2023 Word of the Year

Advent always feels like the beginning of the new year for me and as such for the weeks of November I’m giving consideration to and choosing the next word of the year #woty . This choosing comes on the heels of some deep thinking about the current word of the year and how I’ve been able to live that out. Cultivate will stay with me for a long time for it has something deep and long term about it, and really informs this next word of the year. Cultivating, like learning to machine quilt, takes time.

And a funny thing happened on the way to this post I very nearly announced Temerity as the word of the year, and in one sense “reckless boldness; rashness” and “unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger or opposition” has a place in my quilting world. I am recklessly bold when it comes to my own quilting. I do take risks. I will add here that the last year has been rough in terms of this however what I’ve come to understand through Cultivate is that sometimes a year (or so) of rest gives us the space to explore what can come next. And it occurs to me in this writing that these last two years weren’t so much a year, or years of rest, they were years of being uprooted and transplanted. This will require a little more reflection.

Tenacity

is the 2023 Word of the Year holding with in it the meaning of persistence, courage, mettle, of holding together with firmness.

Part of this comes from a conversation with my Sweetie and another couple over a pretzel and a beer. Stick with it they all said. And so I will. Tenacity also comes from two commitments I made earlier this year. When I came home from one of my trips I said to my Sweetie that I wanted an elliptical and his response was join a gym, so I joined our local rec center. I remember at the end of that first day I barely did 30 minutes and I don’t know if I even made a mile. As of this writing I’m doing an hour a day for five days a week and going just over 4 miles in that time, Tenacity will keep me going as my only goal is getting healthy. Also I can see how exercise and body image can become completely distorted. While I stand by I’m a short, fat quilter I also know that sometimes different effort needs to be made and this is it, and it’s hard.

Twenty twenty-three is just around the corner complete with the frenzied activity between now and the turn of the calendar page. We will see what this year will hold. I’ve applied to teach in several places. And Quilts Inc just announced the return of Spring Market in 2024, this is good news indeed.

I have my next quilt pinned and ready to quilt.

Happy Quilting,

Teri