I’m not even going to try to complain about this year. All I can say is that some good things did come out of so much tragedy. I stay excited thinking about the new year and the future as it approaches.

Pre-Covid

Here are just a few of the things I made right before everything shut down, March 16, 2020. My mantra this year went from the “year of better,” to” just roll with it.”

Art Shows

The last and only art show I got to be in was held at The Orphanage and was organized by Artist United Dayton. This was my zero waste scuba knit dress from that show.

Masks

During the first half of Covid we were busy making masks around the clock. It really saved my business and I am so grateful. I will never forget all of the masks I made from Artist Terry Welker, photographers Thom Meyer, Andy Snow and George Balog, thank you. I also made all the masks for the Dayton Department of the Treasury. Government Job!

Collaborations

I had the privilege of doing one big collaboration with the amazing artist and poet Tiffany Diaz. She is extremely creative, talented and makes the world a more colorful place. Check her out.

The Quilt

I made my first real quilt for a dear friends little sister that was having miracle babies. Isn’t the quilt pretty? I still can’t believe I made that!

Refashions

I really enjoyed a lot of refashion challenges with my friend Sam, owner of Riley Street Photography. I even refashioned one of my own designs.

We already have January’s refashion challenge planned and we will be making it public soon.

Replicas

Here are the only replicas I did this year.

Custom

I did a lot of custom work, here are the highlights.

What I Learned

No events meant no parties, weddings and a serious slowdown in alterations. I used the extra time to learn to make large scale prints and my own PDF patterns.

Extras

Here are a few more things I made for myself to wear to work.

The Fun

Recently, I have been doing photo shoots with a great model, Ms L. It has been wonderful to just be the person taking the photos.

Handmade Holidays

And with the extra time I made all of my holiday gifts this year. I cannot remember the last year I got to do this.

Conclusion

For the rest of the year I may just look like this.

Thank you for reading and all of your continued support. I hope 2021 will be the “year of better,” because now we know how quickly life can change. I can’t wait to hug my family and friends and have meet ups again.

Tracy McElfresh,

Dream it! Sew it!

 

 

Tracy McElfresh
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