Take a Closer Look

We quilters and fiber lovers know fabric. We can check quality with the touch of a hand. We know how to choose color, contrast and pattern. We can imagine how a fabric will look cut up and paired next to other fabrics.

But pause for a minute and look closely. What do you see?

The detail of the fibers, the pattern of the weave, open spaces between the threads?

How densely woven are the threads? Do they vary in color or thickness as they flow through the fabric?

Or slide underneath a quilt at night and look up through it. Do you see a constellation of pin-pricks in the stitches?

We're trained to look at things in a specific way. But there's more to see and appreciate. If we slow down and shift our perspective, we find details we never knew were there.

Be Curious

My new quilt pattern, Loosely Held, invites you to pause and admire the overlooked. 

Loosely Held is designed to look like a close-up of a beautiful piece of fabric. The foundation paper-pieced stripes are like the threads that weave together to make the fabric. 

Loosely Held is a reminder to be curious and see things with fresh eyes. Even things you think you already know.

The pattern is also an invitation to play and create. Choose any colors to "weave" into the stripe. Make the "threads" of your quilt two-toned, chambray, rainbow or scrappy. It's up to you.

Now that you see what fabric looks like up close, you can create your own, from the fibers up.

And while you do, remember that life is as much about perspective as it is about what you thought was there.

Loosely Held will be available this month. Make sure you're on my VIP list for first access (and get a free pattern for while you wait).

And stay curious, friends.