Hopeful Homemaker

What happens when life goes terribly wrong?  When someone takes a turn and everything changes?  What if you’re not sure you will ever be happy again?  Have you ever been on a journey like that?  I’m guessing we all have, to some degree.  I believe we all end up taking a long trip to places we wish to avoid.  The question is, what comes of it?  While pondering these questions, I started sewing.  This is what came of it:  my Come Round Right quilt top.

What becomes of us?  For me, this journey has been the undoing AND the making of me.  Funny how that works.  I’m approaching the ten year mark of a journey that still stretches into the horizon with no obvious arrival point.  I don’t know when or where it ends.  But I do know this:  I am learning to thrive IN the journey, IN the hard, IN the waiting.

Do you recognize the lyrics of a favorite Shaker hymn?  Part of the lyrics read, “When true simplicity is gained, to bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed; To turn, turn, will be a delight. Till by turning, turning we come round right.”  And that’s where the name of this quilt originates.  In the bowing and the bending which accompany adversity, we learn so much.  We recognize our weakness, ignorance, inadequacy.  But eventually, with persistence and hope and great faith, we turn and turn some more, and finally “come round right.”  It made sense to portray this turning in Dresden plate blocks, which is where the quilt started.

Come Round Right is a creative experience in using the Dresden plate quilt block to create flowers and leaves in a large composition framed by a border of “stems and leaves”.  These stems and leaves are also a nod to the number 10 – representing my 10 year presence on this road.

This quilt design is simple but also requires a bit of courage.  It’s a really fun way to design your own composition and use lots of favorite fabrics.

What did I discover as my Come Round Right quilt top came together?  I discovered a lighthearted, whimsical, cheerful celebration of growth.  Exhaling, I stood back in wonder when I finished.  This is not a quilt about what’s been fenced in or fenced out, which I portrayed with my black and white backgrounds.  This is a quilt about thriving.  That’s what I discovered.  Bring on the next ten years!

I’m happy to share that I’ll be teaching Come Round Right at the Sew Simply Stitched quilt retreat in 2025.  Registration opens November 1st, and usually sells out in the first 24 hours.  I hope you’ll join us!  The pattern will be available in a few weeks.

This journey!  I am so grateful for it.  For both of them, I guess.  I’m grateful for the journey that ripped me open and prepared me to learn.  And this journey of sewing my story which teaches me about my experiences in new and redemptive ways.

I wrote last week about my moody little HOME blocks (created with my HOME quilt block pattern), and how I was craving a small project.  Well, I dove in and made something with them.  No pattern, just cutting and sewing (and learning by trial and error), and now I have a little HOME needle book.

For starters, I have renewed respect for makers who create sewing patterns for bags, books, and pouches.  Their attention to detail is really awesome, and my novice skills are apparent in this little book.  And yet, it makes me smile and I’m happy with it.  I enjoyed making it and am already using it.

One of my goals was to just finish it, so I didn’t look online or visit any stores to find hardware.  I just used what I had on hand.  Obviously this could be a lot fancier.  But I decided to make a little envelope to hold scissors and thread inside the pouch.

Above the envelope I added a flap of felt for holding my needle.  Hot pink ribbon won the color audition for a simple ribbon closure.  Since finishing this, I’ve been playing more with the envelope idea, and have figured out a better way to sew a fabric envelope.  I’m excited to use this new skill for the holidays!  For now, I’m tucking the flap inside to keep everything in place and it seems to work just fine.  Simple.  A HOME needle book for the joy of sewing with colors that make me smile.

On the back I put a piece of the amazing modern floral I first photographed these little 4 inch blocks with.  I have a small piece of it but sort of wish I had yards and yards.

What do you sew when you need a small project to finish quickly?  I enjoyed making my HOME needle book.  I’m going to think of another project to make with the other block.  Should be fun!