As the end of the year approaches, and we publish this our last post of 2020, our natural tendency is to look back and reflect. What have we done during this unplanned year? What did we accomplish?
Each year since we started this blog, we have gathered together a “most popular posts” compilation. The top posts have always been a surprise to us. If we could predict which posts would be most popular we would be winning the internet. Instead, the unpredictability has its own charm. Often in the past, our most popular posts have been “On the Road” posts where not only the classes I taught are highlighted, but the locations I’ve traveled to as well. On the other hand, very few of our “How To” posts, describing a particular aspect of the technique of fabric collage, have ranked near the top.
Well, that changed this year—maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise, seeing as how unusual the year has been. As you’ll see below, four out of the five most popular posts for 2020 were “How To” posts. Quite possibly a reflection of how many more of you were home and needing a creative outlet.
Our goal is to provide the information you need to be successful at fabric collage. It’s encouraging to us when we see the posts that do that—that show how it’s done—are seen, read, and appreciated. It makes us feel like we are successful as well.
Thank you. Heartfelt Season’s Greetings to all—and a Happy New Year 2021.
A reminder: the Fabric Collage Online Master Class Manual will be increasing in price on January 1, 2021, increasing from $149 to $199. Discounts for former students and Spiral eWorkshop owners are still in effect. Contact Tom for more information.
5. Create a Palette for Fabric Collage
This post is only two months old, yet still came in at number five. Which is great, since to me this is the most relevant post of the year. Even after a couple decades of teaching, I am still updating and honing my technique, and more and more I’m realizing the importance of creating a palette of fabrics prior to beginning the fabric collage. This preparatory step really helps both the beginner and the more experienced fabric collage quilter make steady progress in the early stages of their work.
4. The Under-Appreciated Fabric Collage Spiral
This is another post from October that gained quick popularity. I’ve been encouraging people for years to begin learning fabric collage by making a spiral. Has everyone listened to me? No. Do I expect a class of creative and independently minded women to do so? No. But I may be making progress, as the popularity of this post attests. The Spiral eWorkshop, which I had not intended to release at all this year, introduced people to fabric collage in a fun and non-intimidating way. Its low price point ($25) helped encourage many to finally try fabric collage, at a time when having a specific project was a particularly welcome diversion.
3. Creating Feathers in Fabric Collage
This post on creating feathers in fabric collage was part of a series that included “Creating Fur in Fabric Collage” and “What’s On Top: Fabric Collage Hair.” Together, the three posts cover the basics of some of the most asked questions I get pertaining to person and animal portraiture.
2. Fabric Collage Finish Line: Portraits
“Finish Line” posts show off the completed collage quilts of my students and followers. Many of the sixty (that’s right sixty) collections include portraits of people. So for this post we grouped a few submissions together showing what a wide variety of styles fabric collage can accommodate in portaiture. I am as proud of these (and all the Finish Line) quilts as I am of my own.
1. Sequence in Fabric Collage Part 1
In hindsight, maybe I could have left off the “Part 1” portion of the title of this mid-February post. Despite my best intentions, there hasn’t as yet been a “Part 2.” However, I do have a good excuse—the utter upending of my (and everyone else’s) best laid plans of the year. But the top popularity of this Part 1, tells me that quite possibly, this subject should be continued in 2021. Sequence, the order in which the areas of a fabric collage are approached and pieced, is sometimes counterintuitive and thus hard to grasp. Working from the top down is tough enough to take in and apply, but determining exactly what is “on top” can be equally tough. This post explains the how and the why working top down is so important.
And So On
And so, on to the next year. But before we turn the page I want to thank the many who helped to support us through the year—my Patrons, those who purchased my eWorkshops and Fabric Collage Master Class Manual, and those who attended my new Thursday Night in My Studio Live! presentations—a few of you attending all 24 of the sessions! (sample demonstration photo at the top of this post).
During this turbulent year, Thursday Nights became an anchor in my weeks and months. Despite my entire year of teaching being canceled, I still managed to engage people, to share fabric collage techniques, create an online community much like the smaller community of a classroom, and let’s not forget to mention managed to make a living. Thank you.
To view a showcase of the entire collection of Thursday Night in My Studio Live! recordings click here.
Thursday Nights will be among the unexpected fond memories I retain of the benighted year of 2020. Here’s hoping 2021 is a kinder, gentler year for us all.
Bonus
My husband Tom’s kayaking year has also drawn to a close. To commemorate the paddling he’s done over the course of 2020 (he hit the 500 mile mark mid-November), Tom put together a highlight reel of his trips. The video crams (in a very artful way) a year of kayaking in Maine into about five and a half minutes of video. Music: The Holiday by So I’m An Islander (https://soimanislander.bandcamp.com).
The video is stunning. Thank you so much for sharing.
Absolutely loved the kayak video. Stunning scenery. HAPPY NEW YEAR.
What an amazing video! The gorgeous scenery and colors and shadow play of sunlight and water makes me want to do the same ! Hope Tom posts many more of these videos!