big difference.

January was, also, as I hoped, a big month for art and craft! A lot of big projects found their natural end, which was unexpected and lovely. First, I finished the draft of my novel, Ev and the Gatekeeper, that I started last March. It’s about 90K words and was a giant part of my work last year. I wasn’t expecting to finish it, even on the day I finished it. Making my way to the ending instead of striving to reach it was a lovely way to embrace the mindset I’m hoping to have in my work this year.

I finished knitting the body of my first actual sweater (I’ve previously knit a lot of vests!), and am now about to start the sleeves. I got to try it on for the first time after casting off the bottom hem, which is always an excellent feeling.

And, I finished sewing the massive quilt top that I started in 2023.

Quilts and novels are the most time consuming endeavors I take on, so it was pretty crazy to find myself at the end of both within a couple of weeks.

So now, moving into February, I’m feeling like I’ve had a bit of a reset, a clean slate. Certainly there are lots of projects I’ll be carrying forward still, but I’ve freed up some space. (For the record, this quilt isn’t done—I’ll be adding a backing and hopefully quilting or sending to be quilted sometime soon!)

I’m going to be restarting The Artist’s Way, which I last did in 2020/2021. I’ll definitely be sharing some of that journey here in the coming months!

The stay-at-home bubble is going to be popped in February, which of course, is bound to happen as the year proceeds. I am preparing myself for a change of pace. It’s not that I’m ready for an end to hibernation just yet, but I know that every month can’t be like January. I think winter can often feel a bit static. Like the unchanging natural landscape, time gets stuck together. But, I’m trying to stay tuned in to more than that.

I feel like each month has its own character. I am already great friends with some (May, July, October, January), and I know what to expect when we meet each year. But, I think I’ve been overlooking many of the others. Of course, they may change year to year, but in 2025, I hope to give them all a little more attention. Get to know them. Hi, February!

---

Sewing, baking, walking through the snow—ingredients to a perfect January recipe. Top row: 2 pairs of Adams Pants & the Nova Star Quilt Top Middle row: Apricot polenta cake, peach coriander cake, cherry danishes

I love love love the work of Cindy Rizza. Especially in the winter months, her sun-soaked paintings paired with cozy textiles are like a balm to the soul. I love oil paintings even though (or maybe because) they are so distinct from my own preferred materials and practice. I spent a long time oscillating between paintings to share here, so please do yourself a favor a look for yourself!

✷ Another beautiful version of the same quilt pattern I just finished
✷ Cool trail cam footage from the Alaskan wilderness
✷ The video I use for sewing zip flys
✷ Bad Bunny short film