Part of the reason for that gap is that this had been a very rough year for my family. My husband and I lost both of our mothers in 2024. My Mother-In-Law, Sally Bay, passed on February 27th, and my mother, Barb Wandrei, passed on September 15th. It's been difficult and many things have gone by the wayside. I am trying to get back into the swing of things.
On that note, my designing has taken a new path this last year. I am still doing many very traditional Hardanger and Ukrainian White work designs. I always will. I deeply love the traditional patters and the look of white-on-white stitching. But a new fusion of sorts has become a passion as well. I've been combining elements of Punto Antico and Reticello to my Hardanger. It is a true fusion of techniques. I do not teach proper Reticello, or Punto Antico. I do not claim to. Rather I teach the stitches as they would be done by someone with a strong Hardanger and Ukrainian Whitework background. It's been fun to do. The first two of these new fusion designs will be taught at the EGA Seminar in Dallas, Texas in November of 2025. I named the first one Coloring Outside the Lines for two reasons. First, I am going beyond the realm of Hardanger and including very non-traditional elements. Second, some of the stitching does indeed go beyond the Kloster outline. It is truly Outside the Lines! The second on is Scribbles because I took a small portion of Coloring Outside the Lines and made it into a one day class.
I am also teaching the lovely Genevieve which is a very traditional Hardanger design. The best of both worlds, traditional and modern!