This Is the Year. . .

Let's make it a good one!

Happy New Year!

I love that shiny, fresh new year feeling. It’s a great time to start new projects and to get very thinky about the year to come.

A few years ago I stitched up this message.

It’s ALWAYS the year. It’s always the year for SOMETHING.

I don’t really like to do lists of resolutions, but I do like to think about what I hope the new year will bring.

(Resolutions feel like a to do list, while the other is about daydreaming. I’ll take the daydreaming, please.)

Here are some of the ways I’ve finished that statement in the past. . .

This is the year I learn to quilt.

This is the year I start my own business.

This is the year I learn to cook without following a recipe.

One of the things I want to learn this year is lettering. I bought 100 Days of Lettering: A Complete Lettering Course by Jay Roeder and decided that re-lettering this message would be a great way to start.

My first lettering project! If you want to play with it, here’s a free download. That link will take you to a folder where you can download a color JPG, and also a black and white line drawing that you can use as a coloring page or as a sketch to create your own art.

How would you finish that sentence? 

This is the year. . . 

What are you excited about doing in 2024?

Make a list of all the things you want to do this year. Then take some time to sit with that list and decide what the ONE thing is that you really want to make a priority. If everything else on that list falls by the wayside, but you actually DO one thing, what is the thing that will make you look back on the year with satisfaction?

This is the year. . .

Please share your statement in the comments. (The new and improved newsletter has comments! It’s like the good old days of early blogging!)

Here’s mine.

This is the year I write a book.

Not a book of instructions. A book of fiction. A mystery.

My husband and I are writing it together (so I’m not going it alone) but this still feels like a very scary goal to me.

It’s impossible for me to overstate how important books have always been in my life. I don’t remember learning to read, but many of my earliest memories are of reading. In times when I’ve been happy, books have been part of that joy. In times when I’ve been unhappy, books have been a place I could escape to. Even at the busiest times of my life, I’ve always made at least a little time for reading. 

When people find out my husband is a writer, they often turn to me and ask if I write too. “Oh no,” I always say dismissively. “I just write instructions.” 

Not anymore!

I think there was (is) a part of me that was (is) deeply afraid of messing up this perfect thing that was (is) such an important part of my life. I mean, if I try to be a writer and fail, will that change how I feel about reading? Every time I pick up a book will I feel bitterness instead of joy? They got published, why not me?

This seems really silly as I type it, but I’m totally serious. That’s the thought that whispers in the back of my brain every time I sit down to work on the book. But I’m working hard to shut it down, because if I CAN do this it will be awesome. :-)

So that’s my big goal this year! For those of you here for the quilting and sewing and cute art–that’s not going anywhere. :-) But Shiny Happy World–as much as I love it–is my job and in 2024 my ONE THING isn’t about work.

This is the year. . . 

What about you? It doesn’t have to be scary - it can be exciting or fun or even kind of boring. One year–I’m not kidding–mine was “This is the year I declutter my craft room.” That was in 2015 and I’m STILL reaping the benefits of that project. (You can read about what I did here.)

One of the worst things about New Year’s Resolutions is that people make them–and then forget about them. So however you decide to finish your This is the year. . . statement, share it in the comments, and then put it somewhere you’ll see it again and again. You can get fancy and letter it and actually hang it somewhere, or make a vision board, or set a weekly/monthly reminder on your phone, or scribble it on the calendar for the first of the month every month this year. Just do something that will keep you from losing sight of it. 

Let’s all have a fabulous year!

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How I’m Spending My Time 

At Work. . .

There’s a new pattern in the Funny Faces Quilt Block of the Month Club. I think he’s pretty darn cute. :-)

There’s a new wallpaper to download! As always, it’s available in wide and tall formats so it works on all your devices. You can get it with or without the January calendar, so you can use it other months too. Get the download here.

Behind the Scenes. . .

How have I never seen this version of Pride and Prejudice before? Keira Knightley lit up the screen in every scene. My daughter and I watched it together and both of us loved it. Now it’s time for a Bridget Jones’s Diary rewatch. :-)

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Oldies but Goodies - and SALE

Lots of people asked me to bring back the old way of doing the archives where I share something I was working on one year ago, two years ago, three years ago. . . all the way back to the beginning of Shiny Happy World. That takes a fair bit of space (especially since I like to include a picture of each thing) so instead of doing it here in the newsletter I’m making it a separate page I’m linking to, and I’m combining it with the weekly sale. See the oldies but goodies from week one over the years here. You’ll find a mix of tutorials, free patterns, and patterns for sale–and it really is fun seeing a progression over time.

Use the discount code 1LOLLIPOP for 20% off any patterns linked to in the post. This week that’s two doll patterns and two quilt block patterns. (There’s a caption under the photos of the patterns included in the sale, so it’s super clear what’s included.)

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Awesomeness from the Community

Look at this gorgeous quilt Nicole made for her Mom with the Chirp pattern! Those colors are making my heart sing on this cold, gray, blustery day. ❤️

Head over to the Shiny Happy People group on Facebook to see what people are making with my patterns—and to ask questions and share photos of your own projects. It’s my favorite place on the internet!

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Whew! You made it to the end.

Almost.

Everyone loves the PS where I share something that caught my eye, so that’s going to stay just the same.

I hope you have a fabulous week!

Best,
Wendi

PS I hope you enter the new year with all the energy and joy of this little dog. I can’t stop smiling when I watch this. :-)