Birthday Month Spectacular!

I've been MIA from this blog  because of the January birthday extravaganza this month. There was so much love shared and so little time to write about it.

Here's a quick summary:

After ringing in the New Year with some of my favorite people on Earth, I set off to begin my quilting adventure. I met with my new guild in Orlando and had such a great time. It was a warm reception and I left there feeling so inspired by everyone's creativity. I can't wait to learn from these women.

Then, the birthday celebrations began in earnest with dinners chosen by the honored guest. Jos and I both picked Italian and Geeg picked steak! Yummy dinners were had by all. (On Geeg's birthday, we tried out a local steakhouse that I was always leery of trying because of its humble exterior. I can't believe I've lived in Sanford for over 10 years and didn't try it sooner. The meal was outstanding. The icing on this cake was it was completely paid for by a random stranger who didn't even know we were celebrating Geeg's 81st birthday! How sweet was that?)

Next, I headed to Miami to see my family there and had a wonderful and relaxing time away. I played with my nieces, took an afternoon nap, and spent time with my mom.My last night there was spent with my bff from high school, Lisa. We gossiped, watched reality TV, and slept really well. I came home feeling so blessed and rejuvenated.

In the end, I returned to a craft room full of new Christmas and birthday toys including gift cards, fabric, new rotary cutters, rulers, a rotating cutting board, a drawer organizer, and idle hands that needed to get back to sewing. I set to work organizing my space and putting away bulk fabric into vacuumed storage bags to make room for immediate projects. I plan to sort the quilting fabrics into separate piles by colors at some point.

So far, I completed and sent out blocks for my online Block of the Month group. I found all of the fabric I will be using for my skill builder BOM project. I'm so excited about this project because I will be creating the first quilt that I will be keeping for myself. I can't wait to start using the techniques described in this first lesson. It's going to be so bright and gay!

Tasting the Rainbow!

I also finished my next block for my local guild meeting in February. We were asked to create a green block with a neutral border. I didn't have much green to choose from in my collection but found some scraps from other projects that worked perfectly. I wanted to try my hand at a Bargello-style piece and really liked the resulting block. I will definitely use this technique again.

February's guild mtg piece

I'm looking forward to a very crafty year filled with lots of sewing and trying new things.
Don't worry, I will be sharing!