New, Improved Cherish Quilt and a Sew-Along!
When the weather is nice is Autumn, Castlemaine is a lovely place to be. Yesterday afternoon, we headed down to the local Botanic Gardens for some photos by the lake. The light was lovely, the orange trees were lovely. Even the ducks were lovely! Though, that was helped in a big way by the girls bringing oats for them to eat.
I've been wanting to make a Cherish update for a long time. I've been stitching these blocks happily, and mulling and mulling over the best way to improve the way the edges are finished. If you've paid close attention, or bought this kit before, you may have noticed that I previously sewed in small half diamonds into the crevices made by the large hexagon blocks, and trimmed part of the block away to make a straight edge. I did this because I couldn't fit huge triangles in my packaging, and I thought making fiddly, confusing edge blocks would mean that no-one ever finished the thing!
Well! FINALLY! About 5 years after first releasing the pattern, I was struck by such a simple solution, I feel like a ditz for not seeing it earlier. That's how it goes sometimes! In this updated version, I've sewn a series of border units and then finished it off with a long column of half diamonds. No funny edges, not trimming through blocks. Hurray!
In the 8" version, I've also added an extra row of blocks to the bottom to make it more symmetrical. I love the finished look now. This kit has always been one of my best sellers. Now I feel even more proud to send it around the world.
That makes it the perfect candidate for a new Tales of Cloth club, wouldn’t you agree? I’ll be running a Cherish Club starts June 6th, and we'll take a pace over the rest of the year. We've got some big exciting changes coming up at home, so I've decided to keep things light and easy, sharing my tips and progress in my regular newsletter. Sign up so you can join us! You just need to get the pattern and/or kit to start making!
Folks who have already bought a kit and made a start are very welcome to join us. This could be just the spark you need to finish!
The schedule below covers the topics in the coming newsletters to help you as your Cherish Quilt grows, and easily applies to both the 6” and 8” block versions, so you can pick your favourite and stitch along. The Cherish Pattern covers fabric requirements, cutting instructions, and block and quilt construction, so you don't need to wait for me to hit the 'sewing' topic in August to start sewing!
Sew along Schedule:
June: How I’m choosing fabrics for my scrappy version - fussy cutting, value, and print size.
July: Make it easy to make progress - basting, organisation, storage
August: Sewing blocks - setting realistic expectations for greater enjoyment
September: Community favourites! Here’s some awesome Cherish blocks from the #cherishquilt hashtag on Instagram.
October: Stitch up your quilt top. If you have an older EPP kit, I'll show you what shapes to reuse to finish it in the updated layout.
November: Different ways to quilt your Cherish.
December: Finished Quilt showcase and maybe a prize or two!
I'll also be sharing my progress on Instagram and blog. And of course, as with all my clubs, the point is to enjoy sewing together, pick up some new tips, and sew at a pace that suits you.
Most people use Instagram as a way of sharing their quilt blocks during my clubs. Add the hashtag #cherishquilt to your posts, and also follow the hashtag, so that we can find eachother!
I’ve updated the edges for the 6” version too, though I haven’t finished making the sample. I actually have 2 in mind! One I want to make quickly from Anna Maria Horner’s upcoming Vivacious Lawns collections, and another that I’ll make at a more chilled pace that will be scrappy. I’ve always held a scrappy 6” version of Cherish in my imagination, but never quite gotten there. Having someone else make some of the colour and print decisions for you in the form of a ready-made fabric collection is quick and fun! But I’m determined to turn my quilt vision into a reality, even if it takes a few years! Here’s my very first block below!
