Follow the Blue Bird: Hush Hush Fabric
You know…life is…well…the only thing certain about life is its uncertainty.
Earlier today I was rushing around….I had taught school, worked on updating grades, answered messages about hosting a meet the candidates night for the city, picked up my kids from three different schools, done two loads of laundry, texted my siblings, scheduled parent teacher conferences, gone to the store, and still had a full night of obligations when a message popped up on my phone.
It was a gentle reminder that I had signed up to share a project today using Riley Blake Designs new Hush Hush fabrics as a part of their Follow the Bird tour.
OOOOOOOHHHHHHH….that’s right.
I had signed up for that!
I had wanted to do that….I still wanted to do that.
I stood in the kitchen and thought.
My kids were settled into their homework and eating snacks so I stole away to the basement.
As I walked into my sewing room I realized something….something that made me sad.
Looking around at the partially completed quilts laid out on the floor, the cut fabric on the table, and the quilt blocks still chained together in my sewing machine I started to count…
…and I counted at least 10 weeks since I spent time in this room….my heart sank….
…10 weeks.
10 weeks full of great things like the start of a new school year, girls camp, city events, high school football games, birthdays, and quilting conferences….but also full of other things…heavier things….doctors appointments, family emergencies, covid tests, meetings, trainings, canceled plans, and hours upon hours spent helping empty the homes of two grandmothers.
One day I am sure that I will write more about this process of clearing my grandmother’s home…but not today.
Today I turned off my phone and turned on the iron.
Today I cleared off my cutting table and moved aside partially finished and forgotten quilt blocks.
And today I opened a package that had been waiting patiently on my sewing room floor…a package of Hush Hush fabrics.
The Hush Hush Collection was a collaborative effort….a selection of low volume, blender prints designed by a variety of Riley Blake Designs designers…and Elizabeth and I were lucky enough to be part of this selection.
There is a blender for every taste…ribbons, hearts, flamingos, cats, florals, etc.
Our blender design consists of tiny black X’s on a background of white….something that we designed because we knew it was a blender we would want to use ourselves!
This afternoon opening that package of Hush Hush was like opening a gift.
A gift with a subtle message…a message telling me it was ok to tell the world to “hush” and spend time doing something that I have missed terribly….something that I love.
And so, for the first time in 10 weeks I sewed!
I downloaded Riley Blake Designs free Blue Bird pattern HERE and got to work.
Soon my machine was humming and my iron was sizzling.
It was heaven.
Before I knew it the sun had set and my girls had wandered down and taken their usual places around my room.
It was time for dinner.
And I had just finished up a new hot pad.
After dinner I snapped a few pictures.
It is dark now and I’m sitting here with my kids…it’s past bedtime…we are eating Cracker Jack and they are telling me about school.
I’m going to post this before it gets much later.
I’m glad that today I was given a gift…a reminder to “hush” the world and give myself some time.
I needed it….and it gave me an idea for another project….another Hush Hush project…one that I hope to have time for very soon!
***NOTE: The Hush Hush print I used in the background of my bird is called Hush Hush Patchwork and I bound the hot pad in Hush Hush Trio.
The fabric Elizabeth and I designed is called Hush Hush Criss-Cross and is the fabric shown on top in the photo of the fabric pile. 🙂
