Warning: long, personal post ahead. If you're not interested in that, no worries, I get it. Feel free to scroll through for some pretty quilt photos and if you're interested in the pattern, find it on my home page on November 1. Thanks!
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I began the design and pattern for this quilt back in spring of 2021 with plans to release mid summer sometime. Here we are in November (almost) and The Drishti Quilt Pattern is finally a reality!! What a long road to get here it's been.
When I first began this design it was just a fun new design that I was playing around with; choosing color palettes (this one inspired by a quilt that my Grandma made for me), deciding on sizes, honing in design details, picking out fabrics, etc. Everything was pretty much moving along according to "plan".
Then spring rolled into summer and two of my daughters finished their year at school and my eldest came home from ballet school for the summer . Then there were three, back home all day again. My work schedule and motivation went out the window, fast! I just wanted to be with my girls, do outings, projects, hikes, etc. When you have teen and pre teen daughters who still want to hang out with you (sometimes), you take what you can get. Of course they had all their social outings with friends as well, in which case, I was the driver and well, you get the idea! I pretty much went into full "Mom Mode" and it became a rare occasion for me to get out to my sewing space. My little work in progress quilt lay lonely and very unfinished for many weeks while I struggled to find my sewjo and some time to use it!!
Enter mid summer when we received the devastating news that our beloved pup, just 3 years old, had lymphoma and only months to live! I then went into full research and "dog mom mode". How could I help my boy live his best life, keep him around as long as possible, enjoy every last moment with him? And on and on... I was simultaneously grieving and putting on a brave, "happy" face and taking the lead on all things pup related.
All of this combined was exhausting, physically, mentally and emotionally. I needed to insert myself into the equation somewhere and find the time to care for myself and get grounded and clear again. I mean let's remember this was all coming on the heels more than a year of Covid lockdown- I'm pretty sure we can all relate to how hard that was. I was seriously "cooked" and in need of an intervention, a reconnection and the ability to cut through all the unnecessary stressors in my life that were leading me to feel unmotivated, stressed out, and in chronic physical pain.
Enter, an old and very well loved practice of mine that I've called on at both good, bad, and indifferent times of my life. Yoga! Like a loyal and trusted friend, yoga has been absent on and off for periods of my life but is always available when I need it- for almost 25 years!! For me a yoga practice, no matter how deep it goes or doesn't go for that matter, is always a source of calm and connection. Slowing down to consider the present moment is a practice I so often neglect yet through yoga, I reconnect with that ability.
So where does Drishti come in you ask? I'm not here to explain what Drishti "IS" but only to share my very personal experience of it. For me, Drishti, is the essence of why I do yoga. It's the literal and figurative reminder to focus. Focus my gaze, focus my breath, focus (or center) my physical body. All these aspects coming together, create a sense of balance, clarity, and concentration that has helped me through so many difficult times in my life. I desperately needed to practice my use of Drishti or fixed gaze, in my yoga practice over the last several months in order to move through some of the challenges I was and am continuing to experience. Giving this pattern (made up of two different blocks, one of which I call the Drishti block), the name Drishti Quilt, is my way of honoring this ancient yogic concept that I am so intrigued by and grateful for.
So take it or leave it. Whether or not you do, have done, or ever plan to do yoga, makes no difference in the making of this quilt. The name I chose was actually a very personal choice but one that I felt needed to be explained for context. This is really just a fun and versatile, beginner level quilt pattern that has just enough technical difficulty to keep most quilters engaged and loads of options to help you tap into your creative, color loving side.
With the help of an AMAZING team of pattern testers, I finally tapped into enough focused energy to get this pattern to the finish line and I can't wait to share their gorgeous quilts with you along with the pattern, on November 1! Thanks for reading my story.
Feel free to find #drishtiquilt testers by following the hashtag on Instagram.
Follow me over at @bloomingpoppies to get all the latest on pattern release, kits, and all the gorgeous tester quilt samples!!