Wondering Wednesday Week 12 & Block Heads Week 2

Welcome to week 2 of Block Heads Round 3 and Week 11 of Wondering Wednesday.  This is going to be a post full of all sorts of fun things…so pull up a chair and stay a bit. =)

First up, this week’s Block Heads block is called Sunshine Star and it is brought to us by Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life.  You will want to visit her website today to download the free pattern.

Many of you followed along with Sherri & I to make your own Sunday Best Quilts Sampler quilt this last fall and are already familiar with her site.  If you are new to her site you are in for a real treat!

Sunday Best Sampler Quilt–More information on the sampler here

Sherri’s Sunshine Star is such a great compliment to my block from last week, Star Chain.   I used Sugarcreek and Canning Day fabrics for my Sunshine Star block.

And thank you to all of the people that stopped by to visit last week!  My site was hopping–and I especially thank you for your patience when things were running slower.  To say I had a few more visitors than usual would be an understatement.

The rest of the Block Heads designers will be sharing their Sunshine Star blocks today as well.  If you’d like to take a peek at their blocks, here is the weekly round up:

1.22 – Sherri McConnell
1.29 – Betsy Chutchian
2.5 – Jan Patek
2.12 – Brigitte Heitland 
2.19 – Lisa Bongean 
2.26 – Lissa Alexander
3.4 – Laurie Simpson
3.11 – Vanessa Goertzen
3.18 – Stacy Iest Hsu
3.25 – Robin Pickens
4.1 – Janet Clare
4.8 – Jen Kingwell
4.15 – Joanna Figueroa 

One last note for today before I move on to Wondering Wednesdays…many of you have asked about fabric requirements for the lay out that I shared last week.  As soon as I have the yardages figured up I will be sharing them here (it will be a couple weeks as I have some other “must do’s” ahead in line). =)

And now on to Wondering Wednesday.  This is my weekly post where I answer the questions you have left for me previously.  If you have any questions you are interested in hearing about (and you’ve read through previous Wondering Wednesday posts to see if it’s a new question) leave it for me in the comments below! =)

Paulette says: “Couple of questions!  Why do designers seem to shy away from lavender shades?  It’s not my favorite, but I’ve needed it a couple of times for girl things, and it’s hard to find.  How do you get to be a pattern tester or sampler maker for designers?…”

Sunnyside Up and Canning Day purples

Answer:  Why do designers shy away from purple?…well, for me, I didn’t add in purple to a line until Sunnyside Up (which was my 6th fabric line).

Sunnyside Up Swatch Cards

It really needed to be just the right shade of purple to go with the warm, sunny colors I like to work with.  And the purple is back in Canning Day which comes out next month:

Canning Day fabrics

Purple really wouldn’t have worked with Sugarcreek:

Sugarcreek prints on the left and wovens on the right.

Or Strawberry Jam:

strawberry jam fabrics

I think it really depends on the fabric line and if purple makes sense in the color palette.

And in response to the second part of your questions…how do you get to be a pattern tester or sample maker for designers.  I’m sure this works differently for each designer.  But, what I’ve seen (and done myself):

1.  Social Media calls for tester/sample maker help.  You will see designers asking on their blogs/Instagram/Facebook pages for help in these areas.  If you are interested in testing or sample making for a certain designer, make sure that you follow them on their social media pages.
2.  I have also had readers message me to see if I was looking for anyone.
3.  I have reached out to people to see if they were interested in sampling making/testing.  It is very helpful, if this is something that you want to do, that you have a portfolio somewhere that your work can be seen…Instagram is a great spot.

Susan R asks: “My question is you must be sooo busy with your wonderful business!  How do you break up your day and week to be able to: sew for fun, do instagram, do errands, tend to meals and household things?  Do you have a set routine?  I never seem to have enough time in the day and can’t imagine how you can get so much accomplished!…”

Holliberry Grays–coming in July

Answer:  Sometimes this goes better than other times. =)  For me, I do the bulk of my work from around 8am-3pm Monday-Friday.  This is when hubby and my youngest daughter are at school (oldest is homeschooled–but very self-sufficient) and I can focus on my work.

Hello Friend Quilt pattern

I typically will answer emails, ship orders, send invoices before 8:30 so that I can drop anything off in the mailbox that I need to when I am getting my youngest to school.

After that, I try to post something to Instagram/Facebook.  And then dive into whatever big task I need to accomplish that day.  Those things are different depending on the season.  Right now, my looming deadline is new patterns for new fabric showing later this spring.  Those are due by the end of this month so they are taking a lot of my attention.  I will also have new fabrics arriving within a week or two and then will be making those new quilts.  The next deadlines after that will be working on the next fabric collection that will show next spring (2021)–that deadline is the end of the summer and then working on the patterns for the fabrics showing this upcoming fall–which will also have a later summer deadline.

Freshly Cut pattern

There are always smaller projects to fit in around whatever the big deadlines are…project for a book, magazine project…etc.  Those are fun because I can fit them in as their deadlines approach–but they are small, quicker projects.  And then, when I need a break from work, I can pop a load of laundry in, unload the dishwasher, tidy up a bit or whatever just for a change of scenery.

Turnstile Quilt

I try very hard not to work in the evenings or on the weekends (I don’t work Sundays but sometimes will need to on a Saturday).  I really like that I have so many different options on any given day with what I can work on.  It keeps things interesting and keeps me from getting tired of doing any one thing.  I am pretty evenly split with being right/left brained so having all of the math things to do as well as the creative things to do works well for me.  And, I totally have a cleaning lady that comes in weekly who I would be lost without! <–this is very important!–I don’t do this myself. =)

Pam Haffner asks: “Just wondering if you have certain quilts you use to decorate or cuddle under for Christmas?“

Holliberry Christmas Quilts–patterns available in my shop

Answer:  I really didn’t have very many holiday quilts…I think only one if I am counting correctly.  But, with a new holiday collection coming out, I do now! =)  The patterns above have all just been added to my Etsy shop and feature my Holliberry fabric collection.

Holliberry Fabric Collection

Holliberry fabrics come out in July.  I shared more about them in this blog post.  And I will be sharing more about my new patterns as this is just the first peek you are seeing of them here.  If you’d like your local quilt shop to carry either the fabrics or the patterns be sure to let them know.  The ordering period for Holliberry is right now.

And I think that will wrap things up for this Wednesday.  If you have a question for me, I’d love if you’d leave it for me in the comments!

Chat soon! Corey