Progress is difficult to see, especially when we are caught up in the mundane. It can feel like you aren't getting anywhere with your work, like you keep making the same things, same ideas, same quality, same mistakes. Nothing gets worse, but nothing seems to get better either.

I didn't get a lot done this year, compared to my my more productive years, or so it seems. Yet, I've knocked out a number of paintings, completed embroidery projects, made practical, useful things, and mended many, many clothes.

Then it hit me, last night, when I had the sudden urge to stitch a cushion for my drafting stool which has a hard, wooden seat and a metal band around it. It is where I work on my watercolor paintings, but the discomfort makes it difficult to work for an extended period of time.

I realized that just a few short years ago, the thought of hand stitching anything was an overwhelming one, something to put on a someday list, one which would take ages to do should I finally get to it. Now it took me maybe 2 hours, tops, to handstitch an entire cushion from scratch, from patchworked thrifted linen napkins, with neat seams and ties to keep it from slipping off the seat.

I'd say that's progress.

May the coming year show progress in whatever it is you choose to do, even if you dont notice it at first. May you notice it sooner than later, so it becomes the thing that keeps you going when everything else seems like a failure. You're always making progress, even if it doesn't feel like it.

Happy New Year!