Releasing a Quilt Pattern Into the Wild
- saraflynn774
- Jan 5
- 2 min read
This quilt pattern has been sitting with me for a while.
I originally planned to publish it properly—fully written instructions, polished layout, the whole quilt pattern industry thing. But life got in the way (as it does), and instead of letting it live forever on my hard drive, I decided to release it into the wild.
Maybe someone else will find joy in making it. That feels like enough.
The Story Behind the Pattern
This is a sunrise log cabin–inspired block, born from a visit to my dad in Colorado. If you’ve ever spent time there, you know: the sunsets and sunrises don’t mess around. The light is dramatic, expansive, and grounding all at once. I wanted to capture that feeling, the slow build of color, the quiet awe of day beginning or ending.
I also added song lyrics to the quilt: “Mama’s Don’t Let Their Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.” I like adding in words to my quilts where it can fit, maybe your quilt will have a memory with some words added too?
That song is stitched into my memory. My dad used to sing it to me while strumming his guitar on fishing trips when I was a kid. Years later, he sang those same songs to his grandkids, who are now fully convinced he is Willie Nelson. Honestly? I’m not here to correct them. This quilt holds that lineage: landscape, music, memory, family.
About the Pattern Itself
The pattern is pretty straightforward. I’ve included:
Rotary cutting information
Templates for the sunrise shapes
What I haven’t done is write out full, step-by-step instructions the way I normally would for a paid pattern. This one assumes you’re a capable quilter who can look at the pieces and say, “Yeah, I’ve got this.” If that’s you, I hope you’ll make one.
About Money (and Not Marching to War)
I understand that in the quilt pattern world, I’m “supposed” to charge at least $14 per download, watermark everything, lock it down, and worry about AI scraping it and reselling it cheaper on Etsy. I’m just… not up for marching to that war right now.
So this pattern is offered freely here, for folks who’ve seen the quilt and want to try it out.
That said—if you download the pattern and feel moved to leave a small tip, I’d appreciate it $5 would be lovely. My Venmo is @mama_makes_time No pressure. Truly.
An Invitation
If you make this quilt—or even just one block—I hope it brings you a little calm, a little memory, a little color at the edge of your day. I hope it reminds you of a place or a person you love. And I hope it feels like something worth stitching.
Patterns don’t always need to be perfect or profitable to be meaningful. Sometimes they just need to be shared.
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