I’m a huge believer in the power of a debriefing at the end of a project, event or era. I think it’s monstrously constructive and therapeutic to take a minute to pause and reflect over the past [whatever] and feel all the feelings and think through the highlights, lowlights, and ways to improve in the future. I love reading the wisdom of those who’ve been through it before me and I love celebrating the wins.
I also love the idea of heirlooms and traditions, and I’m hoping to solidly get some things established in that category with Renaissance’s graduation party. I’ve been researching so many different ideas for her graduation party and one thing that popped up was having a signature quilt that people could sign for the graduate. I had been thinking about a book of wisdom or index cards with words of wisdom or something like that, but the problem with those is that they get tucked away in a box and rarely seen ever again, and a signature quilt could be a tangible reminder of all the great things people have to say about you and what they hope for you, left out for memory jogging and having the potential to really become a part of your early adult years and memories. And, really, HELLO—quilt.
So I started looking around for a possible pattern and stumbled across this post, which featured a quilt pattern that I’m mighty familiar with, seeing that I was one of the debut sewists for it when Fat Quarter Shop released the pattern back in 2020: The Jelly Belly Bars quilt. It’s an easy sew and it uses precuts, and that’s what I need right now.
I texted Ren and told her to choose a jelly roll from Fat Quarter Shop* and was not surprised at all when she decided to go with the Here Kitty, Kitty fabric collection by Stacey Iest Hsu*. Renaissance and Quesnel have been joined at the armpit since Quesnel joined our family almost fourteen years ago, so cat fabric makes complete sense. I’m pleased that she picked out something by Stacey Iest Hsu as well, as my kids’ childhoods have had many of her fabric collections and dolls hanging around in the background. It’s a perfectly fitting choice for an end-of-childhood memory project for my girl.
My plan is to sew up the individual blocks and have a quilt block-signing table at her graduation party. I’ve also extended the invitation to loved ones who will not be able to travel to her party to contribute a block to the quilt, whether I send them a Jolly Bar-sized (5×10-inches) piece of fabric or they cut fabric themselves. It’s been a good reception thus far!
These next few weeks are going to be an absolute flurry of graduation activities and party preparation, but I’ll try to show updates on this quilt when I get the chance!
*Affiliate link: When you click an affiliate link in one of my posts and make a purchase from that vendor, I receive a small commission at no cost to you.
I just finished sewing up a lovely new pattern from Fat Quarter Shop called 
I used Modern Background Colorbox by Zen Chic for my prints, and the frames are 
My little Miss Junebug wanted to help with the photoshoot so much, so I let her! There’s nothing like spending a beautiful autumn afternoon following your kid around the neighborhood as she proudly shows off her “new bag” to everyone she meets on the street! (Don’t you just love it when a finished project makes the recipient enthusiastically happy?!?!)
Happy New Year everyone! In celebration of the new year, Fat Quarter Shop decided to showcase their top ten YouTube videos from 2015, and the Layers of Charm pattern was one of them. It is a very easy pattern to stitch!
That Crafty Cara 