This is it, our final blog post. Of 2025. 😉
As 2025 draws to a close, like many folks do, Tom and I are looking back at the year past. If you’re a regular reader of our (free) blog (subscribe here if you are not), you may have noticed it was a year of trying new things—new blog post subjects, new class locations, and class formats.
But first, here’s a musical summary of what filled our fabric collage days in 2025. How many of these were you a part of?
(Sing to the tune of “12 Days of Christmas”)
“By the end of 2025 we did all sorts of things:
—104 posts published
—30 slots filled for Studio Hours
—20 one-hour coachings
—12 Patreon meetings
—6 new Top Tips
—5 in-person teaching weeks
—4 online classes
—4 weeks Fly on the Wall (this is where you drag it out)
—4 weeks of fishes
—2-week class inauguration
—1 week in Italy
—And a great year of fabric collage!”
A big end-of-year thank you for all the support you continue to express to me, and to Tom. Your enthusiasm, hard work, and amazing art you create, keep us inspired to carry on with sharing, teaching, and expressing the love of Fabric Collage. I am so very grateful to know that you’re out there—you are truly the best. See you next year for more fabric collage adventures.
10 Year Anniversary of My Blog
That’s right, in case you missed it, we’ve been producing a new blog post every Saturday for ten years (and a Throwback Thursday for most of them). It’s not too late to get your celebratory free pattern and a discount on the Fabric Collage Master Class. See the links and coupon codes below.
Free Pattern
Coupon Code: 10yearsfreepattern
Choose Here
(Click “Apply Coupon” before checking out)
Feel free to add any other patterns at $5 each 😉
Master Class Discount
Coupon Code: 10years$30masterclassdiscount
Purchase Here
(Click “Apply Coupon” before checking out)
Specials good until January 1, 2026.
Coming up with new blog post subjects isn’t always easy, but one thing that helps is to think of them in terms of topics—like, On the Road (posts about traveling to teach fabric collage) or Fabric Collage Finish Line (sharing the work of my students). One of our new-in-2025 favorite topics is Top Tips.
Top Tips
Tom first encountered the idea of Top Tips in his sea kayaking instruction. A Top Tip is a condensation of advice that briefly and clearly provides guidance for executing whatever it is you’re trying to master. Rather than trying to tackle an entire aspect of fabric collage, we’ve been breaking down the steps into smaller bits, such as:
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Adding Color to Your Black and White Subjects
When introducing color into black or white subjects, find fabrics that have your chosen color in the print—but with a black or white background fabric. The print carries the color, the background fabric ties them together.
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Spray Bottle Ironing
If you avoid ironing as much as I do, a simple spritz with a spray bottle of water will remove most creases and wrinkles.
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What Lies Beneath—Foundation Fabric
Don’t let choices about foundation fabric scare you—by the end, it will have disappeared into the depths—of your fabric collage quilt.
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Curvy Scissors
Scissors with a bottom blade that curves slightly upward are more versatile for fabric collage.
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Cropping Your Quilt
Crop your fabric collage quilt as though you were framing a piece of art. Because it is.
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Working With Diagonals to Create Balance
To create balance or for a more dynamic composition, consider the diagonals.
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What’s been your favorite Top Tip?
Please leave us any suggestions for 2026 Top Tip subjects in the comment section, below. 🙂
February 2025—Fabulous Fish Follow Along
Our Fabulous Fish Follow Along was a low-pressure delve into Fabric Collage. For four consecutive Thursday nights, participants watched via Zoom as I worked on assembling a fabric collaged fish (above). Viewers didn’t have to create a fish of their own, but many did.
What made this online class different was that it was both an introduction for those wanting to learn fabric collage and a playful project for those with more experience. We plan to offer a similar class in the upcoming year.
A New Class Format in 2025: Two-Week Fabric Collage Intensive
In all my thirty-plus years of teaching I had never taught a class that by itself, spanned longer than 5 days. During my previous year’s class (2024) with MISA in Bar Harbor, Maine, a chance encounter with another instructor put me on track for a two-week class in 2025.
So in September of this year I returned to Bar Harbor, Maine (view from the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, over the Porcupine Islands). It was a lovely two-week stretch. We had five days of class, a weekend off for some rest and sightseeing, and another five days in the classroom.
This format was a such a hit that a two-week class is now an offering I plan to schedule once a year.
The 2-week Fabric Collage Intensive for 2026 will be in April at Woodland Ridge Retreat in Downsville, Wisconsin. There are still two spots open and you can get more information here. I return to Bar Harbor for one week in September 2026 (click here for more info).
A New Venue in 2025: Citta della Pieve, Italy
A couple years ago now, I was contacted by Pamela Haack of Strada Toscana, a retreat in the village of Citta della Pieve. The location turned out to be about two hours north of Rome.
I knew from the start that this would be a different kind of class. There would be field trips and experiences outside the classroom. I set up this class as a project that all students would collage—a Tuscan Sun portrait, a Belle Sole—to focus on colors and patterns that we would be surrounded by in one of the most historically interesting and beautiful countries in the world.
With the excellent guidance of the Strada Toscana staff, I was able to create a rich, full experience for all attendees. I will be returning to this location in Italy to teach again in October 2026!
Tom’s 2025 Highlight: Back to Baja
The highlight of Tom’s year probably came in April when he and a bunch of his Maine paddling buddies returned (after a couple years) to La Bufadora in Baja, Mexico for another week of sea kayaking.
The best way to describe the sea kayaking that Tom does is that it is comparable to white water kayaking, but on the ocean. This Baja location is known worldwide as having some the best sea kayaking. Click on the arrows in the slide shows to move through each sequence of photos.
So that’s our short Fabric Collage (and kayak) look-back on this past year, 2025.
In next week’s post, the first of 2026, we’ll take a look ahead to the year-to-come.
In the meantime, Happy New Year!
Have a safe, warm, celebratory, and creative transition into next year!
Happy New Year, Susan and Tom, and many thanks for all you do. See you in Maine!
Delightful post. So thankful for all of the information you provide in these blogs. Love seeing both of your activities. Tom”s look exciting but I”ll stick to collage . Looking forward to an exciting 2026 did I hear something about the possibility of “gorgeous geckos?” That would be a fun follow-along.
Thanks Grace, for all your comments – that would be something to see if you joined Tom ocean kayaking! And thanks for the little push to develop a gecko class!
Thanks for the anniversary pattern! Really enjoying your emails. Remember fondly your classes in Montana.