If you’ve read my In the Hexagon Zone blog post in the past, you'll know that hexagons have been my in between stitching balm after a big project.  I tend to disappear into a project once it has its hooks in me. That lovely, slightly obsessive state where the rest of the world fades away and the only thing that matters is the next seam, the next fabric choice, the next quiet hour of stitching. My most recent finish, Summer Sweep was a joy to sew - easy squares and rectangle and the most beautiful palette of Tana Lawn. All consuming in the best possible way.

Right now though, I’m somewhere else entirely.

I’m in between projects.

And if I’m honest, I find this space equal parts interesting and disturbing.

Too many ideas, how to focus?

I have a head (and a cutting table) full of ideas. Sketches half-formed. Notes scribbled in the margins of notebooks, fabric palettes waiting to take shape. That familiar tug-of-war between this could be lovely and but so could that.

Then along comes the new Liberty SS26 collection and… well, that doesn’t help at all.

There are so many fabulous prints in this release, both heroes and companion prints, the kind that don’t whisper, they beckon. Prints that feel like they want to be the star of the show. Prints that make you pause, fold and unfold them, and imagine a dozen different ways they could become something special. I've had the fussy cutting mirror out to take a look at Clover Fields  with my Lawley Stars template - this could be the start of something fabulous !!

And so I’m not sure which way to jump..

What do you do when you’re in between?

I’d love to know - what happens in that in between spot you find yourself?

Do you push through and force a decision?
Do you wait until something truly clicks?
Or do you reach for something small and satisfying, just to keep your hands moving?

After sitting with all these ideas for a while, I realised something.

Sometimes small can be the right place to start

This time of year especially - I'm hesitant to commit to a big, all-consuming project. I want something that feels gentle. Low pressure. Something that lets me enjoy the fabrics without overthinking every decision.

So this week I reached for my Liberty scraps and my patchwork stamps. 

I had my Wednesday sewing group wondering what on earth I was doing this week but armed with a bag of scraps and an apple core stamp I just started.

There’s something incredibly freeing about having the option of working small.

Scraps remove the pressure of perfection. Stamps make the prep easy and rhythmic. And suddenly I’m moving again - cutting and stitching, not because I’ve decided the next big thing, but because I simply want to enjoy the process and relax into some mindful stitching while I mull over what comes next.

Little pieces. Slow stitches. Liberty doing what Liberty does best.

And funny enough, that’s often when clarity starts to arrive.

Not by forcing it — but by giving myself permission to just make.

I must admit the new Liberty SS26 bundles were calling to me and they may still make an appearance but in the meantime I've started with my scraps.

If you’re between projects too, maybe something small is exactly the right place to be.

Happy Stitching

Mel x