Sewing serves a lot of roles in my life, but one of those is self-care. When I’m stressed, sad or processing something difficult, sewing offers an immersive, tactile experience. At times that experience can be an escape, but more often is a way of slowing down and working through my feelings.

September was a hard month. In October I’ve been able to unwind a bit, to catch my breath. This week I was kind to myself by starting a new quilt, one I’ve been looking forward to for awhile. The above collection of fabrics has been waiting for a solid year now, since my abandoned autobiographical project last fall. I love, love, love the colors and knew it would be perfect when fall arrived again. And here we are!

Earlier this year I came across the Posh Snowball pattern at Nanno Creative. I fell hard for the interesting patchwork shapes and decided then and there on Posh Snowball for my fabric stack.

So, time to get started! Choosing a background fabric was first on the agenda. That came easily when I auditioned Wild Rose, a Ruby and Bee Solid from Windham Fabrics. It’s such an interesting rose-brown, not quite pink and not quite brown. What autumn perfection! Serendipitously, I have yardage of Wild Rose leftover from my Ruby & Bee solids quilt earlier this year. Check, check!

Posh Snowball is a Sew Kind of Wonderful pattern, which requires two speciality rulers to cut the curves: the Quick Curve Ruler and the Quick Curve Mini Ruler. I used the Quick Curve Ruler years ago with their Chic Country pattern. As with Chic Country, cutting for Posh Snowball takes some getting used to. There are measurements and multiple cuts involved in the Sew Kind of Wonderful approach. With the pattern handy on my cell phone, I found my way. After a few blocks, I had memorized the process.

It has been awhile since I’ve pieced curves. The Posh Snowball block is chock full of them, demanding my attention. Just what I needed.

Ta da, the Posh Snowball block! Isn’t that cool?!?

Now that I’ve sewn it, I can see that it is the classic Flowering Snowball block with an extra curve added to the petal shape. To see what I mean, take a look at my Flowering Snowball quilt from a few years back. But the Posh Snowball pattern takes that flowering snowball structure in a completely new direction with the addition of pieced sashing - - -

Check it out! The addition of sashing really transforms the block, don’t you think? I’m totally adoring the Wild Rose color here. It’s adding a toasty warm dimension that grounds all my fun colors and prints.

I can’t wait to get back to it! I mean, and to get back to my new Wild Oranges quilt, of course. Look at that, I have two delicious quilts in progress at the same time! That’s posh sewing self-care, indeed.

Shopping Notes: You can find the Quick Curve Rulers in Europe at Nanno Creative and in America at The Confident Stitch. The Posh Snowball pattern is also available printed at Nanno Creative and The Confident Stitch. For the digital version, visit Sew Kind of Wonderful.