Hello, everyone! You all know I love sharing tips and ideas and mishaps with you all the time, but this time it’s time for some solid life advice (for the ladies who read my blog): get screened for breast cancer, and do it regularly.

By Annie is hosting #SewPink this month, which is meant to not only raise awareness of the fact that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer over the course of their lives, but to encourage you to donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which works to better understand, predict and treat breast cancer.

You know why I’m so vehemently behind this? My mother was a breast cancer survivor. She was 48 when they found it, during a routine screening. They found it so early on that they were able to treat and cure her with minimally invasive procedures. It was a miracle, yes, but a miracle she helped along with her diligence, and doctors who knew how to treat such a thing before it got more dangerous.

In that spirit, I made my very own By Annie project, and I had to try one of her bags, even though I try to make it a rule for myself to only ever sew flat. But in the spirit of the cause, I challenged myself and made her  “Easy Does It” pouch. I picked it because it’s perfect to fit a little chemo-session kit: tissues, lip balm, fuzzy socks, reading glasses, you get the idea!

Since I wanted to really make it my own, I made a little heart block, my Foundation Paper Pieced “In My Heart”, as the centerpiece. I’ve been told that In My Heart, especially when I make it pink, is reminiscent of that essential pink ribbon. And pink is the theme for this campaign, so I went all-in!

To help those details pop, I used vivid orange and contrasting shades of fuchsia and bubblegum. Then I pulled out my handy Aurifil color cards and picked out two different threads: a pale pink to piece, and an orange to quilt. I tackled Soft and Stable for the first time and love how nice and firm it made the final product. Then it was just taking pictures for you guys!

My main takeaways are these: First, go get screened. Second, making a little FPP block for a project that calls for any sort of large piece of fabric looks spectacular. And third, Aurifil color cards are sweet! Oh! And fourth: quilting is fun, for sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s not powerful!

Happy quilting and wishing you the best,

Mariana