Coming Soon - a fresh start in 2024

What will you sew in 2024? A fresh new year is almost upon us, and with it comes a sense of renewal and so many possibilities. My wish for you? Let 2024 be a year in which you create joyfully with your hands, whatever form that takes for you.

Create a little beauty. Create a little space to slow down and be still. Create something with colors and shapes that will fill you with delight. Lose yourself in your own making, and you’ll naturally watch, browse, compare and worry less. Create instead!

If you’re looking for something to keep you inspired and engaged, I hope you’ll consider my Positivities BOM. Especially if you have fabric scraps, this quilt is a chance to make a little patchwork magic. Start with a base of solids to give your quilt an easy unity, then revisit all those little bits that are waiting in baskets, baggies or boxes for their time to shine. Add your scraps and voila - you’ll make something way more than the sum of those parts, something useful too!

I’ve been sewing a full spectrum Positivities quilt because I wanted to bring the cheery exuberance of the rainbow into my days. But it doesn’t have to be so. Here’s another version of Positivities with a much more focused color palette.

Just Peachy Positivities Quilt

Color Palette: gold, peach, purple

In a limited color palette the patchwork elements naturally melt together.

Here I started with my love for the warm, feminine energy of peach. Along the way I decided to include berry purples as well, since they have a special way of contrasting with the orange tones in peach.

The patchwork here is the same as with my Full Spectrum Positivities, but it more effortlessly merges as one whole thanks to the limited palette. Still, the Just Peachy version is not boring because I have used light/dark contrast to define the designs and lots of variations of peach and purple to spice things up. I even used a few color neighbors (yellow and coral), to create more variety while keeping things calm.

With a focused color scheme, all the colors will repeat. This creates more harmony in the quilt, as compared to a rainbow version. If you struggle with fabric choices, consider a limited palette. The more limited your color scheme the easier it is to sew with lots of scraps but end up with a harmonious final work.

I had SUCH a hard time choosing between the Full Spectrum and Just Peachy palettes, even though they are drastically different. In fact, some of the patchwork groups are colored almost exactly the same way in the two versions. The most important factor to decide at the outside of planning a Positivities quilt? Your background color. Everything else can be flexible and could even develop naturally as your year progresses.

If you prefer to follow my Full Spectrum multicolor plan rather choose your own colors, pick up the base solids in one fell swoop at Sojo Fabric. Then you can simply relax and follow the pattern prompts regarding color!

When you sign up for Positivities BOM, you’ll receive the Prelude download right away. This introductory document has all the big-picture info so you can see how the year will unfold. It discusses crafting a color palette in more detail and provides a printable color sheet for you to flesh out your ideas. If you really love to plan ahead, you’ll appreciate the master list of scrap sizes needed for all 12 months of patchwork.

Each month in 2024, you’ll receive an email to download the digital pattern booklet, but also guidance to keep you on track. Do you struggle with choosing fabrics? Each month I’ll share a tip for making effective fabric and/or color choices with our patchwork ensemble. I’ll also share examples from our Positivities community, because there are lots of wonderfully different ways to create something beautiful!

Registration begins Wednesday, January 3rd with a kick-off sale on the annual subscription. It’ll be just €72 instead of the regular rate of €85. Don’t miss it!

Besides the main Positivities pattern, you’ll also receive detailed instructions for special techniques: basic curved piecing, foundation paper piecing, strip piecing and partial seams. No familiarity with these techniques is assumed! This quilt is totally appropriate for an intermediate quilter who’s made a couple of quilts and is ready to try something at the next level.

Each patchwork group is a fresh beginning, but all together they’ll make up a fascinating, layered quilt with sections that interplay. I can’t wait to see your Positivities develop!!!

Here’s to a wonderful new year!

Starts January 2024!