Singing Out Loud

Plus - a sweet raccoon, a rhino with a balloon, and a snuggly bear quilt

Trying to capture the joy of singing.

I love to sing.

I don’t sing well, so I mostly just sing in the car, but I really love to sing.

At my daughter’s middle school they started every day with Morning Sing and it was lovely. They sang a lot of folk songs, but also some older pop songs, and if I was lucky enough to be there on a day when they sang Build Me Up Buttercup I got a real treat because they belted that one out with absolute abandon.

Group singing gives me all the feels, but I usually only get to experience it at occasional sporting events.

A couple of years ago I looked around to see if I could find a singing group to join, but I was disappointed. There were church groups, but I’m not religious. There was a glee club, but that required an audition—and you had to be able to read music!

Last week, in Portland, Oregon, I found my people.

There is a magical thing in Portland called the Low Bar Chorale. It’s a band, with a lead singer/teacher who chooses songs that are great for group singing in harmony. I had heard of them before through Melissa Wiley and I was absolutely giddy when I realized they would be playing the week we were there.

Well, it was everything I hoped it would be.

You know that scene in Rocketman when Elton John is playing Crocodile Rock and everyone starts to float? That’s what group singing feels like to me.

As a teacher, I was extra fascinated by how Ben Landsverk makes the magic happen.

We started out by just singing the song through once or twice. The lyrics are on a big screen over the band and they let you know a couple of days in advance what songs they’ll be playing so we’re already familiar with them.

Then he stopped us to go over any bits that were tricky—like a weird pause that you might not know about if you haven’t listened to the song a thousand times. He sang the tricky bit solo, then we all sang it together. Easy peasy.

Then he asked us to rearrange ourselves into high, middle and low groups (no technical music terms in sight) and taught the harmonies the same way. He sang, then we sang. Then we put it all together and it was pure magic and it all felt so easy.

They played David Bowie songs and I sang at the top of my lungs and it doesn’t matter that I’m not a great singer because when you sing as a big group it always sounds fabulous. They have an Elton John night coming soon that I’m so bummed to miss!

So it was wonderful, and if you live anywhere near Portland you should definitely go.

But if you don’t live in Portland, or if group singing isn’t your thing, there’s still an important message here. You don’t have to be Usain Bolt to love running and go for a jog every day. You don’t have to be Taylor Swift to sing in public. You don’t have to be Julia Child to experiment in the kitchen. You don’t have to be Picasso to make time for art every day.

Do what you love! And do it with joy.

---

If you know someone who’d like to read this, please share! 🥰

---

How I’m Spending My Time 

At Work. . .

The Riley Raccoon pattern is finally available in the shop! You guys asked for this one a while ago, but I had to wait for some fabric to arrive for one of the samples I wanted to make.

I’m working on releasing all the Woodland Critters as individual block patterns, and next up is this adorable bear.

Last week 88% of you voted for the white shaggy dog on the coral background. My favorite too!

Behind the Scenes. . .

I’ve been hearing great things about Only Murders in the Building, but I held off a bit because sometimes Steve Martin and Martin Short together can be. . . a little much.

I was totally wrong and this show is terrific. All the characters are fantastic and nuanced and it’s lots of fun without being silly. We finished Season One right before our trip and jumped into Season Two as soon as we got home. I’m loving it!

Oldies but Goodies - and SALE

See the oldies but goodies (and what’s on sale!) from week three of the year here. This is my favorite - at least for today. :-)

The Party Animals patterns never sold especially well (I think they look way harder than they actually are) but I dearly love them.

Sale

The Week 3 archives post has a mix of tutorials, free patterns, and patterns for sale–and it really is fun seeing a progression over time. Use the discount code 3GOLDFISH for 20% off any patterns linked to in the post. This week that’s one softie pattern, one felt softie pattern, and two individual block patterns. (There’s a caption under the photos of the patterns included in the sale, so it’s super clear what’s included.)

---

Awesomeness from the Community

Look at this gorgeous collection that Donna made with the Bunches of Bears quilt pattern and the Blake Bear softie pattern! They look so cute together!

Head over to the Shiny Happy People group on Facebook to see what people are making with my patterns—and to ask questions and share photos of your own projects. It’s my favorite place on the internet!

I hope you have a fabulous week!

Best,
Wendi

PS This is so pretty—and I love the sentiment!

Have a fabulous week!