This one's personal. I don't always share tales from the life of Jen Tanner in the newsletter but when I do, I hope it's something that you can relate to as a fellow maker. This time it's about this quilt:

You've likely seen Wensleydale by my quilt hero, Jen Kingwell. It's found in her delicious book, Quilt Recipes. I wanted to make it the moment I saw it on the cover and in the end I believe it's my most authentically "me" quilt to date. Why? Well, first it was the fabrics. I was easily drawn to 50 fabrics that called, nay, shouted my name. Some Art Gallery florals that spoke of softly worn sheets from my younger years and Kitchen Window Wovens that reminded me of just that. Felt like home on a sunny day. And oh, the colors! Vibrant. Awake. Joyful. 

I had to jump right into sewing. I tend to overthink and fuss with perfection. This pattern is NOT for that. I couldn't nail the block combos down and NONE of the plaids were coming out straight. Was it too much to take in? Overstimulating? Maybe to some. Exhausting? To me, at first. After weeks of hesitant piecing, my creativity had grown stagnant. I put it away. But those fabrics kept calling. I needed to finish this one and in order to do so, I needed to let go. I started to sew again. I let fabrics fall together as they wanted. I stopped fighting the plaids. I forgot the rules about perfect points. The layout just... happened. You know what? That freedom was FUN. This quilt isn't perfect and that might be my favorite thing about it. It's full of crazy genuine joy -- at least for this girl. I learned to let go and allow the real "me" show.

More on this fantastic pattern... It's meant for scraps. The more variety the better. Any fabric combo will do. Marianne Michaels pieced this red, white and blue version for a new grandbaby. Fewer blocks for a smaller size makes a children's quilt that is sophisticated enough to grow up with. Pick up a Quilt Recipes book and Jen's Wensleydale Foundation Papers to get a good start. If you like what you see here, we have some starter bundles with fat quarters you can use as a springboard for building your own Wensleydale quilt. Then, take my advice and just let go for a truly joyful quilting experience.

You'll find both Wensleydale quilts on display at the shop. As you can see, mine has made friends with this darling Maisy Daisies quilt by Fig Tree & Co.. Kris Money sewed up this little piece of sunshine using Summers End fabrics also by Fig Tree. E2E "Canopy" quilting by Chelsea Linn is a lovely garden fresh finish. 

Speaking of Daisies, guess what's here? The next beautiful collection from Heather Bailey is Daisy Crush and we are 100% smitten!