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Thoughts at 30

LeahDay

Leah Day has been teaching online since 2009. She's the creator of the Free Motion Quilting Project, a blog filled with thousands of quilting tutorial videos. Leah has written several books including 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs, Explore Walking Foot Quilting with Leah Day, and Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt.

36 Responses

  1. Peggy says:

    Happy Birthday Leah! Thanks for giving so much back.

  2. Happy Birthday Leah – Embrace 30 it's awesome! I turn 59 in January and I come from a similar background, abused verbally & sexually and was told no one would ever love me.But I love life and myself more now than ever. It sounds like you are figuring it out. I just found your site yesterday and am in awe at your videos and how well teach and present yourself. Don't ever underestimate yourself – mistakes are our best teachers. Keep up the great work on your site!

  3. Dom says:

    Bonjour Leah,

    Quel beau tΓ©moignage pour tes 30 ans.

    Happy birthday et que la vie t'apporte encore plus de joie et de bonheur.

    Dominique

  4. Hace mucho tiempo te sigo ,trabajas muy hermoso .Felicitaciones
    Abrazos

  5. Happy Birthday, hoping your special day is great. A beautiful post!
    Have a great day.
    Always, Queenie

  6. Happy Birthday Leah! Thanks for sharing your journey to 30 πŸ™‚ Also, your sharing of your talents is very much appreciated! πŸ™‚

  7. Leah, It is amazing to see you continue to grow into your own skin! I know the work you are doing to accomplish this is difficult and tiring, but, geeze! look at the rewards you are reaping. I am so glad that quilting is helping you along this path and you continue to share your life and your skills with all of us. Have a great new year ahead.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Happy birthday, Leah!! You're a generous person, giving so much of yourself in the quilting posts and in the more personal ones. You're doing great, the hardest thing is to believe it…

  9. sewandsow says:

    Happy Birthday to a very talented young lady. You have been an inspiration to me and many others. You are enough and we all love you for it!

  10. Oh…..HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

  11. You are amazing. Wish I could send your post to all of those out there who need some encouragement! You are fearfully and wonderfully made!

  12. Rike B. says:

    Dear Leah!

    Happy Birthday and all the best all over the ocean! I love to read your thoughts, because they gifor me e me so much strength and thoughts for me to reflect myself. Thanks a lot!

    Rike

  13. Sarah C. says:

    Hugs! Happy Birthday! You are awesome!

  14. Izzy says:

    Happy birthday and thank you for sharing. Perfection should never be the goal… Growth is what life is all about and it sounds like you've been doing a lot of that. Keep going! πŸ™‚

  15. It is hard work to wrestle the demon of "not good enough". You are giving yourself and your family an amazing gift to work it out now.
    What a gift to all.
    Happy Birthday!

  16. amalowany says:

    Love your post and a belated Happy Birthday. What I didn't see in your post is that you agonize what your next project will be. This is one of my "challenges". I surf, look at various pins and think of the fabrics in my stash and then try to contemplate what I could try next as I'm looking for something new and stimulating. See you're so far ahead of some others. You have to finish and I just have to start. I don't like to many UFOs in my cupboard. Yesterday was monogrammed towels (sorry not quilted) but a challenge as I'm a newbie at embroidery.

    Take care.

  17. NinaMe says:

    I was reading your book today thinking how smart and good you are. πŸ™‚
    Happy Birthday πŸ™‚ 30s are better than 20s :))

  18. Happy happy happy birthday from the deep south of New Zealand! Keep enjoying life; may you have many many years ahead of you to achieve all that you dream of! Best wishes, Jenny

  19. You are more than enough! Happy Birthday!

    I celebrated 40 this year so it's a big milestone for both of us πŸ™‚

  20. claudia says:

    Leah…To you: A heart felt and honest Happy Birthday! Thank YOU for the gift. What you have written here today about what you are doing to expand your knowledge and what you are doing to improve your life has just helped me see something I hadn't. Thank you for your words and for the gifts you give us daily.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Happy Birthday! So glad you feel this way at 30, some never get there and others, like myself, are late bloomers. That feeling and confidence came, more or less, at 40!

    Enjoy it!

  22. Sandra J says:

    Happy Happy Milestone Birthday, Leah! Your words gave me a lump of emotion in my throat. I think many of us can relate to those feelings of inadequacy. You are an amazing young woman, your open heart, your generosity, your desire to teach, to share your passion, show such strength of character. Thank you for helping ME over these past 7 months with FMQ on my AvantΓ©. Just think where you'll be in 30 more years!!

  23. Georgi says:

    Just wanted to say Happy Birthday, Leah, and THANK YOU for helping all of us with the Free Motion Quilting Project! I'm a new quilter and just starting to FMQ ~ your posts are going to be a blessing for people like me!

  24. Louie Varela says:

    Happy Birthday Leah. You are a treasure. I am "some" years older than you…lol…and had a similar childhood. I don't think all of our guilt every goes away…there are so many little things that can cause it to rear it's ugly head. I was feeling very guilty about WANTING to quilt everyday. Our business is in the home just like yours. But you know what, when I really acknowledged that quilting is GOOD and HEALTHY for me, I explained to my Honey and he said GO FOR IT! Laughing, I told him, Oh I'm going to, I just wanted you to know. Life is more happy and peaceful than ever around here. Thank you for teaching all of us so much. I think I can speak for all that follow your blog. You are amazing at what you do. The fact that you GIVE this to us…even more amazing and a testiment to the person you are.

  25. Happy Birthday…keep up with your wonderful work. Learn to love yourself..a journey that is not easy. Thank you for sharing. You make me rethink my own demons(myself)so I too can keep on moving forward.

  26. Malini says:

    Most heartfelt Happy Birthday Leah! Enjoy your 30s.
    I am really sorry to hear that you had a really tough childhood. But you survived and have a wonderful loving family now. Yes, it must be hard to let go the past. But the more you think of the present, the memories of past will be replace by present loving and wonderful experiences.

    Enjoy your 30s. Its lot of fun!

  27. Heidi says:

    Happy Happy Birthday Leah! You are enough! You are amazing in every way! I will turn 48 next week and I still struggle with my childhood issues. I was told if abortion was possible, I would never have been born. They were wrong. My husband and family know better. Now I need to learn. Your honesty is giving me the courage to deal with my monsters. Thank you so much!

  28. Happy birthday! And thank you so much for sharing part of your personal story! I can relate to the things you spoke about so much. My childhood was quite different yet the way you describe the shame and things you feel are so spot on to my own feelings. I'll be 30 in March, hopefully I can start becoming more comfortable in my skin as well. And as a new quilter I love getting lessons where teachers explain their mistakes!! It's so incredibly helpful and gives us students confidence when we make that same mistake and are able to diagnose it! Keep up the good work πŸ™‚

  29. Wow, Leah, what sad and beautiful sentiments. Happy birthday! You're too wise to be only 30! Hard to believe! I've recently started following your blog, as I've been quilting for years but never, until recently, tried fmq. I hope to learn a lot from you. Thank you! πŸ™‚

  30. Eke says:

    Hei Leah, gratulerer med dagen, that's the way we congratulate in Norway. And not only will I congratulate you with your 30st birthday, I want to congratulate you with this new birth. How good of you to share this her. I hope for a lot of good things and happiness in your live. Beste helsing, Eke

  31. n Carter says:

    Leah, you don't have to be perfect!! Do you think those of us who are reading your blogs are perfect? Heck no! We're reading your blog because you help us, you teach us new designs in FMQ. And we don't need you to be perfect. You inspire us to try new things with our own FMQ, and that's better than being perfect. Happy Birthday!

  32. Mendy Kay says:

    Happy Birthday Leah! I am so thankful to have found your site and for the work you do. I am also amazed at how empowered you are at 30 and how it encourages me to find myself…at 48. Keep up the great work!!!

  33. Sandi says:

    Happy Birthday Leah, Thanks for your great Blog. Keep up all your beautiful work!

  34. Leah, thank you for your posts! I appreciate everything. You are my go to for anything I want to learn with quilting. I also think you are more than enough. Even though I have never spoken with you, I feel you to be a friend. You are spectacular and really inspiring. I also turn 30 this month, and you have been talked about at my kitchen table, and the inspiration you have brought me to think about what i want for my dreams. I am glad you had a fantastic day

  35. Brioletta says:

    Dear Leah
    Thank you for sharing this heartwarming post with us. You are so talented, your quilting is so perfect, your generosity so amazing. I have learned so much from your blog and your books. My quilting is not perfect, but thanks to you it is far, far better than it used to be. At 30 you have achieved far more than other young people that age. Keep it up and have many, many more fantastic days like this one. Happy Birthday from a 60 year old quilter in Switzerland.

  36. Leah, God Bless you! Oh and Happy Birthday too!. Thank you for sharing your story and struggles. I have had very similar struggles with feeling "not good enough…" I wish I had come out of it when I was 30. All the wasted time listening to that little sometimes very loud voice… I am good enough and so are you. I just recently found your site and so far I am loving it. Keep up the good work and remember, You are a beloved child of God and are precious in his sight.
    Eileen

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