My husband asked me today what suddenly lit the fire under me and got me so focused and excited about quilting. The answer is partly that after months of chipping away at random clutter and trying to figure out how to make our smaller space work for us, our house is finally super organized and my workspace is ready; but the bigger part of my surge in productivity is that with everything so tidy, I feel really de-stressed for a change and not remotely guilty about throwing myself at a quilting project because there aren't ten other more important things I should tackle first. It's a nice feeling! In the past three days I've hit up my local quilt shop, Quilt and Sew at Golden Threads (oh, how I have missed you Moda!), signed up for a paper piecing class next month, stocked up on some supplies and books at Hancock Fabrics, and created a doll quilt from scratch that just needs a binding and then will be finished. Here's a peek at the progress on the very first "official" Berry Barn Designs quilt: (1) playing with the color plan/layout, (2) all quilted!

For the last six months I had been thinking and planning and sketching and reading up and playing around with ideas and... well, pretty much doing everything I possibly could to drag my feet on starting up my new business because I'm afraid of failing. Not so much failing, but maybe more so being a novice and doing it poorly. I have run out of excuses (lack of workspace, upcoming vacation, sick kids... although, then again, we are moving in a few months, but I don't think it's close enough yet to lean on ; ) for my husband as to why I keep saying I'm going to really do it but don't. Then last week, Crystal (of Oh, Juniper), a super talented friend of mine who creates gorgeous handmade Waldorf inspired dolls, offered me some of her scrap fabric "for my quilting business" and I realized I needed to stop putting it off and just do it already! She also asked me if I would work on a special custom quilt in memory of her father, and while a big part of me is intimidated at the significance of the project vs. my relatively newbie skills, a bigger part of me thinks that this is the perfect first-real-project-as-a-professional-crafter that I need to give me the confidence that I CAN do this. So thanks for the jump start!

In the past week I've set up this website, cleared out and set up my workspace (including a felt wall so I can play with quilt squares - my favorite part!), and have hopefully set out on the path to someday in the not so distant future being able to feel not-so-novice : )

Today seems a fitting day to kick off the new blog, after all, most crafters love holidays that beg the excuse to uncap the markers and glue and whip up something nifty to delight our loved ones. This was an especially fun year for us as our oldest daughter, I'll call her A, is finally grasping and excited about holidays and traditions, and was able to sit still long enough to assemble her own Valentine's (Exhibit A: googly-eyed butterflies, below - not bad for a 2 year old). She decorated cupcakes for our family dinner party, and she gave me the great idea to make her dad a rocket ship Valentine. (The two of them spent last Saturday rummaging the stacks for outer space books at our local library - Man on the Moon: (a day in the life of Bob) by Simon Bartman is the current favorite.)