2020 The Gift of Time

2020 has turned out to be a very different year to the one that was planned. In March, we travelled to Western Australia for two weeks of class at Esperance and Perth. With some great days of relaxing and exploring thrown in to the mix, we returned home with only a day for me to get ready to fly to California, for two weeks of classes at Empty Spools. All packed and checked in at Melbourne airport, I luckily received a last minute phone call, advising me that the conference had been cancelled due to the Covid 19 Virus. Having already passed through passport control and security, it did take me a while to actually collect my luggage and exit the airport. I was very grateful that I had received the news before setting off on that long 14 hour flight to San Francisco.

The pandemic has meant the cancellation of quilting events around the world as well as impacting on each of us as we have endured periods of lockdown. I have cancelled all of my classes for 2020, but am hopeful that the events planned for 2021 will still be able to safely proceed.

Over the past few months, I have been able to spend many more hours in the studio. I have completed three small quilts based on our travels in Scotland last year. I have also finished a quilt based on the wonderful old jetty at Point Lonsdale. I am currently working on a bigger and more complex design featuring the fascinating rock domes found in the Bungle Bungles National Park.

This gift of time has, in the most part, been well spent. Looking to the future, I am working through the process of doing presentations for guilds using Zoom and adding a downloadable project to my website.

There have certainly been some incredible challenges over the past few months, probably foremost, the loss of face to face contact with family and friends. But, with a studio full of fabric, paint and a Bernina or two, having the time to design and stitch has been a wonderful therapy.