Happy New Year! As I reflect on the past year and enter a new one, I feel grateful for the opportunity to share my life’s work with the world, both in person and virtually. Sometimes I wake up and think how lucky I am to spend every day making art! If you’ve followed me for years, thank you for coming along for the ride. And for those of you who’ve just discovered my doll-infested needle and thread universe, welcome!

For the past couple of years, I’ve felt a shift in my work habits. Instead stitching every spare minute, I’m happy to spend some part of my day playing with my grandchildren and puttering in the garden. Even though I’ll be turning 70 this year, retirement is out of the question! However, I like the idea of less pressure to make “important” artwork. With that in mind, I spent most of the past year making projects that are meaningful to me, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant. I caught up on gifts that were years overdue, sewing dolls and baby banners for friends and my grandchildren. It felt exhilarating to come up with designs that could be completed in a week or two, instead of months and months! Please come along as I review the past 12 months and share posts published in 2024.

So, what does 2025 have in store? I’ll soon be in winter hibernation mode, exploring alternative ways of working that require less time, which may be a futile exercise. I hope to make some new installations for this fall’s exhibition at the New England Quilt Museum (Sept. 9 – Dec. 27, 2025).

ENCHANTING THREADS: The Art of Salley Mavor
opened in July at the Albany Institute of History and Art. The show, which is extended to March 2, 2025, is one of the most artful and tasteful presentations of my life’s work that I’ve seen. I’m astounded by the number of people who’ve traveled far to see the show! They’re coming by plane, train and car and could probably get there by boat as well, since Albany is on the Hudson River.
Post links: Enchanting Threads opens!
Video tour of Enchanting Threads exhibition

SEASONAL SERIES
I started posting segments about Summertime and posted the last part about making Harvest Time. In the coming year, I will continue sharing photos, videos and commentary about various aspects of the Summertime project.
Post links: Summertime overview
Summertime: Part 1 – Tree Trunks
Summertime: Part 2 – Treehouses
Summertime Poster!
Harvest Time – Part 9 (embroidered trees)

PODCASTS
Throughout the year, I gave several slide presentations about my work, both in person and via Zoom. Podcasts are a different and effective way to reach an audience and I was delighted to be interviewed by two hosts from the UK.
NeedleXChange
Salley Mavor – Telling Wee Folk Tales PART 1 and PART 2.
I really enjoyed chatting with Mr X Stitch (Jamie Chalmers), who hosts a series of interviews with needlework and textile artists. He has a talent for disarming his guests and guiding the conversation in sometimes surprising philosophical directions.

Textile Talk with Salley Mavor – I had the pleasure of chatting with Gail Cowley from the School of Stitched Textiles. We delved into where my art comes from, how it’s evolved and why I do it. You are invited to listen to the podcast on the YouTube link below.

SALLEY MAVOR: BEDTIME STITCHES
The touring exhibition of original illustrations for MY BED keeps chugging along.

This past spring, Bedtime Stitches was on display at the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville, SC and it’s currently included in Enchanting Threads at the Albany Institute of History and Art through March 2, 2025. The next stop on the tour will be at the Mariposa Museum, Peterborough, NH, April – July, 2025.
Post links: Exhibition News post, bed book peek – back cover

BABY GIFTS
With the arrival of Eddie, our 2nd grandchild this year, all I wanted to do was make things for babies I know. I shared several projects in that vein, including a baby banner, dolls and ornaments.

BABY GIFTS post links:
Elias and Eddie ornaments
Inuit doll remake
Baby Polar Bear suit
Baby Bunting Twins
Eddie’s Baby Banner

FAIRIES
Despite declaring that I’ve moved on from making fairies, I did bring along materials to keep my hands busy during our train trip across the country this past fall. So, by the time we returned, I’d almost completed 48 fairies!
Post links: New Ltd. Edition Fairies are coming!
Fairies, train travel and a podcast
Bur Oak Fairies

RABBITAT
Last spring, I revisited Rabbitat (2012), with tons of process photos and recollections about making the piece.
Post link: Rabbitat revisited

HORNBOOK MAGAZINE
As part of their centennial celebration, the Hornbook Magazine held a “very-subjective, not-serious” contest to pick favorite covers from previous issues. While scrolling through Instagram, I discovered than my 2012 cover illustration won the Jan/Feb category! It seemed like a good time to republish a post about how I made it.
Post link: Cover Madness at the Hornbook

To keep up with new posts, please subscribe to this blog. Your contact info will not be sold or shared. If you’d like to see more frequent photos tracking the projects in my studio, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram and BlueSky.