I had a talk with myself over the weekend and had to admit that I was not loving my Sewcialites Sew-Along quilt blocks. I was using fabric that just wasn't floating my boat. I think I'd like the Betsy Chutchian fabrics I had chosen in smaller bits, but not in the big 9" blocks I was making. I had made around a dozen blocks and decided not to invest any more of that fabric or my time making a queen-sized quilt top.
So I pushed my fabric re-set button, had a rummage through my stash, and came up with a new game plan. I pulled red, black, and gold/tan fabric from several designers (Jo Morton, Renee Nannemann, and Pam Buda) and remade 13 blocks in the 6" block size. It will be a smaller quilt, but I think the fabric colors are more cohesive and will make a nice statement together.
For reference, these are some of the blocks I had made with the other fabrics:
Pink, purple, black, green, and (inexplicably) blue. Hmm. I am usually pretty good at this, but what the heck was I thinking? Just because a designer puts numerous colors in a fabric collection does not mean you have to use them all together.
On another note, I have come to think that when making a sampler quilt comprised of 36 or more different block patterns, it might pull things together more to use just one background fabric instead of a dozen varied ones. That cohesive thing again.
I had an absolutely delightful Saturday and Sunday starching, cutting, and re-doing my 13 Sewcialites blocks and am much happier.
I was in my happy zone, binge-listening to a new reading podcast discovery. A Strong Sense of Place is the name of it. It is a blog and a podcast done by an absolutely charming husband and wife duo. They put out two extremely well-researched podcasts per month where they discuss and recommend books that have a strong sense of place. For each episode, they pick a country or a city or a place, such as Paris, Germany, the Circus, etc. They also discuss books that are specific to a holiday or a setting. They have a show on Halloween books, and my favorite so far: books that are set on Trains. Their recommendations are not all new books by any means. They often recommend older books that are dirt cheap on Kindle or readily available through your library. I highly recommend both their blog and podcast. Besides, they seem like super nice people you would like to know better.
Hope you all had a great weekend. Ready for Christmas this week? It will be different from the norm, I am sure, but I plan to try to find the wonder in it regardless.
My intention is to post Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week, then I will be taking a break between Christmas and New Year's. I'll be back to my usual posting schedule on Monday, Jan. 4.
12 responses to “Sewcialites Re-Set”
I love your new Sewcialites blocks. The color choice is nice, and there is more contrast with the fabrics. For me, choosing fabric for a project is a struggle more often than not.
I can’t wait to see it finished, I am sure it will be spectacular.
Happy Holidays to you and your family!
I love your new Sewcialites blocks. The color choice is nice, and there is more contrast with the fabrics. For me, choosing fabric for a project is a struggle more often than not.
I can’t wait to see it finished, I am sure it will be spectacular.
Happy Holidays to you and your family!
I love your new Sewcialites blocks. The color choice is nice, and there is more contrast with the fabrics. For me, choosing fabric for a project is a struggle more often than not.
I can’t wait to see it finished, I am sure it will be spectacular.
Happy Holidays to you and your family!
You’ll be happy with your new blocks. Life’s too short to work on things that you know don’t make you happy! The podcast sounds really inspiring! Glad you’re going to ‘take some time off’ to enjoy the holidays! 🎄🎄🎄 Stay well!
You’ll be happy with your new blocks. Life’s too short to work on things that you know don’t make you happy! The podcast sounds really inspiring! Glad you’re going to ‘take some time off’ to enjoy the holidays! 🎄🎄🎄 Stay well!
You’ll be happy with your new blocks. Life’s too short to work on things that you know don’t make you happy! The podcast sounds really inspiring! Glad you’re going to ‘take some time off’ to enjoy the holidays! 🎄🎄🎄 Stay well!
I know the feeling of just now feeling the love for something you are working on. We’ve all been there. I have to say, I love the new fabric choices and I think both the light and dark blue work but it is your quilt. You have to make the final decision.
I can’t believe it is almost xmas. We’ve been living in isolation for soooooo long and yet it feels like the year just sped past us.
I know the feeling of just now feeling the love for something you are working on. We’ve all been there. I have to say, I love the new fabric choices and I think both the light and dark blue work but it is your quilt. You have to make the final decision.
I can’t believe it is almost xmas. We’ve been living in isolation for soooooo long and yet it feels like the year just sped past us.
I know the feeling of just now feeling the love for something you are working on. We’ve all been there. I have to say, I love the new fabric choices and I think both the light and dark blue work but it is your quilt. You have to make the final decision.
I can’t believe it is almost xmas. We’ve been living in isolation for soooooo long and yet it feels like the year just sped past us.
Love how you revamped your blocks, they look very cohesive. Your others wer fine too…what are you going to do with them?
Love how you revamped your blocks, they look very cohesive. Your others wer fine too…what are you going to do with them?
Love how you revamped your blocks, they look very cohesive. Your others wer fine too…what are you going to do with them?