30/30 Sewing Challenge

For the month of March, I participated in this fun challenge hosted by 

Sarah @ Berry Barn Designs

The idea was to spend 30 minutes each day for the month of March

 sewing something that I have been wanting to sew "just for me"

 but have been putting aside for other quilting goals
and to make things for others.

I took this as a time to reflect on the fact that sewing is my "happy place" and 

every time I sew I should be "sewing for fun" 

and not feeling stressed to meet a certain goal or commitment 

or level of success that I have set for myself.

In short, I wanted to put the fun back in sewing
and the happy back in my happy place.

I started here 

and tossed out a few rules and decided to try sewing

with no set list of things I wanted to "accomplish ..."

Then I picked up some fabric for a blog hop project for which I was feeling

 a form of quilter's block.  It was not so much that I had no ideas. It was more that I had too many ideas and could not settle on one. None of my ideas felt good enough.

So I started cutting and sewing with a vague image of where I was going and just enjoyed experimenting with the pretty fabric.

I did some more "just playing with the fabric" sewing Here

I was using precuts, a charm pack and a jelly roll, something I do not use a lot. I have a preference for nice big pieces of yardage that I can cut and know there is more if I need it.  This past year has necessitated a smaller fabric budget and sewing from my stash so the option for nice big cuts of fabric are more limited.

This is what my finished Ruffle Blog Hop project looked like.

This may be my favorite finish of the year!

It makes me happy every time I see it.

Then I sewed some fun scrappy blocks that I am swapping with my quilty bestie,
 Dorian @ Ridge Top Quilts
just for fun.

These  x & + Blocks are fun and easy to make and I enjoy sewing and swapping and Dorian and I have a very relaxed attitude about getting these done and in the mail,

but I was way behind.  I never sent my February blocks and time was running out on my March blocks. Once I started sewing, I just kept going and made April's blocks, too.

So I am actually ahead on this one!  Yay, me!

For fun, I joined in the March Mystery Weekend @ The Quilt & Needle
 that I usually sew every year but was going to skip this year because I  was "too busy."
I love these fabrics and this pattern and I am sew happy I joined in.
I actually had to stop myself at "about" 30 minutes a day on this one or I would not have gotten some other sewing commitments done at all last month.

Pictures of this finished top coming soon!

Then to add to the sewing fun, I decided to join in the
Triangle Quilt Along @ The Sassy Quilter
I started with these fabrics.
This week we are sewing the triangles into rows.
I am picking up a lot of tips about sewing with triangles.

Today I am linking up with the finish party at

30/30 Finish Party @ Berry Barn Designs

There are some pretty fun projects in the links!

Even though this challenge is over I am going to continue my habit of sewing a few minutes each day on just a fun project that I want to do as I also sew the ones I need to do.

Thanks, Sarah, for helping to put the fun back in
"sewing for fun".

:) just keep sewing :)

:-)