Gardening

I'm moving the garden to containers on the deck this spring and truly look forward to growing fresh fruits and vegetables again. The last time I thoroughly planned our garden beds, the kids were in elementary school. Life has a way of bringing us back to what matters most.

I've been focusing on our budget and cutting back on expenses since losing my job back in March. As a result, I turned to Temu for some garden supplies including raised boxes that should work well on the deck. Hopefully this change is convenient and reduces the time we invest and physical labor associated with yard gardens of the past. Supposedly the raised beds purchased are self-watering. I have my doubts, but am willing to do some experimentation and hope for the best.

Tomato varieties, especially heirlooms and large leaf basil are my priorities for the family, used in homemade sauce and meatballs. I freeze rather than can because we don't have the storage space required, though I enjoy canning. 

A word of caution about Temu seeds: Most seed packets turn up from China without instructions, often unlabeled. Since multiple locations mail them out, you'll have no idea what arrives, how to plant them, the sun requirements, etc. Items that should have been bulbs or corms are delivered to you as tiny seeds. Save your money. I'm planning some experimentation, but sorting through the seeds will take up a lot of room for starts/seedlings or take years to work through, and I sincerely doubt it will be worth the effort.

The strawberry seeds, however, are identifiable, though growing strawberries from seeds can be challenging. When the kids were really little, we tried it with some free seeds and nothing happened. I purchased small plants and babied them so the kids could see them growing. Thankfully, we learned a lot all those years ago, and reviving the patch on the side of the house should be relatively easy this time around. I'll also try container gardening for the deck with the same plants.

If cheap seeds are unmarked, imagine the issues people have with tree and bush starts. No, thank you. The plastic containers from Temu should work fine, though we haven't tested them. This should take some time and documentation to sort. We are also looking forward to some sugar snap peas, pole beans, and flowers; I've yet to purchase those seeds. 

I sincerely hope that your weather is better than ours. If not, thinking spring and planning your garden helps.

Happy garden planning,

Heather 

Choosing Gratitude

If you're going through a difficult time right now, the last thing you'll want to hear is to "practice gratitude" and I get it. When you're struggling, being told to be grateful can feel really dismissive, like someone is telling you to slap a happy face sticker over genuine pain. But here's what I've learned through my own healing journey: gratitude during the most challenging times isn't about pretending everything is fine. It's not about toxic positivity or forcing yourself to feel thankful when you're hurting. Real gratitude is something different entirely.

Gratitude Doesn't Erase Pain

You can be grateful for the warm cup of coffee in your hands and still acknowledge that today is hard. You can appreciate a friend's text message and still feel the weight of loneliness. You can notice the sunset and still carry grief. Gratitude doesn't ask you to choose—you can hold both. This isn't about replacing difficult emotions with positive ones. It's about creating small moments of light alongside the darkness and reminding yourself that even in the midst of struggle, there are still things worth appreciating.

It Matters When You're Healing

When dealing with fears, trauma, anxiety, or depression, our brains naturally focus on threat and negativity. This made sense when we needed to survive difficult circumstances—our brains were protecting us by staying alert to danger. This negativity bias can keep us stuck in a loop even when we're trying to heal. Gratitude practice gently redirects our attention without denying current reality. It's like teaching your nervous system that yes, things are hard right now, but I'm glad that this is positive.  

Research shows that gratitude practice can:

- Reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety

- Improve sleep quality

- Increase resilience during stress

- Strengthen relationships

- Support trauma recovery

- Foster hope

Beyond the science, gratitude does something even more important: it reminds you that you're still here, still noticing, still capable of finding beauty even in the most broken places. Gratitude during challenging periods doesn't have to be grand or profound. It can be beautifully simple:

- The way your pet greets you when you come home

- A warm shower after a difficult day

- One person who gets it

- Your body keeping you alive even when everything feels heavy

- The fact that you got out of bed today

- A song that made you feel something

- The smell of rain

- That you're still trying

Some days, your gratitude might be: I'm grateful I survived today. That counts. It's real...and it's enough. You don't need a fancy gratitude journal or a one size fits all routine. You truly just need a willingness to notice and a routine that you're willing to stick to. The key is consistency over intensity.

When Gratitude Feels Impossible

It's better to notice one small thing each day than to write an elaborate gratitude list once a month only to feel guilty for not keeping it up next month. There will be days when gratitude feels completely out of reach. Days when the darkness is so thick you can't see even a pinpoint of light. This is okay. Gratitude isn't meant to be another struggle to add to the list. 

You can be grateful for your resilience. You can be grateful that feelings pass, even hard ones. You can be grateful that tomorrow can feel different. Or consider your basic needs being met, a kind neighbor, volunteers in your community delivering meals to the needy, a new sewing technique or quilt block that you found for free online, trying a new recipe, the softness of your favorite pair of stretch pants, the sunlight helping your seeds germinate, etc. 

The Compound Effect

Here's the remarkable thing about gratitude: it's cumulative. You won't necessarily feel different after one day of noticing the goodness in your life. But over weeks and months, something shifts. Good things become easier to spot. Joy is more accessible. Hope feels less foreign. It's like training a muscle or learning a language—slow, incremental changes that eventually transform how you move through the world. If you are working through a challenging time right now, I'll offer this: you deserve to notice the good things alongside the hard things. You deserve moments of light in the darkness. You deserve to acknowledge that you are doing your absolute best in a truly difficult situation. 

Gratitude is about honoring your wholeness—the pain and the beauty, the hard and the hopeful, the broken and the still-becoming. You don't have to do this perfectly - just keep noticing, one small thing at a time.

A Tool for Your Journey

If you're looking for a gentle way to incorporate gratitude into your healing journey, I've created a Healing Journal specifically for people navigating trauma recovery. Each day includes space for gratitude alongside prompts for processing emotions, grounding exercises, and affirmations. It's designed to meet you wherever you are—on good days and hard days alike. The journal acknowledges that healing isn't linear and gratitude isn't always easy. Some days you'll write full pages. Other days, you'll write one word. 

Healing happens in the small, consistent moments of showing up for yourself. Sometimes, just noticing one tiny good thing is the most radical act of hope that you can offer yourself.

All my best,
Heather

January Update

Hello, friends! I've been away for a bit due to some health issues, but I'm excited to share that my healing journal was approved, is almost ready and will be available in just a few days!! I’m working on several projects that I can’t quite share yet.

The JOURNAL is live! Reclaiming Yourself: The Journal - 365 days of Healing & Growth.

I've been ordering seeds and planning to move the garden to our deck this year for easier access. I'm hoping to get back into the sewing room soon and tackle some spring cleaning and updates next month. Thank you for your patience and continued support!

Heather

The Art of Saying No

Photo by Vie Studio

                                     Boundaries, Rest & Protective Energy for Your Creative Life

As a quilter, gardener, writer, and home cook, my life is stitched together with color, intention, and a whole lot of heart.

The more I pour myself into creative work, the more I’ve learned that the most essential ingredients—

whether quilting, gardening, or cooking a delicious pot of winter soup—is my complete attention and time.

While I purposely gave myself time to work on Jane leading up to my 40th birthday, allowing myself time to create stopped

somewhere along the line and it shows. I'm blocking off creative time in my planner and sticking to it.

The Art of Saying “No” With Grace & Firmness

Saying no is not an act of rejection, but an act of preservation.

Just like choosing fabrics for a quilt, every yes must harmonize with your overall vision.

I often thank the person requesting my time and/or talents for the opportunity.

Perhaps changing the day(s) work better for my schedule or a virtual visit could be offered instead.

Maybe a donation of fabric, snacks, materials, or seeds could be beneficial to the individual or group requesting your presence.

No is honest, kind, and honors your relationship with the person requesting your assistance, though it won't feel like it at first.

No is a complete statement - you don’t owe anyone an explanation.

Action Items: Practical Ways to Set Boundaries Today

Here are some tangible steps to reclaim your time and energy:

1. Identify Your Energy Leaks

Ask yourself:

• Where am I over-committing?

• Who drains me instead of filling me?

• Are my relationships reciprocal?

• What tasks feel heavy and/or unnecessary?

• Is the event taking place during a busy week/month for you and/or your family members?

2. Create a Personal “Yes Filter”

Before agreeing to anything, ask:

• Does this request align with my current schedule and priorities?

• Will this nourish or deplete me?

• Do I have feelings about this request? What is your gut feeling?

• Would someone in my network be able to reduce the workload?

3. Practice Saying 'No' Out Loud

Try simple statements that reflect your verbiage:

• “I appreciate you thinking of me, but I'm unavailable.”

• "I'd like to assist. Would (snacks, seeds, fabric, door prizes, etc.) be helpful for your event?"

• “Unfortunately, I’m not available.”

Practice. Saying it in the mirror makes it easier to say in person.

4. Build Rest Into Your Routine

• Rest is as essential as watering the tomatoes regularly and pressing the seams of your blocks.

• Schedule it. Protect it. Honor it.

• Burnout negatively impacts you, your family/friends, and your craft(s).

5. Create a Boundary Ritual

• Closing your sewing room door

• Lighting a candle for ambiance

• Walk in the garden to unwind

• Turn off your phone daily at a specific time

• Listen to your favorite music or videos as you work

A ritual reminds your mind and body that you’re entering protected space.

Final Thoughts: “No” Makes Room for “Yes”

Boundaries are not about limiting your life—they’re about refining it.

Every time you say no to something that drains you, you can say yes to something that matters most to you:

Your creativity, rest, peace & joy.

Your life deserves clarity, tenderness, and protection.

May your boundaries be sturdy, your rest sacred, & your energy preciously protected.

And let your “no” function as a full sentence—spoken with calm, confident, heart-centered authority.

Piece & Peace.

Heather

When Rest Feels Like Rebellion

Rest is rebellion when you've been raised by a workaholic. My additional influences include a Catholic upbringing, a Protestant father, and the idea that idleness is inherently bad or immoral. Productivity was the measure of success growing up. Time spent on hobbies was not necessarily valued unless the personal time was spent on physical activities, preferably something that benefitted the family.

 

American culture glorifies work - output is everything and it's not uncommon for employers to look down on, consider when you're trying to advance your career, they decline vacation requests, and/or limit breaks to times when the company is less busy. Some Americans work full-time without any paid vacation time. Many of us work without getting health benefits, the number of individuals facing loss of access is expected to skyrocket this month. The current economic crisis and massive job losses in the US have some households reconsidering cultural expectations. Work, home, and personal lives have been blurred to the point that many people are feeling incredible pressure and stress from competing demands. Rest, often viewed as a negative personal choice, weakness, and/or a character flaw, if you will; this mindset has consequences. Generations also view this phenomenon differently - there is a cultural shift in many younger people away from the boundaries and glorification of the grind. Hustle culture is everything here but change seems to be on the horizon for many of us. Employment issues, low wages, lack of benefits including no paid sick time have been strained & readily discussed since Covid.

I've been working since 15 other than a semester away at school and a couple years at home with a colicky baby. At those times, I was still volunteering, as I have for much of my life, because even unpaid work felt more valuable than rest. When I was home with my youngest, I developed a health program for a local parish, ran a blood pressure clinic, created health articles for seniors by volunteering with several nonprofit organizations but this wasn't considered work outside the home. My health has suffered as a result of incredibly demanding workloads, noting I've had multiple jobs at once for extended periods of time while raising children and attending multiple college programs. Additionally, as a trauma survivor, the sense of worthlessness when choosing to pursue rest or vacation time is challenging to overcome. 

Some of the issues associated with trauma, abuse, neglect, assaults, particularly multiple layers of various traumas rewires the brain making rest nearly impossible. For some of us that continues despite years of therapy. Journaling and constant reassurance are often required for individuals and they may still struggle for decades.  

Some of the psychological reactions that interrupt rest include: 

• Hyperarousal and hypervigilance
• Stillness & quiet may feel unsafe
• Guilt & shame
• Living in survival mode 
• Suppressed emotions & avoidance
• Loss of control 
• Fear & anxiety
• Flashbacks and/or nightmares
• Default setting is helping others, prioritizing everyone else

I know this content is completely different from my usual updates and that it may not be for everyone. Quilting has been my escape, my "me" time while parenting my children and through employment issues. It has helped to break my perfectionism and to have more patience. It has also provided opportunities to instruct others and has been my joy when I was most challenged. 

The photo at the top of the post is my precious doggie Thor, also known as Boo, my Boo, Munki Munki, my sweet Baboo and baby. He passed away at 15 and is terribly missed. I've been pestering Jeff for another fur baby, preferably another Weimaraner, but the kids say they aren't ready. He was so cuddly and always at my side and when he was a tiny puppy, he used to sit at my feet in the sewing room. Pets can greatly reduce anxiety, promote gentle exercise, offer unconditional love and promote a sense of purpose when things are especially difficult. 

We all have our complications in life and some of us are far more challenged to take care of ourselves than we should be. If you are struggling to rest and/or make time for your hobbies, I see you. I support you and your journey and am just a click away. There will be some content related to this post moving forward. If you don't want to miss a post, please be sure to fill out our updated email system. Those of you receiving emails via the old system will not be moved to the new one. 

Thank you.

Heather

Cannoli - If You Know, You Know ❤️

 Mmmmm you know I’m home when Cannoli are on the menu. They’re from my very favorite bakery in “The Hill” neighborhood. Some additional goodies are coming back home for the family Monday after a chosen family reunion/early Thanksgiving. It’s a long drive alone, but so worth it. I’m catching up with friends and family with a longer trip planned in spring. 

I hope that you’re enjoying your weekend. 

Happy snacking, 

Heather 

My First Bag - A Gift for Marisa

Marisa makes weighted beaded crocheted blankets. I wanted to make her a craft bag to keep all of her supplies in and created this one based loosely on the Robert Kaufman Sew Travel Bag free pattern. 

There are two dotty fabric pockets divided for tool placements, a tool/key ring and a fabric strip that is divided to run her yarn through. The center pocket made of Essex Linen and Tula Pink handmade fabric lining. The lily of the valley box has some sewing room basics including measuring tape, pins, Wonder Clips, alphabet magnets, a seam roller, and a couple seam rippers. In the soft front pocket Tula Pink fabric, there are two Essex Linen & dotty fabric lined Foldover Mini Pouches, Aneela Hoey patterns. There are digital PDF options for a small fee online but purchasing her books were much less expensive options. I absolutely love her patterns and illustrations. 

The handwork was a little more challenging than I expected. There were just a few spots that would normally take maybe 20 minutes to complete but I had to take breaks frequently and actual sewing time had to be at least 45 minutes. I know more practice will help. 

Happy Sewing,

Heather

 

  

R-F Site Updates are Underway

We have a new email list forming through MailerLite. Please update your email if you'd like to continue receiving R-F material.

R-F is now on buy me a coffee!

Amazon Affiliate links are coming soon with a Christmas list of must have items.

First on the list: an Oliso sewing/quilting iron! 

Thank you for your support,
Heather

Trimming Fabrics & Moving Cubes

Happy Tuesday! I'm working around piles in the sewing room to create a bag for my good friend, Marisa. It's crunch time since I'm leaving for St. Louis Friday or Saturday. This is just a quick trip in with a longer visit planned in April. 

Cubes are on the move.

I'm hoping that cleaning out the corner of my L shaped counter will be one of the final steps for the sewing room redo. 

I hope you have a fantastic week.

Piece, Heather

The Unboxing of My Dearest *JANE*

Here she is, in all her fancy zip-top bag glory! It’s been far too long, dearest 30s TATW — Trip Around the World — Rainbow *JANE*.

Its construction was a gift of time that I desperately needed, while also connecting me back to my great-grandmother, Gladys, who loved all things textile-related — especially linens. I recall admiring fabrics with her as a very young child. I also embroidered when I was young, inspired by her beautiful antique pillowcases. Despite my modern minimalist taste, I collect milk glass, vintage and antique Christmas ornaments, and have a feather tree that reminds me of her.

Many gorgeous linens and glassware items were tucked away forever in her hall closet. I always felt that was so sad — she loved them so much but was always saving them for another time. In the end, they were still brand new and sold by my maternal great-aunt and grandmother.

Not me! I am living my best life, sleeping on the softest embroidered-edge 100% cotton pillowcases and gladly bringing out glassware for the pure enjoyment. I’m likely drawn to shell collecting because of her as well. She had the most gorgeous pink conch shell in her restroom with a thriving asparagus fern planted in it.

With her help, I learned to propagate violets, trim climbing roses for the best growth, identify various plants — all while playing with antique toys kept in a box at the bottom of her linen closet.

She was patient and kind to me; I felt so cherished in her presence.

I think my memory of her is what sparked the idea for my 40th birthday. I know the quilt choice certainly was. For the longest time, I’d buy bits of fabric that reminded me of her, without realizing they were all 1930s reproductions. When I saw a 30s *JANE* at the Chicago (Rosemont) Quilt Festival, I found the perfect design to showcase those fantastic fabrics.

At the time, I was so busy raising babies, working, baking, and cooking that I kept prioritizing everyone but myself. The priceless time leading up to that milestone birthday was exactly what I needed to claim as my own gift. Afterwards, with encouragement from my online friend group, I worked on the triangles and kites — and then we needed a long break from one another.

Jobs changed several times, the kids grew older, my volunteer work slowed, and I was no longer running to soccer games with bags of snacks in hand. Still, my time was dedicated to the education of others, balanced between working on graduate degrees and meeting family needs.

I’ve been busy being busy, and my health has finally required a pause — a forced break, if you will. It’s helped me put things into perspective, including the importance of rest and my favorite activity: sewing. I’m still working on my formal education but am consciously choosing to make time for creative ventures along the way.

First on my list is revisiting my dearest *JANE* project. Seeing all that work just waiting for the last bits — some redos and the final top construction — feels like a moment of progress after an incredibly extended hiatus. It’s about time we get reacquainted.

I’m a little nervous about continuing this beautiful project, as I’m still not fully recovered from wrist and forearm surgeries, but I’m learning to be patient. Just revisiting the fabrics feels amazing.

The latest quandary? Whether or not to construct a second version in the process of completion.

Piece & Appliqué,

Heather

Liberty of London Stash

The Liberty of London fabrics have been folded and moved to the top of the 30s cabinet. It's not ideal but will work for a while. I can pull the drawers out of the second cube to access the variations. The first cube has mostly quilter's blues and yardage of the Emily Belle line. The second set has purple quilter's cottons and my Tana Lawn pieces. 

The Aneela Hoey are folded in an open cube temporarily until I get the latest rolling cabinet in place and the L shaped desk situated. They'll have their home soon. 

Piece, 

Heather

Tula Pinks Found a New Home

    

  

Moving the Tula Pink fabrics to their own (small) rolling cart feels like a much better option than squished on the top of the 30s cabinet. Opening drawers to see the colorful designs with room to grow the collection brings me joy. I hope you're doing something purposefully to bring some more happiness to your life as well. 💞

I pulled the Liberty of London and Kaffe Fassett fabrics last night to colorize, refold, and adjust the method for some smaller cuts. The Liberty collection is new to me, mostly scrappy fat eighth bundles; the remaining scraps of Kaffe fabrics from FWQA are in the mix. It was intended as a gift for my maternal grandmother however, she passed before I was able to complete it.

Piece, 

Heather

Aneela Hoey & Tula Pink Fabrics

       

The Aneela Hoey and Tula Pink fabrics have all been folded & placed above the 30s cabinet but the cubes are too small; another move is in order. Looking at the two piles, some more Tula Pink yardage is clearly in order. The stash includes some hard to find patterns purchased for a sewing supply pouch, possibly a Bionic bag, one of these days. 

I also have some more Aneela Hoey embroidery and organizers to get to one of these days. I used to sew outside the house frequently before COVID and have done so little traveling the past few years that I'm in no rush, maybe that's a project for this winter. The smaller rolling carts were just filled with polka dots - my favorite basic - but they've only been sorted by color. I'm leaving the basics folded as is for now. Other prints and the Essex Linens were moved from their cubes to the small, solid cabinet in the back corner of the sewing room.

The Spring International Quilt Market will be in St. Louis, MO - my hometown this coming April. That means I'll be in for a good week and will have time to sew a bit after visiting with friends and family. My first big show, the International Quilt Festival, was at Rosemont (Chicago, IL). There's another post with some highlights, if you're interested.

Piece,

Heather

The Last (so far!) of the Heather Ross Fabrics

The last of the Heather Ross fabrics have finally found their new home in the second rolling cabinet. The longer drawers of these chests are perfect for everything from FQs to yardage storage. 

 

About half of the basics have been moved to a smaller cabinet with plenty of space for stacks of goodness. The Essex Linens that I have been amassing have more space than they did in the cabinets, as most of those cuts are several yards long. I even have some space behind each door to stock with smaller bits and plenty of room for more scrumptious Essex Linen cuts as I add to the stash.  

Wishing you happy organizing, 

Heather

Sewing Room Makeover: Part I

The sewing room is mid-chaos with the cubes being moved around as I search for the perfect layout. The fantastic rolling cabinets have been a major upgrade. All the Heather Ross fabrics have a beautiful home - with a spare drawer yet to fill! I'll add the photos of the second set to another post this week. 

My family has been so helpful in this process, I couldn't have done this without their hard work and patience. While it's not ready to sew in quite yet, I am feeling much better about the space and am loving the updates. We're inching towards the finish and I couldn't be happier about it. 

I hope that this finds you well, dear RF reader. 💕

Best Wishes,
Heather

Folding of Heather Ross Fabric Continues

The fabric folding is going quickly, sorting will require another set of drawers to work with but for now, it has been great to open each drawer to see such beautifully illustrated quilter's cottons. I've been wanting Heather Ross’ gnomes, cowgirls, goldfish, banana seat bikes, lightening bugs, frogs, and owl fabrics for years.

There are quite a few white and cream background fabrics and I'm considering placing them in a rolling set of drawers to make space for the vividly colored focus fabrics. This plan requires some rearranging, but I have some willing helpers, thankfully.

 

There are storage cubes to remove  rearrange, as well. I like them but think that they would be more useful on top of the glass front cabinet, the shoe box for lesser utilized items, and possibly raised in the corner of the L-shaped counter. The room feels larger with the changes made so far, I'm excited to see how great it will be when finished. I am looking forward to getting to some actual sewing and piecing soon.

       Have a wonderful weekend, 

Heather

Heather Ross Fabrics

The Heather Ross fabrics are looking great and the process is going smoothly. I have several pieces 4+ yards in length and multiple cuts of smaller sizes of the same prints. 

This is because many of the textiles were ordered wherever I could find them once released. I have since started pre-purchasing 1/2 - full yard cuts of her new lines. There are still quite a few fabric piles in the small cabinet to tackle. My husband will be exchanging the folded ones for more piles soon; for now, I'm leaving the sealed sets together. 

You can find her fantastic prints at Windham Fabrics or at Heather Ross' site.

Piece,

Heather