A return to slow stitching with the 100 Day Stitch Book

There is something grounding and meditative about the ritual of daily hand stitching. Whether it’s a simple running stitch, tiny French knots, the randomness of the seed stitch, or the act of pulling thread through fabric, it serves as a quiet punctuation mark to the end of a busy day. Aside from being totally in love with the binding method for this fabric book, this is why I am participating in Ann Wood’s 100 Day Stitch Book Challenge again in 2026.  

Fabric pages for the 100 Day Stitch Book 2026, with my completed 2025 Stitch Book.

This is my second time participating in this project. The first was in 2025. The Stitch Book is not only a wonderful scrap buster project but a visual diary… remembering from where each fabric scrap was generated—from previous quilts, in a workshop, from fellow students in a class, in the throw-away bin, or simply found objects. They are fragments of memories from the past. 

The scrap collection box has a variety of prints.

My first book used trimmings from various improvisational patchwork pieces I made and were mostly solid fabrics. This time, my scrap “collection box” has a variety of prints (shown above). It will be a new journey to discovery. I’m also thinking about incorporating bits from my jar of yarn ORTs [odd random threads] to explore surface texture and layers. Scraps love other scraps, right??

Stitch book prep 

I’ve cut a variety of fabrics for my 5.5” x 7” pages. The majority are soft, supple, yarn-dyed wovens from Diamond Textiles with the addition of two blue pages from a chambray—because the color was so inviting and a lovely contrast to the neutral palette of the other pages. 

Cut and serged fabrics for the pages of the Stitch Book.

The edges of the fabric pages were serged since the fabrics will be handled a lot during the stitching process (a proven idea I used last year). I cut sixteen fabric pages in the 5.5” x 7” size and have reserved the last 4 pages for the front and back (inside and outside) covers which will be slightly wider in size. The extra width accommodates the thickness of the spine of this fabric book—another lesson learned last year. 

Scraps are ironed and ready for appliqué. 

A bundle of scraps for the appliqué has been ironed and I’ve gathered my ORT jar of yarn tails from last year’s Make Nine Taos crocheted wrap. 

Serged pages, ironed fabric scraps, and ORT jar ready for the 100 Day Stitch Book Challenge 2026.

The power of "Small and Often" 

The beauty of the 100-day format is that it removes the pressure of the “Big Masterpiece.” You aren't making a quilt; you are making a moment… stitching 15 minutes each day… the pages are only 5.5” x 7” in size. By the end of the 100 days, those moments build into something tactile and beautiful that you can literally flip through.

To everyone else picking up a needle and thread for this 100 Day Stitch Book Challenge—whether it’s your first time or your fifth—happy slow stitching! Stories and memories will unfold, one thread at a time.

Reformatting my Create Daily Tracker for 2026

My 2026 Create Daily Tracker has a different—but familiar—look. I’m using the format I used in 2022 and 2023 for this year’s tracker. It was designed by Sarah Reebs, @smrt783. She uses it for her embroidery practice and I’m using it again for a Create Daily Tracker.

Create Daily Tracker for 2026.

The key to being successful with a tracker

I’ve been using a daily tracker since 2020. It reminds me to do—and document—something creative with my hands every day of the year. Now, you might think that making something “daily” is too overwhelming or impossible. The key is to be gentle with yourself. Set yourself up for success. For example, if I only have time for 2 rows of knitting on a dish cloth, or a line of boro / running stitches to mend a pant leg, or making a few stitches in a stitch book, it qualifies! 

Of course, there are days when I can lean into a process and devote hours to it… making patchwork for a kitty quilt, free-motion quilting, spending an evening crocheting while watching TV… so the longer making sessions balance out the short sprints. Just do what you can with the time (or amount of energy) you have on any given day. 

A year-end reflection 

Below is my Create Daily tracker at the end of 2025.

Finished Create Daily Tracker for 2025.

My tracker has seven categories/disciplines that I’ve formulated to cover my creative activities—including an annual 100 Day Project. The time spent on each activity over the last year is as follows: 

  2%  sewing/garment making 

  5%  free-motion quilting 

14%  patchwork 

15%  slow stitching/mending 

16%  art making 

23%  yarn 

25%  100 Day Project

At the end of the year, it’s interesting to see what I spent my time doing. In 2025, my days wer almost equally divided into 5 categories. The 100 Day Project (25%) and my crochet shawl yarn project (23%) were nearly equal at the top. Art making (16%), slow stitching/mending (15%), and patchwork (14%) were next with almost identical percentages.

In keeping a daily tracker, I’ve also learned that small individual tasks—a few minutes here and there—add up to big results. There were 23 finishes over the course of a year:

• 13 entries were of completed Make Nine items 
• 10 entries were of other finishes 

I’m happy with these accomplishments!

Looking to the future

Each year brings something different. I never know what I’ll be presented with over the next 12 months but will be enjoying the journey… one day (and one tracker square) at a time.

Make Nine 2026—my 8th year

Every year I look forward to choosing prompts for Make Nine that can guide my creative time throughout the year. For 2026—my 8th year—Make Nine has a mix of long-loved prompts, a brand new prompt, and two open doors [wild cards] for unexpected creative opportunities. 

Make Nine 2026 tracker.

The prompts in my Make Nine 2026 tracker grid are:    

• UFO: Let’s be honest—those UnFinished Objects aren’t going to finish themselves. Last year, I completed two UFOs, and this year I plan to attack another lingering project and bring it across the finish line. No guilt, just progress. 

• New Tricks in 2026: This prompt is back from Make Nine in 2024. It encompasses learning a new technique or process, using a new tool, art supply, substrate, or textile. Exploring something new is always fun for me, it expands my creative skills and provides potential for growth in my practice.

• Yarn: The Yarn prompt over the past three years has been very rewarding. It’s included again for 2026. 

• Fun and Functional: This prompt is all about making something that brings a smile while also serving a purpose in everyday life. It’s akin to previous “Simple and Stress-free” and “Fun and Easy” prompts. 

• Bookmaking: After responding to five prompts in 2025 with some type of book, I decided to officially give “Bookmaking” a place on my 2026 Make Nine creative road map. I find creating a book by hand—whether it’s a journal, sketchbook, or a fabric stitch book—very satisfying. It also brings me back to my educational roots in paper and printing technologies, a field I truly love.

• Online Challenge: I’ve come across so many opportunities for fulfilling this prompt and I can’t wait! Making alongside others in the online community provides camaraderie, inspiration, and accountability.  

• Slow Stitching/Mending: This is my reminder to slow down, be present, and have awareness of sustainability. Slow stitching is about mindful, intentional work—quiet moments spent with thread, fabric, and stitch—where the process matters as much as the finished piece. 

• Wild Cards x2: Because creativity doesn’t always follow a plan, I’ve again included two Wild Card prompts for the upcoming year. Wild Cards are open invitations for spontaneous ideas, unexpected inspirations, and projects that can seemingly come out of nowhere. 

Documenting Make Nine

In addition to posting my individual makes on this blog, I document Make Nine with a tracker and do a photo recap at the end of the year. I have a sketchbook with Make Nine and other trackers that has spanned seven years. Make Nine photo recaps from previous years are:

• Make Nine 2019 recap—first year 
• Make Nine 2020 recap—second year
• Make Nine 2021 recap—third year
• Make Nine 2022 recap—fourth year
• Make Nine 2023 recap—fifth year
• Make Nine 2024 recap—sixth year
• Make Nine 2025 recap—seventh year

Looking Ahead 

My 2026 Make Nine isn’t about pressure or perfection—it’s about staying curious, finishing thoughtfully, and enjoying the process. I’m excited to see how these prompts evolve over the year and what they’ll teach me along the way. 

Here’s to a creative, playful, and intentional 2026!

Prepping for two 2026 art journaling adventures

What better way to start the new year than being surrounded by paper, paint, scissors, paste, and a marathon of artsy inspiration! I’m starting off 2026 by plunging into two art journaling adventures: the and Junk Journal January 2026 and 2025/2026 Artsy Marathon. These are the two junk journals I’ve made specifically for the occasion. 

New junk journals to ring in the new year.

My 4th Junk Journal January

As in the past three years, I’m joining the Junk Journal January Challenge. It’s becoming a bit of an annual tradition since I ventured into art journals with my first Junk Journal January in 2023. After doing JJ January and JJ July the past few years, this will be the 6th junk journal for me. I’m looking forward to responding to the prompts and getting creative and messy with my art supplies. 

Junk journals from January 2023, January 2024, and January 2025.

To get excited about making junk journal art again, I’ve pulled out my previous five journals from my JJ endeavors. It’s becoming quite a library! 

Five junk journals from previous Challenges.

Checking out a new virtual meet-up: the 2025-26 Artsy Marathon

This year, I’m also trying a new art journaling experience with an online event I recently discovered—the 2025-26 Artsy Marathon. 

The 2025-26 Artsy Marathon.

From the morning of December 31 to the morning of January 1, I’ll be binge watching the 2025-26 Artsy Marathon hosted by Kiala Givehand of Life Alchemy for 20+ hours of “art journaling bliss,” as the program description indicates. A perfect way to ring in the new year, don’t ya think? 

Whether I actively participate in real time, or just watch the artsy goodness unfold, I hope to get a plethora of fresh inspiration from artists I haven’t been exposed to before. I also want to pick up some cool techniques to use for Junk Journal January that starts on January 1. 

Junk Journal 2026 prompts.

With these two upcoming art journaling activities, it should be a quite the creative workout from which to launch into a new year—responding to prompts, experimenting, playing with succulent art supplies, and creating one messy, joyful journal page after another—for the next 31 days.

It’s not too late to join either or both of these! Start the new year with something “magically delicious.”