Welcome to the very last link up for the 30/30 Sewing Challenge! Today is it - the tail end of March and a chance for challenge participants to link up with a post highlighting everything that's been accomplished sewing thirty minutes a day for thirty days for yourselves. All month long I've been amazed by the variety or projects and skills on display from everyone, and I'm really excited to see all the wrap up posts showcasing your "selfish sewing" for the past month!

If you finished all of your goals from way back at the start, congratulations! If you didn't quite hit your goal, but still enjoyed yourself and got a few things done this month, that's equally wonderful. The key to the challenge was to carve out time for you to enjoy sewing and quilting, and if you did that, then you got something out of this and hopefully had a little fun along the way!

So, how'd I do? My number one goal for the month was to sew every day* - to make myself carve out time to sew every single day for thirty days so that working in my sewing studio became a key part of my daily routine. In the end, my habit building was very successful, and I think I only missed two days out of thirty, which is pretty darn good in my book! 

* When I say "sew every day," I'm including things like fabric prep, pattern review and design time. Sometimes what needs to be done isn't at the machine. If I can at least tackle some prep work at my cutting table or ironing board for my next project, that is "working in my sewing studio." I hope all of you participating in 3030SC were able to use this loose definition to feel like you were successful at making use of even a few minutes a day to tackle your goals this past month!

As for sewing projects I set out to accomplish, I finished three out of four:

Now it's your turn. Please link up sometime this week with a round up of your completed projects - lots of pictures and self congratulatory words are in order! Even if you missed the mark you set, you still get lots of kudos for participating. And if you did finish all the goals that you laid out back at the start, be sure to clearly say so in your post (honor system on this one : ) so I can include you in the extra Completion Prize drawing! This link will be open through next Monday, April 7th at midnight EST, and I'll announce Participation Prize & Completion Prize winners on Tuesday, April 8th.

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!
Saturday, March 15th:  Week 2 progress - share what you've done!
Saturday, March 22nd:  Week 3 progress - share what you've done!
Saturday, March 29th:  Week 4 progress - share what you've done!
TODAY-->Monday, March 31st: CHALLENGE COMPLETE! 
Show off all your 3030SC accomplishments!
Tuesday, April 8th: 3030SC prize winners announced! 

Starting to pull in the reins a bit compared to the freewheeling fabric sprees I enjoyed mid-winter (for some reason, the ol' credit card didn't enjoy it as much as I did ; ) so this week's link up with Molli Sparkles is just a little snapshot of my February and March deliveries from Pink Castle's monthly Stash Stack Club. The blues I adore, and the greens are pretty great, too. Had hoped for one or two more clear, medium or cool greens (hello, Stella Mini Confetti Dots in Emerald!) and one or two less warm, pea soups, but they'll all find a home in the stack. If anyone can recommend a true green or two out right now worth stashing, though, I'd love some suggestions - very much over lime and olive at the moment. 

One other brand new acquisition is a 60° Triangle ruler from Creative Grids to use for cutting my Triangle QAL fabrics. We're supposed to link up this week with our cut stacks, but the ruler just arrived and I've been swamped, so hopefully I can play catch up next week with cutting and piecing. I can't wait - there are over a hundred of us making triangle quilts with very diverse sets of fabric - results will be quite colorfully varied!

This week I started in on my sewing machine cover... somehow I did a complete 180 on my original color scheme and design, but I'm loving the direction it's taking - very sweet and nicely coordinated with my pistachio-colored Arrow Olivia sewing cabinet. It's all pieced and hopefully will be quilted and assembled this weekend so I can still make my 3030SC end-of-the-month goal.

And I put the last touch - some KAM snaps to finish the little pattern adjustment I made to the straps - on my reversible Cupcake Apron (blogged earlier this week). I heard from Jamie Christina and apparently they're working on an updated PDF version of the pattern to be released very soon! 

How about you? How was your last week of March? It's still very cold and wintery here, so I've been able to stay focused, but I know many of you have gardens and warm weather calling... how did you do on your last full week of the challenge?

P.S. Almost forgot! The Pantone Quilt Challenge winners have been announced - you can see the amazing finalists here and here. And I'm linking up with SEWJo Saturday : )

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!
Saturday, March 15th:  Week 2 progress - share what you've done!
Saturday, March 22nd:  Week 3 progress - share what you've done!
TODAY-->Saturday, March 29th:  Week 4 progress - 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! 

I don't know why, but this first block just about melted my mind. It literally took me hours. (Like, I had on two whole episodes of Neil de Grasse Tyson's new Cosmos series in the background and then it still wasn't done.) In the end, I was quite pleased with my 12" rendition of the red/orange/yellow improv block Michelle at Factotum of Arts had asked for in her tutorial to use in her "Through the Shattered Looking Glass" quilt. It was only after I took a picture and uploaded it that I noticed the little spot to the right that technically isn't sashed at the points! Agh!

But I hope that sending a second block will make up for the little error because I think by the point that I noticed it, I might've cried if I'd had to take it apart. So I'm sending along an 8" blue block to sweeten the pot when I mail it ; )

Linking up with Fort Worth Studio's Fabric Frenzy Friday!

This is the reversible full version of The Cupcake Apron by Jamie Christina (it also has directions for a half apron or single sided apron with netting underskirt), and it came out as cute as I had hoped! For one side I used Trenna Travis' Bekko Swirl in Coral with Michael Miller's Tiny Gigham in Teal as the contrast for the waist.

On the other side (my favorite!) I used Dena Fishbein's Taza Medallion in Red and then Tiny Gingham in Fire for the waistband.

The one change I made to the pattern was the neck closure. I have this weird aversion to halter-style clothing - it drives me crazy having stuff pulling at me, so I had to make a modification that would be comfortable, and hopefully easy to slip on and off. (The pattern calls for a ribbon tie, so not just uncomfortable, but also a second point to be tied, and I like quick and simple!)

I ended up sewing a wider strap into the shoulder seam in the same fabric as the waist tie - Lily Ashbury's High Street Floral in Lacey Lemonade - and then crisscrossing it to the waist where I used KAM snaps to attach. I made the snaps "reversible" so the strap edges disappear under the skirt either way, but unless I'm switching sides, I can leave it snapped and have plenty of room to just pop it over my head. 

So this was a far cry from the first apron I ever made in sixth grade home ec - much cuter and more comfortable! Except now I sort of don't want to get it dirty ; ) Does anyone else have any great home ec memories? What did you make way back when?

Linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts.

P.S. Voting is open for the 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge! Pop over to On the Windy Side or Play Crafts and choose your favorite in each category: Quilts, Minis, and Just the Top. There's a little heart in the upper right corner of each entry - click it to vote! (Just one per category, so choose wisely : )

I fought the urge as long as I could... I have so much coming up, but I am *loving* all the triangle quilts I'm seeing out there, and I just couldn't resist jumping in to the Triangle Quilt Along hosted by Paula at The Sassy Quilter!

When it came time to decide on a color scheme for my quilt, I knew immediately where to find my inspiration. I've been crushing on many of the palettes used by Nancy over at Wisely Crafted Originals. The gorgeous "Ashton" headband above was pinned to my color board a few months ago and hasn't left my mind since. I'm not even sure how I originally stumbled across her shop, but ever since I've been popping by periodically to check out her delightful designs because I love her eye for color. She was nice enough to let me share her image here - I love not only the design, but also the beautifully staged photo of her work! (And on a side note, if you have any little angels who could use some accessories, it seems she's having a sale in her shop right now, too!)

For the Triangle QAL, Paula suggests 1/3 of a yard of 13 different fabrics, but since I will probably have to find a new place to live if my husband sees the UPS guy here again any time soon ; ) I went ahead and pulled a bunch of mostly fat quarters from my stash to be "thrifty" hehe. I'm going to use more coral and navy, with just accents of yellow and grey, so I should definitely have enough of the latter, and I can "splurge" on an piece or two of the others the next time I'm at Joann's with a coupon if I end up needing just a tad more.

Here's a quick run down of the stash:
Yellow (l-r): Potluck by American Jane, Glimma by Lotta Jansdotter, Rainboo Zoo by Red Rooster Fabrics, Piper by Dear Stella, Glimma, Glimma
Navy (l-r): Simply Style by V and Co, unknown, Aunt Grace Scrap Bag by Judy Rothermel, unknown, unknown, unknown*, Lifestyle Collection by Liberty of London, Glimma
Coral (l-r): Outfoxed by Lizzy House, Sketch by Timeless Treasures, Mini Confetti Dots by Dear Stella, Sweet by Urban Chicks, Pezzy Print by American Jane, Mini Confetti Dots, Scrumptious by Bonnie & Camille, 2wenty Thr3e by Eric & Julie Comstock, Charleston by Judy Rothermel, Apple of My Eye by Riley Blake
Grey (l-r): unknown, unknown, Shuffle by Riley Blake, ? by Riley Blake, Glimma, Glimma

*I don't know what this navy and white plaid is, but it's a recent purchase
and I'd love more - does anyone recognize it??

Just for fun, I ran the headband photo through Play Crafts newest version of Palette Builder. You can now match Hex codes, Kona cottons, and Aurifil threads to your images! I think I need to hunt down some of the Beige #2314 for piecing - anyone seen any great deals on Aurifil out there recently?

Linking up with the Triangle QAL and Sunday Stash with Molli Sparkles,
which is being hosted by Work-in-Progress Girl today.

Time once again to link up and share what you've worked on this week for the 3030SC! The past two weeks, I've been blown away by how many of you have been truly making the most of your time and whipping up tons of finishes or tackling big projects. I hope this third week was just as successful for you all. Also, I'm a bit slow to getting on board all the various social media platforms, but I've made a Flickr group if you'd like to join and post what you've been working on - it's so fun seeing what's in progress and then the beautiful finishes!

Earlier this week I posted about my Pantone Quilt Challenge entry, a quick throw pillow. It wasn't a goal of mine going into the month, but since it's just for me, I'm definitely counting it as part of my "selfish sewing." If you haven't yet, pop over to Play Crafts or On the Windy Side, the challenge co-hosts, and check out all the gorgeous submissions. There are some amazing designs - all featuring lovely Radiant Orchid!

Unfortunately, this was the first week I didn't manage sew every single day (ending my 18 day streak! - I was so close to habit status). Life definitely got in the way, but I completed a lot on another front, so it balances out in the end. We've been a waiting family hoping to adopt for almost a year now, so this was the week I had to tackle a new round of clearances and doctor visits and social worker meetings and updating our profile booklet with fresh pics. I spent a lot of time at my computer and not so much with the ol' sewing machine, but it's all finally done and I can get back to my sewing projects tomorrow. (My reversible apron *just* needs snaps and it's finished!) Now I have to be sure to squeeze in as much quilting as possible before we have a new baby in the house - I have a feeling I won't be getting much else accomplished when lots of feedings and cuddling come around, though I won't complain one bit when it happens, even if every single quilting project on my horizon gets delayed!

Finally, a quick reminder as we head into the last full week of the 3030SC - if you linked up with the first goals post and are able to say you've finished everything on your list when we have the very final link up on the 31st (even if you missed a link up in between), you'll be entered into the Completion Prize drawing! Of course every link up from everyone along the way will count as an entry toward the Participation Prize, but for those of you who really carved out the time and stayed true to your goal, there is a second chance to win - you know, if you need a little extra fire under you this week to sew some more ; )

Next week we'll link up our last weekly progress, and then on Monday, March 31st (after a frantic sprint to the end weekend of sewing perhaps?) we'll link up a post recapping each of your goal(s) and showing off all your hard work!

Also linking up with Fort Worth Fabric Studio's Fabric Frenzy Friday &
My Go-Go Life's SEWjo Saturday!

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!
Saturday, March 15th:  Week 2 progress - share what you've done!
TODAY--> Saturday, March 22nd:  Week 3 progress - 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! 

I came at this challenge in a very circuitous way. Around the same time the 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge was announced, my daughter brought home a bookmark that she'd painted at school. And guess what? She'd used lots of "radiant orchid," as well as some nice warm greys. It inspired me to doodle a mini improv quilt design with dark skies and blustery snow blowing from the left, slowly blending to a spring field of purple flowers and clear skies on the right. I pulled fabric and got started.

Now, having recently "mastered" (over-confident much? ha!) curved improv piecing on my Cosmic mini quilt, I figured I could do this new very curvy improv no problem. Um... yeah, problem. Lots of problems! It started off ok, and then slowly became a mess of warped seams and not-quite-what-I'd-envisioned. I scrapped it and moved on to the many other projects I had lined up this month, and didn't think I'd find time to circle back around.

Fast forward to this past Monday. Having confirmed my appointment just a few days earlier, I eagerly arrived at my LQS to get started longarming my Wee Wander quilts that I've been hurrying to finish in time for my daughters' two April birthdays... only to find out they had me on the schedule for NEXT Monday! Big mix up! Now the earliest date that I can fit in with the store is a week into April, so one will be a belated quilt, but one will still be on time. I was so excited to finish and share them with you all, but it'll be a few more weeks. Darn!

Silver lining? My entire day freed up, and I had time to start something new. I've been itching to make a purple quilt for my bed this year (never mind the Pantone color - I just really *love* purple!) but I have my heart set on - you guessed it - a block with curved piecing that I recently fell in love with. So what did I do? Made a practice block and turned it into a cute 18" x 18" throw pillow for our bed! After I finished, I realized I'd used 7 different purples and 3 different prints, and those happen to be my two most favorite numbers of all time, plus I easily worked in some teal to coordinate with our duvet, and some hot pink because hey, what plays better than purple and pink? 

In the end, my terrible scheduling error Monday turned into a really wonderful 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge entry quite by fortuitous accident : ) And I found out the block is very doable, curves and all, so now it's time to start pulling for my new pet project...

I'm going to go right ahead and blame this here Molli Sparkles Sunday Stash for the specific Hawthorne Threads shopping spree I'm sharing today. A few weeks ago, Ms. Molli shared the Uptown Apartments in Yellow and I instantly was whisked back to childhood readings of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (anyone else remember the book?) and just had to have some. (And good thing I did, because as of this post, it is apparently now next to impossible to find!) I also grabbed some neutrals, like the Littlest Teensy Weensy in Stone and Heartfelt in Snow, and some big brights, like the Always Blooming Panel in White. 

Then I just kept going, including some Leah Duncan's Meadow prints, a little Sidewalks Marbles in Teal (my one regret is not owning this in flannel), and some Safari Moon Moonmoth in Dusty. The latter of which should coordinate nicely with the blue Wee Wander colorway for a throw pillow to go with my daughter's new quilt.

This final photo is Pink Chalk Fabrics goodness. Last week I showed you some cute Notions prints and Wee Wander coordinating solids that I picked up from them, and this pile was the balance of that order. I don't know why I grabbed the ruler (though getting to free shipping might've been an incentive ; ) but I love the Quilter's Linen bundle, I needed some geometrics like the Jazz Jam Dazzle in red and the Metro Living Circles in black, and I have been patiently trying to decide on some of the Botanics, finally choosing Stems in Ash as a neutral and Seagrapes in Tangerine because they remind me of succulents and of planting with my mom as a kid. See? All these childhood memories are such a fire starter for my shopping impulses!

Linking up with Molli's Sunday Stash - if you could use an eye candy fabric fix, come check out what everyone's sharing!

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!