Link Love: Who Have I Become?

Every hear the phrase, busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest? If you have you’re probably a fan of Steel Magnolias like me. *fist bump* That phrase fully encompasses my past week and this week coming. I don’t know what happened this month but everything seems to have fallen in the last 2 weeks of February. We’ve got parent/teacher meetings, school assemblies, birthday parties, bible study groups, volunteering, quilts due and so much more. It’s bananas.

I don’t know what it is about being time poor and deadline rich that makes me turn into this list ticking machine. I’ve been more productive in the past week than I have all year. I’m still so far behind on my to-do list for this year that it’s keeping me up at night thinking about all the things that need to be done, but at least things are now getting done.

For those wondering about the Make the Cut pattern and sew-along I’ve popped in a little peak behind-the-scenes about this down below. This year is all about embracing the unplanned, learning to pivot and trusting in the sovereignty of the Lord. Wishing you a fabulous week filled with love, laughter and much fabric fondling!

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At the end of each month I’ll pick a winner and announce it in the newsletter. Prizes will vary and will not be available via any other platform. It’s all to say a big THANK YOU to you for being part of this amazing community of creatives.

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Week 4 of the 9 Patch Parade started this week. It’s all about sharing what you’ve made. I’m just finishing up my project now (need to get it quilted and turned into a cushion). I’ll be sharing it this week.

Each month we’ll be making a project based on a Marti Michell 9 Patch Pattern (as shown above). The 9 Patch block is super simple, as long as you’re working in a measurement divisible by 3. If you want to make them in any other size you’ll need to work in metric! *wink* Well not any more! With the 9 Patch Rulers from Marti Michell you can now make 9 patch blocks in 7 sizes (2″, 3″, 4″, 4.5″, 5″, 6″ and 8″) all without having to do the math. You can use the rulers to strip piece or fussy cut your blocks. It’s genius! I can’t wait to share with you the projects I’ve been making with these rulers and spend 2020 helping you to sew some super awesome projects! Click here to read all about the event, or click here to purchase the rulers.

A: I just love this shape and the interest that’s caused when it’s repeated with a colour wash. Click here to read more.

B: I love a good play with traditional blocks and this looks like fun. Click here to read more.

C: A quick little block you can use to jazz up zipper pouches or drawstring bags. Click here to read more.

D: A posey of flowers for you. Click here to read more.

E: This is an oldie but a goodie. Click here to listen.

F: I’ve got to bring a plate for the school assembly this week, I’m thinking these. What do you think? Click here to read more.

I love to share the cool things that I find during my week of surfing the internet window-shopping and splurging. Here’s my top 4 from this week:

A: Click here to purchase this on Etsy.

B: Click here to purchase this on Etsy.

C: Click here to purchase this on Etsy.

D: Click here to purchase this on Etsy.

I wanted to provide an update for those interested in the Make the Cut Sew-along. The machine pieced pattern and the foundation paper pieced pattern will be released this week (before February is over in Australia!). I had hoped to have it out in the middle of the month, but there were a few behind-the-scenes things that have impacted on it.

Getting a pattern of this size done and out-in-the-wild is a team effort. There’s myself, my Art Director (the person responsible for making the pattern and my scribbles look pretty) and the Technical Editor (the person responsible for checking my math) all working together to get the pattern ready for use.

In December my Art Director’s Mother suddenly passed away. As you can imagine, it’s been a difficult time and she’s done such an amazing job of continuing to get things done but it’s taken a toll on our deadlines. In December/January myself and the Technical Editor were impacted by the Bushfires and it delayed things from my end. There’s also been a number of silly little things that have happened that have eaten into my time that have meant I’ve not been able to work.

Long story short, we’ve been busting our butts behind-the-scenes to catch up on the delay caused by all these things. It’s meant however that the pattern wasn’t out as soon as I’d hoped and I’m sorry about that. I’m confident that it’s worth the wait though!

The other thing is that the quilts aren’t ready to be revealed. Normally at this point the quilts are done, photographed and impatiently waiting in the wings for their big reveal. Not this time. They’re still in progress and will likely be in that state until the event kicks off. I had hoped to do a #100Days100Blocks style sew-along for this pattern in 2020, but it’s not going to happen.

Instead it’ll be a low key affair where we’ll all be sewing along together instead of me being well prepared in advance and having all the blocks made, etc. before it kicks off. I confess I’m actually looking forward to a lazy little meandering sew-along. I’m not organising sponsors or prizes. I’m not going crazy on the promotion. I’m just going to sew and hope that those of you that want to hang out with me and make a fun quilt will choose to do so.

For those that want a printed copy of the pattern, it’s not going to happen in the short term. It costs around AUD$6,000 to print a pattern and then I have to have somewhere to store the patterns until they all find their forever homes. With all that’s happened in the past couple of months I’m not ready to commit that kind of money or space to that much stock. (Imagine how big a fire hazard 1,500 paper patterns are!) We’re waiting and watching to see what happens with the impacts from China being closed and what will happen here in Australia with the coming months before we commit to that investment. I’m really sorry that it’s not available now, but I’m sure you can appreciate the position we’re in.

If you’ve pre-ordered that pattern you’ll receive an email as soon as pattern is ready for download. Keep an eye on your inbox!

https://www.facebook.com/makemodernmagazine/videos/1035294480161622/

The latest issue of Make Modern is available now and it’s jam packed full of amazing projects, fabulous competitions, sage advice and a little bit of cats on quilts action. To check out what’s included click the image below and you’ll see a wonderful video of the contents of the latest issue.

The best way to participate is to grab yourself the All Access Subscription. You’ll not only get all the details on how to participate in this event, you’ll also get access to hundreds of quilt and project patterns. It’s such great value for money!

The All Access Subscription is for serious creatives – it gives you one simple link to download every single back issue of Make Modern PLUS new issues as they are published. Download issues as many times as you like while your subscription is active, then read on your tablet, smartphone, or computer, and print as required.

You’ll receive:

200+ modern quilt patterns,
40+ mini quilt patterns,
30+ cushions,
50+ other patterns including pincushions, placemats, table runners, bags, pouches, wallets, camera straps, coasters, luggage tags, doll quilts, machine covers, journal covers, baskets, Christmas stockings, needle books, and even a foldable waterproof picnic blanket!

You get all of this for just AUD$99* for the first year, then $40 each year thereafter (the same price as the annual subscription). That’s all those patterns for less than AUD$0.20 per pattern! (Even less if you’re in the US because of the exchange rate!) CLICK THE BUTTON TO PURCHASE!

If the button doesn’t work you can access the link to purchase by clicking here.

A note for current subscribers: If you already have an active subscription but would like to upgrade to our All Access Subscription, purchase a new subscription from this page, then email Lara to request a refund for the remaining balance of your original subscription.

Have you got an event, a charity drive, a pattern release, a class schedule or something else that you think my community would be interested in hearing about? Why not drop me a line and let me know – I’d love to share it with my readers. Click here to email me.

Fat Quarterly is a new collaboration between textile designer Alissa Kloet of Keephouse Studio and Andrea Tsang Jackson of 3rd Story Workshop. Each edition of Fat Quarterly includes: a mix of high quality 100% quilting cotton and linen/cotton blend — 4 Solid Colour Fat Quarters and 4 Hand Screen Printed Fat Quarters, and a new pattern by 3rd Story Workshop. You can sign up for a single order, 6-month (2 editions) or a 12-month (4 editions) subscription. Click here to find out more.

For those of you that are sewing along the tutorials you’ll need for this month are listed below, simply click the link to access the tutorial you’re wanting.

The Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt:

The Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt:

If you would like to know more about this event click the button below. The event information includes a 2020 calendar with a block sewing schedule for you to keep to throughout the year.

This newsletter may contain affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a very small commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link, in fact in some cases I can offer you a better price via an affiliate link. I will not recommend something that I do not use myself. These commission help me to be able to keep providing you with great content. Thank you, in advance for your support! For more information about my sponsorship and advertising policy please click here.