A Colorful Thread: April 2023

Weaving together my life as a maker and other spheres of life.



On My Mind

Experimenting:: with a pop-up subscription form. I am committed to long form content (blogging) over other kinds of social media, and subscribing by email seems to be the best way for people to follow a blog these days. I have avoided pop-up forms for obvious reasons, but perhaps one that only appears every two weeks is not so bad? Tell me if you hate it!

BONUS - I have created a welcome email series for new subscribers, which begins with my Stash Curator tips for creating a fabric stash that you love. The series orients newcomers to all the free resources on my blog. If you are already a subscriber but want in on the series, let me know.

Reading:: Marriage Confidential: Love in the Post-Romantic Age by Pamela Haag. I didn’t expect much from this book based on the title and the lack-luster book cover, but it was actually just what I needed. It is not a self-help book, and Pamela gives no advice. The book chronicles major trends and questions faced by today’s married couples. I definitely saw aspects of my marriage reflected in the stores, which helped me to further process.

Celebrating:: This is fun! Jodi @Tales of Cloth and her daughter Evie spent some of Evie’s holiday break sewing a Teeter Totter quilt! Evie got a quick start by using a charm pack. Now just add some fabrics from Jodi’s delicious fabric stash to fill out the quilt, Evie. I know it is going to be beautiful!

p.s. the Teeter Totter sew-along starts Monday!

Anticipating::  my next therapy session. Sorry, it’s true. Brandon and I started couples’ therapy this month, and our therapist is great! Now, don’t expect to hear much about what is going on in there. There won’t be a Marriage Chronicles series, lol. But, suffice it to say that it feels good to have set change in motion.


Featured Freebie

how to Assemble + Finish Quilt-as-you-go Blocks

Stitched in Color includes a library of free tutorials, more than 10 years in the making. Each month I’ll feature one to spread the good news.

There are many clever tutorials on how to assemble and finish quilt-as-you-go blocks.  This is not one of them.  This is the simple, no-fuss approach to quilt-as-you-go that may have less finesse, but is super quick and so very user-friendly. Want to sew a big bed quilt, but have no budget for longarm quilting? Definitely consider this method!


I blinked and April was gone. This month has been full! Although there is heavy emotional work going on, the month also brought much to appreciate. Here are my favorite things from April:

  • Aria’s two week visit

  • The tulips are blooming!

  • Conversations with friends and with Liam

  • Feeling the sun on my skin again

  • Scoring a dark red, wool-cashmere blend coat from Vinted (secondhand) for €17

  • Elora’s hugs

Here’s to changing seasons!

xoxo,

Rachel