A Colorful Thread: January 2021
Weaving together my life as a maker and other spheres of life.
Best of Stitched in Color {January}
On My Mind
image via Threads Magazine
Experimenting:: with boxed-pillow construction. Aria’s new pillow is going to be large and thick, so I’m thinking something with a boxing band would be better than a traditional throw pillow construction.
I’m definitely nervous that it’s going to be a flop, style-wise! But I guess then I can just take it apart and go the normal route, right?
I’m going to use interfacing and/or quilting to give my quilting cotton fabrics some oomph for this project.
Reading:: Nothing with real relish right now. I’ve been reading two books that aren’t quite hitting the spot. Instead of reading, I tend to spending the evenings planning for our upcoming move within The Netherlands and doing a little packing.
31 boxes packed, as of today! We get the keys to our new house mid-February and will move a few busy weeks later.
Sponsor of the Week
Purple Stitches
Glowing new custom bundles and lovely arrivals from Allison Glass!
Following:: @Tilkunviilaaja via Instagram, a Finnish quilter.
You already know that I love scrap quilts. Mine tend to have a lot of solid fabrics and one-color prints. Tilkunviilaaja uses many multicolor fabrics in her quilting, and this lovely project shows how well they can serve as scraps as well! She’s organized them from lightest to darkest, which gives the quilt a soothing, orderly feeling despite the real fabric chaos. Love it!
Anticipating:: Making a new Confetti quilt! Yep, the Confetti quilt pattern is finally underway. Expect to see it this March. I’ll be testing the pattern in February and sewing along with you March through June. I’m planning Confetti as a slow sew-along that you can do in the background between projects. I enjoyed sewing it SO MUCH last year that I deliberately took my time, and I think you’ll want to as well.
Life in The Netherlands has felt somber this month as we’ve adopted a stricter lockdown than ever before. Out of concern for the upcomming impact of new, more infectious coronavirus strands, the Dutch government is trying to get ahead of the problem now. Non-essential shops, restaurants, entertainment and schools remain closed since the new lockdown began mid-December. (For practical reasons, children of essential workers can still attend school or daycare). Households are limited to one guest over the age of 13 per day and there is a new 9 pm curfew with the exception of emergency, dog-walking or work reasons.
While in many ways rational, the lockdown feels unsustainable psychologically. I know that if it feels hard for our family, it feels much worse for those who live alone or have less support for managing work while children are doing school from home.
You may have heard that there have been several nights of riots in The Netherlands, perpetrated almost exclusively by young men under 25 years of age. I believe that no one has been seriously injured and there have certainly been many arrests and fines. The last two nights have been peaceful, so hopefully we are past that. Not a cheery update, but it’s important to keep it real.
On the upside, I am grateful that during this pandemic we have virtual means of staying connected to family and friends. My generation has always had this gift, and I’m sure we don’t truly understand how much heavier this pandemic would be without technology. I’m also super thankful for the prospect of our move to a new house, which keeps me busy with planning and anticipation. And, of course, for sewing! It keeps life colorful every day.
So wherever you are and however this pandemic gets you down, know that you’re not alone. Let’s keep sewing, keep hoping and keep caring for those in our lives.
Blessings,
Rachel
