The 100 Day Project 2024 starts February 18

Are you ready? Do you have your idea for this year? Here's the "heads up"! The 100 Day Project for 2024 starts February 18.

The 100 Day Project 2024 starts February 18.

How did The 100 Day Project get started?

I love this story! Read Michael Bierut's essay in Design Observer about how he gave this assignment to his graphic design students at the Yale School of Art. There are many examples of the projects his students took on. My favorite is the one about the clunky wooden folding chair. 

So really, ANYthing is possible.

Make your plan

I started doing the 100 Day Project in 2021. I've done 6 projects since then:

• 100 Days of fussy cut 3/4" hexies
• 100 Days of mindful mark making
• 100 Days of printmaking with rubber stamps
• 100 Days of slow stitching with found objects
• 100 Days of textile collages 
• 100 Days of hand lettering

Recommendations and FAQs from the 100 Day Project coordinators for choosing a project: 

Deciding on a 100 Day Project.

Get your idea and supplies ready

I've got a pretty good idea of what I'll be doing this year. My suggestions for choosing a project are:

• make it manageable: don't try to create a masterpiece for every day! You'll burn out quickly.
• make it simple: it can be one row of knitting, a line of stitching, hand lettering a single quote on a page in a sketchbook, a doodle a day, a simple line drawing... 
• make it small: since I take this on the road, my supplies are minimal—something I can put in a small ziplock baggie. You know what you and your life can manage.
• think of something you can do in about 5 minutes. We can all scrounge up 5 minutes, right? Do it while you sip your cup of coffee or tea. Do it when you brush your teeth. Do it right after dinner. If you are enjoying the process and you have a little more time here and there, you can extend the time you're creating.
• share your practice: if you're on social media, come up with a unique hashtag for your project and share your daily (or weekly, if that works better) progress. You'll be both inspired and encouraged by the others who are participating.

I hope you'll join in the fun! I've gotten so, so much out of the projects I've done in the past—learning something new, honing certain skills, using my stash/supplies/tools, and earning and relishing in that sense of accomplishment when I cross the 100 Day finish line.

It's free. 

Just DO IT! 

Carve December, Junk Journal January, and 36 new hand-carved stamps

I thought I'd recap another fun and productive Carve December that was hosted by Julie at Balzer Designs at the end of last year, 2023. By the end of December, I had 36 new, hand-carved stamps to add to my collection.

New stamps carved during Carve December Challenge 2023.

2023 was the second year I participated in the Challenge. Here are a few of the stamped compositions I created.

Compositions from various days of Carve December 2023.

Seasonal botanicals were used as inspiration for new carves—paperwhites, poinsettias, holly leaves, mistletoe, and the Christmas cactus.

Several botanical images were carved for this year’s Christmas card.

Christmas cactus stamp and its inspiration.

I like stamping repeats and think they make wonderful compositions and patterns.

I always enjoy the patterns created from repeated images.

The last prompt of the Challenge was “sparkly.” For this prompt, I created several compositions using a combination of several of the new stamps. Just in time for the entrance of the New Year!

Combining several stamps in a composition.

This is a glimpse of the area on the kitchen table—with stamp pads, stamps, stamp mounts, and sketchbooks—where I create sometimes. 

Stamping tools at the kitchen table.

Junk Journal January 2024

I'm using some of the stamps from Carve December in my junk journal for Junk Journal January Challenge, hosted by @megjournals and @getmessyart. 

Junk Journal January 2024: Day 5

Junk Journal January 2024: Day 20

Here's my 2024 junk journal that I'm filling with collages, paper scraps, paint, slow drawings, hand lettering, and of course, my new hand-carved stamps.

Junk journal for 2024.

I'm teaching "Intro to Improvisational Quilts" at John C. Campbell Folk School in March

Are you intrigued by improvisational quilts? Have you wanted to try improv patchwork, but don't know how or where to start? Here's your opportunity!

Join me for a fun and creative week in the quilting studio for "Intro to Improvisational Quilts" on the idyllic campus of the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, March 24 - 30, 2024.

Sign up for Intro to Improvisational Quilts workshop, March 24-30, 2024

All quilting levels welcome!

My workshop on Intro to Improvisational Quilts will explore improvisational cutting and piecing methods. We'll be creating patchwork intuitively—without a preconceived pattern or plan. If you are a quiltmaker with a sense of adventure, you want to try venturing off the beaten path of block-based quilts, or you want to ditch exact measurements and traditional layouts for a change, I'm extending this invitation to you! 

Improvisational patchwork at the Folk School.

Read the class description, and then register for the workshop online. But don't wait! There are limited spots available.

About John C. Campbell Folk School

John C. Campbell Folk School.

My first experience at John C. Campbell Folk School was when I taught a long weekend, free-motion quitling class there in 2021. It was magical and fun! All the staff and students were wonderful.

The Folk School is located on 270 acres of natural Appalachian beauty in southwest North Carolina. Walking trails and roads connect the various studios, dining hall, Craft Shop, History Center, student housing, and other buildings and structures. The surroundings are scenic and peaceful, and the school offers a nurturing atmosphere for learning, self-discovery, and creativity—but know that the classrooms and studios are up-to-date with the necessary technology to meet instructor's and student's needs. Information about a typical week or weekend experience can be found on the folk school website in addition to updates and stories about folk school news and upcoming events.

If I don't see you in my Intro to Improvisational Quilts workshop, I'll be teaching Intro to Free-motion Quilting in August during the second session. Enrollment for the July-December session is scheduled to open March 5. 

Take a class at the Folk School... and experience where "the magic happens."

My 2024 "Create Daily" tracker has a new format!

My creative, online friend, Sarah Reebs @smrt783, has created a new calendar/tracker format for 2024. She uses it for her embroidery practice and I've adopted it for my Create Daily tracker.

Create Daily tracker for 2024

It's refreshingly different, don't you think? It's exciting to have a new format for this new year.

Trackers through the years

I've used two other tracker formats in the past. They're all fascinating and clever and I love to fill in the little box for each day! I started using a tracker in 2020, calling it my Stitching Success Tracker. After two years, and a broader scope in my creative practice, it morphed into the Create Daily Tracker.

Here are the Create Daily Trackers from 2022 and 2023. This is another design by Sarah.

Create Daily 2023 tracker

Create Daily 2022 tracker

Here are the Stitching Success Trackers from 2020 and 2021. This design was created by Karalenn Hippen.

Stitching Success tracker 2021

Stitching Success tracker 2020

This is the fifth year documenting a daily art, textile and stitching practice using a creative tracker. Let's see what 2024 brings!