A Look Back at 2025

Well–this was a year!

I spent a lot of time traveling and teaching, but I also made 26 new quilts in a range of sizes, and wrote my third book–Freehand Curve Quilts: Improv Techniques for Creative Play & Bold Expression, due out next month. The quilts were four large, nine medium, and 12 small (12″ square or smaller). I have 7 tops that need finishing in the new year. All of the large quilts were made either for the new book or as samples for classes. I had hoped to be able to make some new work for exhibit, but that didn’t happen, so it will be a major goal for 2026.

Many of the quilts I made this year were for the new book. One of my favorites is 70s Serpentine, which made it on the book cover.

70s Serpentine – Cindy Grisdela

It’s always a bit of mystery which quilt will be chosen for the book covers, but I’m pleased with this one. It was fun to make and fun to quilt with a variety of free motion stitch motifs in the different areas of the quilt. And it’s eyecatching.

I’m looking forward to the book’s release next month, on January 27, 2026. If you’d like to preorder a signed copy, click on this link. 

Over the year, I visited 22 guilds and groups for lectures and workshops, 11 in person all over the country and 11 virtual. I taught four multi-day events–Empty Spools Seminars in March (my first time teaching there), Hudson River Valley Retreat Center in April, the Estelle Center for Creative Arts in July, and a team teaching experience with Maria Shell and Susan Lapham at Madeline Island School of the Arts in September. I will be going back to Empty Spools in April 2026, and there are a few spots left before registration closes on January 9, 2026.

If you would like to see where else I’m teaching in 2026, visit my blog post at https://cindygrisdela.com/2025/11/25/2026-teaching-schedule/ for more information–I’d love to see you in class!

I also held four independent workshops on Zoom throughout the year, which are a lot of fun! I expect to do more of those in 2026, but the first quarter is very busy with travel so it will likely be the second quarter before I’m able to set another one up. I’m hoping to develop a new workshop that I’ll host in 2026–tentatively titled Finding your Creative Voice. It will be about using prompts to create multiple variations on a theme to help you identify the ideas and motifs, shapes, lines and colors that speak to you the most.

I introduced a new class this year–Artful Improv Medallion. The class takes the techniques from my books, especially Artful Improv, and puts them into a medallion structure, which is great both for students who are new to Improv as well as more experienced quilters. It’s a great way to play with Improv! Southwest Medallion, below, is one of my favorite finishes for 2025.

Another highlight of the year was Quilt National ’25. This is my second time in the show and it’s still a thrill. I attended the opening Memorial Day weekend and enjoyed seeing old and new friends there. If you’d like to read more about it, I wrote a blog post about the experience.

You can also watch a YouTube video I recorded about the inspiration and process of making Musings II.

Besides Quilt National, I had quilts in several other exhibits this year, including an invitational MODern Quilting: a Selection of Quilts from QuiltCon shows at the Virginia Quilt Museum. I had my share of rejections, including all four of my entries into QuiltCon 2025. That always stings, but it happens to everyone. On the plus side, I had two quilts accepted for QuiltCon 2026!

I was invited to join two galleries in 2025–the Reston Art Gallery & Studios near my home in Reston, VA and Studio Gallery DC in Washington, DC. My work is on permanent display at the Reston gallery, and I had the privilege of a solo show there in August. I am a premier associate member at Studio Gallery and will have work in a small group show there in late February–early March.

One of my favorite quilts, Aquarius, was selected by Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) to hang in a special exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this year–Now: Contemporary Art Quilts of Today. I was honored to be included in this show and pleased that Aquarius was purchased by a major collector from the show.

For 2026 I have very general goals–I’m going to make more quilts, especially larger ones; teach four multiday events and four independent Zoom class sessions; develop at least one new class; keep entering shows, especially national ones; and work on creating the right balance between working, traveling, and being in my studio.

2026 will be an exciting year of firsts–my first teaching cruise with World of Quilts Travel to Hawaii in February and an invitation to teach for five days at the Quilt Symposium in New Zealand in October!

Thank you to all my readers, followers, students and collectors for a great 2025–I’m so grateful to all of you! I wish you all the best in 2026–joy, creativity, laughter, happiness and health–and I look forward to connecting with you in the new year.

Happy New Year!

Top left: Southwest Medallion quilt for my Artful Improv Medallion class

Top middle: Full Wild quilt that went missing on the way to the Virginia Quilt Museum but was found in time for the exhibit.

Top right: In front of my Beetlejuice quilt at my solo show at the Reston Art Gallery & Studios in August.

Middle left: cover of my latest book, Freehand Curve Quilts!

Middle: Raspberry Swirl, one of the new quilts for the book that I particularly like.

Middle right: Wicked, a new quilt created in my Improv Scrapmania style.

Bottom left: In front of my Musings II quilt at Quilt National ’25.

Bottom middle: Aquarius quilt purchased by a major collector in November.

Bottom right: Teachers at Empty Spools Seminar in March–my first time teaching there!