Hey hey!!  I’m the next stop on the #SewPINK blog tour.  And honestly, when Annie Unrein asked me to be a part of this #SewPink Initiative, I didn’t hesitate.  I said yes because the fact is that I super love Annie and I’d happily do anything for her.  And because Annie is one of those people who lets you in, you connect with her instantly,  there is no stopping our friendship.

As many of you know, beyond hanging out at Crimson Tate the fabric store, I design fabric for Windham Fabrics. And from the very first collection, Annie volunteered her talents and time to make objects from my designs.

From By Annie’s Catch-All Caddy in Succulents fabric:

To the MJ Tote in Literary fabric:

And now The Out and About Bag made from my latest collection coming in January 2020, Pencil Club:

Here’s a look at the stack of fabric.

I’m so honored to know Annie, and that she makes such wonderful things from my fabrics is a bonus.  When she asked me to be a part of her tour, I said yes without really giving it much consideration.  But as I sat to reflect on the expectation of this commitment and the amazingness that is Annie Unrein, I was stunned.  I am in awe of her commitment to bring awareness to simple acts that can help save people’s lives.  And who is doing that in and for our community?  And who is doing that for themselves?

Here’s what I know.  We are a community of encouragers, creatives, doers, inspiration seekers, sewers, and more.  And a lot of that doing and seeking and encouraging often doesn’t leave room or time for the doing of basic needs like taking care of ourselves.  When was the last time you went to the doctor?  Am I talking to only myself right now? At the core of what ByAnnie Patterns is charging us with is a simple act.  Basic awareness of our own bodies, taking the time to have regular check-ups, and a call to recognizing our own worth.  How beautiful.

I’m reminded of the beautiful song written by musician India Arie that gets to the core of who we are and encapsulates our worth.  Check out the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ism8dBjxKvc

I am light, I am light

[Verse 1]
I am not the things my family did
I am not the voices in my head
I am not the pieces of the brokenness inside
I am light, I am light (x2)

[Verse 2]
I’m not the mistakes that I have made
Or any of the things that caused me pain
I am not the pieces of the dream I left behind
I am light, I am light (x2)

[Verse 3]
I am not the color of my eyes
I am not the skin on the outside
I am not my age
I am not my race
My soul inside is all light, all light
Oh light, all light

[Verse 4]
I am divinity defined
I am the God on the inside
I am a star, a piece of it all
I am light

Annie’s call is definitely simple.

Keep your wits about you.  Recognize your worth.  And, get yourself to the doctor, especially if you haven’t been in a while.  It’s important.  If you need resource and information on understanding how breast cancer effects us, there are great resources on finding screening programs here:

• https://www.breastscreen.nsw.gov.au/
• https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp/screenings.htm
• https://www.webmd.com/health-insurance/free-breast-cancer-screening#1

Now onto what I created!  I wanted to make something loving and of course I wanted to use my new fabric collection coming early next year, Pencil Club.

Using the sweet Heart Block Tutorial I created, I set my intention to make a pillow using Pencil Club and using ByAnnie’s Soft and Stable for the interfacing. You can find that tutorial here.

Here are my fabric choices including pencils, erasers, and pencil shavings plus a few Artisan [shot] cottons by Windham fabrics.

I cut a host of squares for the heart and for the back ground, and made four half square triangles.  I followed the tutorial as written but changed how I squared the HST.  I pulled out my Bloc-Loc 2.5″ HST ruler which made it a snap.

I laid out the blocks on my lightweight interfacing, but this time, I laid them out on point which meant I ended up using 57 background squares, 17 heart squares, and four HST to create the top.

Once it was sewn together, I loosely trimmed away the rugged edge. I trimmed just enough so that I could trim again once quilted. I pinned the top to a piece of Soft and Stable, ByAnnie’s foam interfacing, so that I could quilt it.

Once quilted, I sewed a back using an envelope closure method and VOILA — a cute lil’ pillow was born!

Thanks for following along.  It was a lot of information today.

We’d like to give away a selection of our patterns to our ByAnnie readers!  Three lucky winners will receive a few patterns, templates, and fabrics from Crimson Tate.  How can you win?!

1.  Pledge to take care of yourself.

That’s it.  Oh, wait.  I guess you have to give us your information in order for a drawing to happen.  Three ways to enter.

1. Leave a comment here that says “I LOVE ANNIE” or something similar.
2. Find and follow both Crimson Tate and Heather Givans on Instagram, leaving a comment on both #SewPINK posts.  Again, emoting your appreciation for Annie Unrein or someone in your life that helps you step back and take stock and take time for yourself will get you two chances to win.
3. Sign-up for Crimson Tate email newsletter.  You’ll find the link to do so here.

We will draw at the end of October and alert the troops to the winner.  Thank you for following along and thank you for being in this awesome community.