Quilt pattern designer Corey Yoder was contemplating going back to work after being a stay at home mom for 10 years, but instead found her true calling in fabric design. Cozy Up by Corey Yoder is her first fall themed collection.
For several years, Corey used her sewing skills to make appliqued children’s clothes after her daughter Chloe was born. A few years later, her second daughter Elonie followed, by which time, Corey was in full swing designing quilt patterns for magazines, her Etsy store and even a couple of books.
“Being able to do what I love, set my own hours, and be at home when they need me has been such a huge blessing and has worked for our family so well.”
“I come from generations of hand quilters on both my mom’s side of the family as well as my dad’s side of the family. My mom often had quilts in her quilting frame that were being hand quilted. We would have family over – aunts, great-aunts, grandmas, even some uncles – for ‘quiltings’. While the adults laughed and quilted, we would play with cousins. If my mom didn’t have a quilt, usually my grandma or one of my aunts would, and we would head to their house for a quilting. I remember much laughter and good food.”
We are always excited to see other quilters’ sewing spaces and their fabric stashes, so we asked Corey about hers. “We recently remodeled a portion of our home. My sewing room now takes up an unused formal living room and dining room space. It’s always been important to me that my workspace is in my living space so I can be around my family when I am working.”
This collection will work great with Corey’s previous collections as the colours used are a familiar palette, “I use a lot of corals, yellows, greys and greens in my fabric lines and you see those colors but in more “burnt” shades. Some of my collections have blue of some sort. In Cozy Up by Corey Yoder the blue shade is a beautiful, warm teal colour.
“This collection started with me sketching fall flowers. My collections often start with the largest scale floral fabric I plan to include in the collection. For Cozy Up, I knew I wanted it to include sunflowers so those were the first flowers I started sketching. From there I started adding in other fall elements to compliment the fall theme.”
Complimenting the florals, this collection has some versatile blenders: a large check, a cursive text print with tree names, acorns and the tiniest polka dot. It is available in precuts from mini charm packs right up to a full size fat quarter bundle.
This is very much a collection made for quilters by a quilter, so naturally Corey has a host of patterns released alongside the fabric to try. There are six, including a free pattern called Autumnal that will be provided to all fabric stockists to share with their customers. A sneaky peek is shown below!
One of our favourites is the Leaves pattern, a contemporary quilt measuring 66” x 76” that uses fat eighths – or half of a fat quarter bundle if you like to use precuts and build your stash at the same time.
In terms of using the fabric in other quilt designs, or maybe making your own design, Corey has an idea for you. If you like elegant shortcuts, cheater cloth prints and the look of intricate small piecing, you may want to take another look at the check print in this collection, “It allows you to make blocks that look pieced without that much actual piecing.”
Corey’s book, Checks Mix Quilts, has lots of inspiration if you like this look. Stay up to date on Corey’s sewing activities and view all her patterns over at corianderquilts.com
Cozy Up by Corey Yoder from Moda Fabrics arrives in Canadian stores in late August 2021. We always encourage you to touch, feel, and experience the fabric you’ll use for your next creative project at your local quilt store.