Welcome back! Yesterday I shared a tutorial for my Daffodil Days Throw Pillow over at Fort Worth Fabric Studio, and today I'm showing you another easy project you can create from the block - a cheery spring table runner! 

Using the tutorial, simply piece three blocks instead of one. I skipped the borders and cornerstones that are on the throw pillow when I made my runner, but you could make it with them - whatever you prefer! Then quilt and bind. Voila! A big burst of sunny yellow to warm up your kitchen table.

So would you believe that I got all the way through production, photographs and editing before I noticed that I switched a set of petals between the left and center flowers?! I seriously didn't see it till I started writing up the post - doh! I think I'll chalk it up to a happy accident and live with it : P

If you'd like to try your hand at one of my Daffodil Days projects, 
be sure to hop over to the tutorial for both the directions and
the downloadable template used to create the block.
Happy spring sewing!

Today I'm thrilled to be sharing my Daffodil Days throw pillow tutorial,
and my first ever guest post, over on the Fort Worth Fabric Studio blog!
I hope you'll pop over and have a look - it's a great starter project for piecing curves, and a wonderful way to celebrate Spring!

When Lindsey asked me to create a tutorial, I was in the throes of "when will this winter ever end!" and yearning for daffodils, so the first thing that came to mind was a cheerful idea to add a daffodil to my home decor to tide me over. It seemed doubly appropriate when she told me the post would be up in time for Earth Day! Spring is still taking it's time getting underway in my neck of the woods, but I've been happily enjoying a little spot of color since completing my daffodil throw pillow. Still awaiting the real deal - I've seen some teeny shoots of green out in the garden, though, so soon!

And now I want to take a moment to share the other really big reason that I'm so excited today: it's my oldest daughter's fifth birthday! As some readers may know, she was born at a mere 27 weeks, weighing just over 2 lbs, as a result of my experience with severe pre-eclampsia. Today she is a happy, healthy, thriving "big kid" and you'd never know that she arrived so early. When I think back to what was such a difficult and uncertain time in her young life and to the harrowing start I had as a parent, I am in awe of the amazing child she is today and what seemingly overwhelming obstacles time can mend. I'm sharing this because five years ago today I wasn't sure if I'd someday be in the position to write of such a joyous outcome for her. I am immensely blessed and thankful. I'm also sharing this because pre-eclampsia is a disease that needs much more research, hopefully some day leading to more effective early detection and a cure. I'm grateful for the opportunity to play a small part by helping spread awareness.

Ok, ok *wiping away a few happy tears* back to the celebrating. Here's to the delightful Jodie and Lindsey over at FWFS - thank you so much for hosting me! I love all the great projects and tips that they share on the blog, and of course all the gorgeous fabrics available in the the Fort Worth Fabric Studio shop, like the sunny Lemon Meringue Pie pocket pack that I used : ) If you'd like another idea for creating with this quilt block, be sure to check back tomorrow for more "daffodils" to add a burst of color to your decor! 

Off to go bake a celebratory birthday cake! Happy Earth Day, everyone!

It was warm enough to hide eggs outside today (even if my kids needed coats on to go find them ; ) so that's as close to "finally spring" as I'm going to get this month, and I'll take it!

Linking up a quick stash share with Molli Sparkles - some Crazy for Dots and Stripes by House and a little Windowpane Check in Purple by Another Point of View, both ordered from Pink Castle Fabrics. I don't have a lot of low volume on hand because it's not a favorite, but with all the call from bee projects and whatnot, I figured I should stash a little just in case.

I hope you'll all stop by again this Tuesday, April 22nd, when I'll be sharing my very first ever guest blog post over on Fort Worth Fabric Studio's blog - a quick spring tutorial to brighten up your home!

Today I'm sharing a baby quilt I created for my children's preschool teacher to gift her daughter at an upcoming baby shower celebrating the soon-to-arrive first grandbaby in the family. The teacher wanted something "nautical feeling" but without any actual nautical-themed prints, so we decided on a color scheme and modeled the design after this idea. I centered the star and pieced it wonky and scrappy because she really loved the look of my "Abracadabra Audie" mini quilt. And since we were able to pull almost all of the fabrics from my stash, the layout went together really quickly!

Thanks to a big temperature jump the past week, the last of the snow has finally melted and the weather's nice enough to want to stand near the ocean without a ski mask. I was thrilled to head to a local park to take photographs, but very much underestimated how windy it would be. With my three year old in tow, I had to skip the better vantage points because I was afraid she'd get too close to the edge of the cliff (or worse, that the quilt would blow away! ; ) Please excuse the ugly metal fence - next time I shoot at this historic landmark, I'll bring along a taller, more sure-footed assistant and stand closer to the water's edge. There are breathtaking vistas to be had if one isn't preoccupied with the possibility of losing one's child over a fifty foot bluff.

"Baby Blue" measures 36" x 44". I straight-line quilted on either side of each seam in a pale blue and machine finished the binding using this method. My take away from the project is that I *finally* merged the binding edges correctly on the diagonal instead of giving up and doing them straight but not smooth. For some reason each time I've tried this in the past (both with and without the help of various other tutorials), I've failed miserably, but I found this really easy to follow video today and finally get it!

I wish I'd gotten shots with some of the backing fabric (a single piece of navy with small blue and white dots) and a close up of my successful binding, but my daughter, who had refused to wear socks with her sneakers, had an epic meltdown over a sore toe and was starting to draw the attention of onlookers, necessitating that we cut the shoot short to return home for an Elmo Bandaid. Apparently I need a taller, more sure-footed, and less willfully independent and tantrum-prone assistant ; ) 

​P.S. Just one week till my very first stint as guest poster - I'll be sharing a tutorial over on Fort Worth Fabric Studio's blog, so be sure to check it out!

Linking up with Let's Bee Social, Fabric Frenzy Friday and SEWjo Saturday.

Last weekend I attended the Cobblestone Quilt Guild's annual retreat - the "Glitzy Garden Getaway" - in Portsmouth NH. Not only did I have a great time, but I came home with more stash then I set out with! Above is a photo of a bunch of goodies including fat quarters and notions, a garden-themed table centerpiece and a gift certificate I won, little "treats" that were left at our sewing stations throughout the weekend, and a cute flower wrist pincushion, table runner and butterfly kits that were given out to everyone at registration... it was like opening a Christmas stocking for three days straight!

This is a close up of the "candy" we were given at the retreat - the first is very low calorie, the second was attached to a bag of M&M's, but the chocolates barely made it in my front door before my daughters gobbled them up! Cute ideas.

At checkout we were all given a bag filled with more goodies, including the smaller pieces of fabric shown here and a few books I forgot to photograph. We also had a silent auction over the weekend and I bought the 14 yard bolt of pink and white diamond fabric above at $2.50 a yard! I know exactly what it's going to be used for, too - hopefully a kids' room project I can finish next month to coordinate with the new bedding I'm finally finishing up.

I had donated this stack of 15 half yard cuts of Joel Dewberry's Bungalow fabrics and the coordinating Turning Cartwheels pattern from Quilt magazine (Oct/Nov 2013) to the auction... and then my mom won the bid for them and gave them back to me as a thank you for taking her along for the weekend! Yippee! I love this line!

But this was my piece de resistance at the auction - I won this beautiful recently quilted throw made from vintage blocks for just $20!! Can you believe that? I've been crushing hard on red and white quilts for a while now, so I'm excited to add this to my collection and it's happily brightening up my living room at the moment : )

How about you? Do you have a recent stash steal of a deal? Any great leads on retreats and getaways that you've loved?

Linking up with Molli Sparkles' Sunday Stash.

I'm back! I enjoyed a three day quilting getaway in Portsmouth NH with my local guild and it was awesome! Getting the chance to work alongside so many other great quilters was priceless for both the camaraderie and the inspiration, and I even discovered a new quilt shop - Portsmouth Fabric Company. I didn't finish a thing, but I brought home four new WIPs and a bunch of goodies and prizes, plus a lot of great memories and a fresh sense of quilting rejuvenation : )

Speaking of goodies and prizes, it's finally time to announce the winners from last month's 30/30 Sewing Challenge! But right before I do, I'd like to once again thank everyone who participated. Many sewists and quilters joined in over the course of the month, but a very dedicated dozen linked up with all five challenge posts! If you haven't already, find time to pop in on some of their great blogs - they hail from all over the globe, and their work ranges from quilts to garments to embroidery to cute crafts: Kwilty Pleasures, Urban Quilter, Secretly Stitching, Inchworming, Shauna's World, The Sterling Thimble, Life in the Scrapatch, Adventures in Life, Isabella's Whimsy, Billiebee's Blog, Quilting & Learning, and Espiritpatch.

Billie of Billiebee's Blog
is the winner of the
3030SC Participation Prize - a Bee My Honey charm pack & a Hubba Hubba mini charm pack! During the challenge, she completed a few quilt blocks and lots of hexies. 

Pat of Life in the Scrapatch
is the winner of the
3030SC Completion Prize - a Bee My Honey charm pack & a Hills Picnic Meadow fat quarter set! During the challenge, she set out to put the FUN back in quilting for herself, and she definitely succeeded while completing a bunch of quilt blocks and finishing a beautiful feather pillow. 

Congratulations to the winners, and also to everyone who played along and now has a whole month's worth of projects to show for it - and in one case, a new sewing room! If you're looking for a way to continue the momentum, or if you wanted to join in but couldn't commit to an entire month, Selfish Sewing Week kicks off April 28th over at Imagine Gnats, and join me back here a little down the road when I host my next challenge: Christmas in July. 

And now, after three days of quilt getaway, followed by a six hour stretch spent longarming my Wee Wander quilts yesterday, I'm off to catch up on all those other things that I've been putting off... I think the washing machine and grocery store are calling my name! Oh, almost forgot to ask - I'm attending MQX in Manchester NH this coming weekend - anyone else going to be there??

This weekend is kicking off the whirlwind that will be April for me... last night my parents arrived to celebrate my daughter's birthday, and early this morning my mom and I hit the road for my local quilt guild's three day retreat in Portsmouth NH. When I get back on Monday, I'll finally be longarming my Wee Wander quilts, and then the month goes on and on with three more rounds of company, two more birthdays, my first guest post, a visit to MQX, the Triangle QAL, a baby quilt, Easter, and a bunch of other projects.... Aghhh! My to do list for the next week alone is three pages long! With so much coming down the pipeline, I'm doubly excited for the chance to get away with my mom and sew without interruption as a little calm before the storm : )

I wanted to leave you all with a few better pictures of my new sewing machine cover. I had planned to use a tutorial for a reversible version, but in the end I just started pulling fabrics, cutting up strips, and seeing where the piecing took me. 

The cover uses some nice calm blues and greens to coordinate with my sort of funky "pistachio" colored sewing cabinet. I bought the green on a whim thinking how much more fun it would be than the alternate color, boring ol' white, but it's such an odd shade that it's hard to match and less than ideal to photograph against. Now at least the color feels toned down a bit with the little bit of blue against it.

Hopefully I'll have the Wee Wander quilts finished soon to share, and later this month be on the lookout for my first guest post and it's fun spring tutorial! And speaking of the season, we still have snow on the ground here *but* I saw the first of the crocuses yesterday! Spring might really be here after all! What signs of Spring are you seeing in your garden? 


Linking up with Fabric Frenzy Friday at Fort Worth Fabric Studio and SEWJo Saturday at My Go-Go Life.