Solids, and Twill, and Alphabitties, Oh My!!!

I was so very excited when my Sew Sampler Box arrived  earlier this week!!!!  Of course, I couldn't wait to tear it open and see what was inside.   And Wow!!!  So much amazing quilty goodness inside!!!  I think these boxes are quickly becoming like my quilts, every new one is my new favorite!!!

So loving this rainbow of new Riley Blake Crayola Solids!!!  And the box they package them in is just to cute!!!  I have already got some idea peculating of what to create with this pretty rainbow!!

And the notions in this Sew Sampler Box were awesome!!!!  I love Frixion pens for marking all of my lines, they are the best :)   And I love cute little rulers, which have especially come in handy working on all of those little blocks for the Splendid Sampler.   And finally, Alphabitties!!!!  I am so excited about these!!!!  I have wanted these since Fat Quarter Shop first made them but just never justified them ;)  That is what I love so much about these boxes!!!!  You get the surprises you have always wanted and they are like Christmas every time!!!

And you know that I will totally be making some more of these Cute as a Button Pincushions since there was some adorable new Fat Quarter Shop Twill Ribbon twill tape tucked in this box as well!!!  So excited, I just loved making the first ones and have been looking forward to making more ;)

And of course, I had to whip up the block from this month's recipe card ;)  I am getting super excited to see this little sampler come together.  You can see the previous 2 blocks right here ;)   I am hoping to make this into a queen size quilt when the year is done, so fun!!!

Such an amazing box this month!!!  You can find out all about the Sew Sampler Box right over here ;)  They really are like Christmas showing up on your doorstep each month!!!   I am already looking forward to next month's box!!!

Hope you have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day . . . let's have some fun :)

First, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!   The winner of the Fat Quarter Bundle Set of  Welcome Home Collection 1 from  Shabby Fabrics is . . .   Number #103 . . . Congrats allthingzsewn !!!   I have emailed you :)    

 

    

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Ollie and Evie.  Rhonda has an adorable Etsy shop packed with wonderful pre-cuts and beautiful yardage!!!  And of course, she always has an awesome Clearance Section as well, that has some amazing bonus deals in it.  And along with the giveaway, Rhonda is offering free shipping on all orders over $60.00 with the code 60SHIPSFREE ;)  

And the Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is for a fabulous set of Frixion pens!!!  If you have not tried these for marking yet, you are missing out  They are fabulous!!! They are erasable and disappear when heat is applied  (but always remember to still, mark on the wrong side of your fabric ;)  Such an awesome giveaway!!!

You have two entry chances, the second being optional, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.  Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me what is a favorite dish to make with cherries in it.  (We picked cherries for 2 1/2 hours last night and now I need some ideas of what to make with them all ;)  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Olie and Evie love.   You can follow them on  Facebook, at their blog, or Favorite their Shop, or you can visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Olie and Evie Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, July 5th when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Little Ruby Quilt Along - Quilt Assembly

It's Part Three of the Little Ruby Quilt Along, I am so excited because today we get to see all of the quilt tops come together!!!   That's right, Part 3 is Quilt Assembly!!!!    You can find all of the details about the Little Ruby Quilt Along right here at the Fat Quarter Shop :)

You might recall that Part 2 left us with all of these beautiful star blocks just waiting to be pieced into rows ;)  I just love some good ol chain stitching.  Especially when I have a great book to go along with it as well, double bonus!!

So I just started stitching away, sewing all of my pieces into rows.  It was super helpful to have all of the rows laid out and stacked on top of one another, that way I could chain stitch a whole set at a time ;)  And before you knew it, the rows were all done ;)

And I just love this part ;)  I always get so excited to lay out the entire quilt on my studio floor  :)  You know, when you can finally see how it is all going to come together!!  And then you get to step back and squeal in delight because it is just so darn cute :)

And then, from there, of course, you can't wait because all that is left is sewing the rows together :)  So yes, I might have ignored some laundry and ordered some pizza so that I could see these two adorable quilt tops all finished.  Can you blame me :)

I mean, just a few more stitches, some pressing, and trimming the sides, and Wha-La!!   How cute is this adorable Little Ruby Quilt Top!!!  I just love it :) And how fun that is also has a sister quilt that was made right along with it, again, double bonus!!

I think I am now calling them Christmas Swirls, because I just love the movement in them, and like I said originally, they reminded me of the peppermint swirl candies ;)  And now I can't wait to just quilt them both up and have two new Christmas quilts for the holidays ;)

And just like previous weeks,  Kimberly has made a fun video tutorial for you that will walk you through the  quilt assembly!!!  

And be sure to pop on over to Fat Quarter Shop for all of the Litle Ruby Quilt Along Part 3 details ;)   And while you are popping around, check out all of the Little Ruby Bloggers too!!!   I am so excited to see everyone's Little Ruby Quilt Tops come together!!!

Melissa from Happy Quilting

Angie from Gnome Angel

Erin Cox from Why Not Sew

Andy from A Bright Corner

Heidi from Buttons & Butterflies

Pat from Pat Sloan

Peta from She Quilts a Lot

Heather from Quilt Story

Megan from Quilt Story

Amanda from Jedi Craft Girl

Gerri from Planted Seed Designs

Sherri from A Quilting Life

Rebecca from Bryan House Quilts

Sherri from This & That Patterns

Jemima from Tied with a Ribbon

Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts

Stephanie from Modern Sewciety

Brooke from Silly Mama Quilts

Carrie from Moda's United Notions

And just two more weeks and we get to see everyone's finished quilts!!  I can't wait!!!

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

FaveQuilts

So, have you heard of FaveQuilts??  It is an absolutly wonderful resource.  I like to think of FaveQuilts as an amazing ( and huge) Quilting Library ;)  It is just like going to the library and looking for a good book, only this time, you are looking for the perfect tutorial or free pattern.  

You can use the Categories on the left hand side of the main page to help you narrow your search.  And just like the library, you can search by type of quilt, size of quilt, designer of quilt (Yup, I have a designer profile there too ;)  and the list goes on.  Then when you find the quilt you like, Fave Quilts provides the link of where you can go directly to the creates site and find the project!!  I love that they send you to the creators site, it has helped me to discover some amazing new blogging friends!!!

And another fun thing that FaveQuilts does is make these super fun and free downloadable E-books ;)  I have had several tutorials published in these cute e-books and am excited to have the quilt above  featured int this newest e-book, T-Shirt Quilts ;)  

So anyhow, I wanted to give FaveQuilts a shout out today as they have been such a great resource and I thought you might find it helpful too ;)  So, if you haven't checked them out before, you might want to just pop on over for a visit ;)  Let's just say, there is enough eye candy there to keep your surfing for hours and making your "to make someday" list quadruple ;)  Have fun!!!

Summer Solstice Quilt-A-Long - Cutting

**  NOTE  - This post is part of a series of posts for the Summer Solstice Quilt-A-Long.  If you would like to join (and have a chance to win $100.00 Gift Certificate and Fat Quarter Bundle grand prizes sponsored by The Intrepid Thread and Fat Quarter Shop ) you can find a list of the post links here :)  Here is the schedule

June 9th- Intro, Fabric Requirements, and Prizes Announcement

June 23rd - Cutting  (Today)

 July 7th - Flying Geese

July 21st - Half Square Triangles

August 4th - Drunkards Path

August 18th - Building Blocks

September 1st - Piecing Top and Grand Prize Linky

September 15th- Summer Solstice Parade and Grand Prize Winners

So here we are at June 23rd and I am so excited for everyone to get going!!! So let's get right to it :)  

THIS WEEKS ASSIGNMENT - CUTTING

All of the cutting will be done using the same type of charts that we have been using so far.  Simply find the project that you are making and that will tell you the cutting you need to do.   Here is the finished sizing chart, just in case you need a reminder of what project you are doing :)

PRINT FABRICS

We will start but cutting out all of the "print" fabrics. - And before you start any cutting, be sure to read through to the end of the post.  I added some helpful hints after the charts to aid you in your cutting ;)

Using the chart below, cut the squares for your desired size and layout from each of your fabric cuts. For a 2 x 2 layout there will be 4 fabrics, for a 3 x 3 layout there will be 9 fabrics and for a 4 x 4 layout there will be 16 fabrics.  Label the squares as indicated.  This will make it easier when we are doing the piecing of each unit in the future.  DP is Drunkard Path, FG is Flying Geese, and HST is Half Square Triangle.

So, for example if you were doing the 3 x 3 layout in a 28" size block, you would cut (8) 4 3/4" x 4 3/4" square labeled DP, (12) 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" squares labeled HST, and (8) 4 3/8" x 4 3/8" squares labeled FG from your first fabric.  Then repeat that process for each of your remaining 8 fabrics. (see below for stacking hints to speed it up a bit ;)


And if you have a hard time seeing any of these charts, just click on them and they should get larger on your screen ;)

BACKGROUND FABRIC

And now, we can move onto the background fabric :)

Using the chart below, cut the squares for your desired size and layout from your background fabric.  Label the squares as indicated.  Again, the FG, DP, and HST stand for the same thing as in the Print Fabrics and the S stands for Square or Sashing.  I listed the units in the order you cut them.

Please note, the Background fabric will be tight.  I had planned for extra fabric but in one last check this morning, I found an unfinished verses finished  1/2" error in a unit size. ( I can not even begin to say how glad I am that I felt like I needed one more check before publishing.)     I have rechecked all of the measurements and math with the correction and everything will still fit, but not with a lot of leftover.  So just to be on the safe side,  I suggest to cut the sashing strips (S)  before the smallest squares (S), and they are listed that way.  This will allow you to use up all extra bits of leftovers from all of the other cutting if you need to.  (You shouldn't need to, but just in case, it gives you wiggle room ;)

So, for example if you were doing the 3 x 3 layout in a 28" size block, you would cut (18) 8 1/4" x 8 1/4" squares and label them FG, (72) 4 3/4" x 4 3/4" squares and label them DP, and (108) 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" squares and label them HST.  Then you would cut (19) 3 1/2" x 42" strips and label them S, and finally cut (108) 4" x 4" squares and label them S.

So now that you know what to cut, let's talk about some tips.

CUTTING TIPS

Here are a few helpful cutting tips and tidbits .  This is the way I like to cut, but of course,  it is not the only way to cut, so if you do it different, great :)  Do what you are comfortable with.  There just might be some tidbits that could save you some time and/or eliminate waste.

1 - Always press your fabrics first, it takes time but will help in keeping your pieces accurate.  I like to keep my iron at a super hot setting and use a little extra water from a spay bottle if I have any creases or folds that don't want to come out with a simple pass of the iron.  And hey,  this is a great time to watch a fun flick as well, bonus!

2 - Check the sharpness of your rotary cutters blade before starting to cut.  Since you are cutting the same sized squares from each of your print fabrics you can layer your fabrics and cut more than 1 at a time.  You can cut 2-3 fabrics at a time to speed things up but only if your blade is sharp.  Otherwise, it won't cut all the layers evenly.   Oh, and don't get to overzealous with your layering.  3 fabrics is 6 layers to cut and I find that any more than 6 layers, even with a sharp blade, and the fabric will want to shift on you ;)

3 - Whenever cutting yardage, I always like to cut with the fold in my fabric lined up along the 0 horizontal line on my cutting mat.  I always start by cutting a straight edge along the left hand side of my fabric and then (as long as my yardage is short enough) trim the selvages from the top of my fabric.  I like the long piece of selvage as I collect them.  (Maybe some day I will actually make a project with them ;)

4 - I like to cut my fabrics in strips and use the lines on my mat as cutting guides rather than my rulers.  (but you can always use another rulers as a double check as well ;)  Once I cut all of the strips I need, I slightly separate the different size strips, still keeping them aligned along the 0 horizontal line and the nearest vertical line,

Then I sub-cut the strip using the horizontal lines on my mat.   When sub-cutting, I always start at the top of my strip and work my way down, thus allowing the scrap to be on the fold and creating 1 large scrap instead of 2 small scraps.  Any extra of that strip can normally be sub-cut  into smaller pieces needed thus eliminating waste. (That is why in the background we are cutting the smallest S size last ;)   This allows me to cut a lot of pieces quickly.

In the picture above, I  wouldn't normally separate all of the pieces when cut, I just did that so you could see them all.   Below is how my cutting looked when it is done.  Similar sizes all grouped and subcut across.   Oh, and you will notice that little square ruler, that is what I use when there are trickier measurments like 3/8" or 7/8".  It is a great way to doublecheck your measurement when it is harder to check it on the cutting mat ;)

5 - You might notice from the pink picture above that there is a leftover strip.  I added a little extra in the print fabrics just in case you have any oopsies, so that is covered ;)   If you find you don't need it, it would look awesome pieced into the back, that is my plan and I am super excited for a little scrappy goodness in the back!!

And I think that just about covers it!!!

NOW GO START CUTTING :)

I hope these cutting tips help :)  I know that with the different sizes and layouts it can easily be confusing, so if you have any questions at all please don't hesitate to ask in a comment or email me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com  :)   Here's my fabrics all cut up!!! I just love cutting up a new project (I know, I am a little weird that way ;)  But I hope you find this assignment enjoyable and that with the little helpful hints it goes nice and quick for you ;)  So sharpen your blade and go to it . . . and once you are done be sure to enter to win the bi-weekly prize!!!

The Bi-Weekly Prize is being sponsored by the Shabby Fabrics and a huge thanks goes to them for their support of the Summer Solstice Quilt-A-Long.

This weeks  prize is a a Charm Pack and a Mini Charm Pack of the winners Choosing!!!

  

So what do you have to do for a chance to win these 2 splendid pre-cuts of your choice?  Simple . . . Just link up your fabrics all cut up at the end of this post :)  You can link to a blog post, flickr picture, Instagram, Facebook . . .  or whatever.  Just make sure to link up by the end of the day on July 6th as I will be announcing a winner at the beginning of the next post :)

If you don't get your cutting by July 6th you can still link it up :) (just not in time for the prize :)    The linky will remain open until the end of the Quilt-A-Long.  So if your out of town, or just had two busy weeks, no worries!!!  Just link up when you can :)

And Don't forget to add your beautiful cut up fabric to the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Flickr group and to post it on social media with using #summersolsticequiltalong.    I am so excited to see all of your beautiful fabrics all cut up ;)

So let's get cutting!!!  And if you have questions, don't hesitate to email me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.  Have a Happy Quilting Day!!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Best of McCall's Quilting Feature!!!

I got some absolutely spectacular news the other day!!!  My very first published quilts that I posted about back in Jan of 2012 are making a special featured appearance!!!!    Hugs to Enjoy, are being featured in McCall's special publication, The Best of McCall's Quilting, Summer 2016 :)   Eeekk, so exciting!!!

I absolutely loved designing and making these 2 little baby quilts ;)  It remember it being such a leap to submit the designs to a magazine.   It was so very scary and exhilarating, all at the same time ;)  I was over the moon when they were accepted and I got to start making them up!!    Natalia Bonner did an amazing job on the quilting on both of these quilts.  I think it is funny that I was living in Indiana at the time and she was up in Utah County.   Two moves later and now we are both in Southern Utah and only 35 minutes away from each other, so fun!!  Oh, and as you can see, I have always loved applique from the very start of my quilting journey ;)

 Hugs to Enjoy are now hanging on the wall behind the long arm in the quilting studio.  I smile each time I see them there, and realize what a big step they were in the journey that has brought me here today ;)  So I can not even begin to express how amazing it is to have them featured in this wonderful collection of McCall's Best.  Such an honor!!

You can see all of the quilts in this special The Best of McCalls Quilting Issue right here  and I have to say, I am in some amazing company, so honored :)    There is also a cute little video on facebook  that shows all of the quilts in detail!!  This issue is now available on newstands, stores, and also at McCalls Quilting ;)   And I just want to say a huge Thank You to McCall's for including me in this wonderful publication.  Once again, I find myself on Cloud 99 :)

Thank you for popping in today and each day ;)  I am grateful each and every day that I get to share my quilting journey with each of you ;)   Happy Quilting!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day . . . let's have some fun :)

First, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!   The winner of the SummerFest Charm Packs and 1 yard of  Moda Grunge from  Kimberly's Fabric Stash  is . . .   Number #5 . . . Congrats scottylover !!!   I have emailed you :)    

 

    

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Shabby Fabrics!!   Along with hosting the giveaway, Shabby Fabrics always has amazing Sale and Clearance fabrics!!!!!!!   They just added a whole ton of fabric to make room for new stuff, so be sure to check it out!!  So fun!!!  

And the Terrific Tuesday Giveaway , one lucky winner will get to pick their favorite Fat Quarter Bundle Set of  Welcome Home Collection 1,  a new fabric line designed by Jennifer Boswell and Shabby Fabrics for Maywood Studios ;)   So fun!!!    I just love how beautiful and soft the colors and prints are. Just lovely!!!  

You have two entry chances, the second being optional, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.  Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me you favorite place to be "Welcome Home"  ie. . .  somewhere you grew up, where you lived at some point,  where you live now, a favorite place to visit that is home away from home, just anywhere you like to say "Welcome Home" about.   

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Shabby Fabrics love. You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Pinterest, or Instagram.  You can Sign up for the Shabby Fabrics Newsletter (top right hand corner) or Follow their Blog,  or you can Visit the Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Shabby Fabric Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, June 28th, when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

The Quilters Paper-Piecing Workbook

Today I am excited to share with you a wonderful book by a good friend that has really helped me to grasp paper piecing :)  It is called The Quilter's Paper-Piecing Workbook and is by Elizabeth Dackson.  And if you know Elizabeth at all,  you know that she is an amazing paper-piecer!!!

I have not done a whole lot of paper-piecing in my quilting journey, just a little project here and there that have honestly, all been basic enough that I probably could have traditional pieced it as well and it most likely would have looked better ;)  In fact, if you remember this semi truck "paper-piecing" project I planned for my father's quilt (p.s. Happy Father's Day dad!!!)  that is about my only real truly paper piecing experience and even half of that I ended of sort of just piecing along the way ;)  

Anyhow, since starting the Splendid Sampler this year, I have been doing a little more paper piecing, and it has been a little trickier, to say the least ;)  So I can not begin to explain how grateful I was when Fons and Porter sent me a copy of Elizabeth's The Quilter's Paper-Piecing Workbook!!! 

The thing that jumped out to me right away, is how the book is really broken down into a learner's guide ;)  Elizabeth stars you out with the Low Down, and then moves into some wonderful Basic Getting Started projects, and then gradually moves you up to More Challenging.   And finally, she includes a whole chapter of super adventuresome designs for you to tackle when you feel confident in the skill!!!  So it really does "take you by the hand" to start out your paper piecing journey and lead you in to an endless world of possibilities ;)  

And I was super excited to see yet another fantastic Selvage Quilt!!!!!   I keep finding more and more amazing selvage quilt designs and I want to make them all!!!  Good thing I have enough selvages that I could probably very easily make them all ;)

And while going through Elizabeth's book, I was super excited to see all of the wonderful little tidbits she shares that go right along with the stage of the book that you are in.   Starting from basic understanding tidbits on how to help you get things all figured out, to advanced troubleshooting tidbits on how to line up those tricky triangle pieces just right every time ;)  It is like having Elizabeth sitting right next to you teaching you with all of her paper piecing experience and wisdom.  So great!!!

So if you are like me, and have maybe just dabbled in Paper Piecing and really want to learn the technique, I highly recommend Elizabeth's The Quilter's Paper-Piecing Workbook.  It (along with practice, of course) has helped me a ton in feeling more confident in my paper piecing ability :)

I hope you are having a very Happy Quilting Summer!!!!   And just 3 more days until the release of the Summer Solstice Quilt Along Cutting Requirements ;)  I am so excited!!!  Are you quilting along??