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Here we are halfway through March already! For those of us in the northeast US, this means maybe only one more month of snow ; ) And for all of us doing the 30/30 Sewing Challenge, this means it's time to link up with your progress for the second week. Don't forget that each link up you join is an entry into the participation prize drawing. And if you get all the goals you laid out back at the start of the month complete, you also have a chance to win in the final link up's completion prize drawing! Speaking of prizes, I hemmed and hawed about what to give away, and then saw this interview with Mary Jane Butters over on The Jolly Jabber about her new fabric line Bee My Honey. Profits from sales of it support bee keeping efforts, which I think is a great cause, so I started there for my prize inspiration. Here's what I came up with: Participation Prize - one Bee My Honey by Mary Jane for Moda charm pack & one Hubba Hubba by Me and My Sister for Moda mini charm pack Completion Prize - one Bee My Honey by Mary Jane for Moda charm pack & one Hills Picnic Meadow by Leah Duncan for Art Gallery Fabrics fat quarter set A nice mix of supporting a cause and infusing some stashes with new spring lines! It's going to be hard to pass along that vibrant Meadow fabric, though - it's just gorgeous and the very welcome burst of spring color I am patiently waiting for in my garden! In the meantime, for my "selfish sewing" this week I've been working on my reversible kitchen apron. I spent time reading and highlighting directions. (I'm not a good directions reader - I tend to just jump into stuff, hence why I'm a great cook and terrible baker ; ) Then I chose coordinating fabric for the waist and ties because I wanted to break up all the bold red I'd ordered for the body. And finally I started cutting and sewing, but I'm not quite done. This week I wasn't as good about getting in thirty minutes every day just for me, but I have sewn every day because I'm working on the Wee Wander quilts for my daughters' upcoming birthdays. I'm scheduled to quilt on the longarm at Cotton Weeds Quilt Shop next Monday, so I had to buckle down and finish the strip piecing. It wasn't hard, but it took me forever to play around with the "random" layout. And, boy do I wish I had a tabletop pad and mini iron for next to my machine - I must've walked a mile just with all the back and forth to my ironing board! Hmm... maybe a "me" project for April? (Linking these WIPs up with SewJo Saturday, too!) Ok, your turn to show off your progress! Link up below and then check out what others have been up to. 30/30 SEWING CHALLENGE DATES:
Saturday, February 1st: 3030SC Inspiration Post Saturday, March 1st: Goals link up - tell us your 3030SC plans! Saturday, March 8th: Week 1 progress - share what you've done! TODAY--> Saturday, March 15th: Week 2 progress - share what you've done! Saturday, March 22nd: Weekly link up - share what you've done! Saturday, March 29th: Weekly link up - share what you've done! Monday, March 31st: Challenge complete! Link up and show off your 3030SC accomplishments for a chance to win! Tuesday, April 8th: 3030SC prize winners announced!
Sarah, thank you so much for putting this challenge together. I'm so happy with the progress I'm making on my challenge, and it's all thanks to you. Also, the sweet encouragement from other participants is a blessed gift. Thank you, all! Janie I am so happy to hear that you're enjoying the challenge and getting so much done, Janie! It's been nice to see everyone's words of encouragement. And I like your idea for April - I have some curtains I said I'd sew for a friend next month when I'm less busy, and I'm already thinking "why did I say I would do this?!" about them lol. 3/15/2014 01:44:19
Your strip piecing looks fantastic! Well worth all the walking and the time spent pondering the arrangement. Your waist and tie choices sure do pop off the red background. This apron is going to be gorgeous! PS. Those prizes are wonderful, Sarah! This is the first time I've used a foundation for strips, Lorna, and I'm really happy with how neat and controlled the stitching is as a result. The apron is a little out of my norm for color scheme compared to my wardrobe, but we have the most white kitchen ever and I've used a lot of red/orange/yellow accents to warm it up, so the apron will fit right in! Yes, it does, Mary! And I love to be moving. The drawback is really just that I have such limited time to sew, and it really was a lot of time going back and forth instead of zooming right along. And isn't that great about the bees? We love local honey at our house, and it's definitely harder and harder to find these days : \
Mara
3/15/2014 03:50:18
I am loving your Wee Wander quilts, they look so great, I am not very good with being random either, and love the prizes you have picked out, I am a lover of all bees.
Your quilt arrangement is AMAZING!!! I love all the little horses and now I understand why you were so particular in your cutting. I would say the extra time and attention is going to pay off very well. I can't wait to see when it's finished!! :) Thanks, Jessica! I am really happy with the layout - finishing up putting the panels together today : ) The apron had to take a backseat to the quilts, but I'm looking forward to having it done this week. I'm planning a second for my SIL for Christmas and I think I'll add the netting to hers. I love your comment "as random as I could get after FOUR days of rearranging. (yes, I'm that OCD.)" That's me on trying to do something scrappy. I call my method "controlled scrappy". I too can't seem to follow directions no matter how many times I read them. I tend to interpret things backwards.....alls well that ends well....maybe...:) The pink went faster than the blue, Billie, because once I had that done, I essentially mirror imaged it for the second set, but still... I'd love to make this over using a bag of random coordinates with less value difference, but truly random is so hard for me to just flow with! lol
carla bynum
3/15/2014 07:16:12
Hi!!!! Love your quilts!!!! There will be some Happy Girls!!!!!
Hello! 3/15/2014 23:25:58
Like always your choice of fabric is beautiful! Can't wait to see your finished apron!!! 3/16/2014 06:16:10
The wee wander zig zag quilts are fantastic….I think I may have to put those on my to do list!! Thanks, Michelle! I just pieced them to the solid yardage that is the rest of the top this afternoon. I'm not thrilled with them because I had to make a fabric change last minute, but they do show off the Wee Wander nicely and the girls are happy. Off to longarm them first thing tomorrow!
CeLynn
3/16/2014 13:32:03
Sarah,great job on the layout! I think my eyes would have crossed after a day ;) The apron is coming along nicely,love the color combo you chose. you are not the only one in the having problems reading directions department. Only in my case it is not so much the reading part as the not understanding what I just read part! I'm glad everyone seems happy with the prizes! And it's funny you ask that, Andree - a few women in my guild have mentioned pulling from a bag and using up scraps randomly that way, but I haven't seen a finished quilt. I think it would work if everything was very similar or very different - like a charm quilt pulled randomly maybe?
Kathleen
3/16/2014 17:49:25
i was sewing my 30 mins a day then life once again got in the way. babysitting for my grandbaby has been so much fun but not much time left over for me. i live in australia about 3/4 mile, if that, from the ocean. we had a cyclone come thru and we have had no power for a while. so will try to sew again this week. wish me luck. Oh, dear, Kathleen! I hope you didn't have too much damage besides the power out. Are you all ok? I love hurricanes, but only because we live far enough north to enjoy a good storm but never any severe damage. Good luck getting back to normal and finding some time to sew again!
Kathleen
3/16/2014 17:52:07
my husband just figured it out. as a flies we are 650 yds from the wa
Kathleen
3/16/2014 17:52:27
my husband just figured it out. as a flies we are 650 yds from the water. 3/18/2014 12:50:23
I am so happy to have an excuse to spend time with my sewing machine. I have gotten current and UFOs done in the last week. It feels really good to be this productive. Thanks Sarah. Comments are closed.
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Welcome! I'm Sarah. As a milmompreneur maker, wherever I go, I quilt, teach & sew! {Bio} Archives:
December 2017
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