Hello July! It’s really summer now, and with a few pattern releases happening over the next few months I’m trying really hard to squeeze in some sewing that’s just for fun. Exhibit A, above, some Blackletter (Uppercase and Lowercase) quilt blocks to spell out the month. I’m squeezing all the projects I can out of my beloved Sugar Cone bundle from Ruby Star Society (as you’ll see below as well).

My Sugarcubes top is almost finished, and when I realized I’d have more than enough scraps for a Stars Above cushion, I knew I had to get in on Megan Collins’ Quilt Along (more details here).

Funny story though, I liked the pattern so much I am now positive there is a full Stars Above Quilt in my future. I’ve always wanted to try a New York Beauty or Pickle Dish style quilt, but they look so challenging I may never have done it. I feel this pattern gives you the look of both, but in a fresh, modern way. And on top of that it is so well thought out, and fun to sew. I think it’s also a great one for showcasing those treasured fabrics.

And a finish! Varsity Letters complete! It’s just the quilt top, but I count those, especially when we’re talking about a paper piecing project. (I love these but they are usually a little more time consuming than patchwork.)

I’m pretty proud of this one, because I made it purely for fun. Which sounds kind of silly, because um, isn’t this my hobby? Shouldn’t it be a given that’s it’s fun?

And it is! But do any of you ever find yourself in a situation with a quilt where you start down a path and at some point realize your fun idea has become a bit of a grind? Like you signed yourself up for a something, it’s now a slog, and worst of all, for some reason you won’t let even let yourself off the hook? I’ve been guilty of this from time to time, and to try and adjust my mindset a little I dove into this project with only the loosest of themes (”all Ruby Star Society”) and a commitment to myself that I would stop when the sewing was no longer fun. I basically winged it, didn’t agonize over fabric choices and colour schemes, and ended up pushing myself way outside of my comfort zone (hello maximalism!). And yes, it was super fun.

A few of the letters … finding a fabric to match each letter was most of the challenge and I’m happy to say I sourced almost all of this from my stash (Unicorns and Queens fabric excluded)! Z is for zig zag …

Pattern: Varsity Letters Quilt Blocks