Fat Quarter Style and Giveaway!!

The wonderful gals at the Fat Quarter Shop's It's Sew Emma division have put out a new book called Fat Quarter Style and it is awesome!!   All the quilts in the book are made with Fat Quarters (since we all know we have lots of those lying around ;) and the patterns add a new fresh style to some wonderful traditional designs.

Fat Quarter Style consists of 12 quilt patterns and each pattern comes with 4 size options for a crib, lap, twin, and queen size quilt.   You know I love size options!!!  The graphics are wonderful and really do a wonderful job illustrating each step for each quilt.  I love it when I barely have to refer to the written instructions ;)

My two favorites from the book are Raindrops and Primrose.   I have already earmarked the corners of the book on these 2 pages and set the book next to my Fat Quarter stash.  They are so on the list to make!!  

You can see lots more about Fat Quarter Style as the Jolly Jabber has been doing a wonderful book hop with lots and lots of inspiration.  Here are the weekly round-ups for a summary of each of the patterns.  Week 1,  Week 2,  Week 3 and Week 4 will be coming soon so just follow along with the Jolly Jabber to catch that  :)  

Fat Quarter Style is only available at the Fat Quarter Shop.  And thanks to the wonderful folks at the Fat Quarter Shop, I have a copy of Fat Quarter Style for one of my readers :)  This is such a fabulous and super fun book.  I know you are going to love it!!

To enter for a chance to win this copy of Fat Quarter Style simply leave a comment telling me what you like most about Fat Quarters :)   

For me, I love the versatility of Fat Quarters, and I know it sounds crazy, but I also love I pressing a whole bundle of fat quarters to get them ready to cut into, which means of course I will be watching a favorite chic flick while pressing :)  So fun!!)  

One entry per person please and everyone is welcome to enter ;)  I will close the giveaway Wednesday the 3rd and announce a winner ;)   

Good Luck and have a Happy Quilting Weekend!!!

Q & A and Winner

First off, a huge thank you for all of your lovely comments on our family pictures.  You all are the best!!!!  I have two tidbits to cover this morning.

First off, My Stars is doing a fun little Author Q & A for the upcoming release of Optical Illusions and it's my day ;)  Pop on over and check it out.    They even shared a little sneak peek of my project!!!    I love it when I get to share a little bit more.   My project in the book is called Old Dutch, can you see the inspiration behind the name??

And second tidbit for today . . . We need a winner!!!!!   Thank you again to the wonderful ladies at Sew Kind of Wonderful for allowing me to be part of their amazing hop!!!  It was so fun to get to share my Metro Hoops and you all left such sweet responses to it.  Thank you!!!

  

The lucky winner of the Quick Curve Ruler and new Contemporary Curved Quilts book is . . .

Congrats to Sharon Eshlman!!!!!  I have sent you an email ;)

That's all the tidbits for today ;)  Be sure to pop back in tomorrow for something fun ;)

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

The Happy Quilting Family

Some time in January of this year I was sitting in the living room and realized our family picture did not include our adorable baby girl.   I started calculating and figured it had been over 4 years since we had done family pictures.  Ooops.  So when the weather warmed up, we all put on our smiling faces (and yes, a few of them were bribed)  and snapped away a lovely afternoon.  It then took me 4 months to pick my favorites.  Seriously, there were so many great shots, every time I went through them I just got overwhelmed and set them aside.   But, I finally choose my favorites  . . . and since I am putting them on my wall today I thought it would be fun to share them with you as well :)

The Corry Family

Jocelyn - Almost 3

Kamryn - Age 5

Kristian - Age 7

Jessica - Age 9

Spencer - Age 11

Mom and Dad

Nothing like getting new pictures to remind you just how fast they are growing up.   Seriously, I got a little emotional when the pictures were being taken, it just really hit me that time is flying by.  It was a good reminder to cherish every moment, the ups, the downs, and the everydays.  I love you sweet family of mine ;)

And just in case you are wondering, these wonderful pictures were taken on the campus of beautiful Southern Utah University by Kurtis L Leany of Zion Photography.  Thanks Kurtis, we love them!!!

Squishy Mail

I had some wonderful Squishy Mail last week.  First,  I started getting some of my Triple Irish Chain blocks from my wonderful Beejeebers Bee Mates ;)   I am so excited to see this one come together!!  Isn't it so fun already!!!  Now I just can't decide if I want to add three more blocks and make it a queen or keep it a large lap.  I guess time will tell ;)

Saturday afternoon I got another wonderful package in the mail.  It wasn't squish but the contents certainly were!!!  Oh yes, the Denyse Schmidt's Modern Solids box of amazing goodness, EEEkkk!!!!  I am so excited to dive into this.  I have a super fun quilt planned out and it is going to come along with a tutorial for the Free Spirit Fabrics blog ;)  Yippee!!!

Have you gotten any fun super squishy mail lately??  Is it just me, or does fabric in the mail just have a way of making you smile ;)

Sew Kind of Wonderful Blog Hop and a Giveaway!!!!

Yippee!!!!  It's my day of the Sew Kind of Wonderful Blog Hop!!!  If you are hoping over for the first time, Welcome!!  I hope you find lots to inspire :)

I first met Jenny and Helen from Sew Kind of Wonderful at Fall Quilt Market 2 years ago.  It was my first Quilt Market and Barbara (my wonderful MIL) and I were staring down at the show floor through an upstairs window getting so excited for the show to start.   We looked over and noticed we had some viewing companions.  Well, we soon got to chatting and before you knew it, Helen and Jenny became fast friends!!!  

Helen and Jenny shared that they were at Market to do some demo's on their ruler.  I made a mental note right then that I had to try this ruler.  Well 2 years later, (you know how we get busy)   Barbara and I had the opportunity to actually take a Quick Curve Ruler class from the gals at Sew Kind of Wonderful during the Small Town Quilt Show that I was also teaching at.  Yippee!!!   I knew it was the perfect opportunity to finally give the Quick Curve Ruler a try.   Here is Jenny demoing the ruler during class, so awesome!!!  

And what can I say, It was Love at first Slice!!!  This ruler is so incredible!!!  It really makes curves so easy :)  And why is it so easy, well it could be that they add allowance to trim so you don't have to be perfect, Yippee!!!   Jenny and Helen do a fantastic job on their pattern instructions as well.  They are very easy to follow and have great graphics.   I finished my first block for the Metro Hoops quilt in class and today I am excited to share the finished quilt.  

So here she is, my Metro Hoops!!!!  I am so over the moon excited with this quilt finish!!!  I pieced curves and they look stunning, if I do say myself ;)

I used some Aviary prints by Joel Dewberry that I had been saving for just the right project!!  I paired some Grunge Basics for the diamonds and background.  They were the perfect compliment to the prints.   Eeekk!!  I just love how chic it turned out :)  

When it came time to quilt this, I knew I wanted to do something custom and special.   So I spent some time playing around with sketches and eventually came up with this ;)   I wanted to keep the chic feel, so I went with straight or basic curved lines with no fillers.  It was hard not to fill those centers in, but I really love how the simplicity adds to the overall feel.  I used Almond, Charcoal, and Medium Grey So Fine 50 by Superior Threads to do the quilting ;)  I just love how well it blends!!!

I love all of that yummy texture!!  The quilt finishes at 60" x 75" so it is just perfect to curl up in or to lie on the grass and read a good book :)  

This quilt was so much fun to make!!!  I really fell in love with this ruler and will be adding more Quick Curve projects to my list of things to make for sure ;)   (Like this one from Jenny and Helen's new book!!)  

And that's not all.  Like I said before, Barabar took the class with me as well.  She decided on the Urban Chained pattern.    Isn't it so fun!!!

She got the blocks all whipped up, but when it came time to sew them into rows she decided to get a little creative and try something of her own making.  I love that Barbara always changes patterns around to make it her own version ;)   This is what she came up with!!   So fun huh!!!  I think she is going to call it Brackets, so cute!!!   

It just goes to show you can do just about anything with this awesome ruler!!!!

So, want to learn more about the Quick Curve Ruler . . . .  go and check out Jenny’s blog and shop. You can also join the Sew Kind of Wonderful mailing list to get news of any new patterns or promotions.

There is going to be a linky party on the Sew Kind of Wonderful blog on Friday 29 through 31 August – you can link up any quilt or block made using the Quick Curve Ruler. If you haven’t tried a QCR project yet, never fear, there’s a chance to win a ruler (see below :) during the bloghop and have a go. And be sure to follow along with all of the other bloghop participants for lots of QCR Inspiration!

Monday 18 August	http://quokkaquilts.com
Tuesday 19 August	www.cluckclucksew.com
Wednesday 20 August	www.fromthebluechair.com
Thursday 21 August	liveacolorfullife.net
Friday 22 August	www.happyquiltingmelissa.com
Monday 25 August	www.greenfairyquiltsblog.com
Tuesday 26 August	http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com
Wednesday 27 August	www.pleasant-home.com
Thursday 28 August	http://www.lucymade.wordpress.com AND http://msmidge.blogspot.com.au
Friday 29 August	www.dontcallmebetsy.com

The bloghop is going to be followed by a 'Curve it up' Challenge Quilt-a-long on the Sew Kind of Wonderful blog starting in September, so join in the bloghop, get inspired and get ready to Curve It Up!

 

Now . . . Didn't someone say something about a Giveaway!!!!!   The wonderful ladies at Sew Kind of Wonderful have generously offered a Quick Curve Ruler and a copy of their new and totally awesome book, Contemporary Curved Quilts for one of my readers!!!!!

You have two chances to win, please leave a separate comment for each.  

1 - Simply leave a comment that has the word Curve in it . . .  Anything will do :)  

2 - All Happy Quilting Followers, old and new, can have a second entry, just leave a comment here of how you follow  i.e.  Bloglovin, Email, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter :) 

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until Wednesday evening and I will announce a winner Thursday morning, the 28th  ;)  All entries welcome :)

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Linking my Metro Hoops finish to Sarah's and Amanda's :)

It's What We Do :)

So at the moment I am actively working on 5 quilts.  Yes, I really am working on all 5 at the same time.   They are all at different stages of being finished.

One just has to be bound.  (By Friday, nothing like deadlines to motivate :)

One is ready to be loaded on the long arm and quilted.

One the blocks are made and it is time to add some applique.

And the last 2 the blocks are almost all pieced.

And so why not add a #6.   It's what we do, right!!!

This stunning collection of Birch Farms by Joel Dewberry arrived the other day from the lovely folks at Free Spirit Fabrics.   I was so excited because I have had this idea for a new bedspread but I needed to find  perfect cross of masculine and feminine for my husband and I .  Hello, could Birch Farms be more Perfect!!!!   So now I just need to go pick up some background fabric and Quilt 6 will be added to the mix ;)

So how many projects are you working on right now???

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!

Reverse Sewing

So this morning I stood in front of the long arm with the goal to finish quilting up my Metro Rings quilt for the SKOW Blog Hop.  All I had left to quilt were the arches and so I set off.

About 15 seconds in to it I thought "My that black thread really doesn't blend with the Yellow blocks, but I am sure it will be okay".   About 30 seconds into it I thought "Oh dear, that black just isn't blending, but I am sure it will look better if I just quilt a bit more."   About a minute into it I thought "Stop Silly Girl, its not getting better and you don't like it at all !!!!!"   (When will I learn to stop after the first initial doubt. )   One  hour later, I finished "reverse sewing"  aka unpicking that One minutes worth of indecision.

Of course, like all quilters out there, Reverse Sewing is not my favorite thing to do in the world.   I can handle it okay when I have to unpick piecing, but unpicking quilting . . . . Grumble, Grumble, Grumble!!!    But, was it worth it ??? . . . Absolutely!!!!  

The Medium Grey is soooo much better.  It really and more importantly, I really love it!!  I still used the beautiful Charcoal Black in the diamonds and even used a different background color.  I know shocking!!  Instead of using my favorite 402 Pearl, I used 403 Almond.  It looks awesome on the grunge background!!  All of these threads are So Fine by Superior Thread.  I love how well they blend :)  

And even with the bumpy start, I did finish the quilting and now all that is left is to bind this Metro Hoops quilt.  And wouldn't you know it, I have 4 bindings made, and the one that I actually need is still yardage sitting next to the finished ones ;)  Gotta love it.

So I am off to make a binding ;)  I promise to share more of this quilt on Friday when it is my stop for the Sew Kind Of Wonderful Blog Hop :)   It started Monday and so far has had 2 wonderful stops.  You can see the full schedule here ;)

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!

Melissa

Jelly Roll Jam 2 with the Fat Quarter Shop!!!

First off, I want to thank you for the wonderful Birthday Wishes from Saturday.  It really was a spectacular day and all of your sweet comments made it all the better ;) And just a note,  my Happy Quilting Patterns are still marked down 35% for another 2 days ;)  Turning 35 is a lot more fun with a sale to celebrate!

Now let's get back to today's post :)   Do you recall the Fat Quarter Shops original Jelly Roll Jam??  It was the first quilt in the Shortcut Quilt series.  Well, it had such a huge response that the Fat Quarter Shop has now come up with it's best friend.  The Jelly Roll Jam 2!!!   You can download the free Jelly Roll Jam 2 Pattern right here :)

And just like the first one, all you need is a jelly roll to get going :)   I used a Fox Field by Tula Pink for Free Spirit Fabrics Roll.   I just love these beautiful colors and prints!!

Jelly Roll Jam 2 finishes up at 36 1/2" x 38 1/2", just perfect for snuggling a wee little baby in ;)   A lot of the quilt is made with strip piecing which makes it go together super fast and super easy.  It really is the perfect pattern for when you are in a pinch to whip up a quick baby blanket ;)

And when I say it is fast and easy I really do mean it.   Piecing this quilt took about 2 hours, and that was with a few stops to help munchkins :)   And then the Fat Quarter Shop makes it even easier with their step by step You Tube tutorial.   You can watch it below or see it at the Fat Quarter Shop You Tube Channel.  

After whipping up the top, it was time to quilt it.   I decided to quilt some free motion "ribbons".  These are so much fun to quilt, you really get your hips a swaying when quilting these little back and forth loops ;)    I used my favorite #402 Pearl So Fine #50 by Superior Threads to quilt this.   I just love how that color blends so perfectly with every color in this quilt ;)  

All in all, just a fun and adorable quilt that will go together in a snap.  So be sure to download the free Jelly Roll Jam 2 Pattern here and then watch the You Tube Video Tutorial here ;)   Now just grab a Jelly Roll  (which one will you pick??) and get your Jelly Roll Jam on!!!  

 Thanks for stopping by and have a Happy Quilting Day!!!