Goals for the week of 3/20

Something about making your goals for a week on an odd day is refreshing.  I don't feel so restricted!

Anyhow, goals for this week:

1. Sew the remaining rows for my Penny Patch Quilt together.  

2. Blog about 3030SC challenge progress

3. Organize my fabric

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30 Minutes for Me in March

I should be able to do that, right?  I mean, 30 minutes is really not much....except when you have three children 4 and under.  I might get 30 minutes to myself in a day, but they usually come one at a time ;)

I have been struggling with some anxiety and a touch of depression recently.  Sewing has become an outlet for me to release some of this mental struggle and just be calm.  It is a type of meditation for me and I find myself craving it often.  So my goal for this month will be to treat myself to that 30 minutes of sewing only for myself each day.

So, what to sew...?

1. I have been working on my Penny Patch quilt inspired by the tutorial on Stitched in Color pretty faithfully since December.  I have all of the blocks pieced now and I just need to piece them together.  I decided I wanted to make a throw size quilt that I could snuggle with while I read or sew in the basement.  Part of my sewing time yesterday included trying to layout the blocks but I really struggled to find a place to lay everything out.  I'll have to figure out what to do about that....Goal #1!

Fabric Pull for Penny Patch Quilt

2.  I would really like to try making a bag for myself.  I'm not sure if that means a purse or a tote or what I really will use so I'll have to spend some time looking for an excellent pattern.  Suggestions are welcome!

3.  I don't anticipate actually being able to accomplish both of those things, but if I do, I will also be looking for patterns or tutorials for a rainbow quilt.  I am participating in a color wheel brick swap and I am excited to put them to use once they arrive!  Oh! Or a great sewing machine cover!  I really need one of those too!

Linking up with the 30/30 Sewing Challenge at Berry Barn Designs!

Intentional Resolutions

I am participating in Amy at Stitchery Dickory Dock's Sugar Block Club this year as part of my new quilting adventure.  As part of her monthly club, she sends a dessert recipe (Sugar), a quilt block pattern for a sampler quilt (Block), and a personal message.  This month's message is about Intention.  January is a wonderful time of year to resolve to do new things, but Amy's message this month is not just simply make resolutions, but to do it with intention.  One of Amy's key suggestions is to make lists.  So here is my quilting list for January as well as some for the year!

January -
1. Buy fabric for Vice Versa BOM with GenX Quilters
2. Select fabric for Sugar Block Club
3. Complete blocks for each of 2 BOM Clubs
4. My Dad's 60th birthday is coming in early February and I would really like to gift him a quilt that is part my grandmother's work and part mine.  My grandmother (my Dad's mom) passed away a year and a half ago and I think that a quilt from both of us would be something that he treasured.  At least that is my hope.
5. Finish cutting the fabric for my Penny Patch quilt

Quilty Goals for the future -

• Trivets for my mom's newly painted kitchen (have fabric)
• Placemats and pillows for Krista's kitchen/living room (have fabric)
• Penny Patch Quilt (have fabric)
• Celtic Solstice Quilt for my Irish parents :) (need fabric)
• Purple Quilt for Ashlyn (have fabric)
• Craftsy Mystery Chain of Stars quilt (have fabric)

I think these are pretty lofty ambitions, but hopefully writing them down will help me find some focus and initiative to make some time for myself to sew.

This is what happens when small children get a hold of your phone!

Quilting with Confidence

In September I attended my first Triangle Modern Quilt Guild meeting in hopes of gaining the courage to begin digging into my Grammie's quilting stash and WIPs.  Since then I have attended a second Guild meeting as well as three free quilting classes at a fun fabric printing shop in Durham called Spoonflower.  I have really enjoyed open studio time at Spoonflower as well and look forward to many more sessions.

But although I have found the courage to jump into a quilting community, I am still hesitant to do any quilting without a class structure to guide me.  So I am linking up with Quilty Habit's "Sewing with Certainty" linky party in an effort to hold myself accountable for quilting a little more fearlessly!

These are my goals for the next few months:

Completing the binding on the postage stamp mini quilt I began in the Postage Stamp class I took with Claudia from Snuggly Monkey.  Binding is a little bit scary but I want a FINISH!  I feel like completing my first project would really be a confidence booster to dive into the next one.

Sharing my postage stamp mini quilt at Triangle Modern Quilt Guild show and tell.  If I can find the courage to finish, I can find the courage to share!

I have projects in mind for my big girl, silly guy, and my mother-in-law that I need to start!  I cut material for A's quilt but I am nervous that I don't have enough fabric, or that she won't love it and my effort will be wasted.  This is an act of love that I hope she will cherish and I fear her rejection (4 year olds aren't exactly known for their praise!)  I have fabric for D's Wolfpack blanket but I don't have a plan for cutting or piecing so I need to work on that.  And then for my mother-in-law, I have some various fabrics that I think she will love but choosing blender fabrics has been a challenge so I hope to conquer that as well.

So many goals!  Thank you for the push Jessica!

Rejuvenate

My mom has taken a trip with her mom and 2 sisters each fall for many years. When my grandmother passed away a few years ago, my mom began to invite me and her cousins to join them. Each year the three of then take turns choosing a city to visit for a long weekend and off they go. Last year we went to savannah, one of my favorite cities. This year, my aunt choose because it is her 50th birthday and she wanted a big party - so off to Key West we went!

I have never been to Key West and really didn't know what to expect. For a town known for it's parrothead parties, I was surprised at the charm that abounded.

I will write more about the island in a later post but what I want my children and husband to know is that everyone needs time to rejuvenate and refresh. We cannot be at our best when we go day in and day out without a moment to step away and breathe.

Sometimes that breath is a quiet, secluded beach. Sometimes it is a glistening, snowy mountain. Sometimes it is a bustling city block. But sometimes it a simple time out from what is normal even in your own living room. I hope to cultivate more of those moments for all of us in the near future.