Hello First name / friend! How does April find you? Well, I hope.
We've moved into our beautiful new house and have spent the first few weeks settling in and discovering things that need fixing that weren't picked up before the sale (yesterday I spent half the day bucketing water out of my studio due to a blocked drain. Blaa!).
So, needless to say, I come to this email a little bleary! That makes me think it's the perfect time to talk about sewing energy and motivation.
This month I've put the easiest with the most complex! Aster is actually my least favourite to make (actually, I should say ‘least favourite to start’, but more on that in a bit!), but I kept it in the book back when I was writing it, because it was just so pretty!
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Kindling is perfect for your feature prints. Dig through your stash or collection and find the ones with big motifs. I'm using Sarah Watts' Firefly, and she always uses lots of big feature prints, so my challenge here was narrowing down, and finding basics to spread out over my more intricate blocks!
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For Aster, I recommend prints that read as one colour, especially in the diamonds and triangles, and being selective about what part of your print goes in the hexagon. You can see Lucy's at the top of the page, she's done some relaxed, but thoughtful cutting, which makes good use of bigger prints.
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My plan for Aster is to have white for the star and triangles in all my blocks, and use small prints or basics in the hexagons. I want really high contrast.
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Don't forget! This quilt is here for you to enjoy, and it's yours to keep! If you find the pieces too tiny to baste or stitch, you have complete permission to replace with another block or replace it with one of your own, just like Jen has here. <3
This is the time of year when my motivation starts to wane. Has yours? Partly it's because we've entered a very wet autumn, and I just feel like crawling into bed with an audio book in my headphones and a scrappy quilt where I can just sew the same thing over and over rather than making decisions about the next set of blocks!
Whatever the reason, peaks and troughs in motivation are so natural for us wonderful, very human quilters! Some people thrive on rhythm and love to make their 14 blocks a month. Others start to feel a bit trapped by schedule, and just want to break out and do something ELSE! I definitely fall into the latter category. Here's some tips and encouragement from what I've learned being a chaotic creative.
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I've said it before, and I'm going to say it over and over and over! This quilt is here for you to enjoy! Enjoy it! Put it away if you need a break or to follow a different muse for a while. Over half of folks who do my clubs don't finish their quilt that year, but they DO finish. Taking a break does not mean you won't finish it, or that you made the wrong choice signing up. Remember, motivation comes and goes.
Tune in. Is it just life right now that's gotten in the way? Or is it the quilt itself? Are you feeling like you can't move onto another block until you've finished the last design? Are you avoiding starting those tiny stars (that's me!)? Or have you started with a bunch of colours and now you're not sure?
Tuning in to why you've stalled is the best way to make progress. After realising the reason, you can put it away peacefully for a season, forget those unwritten rules about going in a certain order or finishing something else first, or you can put it out somewhere you can walk past it often, to mull over what might redeem it.
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Break it down. At the moment, I'm unmotivated to sew Aster. But I don't need the motivation to sew all the blocks, I just need the motivation to get out the right papers. And then to choose colours. And then to start cutting. See what I mean? It's easy for me to say, “today I'm going to sew Aster”, and then feel overwhelmed and move onto something else instead. But if I bring it out in front of me and break it down, motivation and flow is sure to follow.
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Have you heard the saying, “Comparison is the thief of joy”? That's why it's also a real killer of motivation. During this process, be mindful to honour your own story, rather than seeing yourself as falling short. Make progress at your own pace and celebrate it. Enjoy other people's work and celebrate it. Ask, “what can I learn from them?” rather than “I will never make something that beautiful.”
February Faves!
Check out these beautiful blocks found in the #hexieharvestquilt hashtag!
What a perfect background print above chosen by @cambervillethreads! Gorgeous! And those colourful blocks are just so happy and fun.
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This layout below by @what_mary_makes made me stop mid-scroll! This thoughtful, creative layout has my heart!
I got an email from Hexie Harvest member Lynne last week, showing me her beautiful progress. Lynne is medically blind, can see a sliver of light 4" from her face, and is steadily making these stunning, fussy cut blocks from Tula fabric. Isn't this Cedar block so happy and wonderful? Thank you Lynne for sharing your story and giving me permission to share it here! You're a wonder! And your determination to enjoy quilting gives me great joy too.
It always feels a little risky to write a club email saying, “ Feel free to stop!” But I do it every year because I believe it with my whole heart. Quilting is where I've learned to listen to my passions, to develop my creative habits, to tune in to what I like and don't, to ask myself questions if I'm feeling uneasy rather than pushing through. I hope for these for you too!
Go gently, First name / friend, and have a lovely April,
