My good friend Sharon McConnell of ColorGirlQuilts is hosting a fun Instagram event to post pictures of "My Creative 2016". The postings started on December 1st and will run until December 14th. Anyone can join in on the fun and post pics based on the daily prompts. 

Not only is this a great way to review and appreciate all you've created in the span of a year, you also get to see what others are doing and posting about in the same theme. Sharon McConnell's aim in starting the celebration of My Creative 2016 is to: 

"Share all the positive energy that we have in this wonderful Maker community…I hope we can recognize inspiring makers, favorite finishes and ways we have learned and grown this past year."

Several awesome sponsors have generously joined in to offer giveaways, including Pink Castle Fabrics, Hoffman Fabrics, Art Gallery Fabrics, and Color Girl Quilts.

Read more about the prompts, how to participate, and using the hashtag #mycreative2016 in your IG posts to enter into the giveaway drawings on the Color Girl Quilts blog.

DAY 1 - My Creative Passion

The first day of the My Creative 2016 was all about introductions and talking about your creative passion(s). 

This photo of me was taken around February of this year and shows me surrounded by my passions. I love being a textile designer, quilt designer and sewist. I also love painting, drawing, and gardening but everything has a common end result of being useful, pretty, and joyful to myself of others. 

DAY 2 - My Color of the Year

This was an easy one for me. All I had to do was look through my IG feed to see what color kept popping up in my work. Peach, coral, orange, and sienna. An analogous range of warm peachy tones runs through my designs.

DAY 3 - Proudest Finish

Another easy one for me. Over the last four months I've been doing a ton of secret sewing and it was finally the time to let the cat out of the bag with my big announcement. My proudest finish of 2016 was making 12 quilts in just under four months for a quilt book that comes out next year!

I'll be debuting my Utility Style Quilts for Everyday Living book for Landauer Publishing at the spring Quilt Market in St. Louis and the book will be in the warehouse by August next year. This is only a placeholder image for the cover as we needed to get something together for the spring catalog. Believe me, I'll keep you posted on the progress of the book when I can show more. But for now, it's only this sneak peek. 

DAY 4 - I Learned Something New

I found this one somewhat challenging for me to pin down. Yes, I could post a pic of my recent obsession for learning needlepoint (see one of the coasters I've been stitching in the My Color of the Year photo) but I feel I've got so much more to learn about that handcraft. Instead, I think I learned more about myself this year then a particular skill. I've learned it's okay to get old and to wear it (stopped coloring my hair in June) like a badge of honor like it is rather than to hide from it. I've learned to be true to yourself and let your inner artist call the shots. Do what makes your heart ❤️ sing. Although I didn't have as much time this year to paint as I would've liked, I did dust off my brushes and play on a few canvases. I was rusty but it made my heart sing! And lastly and most importantly put your family first! This is a fabulous community but social media is no replacement for the real family in your life. Make time for family.

I hope you'll stop by @sharonhollanddesigns on Instagram to say 'hi" and play along by showing us what you've created in 2016. Be sure to use the #mycreative2016 hashtag and you could also win some awesome prizes!