Spring-y Mini...

Alright, after all this snow - broken porch lights, icy steps, digging through over a foot of snow to take off a flat tire - and now a lovely mud patch (one of the joys of dirt roads), I am ready for something pretty and springy. The baby blooms of tulips, daffodils, and other early spring flowers that had started being seen a couple weeks ago are long frozen and smashed by this snow. I've been promised they'll be all the stronger for it, but it's still a little depressing to see mounds of snow and ice where there were yellow and red blooms just a few days earlier. Sure, we've had two days now of leaving the windows open - and nearly 80 degree temps - but I've been promised there's a good chance of more snow yet this week! Outside may not be done snowing yet, but inside, it's going to be spring if I have any say in the matter!

Several months ago Pinterest brought my attention to the Tulip Tutorial over at A Bee in my Bonnet (it's part of the Bee in my Bonnet row along).

Now, I'm not yet the kind of quilter who sits down and makes several copies of the same block - and on the two occasions where I have, they've been incredibly simple blocks. So making a whole row of tulips is still a long ways off - as is making a whole quilt of such rows. Someday, just maybe not this year.

But - when I wanted just a little something springy to bring a smile to my kitchen, I came back to the tutorial.

I didn't get any 'in progress' photos of my single tulip, but I will say that the tutorial was completely clear, easy to follow, and I never felt overwhelmed or lost. I'd like to say some of that is due to me getting a little better, but I really think it was the great mix of clear instructions and pictures. It also helped that the font was large enough I could read it without leaving my sewing machine.

It wasn't a fast block for me. Those triangles still give me trouble - though today was a lot smoother triangle-ing than in the past. And I'm still not convinced I could stand to make several of them...

On the other hand... it is super adorable.

I did a little more time consuming quilting that I would have for a larger project - but it was fairly mindless, fun work and I love the way it looks all finished.

It was also a great way to use up some scraps. The pink butterfly fabric is just about the end of one of my very first fabric purchases (when I was picking up a few remnants for learning on, prior to my first quilt). This very mini quilt is only the second thing I've made with this fabric that had a finish to show for my efforts instead of a failure (the first is is another mini quilt). And by failure, I mean cut it apart to save the tiny scraps and throw the rest away... So it's nice to get something worth keeping out of that remnant!

It's even nicer to smile every time I walk into the kitchen.