may is for makers

Remember that full plate I have for the month of May? Well it has all been pushed way back to the back-burner since my last post, as a nasty stomach bug made its way through our family like a tidal wave. My daughter and I got it first, 48 hours later my youngest two children got it, and as a nasty sneak attack after we all thought we were in the clear, 72 hours later, my husband got it. All creating, sewing, blogging time has been fully replaced by sickness, recovery, tending sick beloveds, and cleaning/laundry catch up. My husband is still recovering today, and the deep cleaning continues. Needless to say, I don’t have much to show!

Since May is flying by, though, and I wanted to check in, I thought now would be a perfect time to share the patterns I’ve been purchasing for the May is for Makers initiative started by Lindsey at LR Stitched.

I kicked off the month by buying the Rebel Quilt pattern by Libs Elliott. Ever since my husband first started “following” my quilting and getting more into the quilting world, Libs Elliott has been his favorite designer. I can’t even tell you how many times he has tagged me on Instagram on a post (that I had already liked, by the way) just to make sure I saw the awesomeness. Since I have yet to make a quilt for him, we decided that the Rebel Quilt would be perfect. He selected a color palette of red, black, grey, white, and a bit of turquoise (yay!), and I’m itching to get started. This is going to be SO much fun to see come together! All in good time, of course.

The second week I bought the Terrazzo Quilt pattern by Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced. This is one of those quilts I loved the moment I saw it, but have not yet had the right opportunity to make one. Recently Fat Quarter Shop asked if I would want to make a quilt using both of their Alison Glass Sun Prints bundles and blog about it if they sent me the fabric, and this quilt pattern popped to mind. Yes and yes!! I plan to create this quilt in the coming months; an all time favorite pattern with my all time favorite fabrics–I’m in love already and I haven’t even cut the first piece!

For the third week, I’m sharing a pattern I bought *just* before May began, but I’m counting it anyway. Stitchy Pie is a sweet needle organizer pattern recently released by Lucy at Charm About You. I had just been thinking about how I needed some system for keeping all of my hand stitching needles organized and in one place (it’s never fun when I can’t find my self-threading needles and it’s thread burying time), and this pattern popped up in my Instagram feed. I plan to make mine…. wait, can you guess?…. out of an Alison Glass Art Theory panel! I will never tire of Alison Glass fabric projects! I don’t know when the time will present itself, but when it does, I’m excited to make this handy little project.

I have not yet decided what patterns I’ll be purchasing for the last two weeks of May. Do you have any suggestions? Any innovative projects that you find yourself returning to again and again? I’m soooo close to crossing into the black hole (so it feels) of garment sewing, and I want to begin with a simple cotton tank. Do any of you garment sewists have suggestions? Thank you in advance, and I hope you’ve been having fun with May is for Makers, too!

Back to cleaning up and possibly sewing for just a tiny bit, since Finn is napping. Here’s to good health, sunny skies, and speedy and efficient catch-up!

I don’t often post two blog posts in a day, but this topic warrants a double since it’s an idea that really hits home. I’m joining in on a month-long campaign started by Lindsey over at LR Stitched, and I encourage you to consider doing so as well. It’s called May is for Makers and it’s all about supporting indie designers (like me).

Lindsey’s reflection and description is great, so I suggest you visit her blog to read the details here. Basically, her pledge for May is:

For the month of May, I am committing to support a different pattern maker each week…

I will purchase 5 patterns over the course of the 5 weeks and with each purchase I make, I will tell a pattern maker that their work matters. My purchase will tell them that I am grateful for the time, effort and passion they put into their brand. Validation.

Lindsey reflects on how “…the balance between what we expect for free and what we are willing to purchase is way out of whack.” This made me stop and reflect for a minute, since while I’m a “starving artist” myself, trying to find a foothold in this industry so that I can help contribute to my family’s bottom line, I don’t always jump at buying patterns. Sure, I support my peers through friendship, collaboration, and sometimes commiseration, but as I know all too well, every penny helps. Selling patterns is often one of the few sources of actual monetary income for independent designers. So I’m pledging this month to buy one less special treat during an errands day, and instead will buy a pattern from a fellow designer each week.

I will share my pattern purchases on social media using #mayisformakers, and will give recaps here. I can’t promise a blog post every week, since I have an overflowing plate with many tutorials coming your way in May, but I will definitely write an update post or two sharing the patterns I’ve added to my library.

I am looking forward to being part of the wave of love sent to the makers of our community, since I know well how much time, artistry, and love goes into making, creating, designing, and of course sharing it all! If you would like to join in, go ahead over to Lindsey’s post, grab the button for your blog, and support away!

Many thanks to all of you for your continued support, both through pattern purchases, blog comments and kind words, and spreading the inspiration!