A Christmas Message

As we approach the end of the year, I just wanted to share some thoughts with you all. I’m very grateful for the huge following of raving fans of Zen Chic. And I’m especially thankful for everyone who takes a little bit of time out of their day to reach out to me and send me nice feedback, some kind words about appreciating my style, my design work, plus your thoughts about the fabrics and patterns I release. 

A lot of quilting friends give me thumbs up and say they are in love with the Zen Chic style. It warms my heart that more and more people want to try out what I bring into the world. All this engagement encourages me in my work and lifts me up. It feeds my creativity and ideas and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.

What I wonder is to what extent Covid-19 is impacting your life or has impacted your life so far. Do you suffer from all the restrictions? Maybe you are unemployed or you have gone through financial losses. Or even worse, you fear for an infected relative or have lost a loved one. I’m so sorry and my heart goes out to you. I’m asking about this because by getting to know you a bit better, I will be able to serve you better. 

So please tell me in the comments, what would you love to see from Zen Chic that can make your life during this pandemic a bit more bearable? 

A little Christmas gift

To make a start with lightening your heart, I thought I would give you a little Christmas gift. What could I do besides sending a physical gift to 20K followers, which is a bit hard, right? I can make a digital one!

So I came up with a quilt project planner sheet. This free downloadable and printable sheet should help you organize projects and ideas. You can print it out as often as you like and then keep everything together in a folder or binder. 

On the printable, you can glue a picture of your project, a couple of swatches of fabrics you will use in the project to have an idea of how it will look and feel once the project is finished. 

You can make notes on the measurements, whom the project is for, or what special notions you need. Write down any recourses like a special tip, trick, or YouTube tutorial. And even things like what batting, binding, and backing you will use. There is a section for the fabrics you will use in case you need or want to buy some more. 

All in all, this project sheet is a nice reference and documentation to see some information about it once if you have given your project as a gift. 

As I suggested earlier, keep all the sheets in a folder or binder to have a nice overview of what you have made in the past. And of course, you can use it in planning your projects for 2021. Set yourself some goals and plan out your projects. Use a printable for each project.

I hope you will like the project planner sheet and will use it to be a little more organized. Let me know what you think and if it helps you. 

FREE QUILT ALONG BLOCKHEADS 2020
BLOCK #50
NIGHT AND DAY

As long as we are giving away things, let’s take a look at the next free block in the Moda Blockheads3 Quilt Along. 

The designer of the week is Laurie Simpson or as she puts it herself “One half of Minick and Simpson”. Together with Polly Minick, Laurie is designing for Moda and running a fun Etsy shop where they sell everything from books, patterns to complete quilting kits. 

The block Laurie made for us this week is called Night and Day. Depending on the fabrics you use you can really make that difference very clear. I used the darker red and purple against the white background. 

And talking about fabrics, you can win a Layer Cake from the Roselyn collection by Laurie. Moda is generously giving away Layer Cakes every week in this last part of the Blockheads Quilt Along. 

Wanna take a swing at winning this week? Just hop on over to the Facebook group and answer the question Laurie is asking in the announcements. And while you’re in the Facebook group, show us the block you made with Laurie’s design. I love to see what fabrics you use and how it turns out.

Don’t forget to answer the question “what would you love to see from Zen Chic that can make your life during this pandemic a bit more bearable?” in the comments.

Happy quilting!

Don't miss the other blockheads involved in this project:

Betsy Chutchian
Corey Yoder of Coriander Quilt
Janet Clare
Jan Patek
Jen Kingwell
Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree
Jo Morton
Laurie Simpson
Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings
Lissa Alexander of Moda
Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles
Me & My Sister Designs
Robin Pickens
Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life
Stacy Iest Hsu
Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique
Carrie Nelson

Stay tuned… Each week I’ll reveal more of my layout with the next block!