Luck of the Irish Chains!!!

This is the Irish Chain Quilt that started all of this Happy Quilting!!  I realized I share this story all the time in trunk shows, but I don't know if I have shared it in full here.  So here it goes :)  

My mother learned to quilt so that she could make me a quilt for my wedding. She decided to start with  Elanor Burns, Irish Chain in a Day,  since honestly, that is where everyone seemed to start at that time ;)  

My Double Irish Chain I made that is my version of 
the wedding quilt my Mom made for me. 

 A few years later, when we were getting ready to travel across the country for schooling, my mom taught me quilting basics.  I wanted to have a "hobby" to keep me busy when the kids were asleep and my husband was studying.  

My first book (that is sadly out of print) that was
one of the biggest highlights of my quilting journey!!  

That led to making up  quilts for friends who were expecting.  I had no idea at the time that when I opened good old Excel, (yes, I was an accountant before I was a mom ;) that I was "designing" quilts.  I was just playing with shapes and colors and seeing what I came up with.

Single Scrappy Irish Chain - A fun and free tutorial here on the blog

Then in 2010 I joined an online quilt along.  I was sharing my weekly progress on  the cute little "family blog"  that my husband had created.  After a few weeks, he let me know that rather than hijacking the family blog with quilt pictures, that I should just start my own blog.   Man oh man, he had no idea what that little statement was getting us into ;)  

Super Scrappy Triple Irish Chain -
A block Tutorial that I had bee mates use to make this quilt:)

 

So I started my Happy Quilting blog . . . which led to sharing tutorials, which led to being publishing in a magazine, which then led to be publshied in a compilation book, which then led to can you believe it . . .  writting my own books and patterns!!  And ya, this is why my first book was all about Irish Chain Quilts because that is where it all started.

Dizzy Days Irish Chain - A great scrap buster pattern
 that I have made again and again over the years. 

And the best part of the story, when I was at Quilt Market to introduce my new book, I was doing a book signing and who but who walked up and said "I love Irish Chain Quilts!".  Yup, Elanor Burns!!  I flipped open the book and showed her my cute little family sitting on her Double Irish Chain Quilt in a  Day and explained how it was my mother's first quilt, and then she taught me, and now here I am, sharing my first book on Irish Chain Quilts at Quilt Market!!  And then I cried, and Elanor Cried, and we Hugged, and it was one of the best moments of my life :)  

Braided Irish Chain - Probably my most popular quilt pattern and last year
Jenny Doan shared a You Tube tutorial for it, so exciting!!!  

So ya, Irish Chain Quilts have a very special place in my heart!!  Hence why I keep making more tutorials and patterns of them ;)  And even if it doesn't have Irish Chain in the title of the quilt like all of these shared, you will find "chains" in so many of my designs. It is just always a great designing feature that never gets old.   And ya, I've got more in the works!!  So here is to the Lucky Day of the Irish and making my favorite Quilts ;)  

So whether you are thinking about starting your first Irish Chain Quilt or your 50th, I wish you all a very  Happy Irish Quilting Day!!!

2 New Projects in Progress

Well, it's Wednesday, and I have two new projects in progress to share :)  And they have something in common, shapes other than rectangles!!

We start out with a whole bunch of Triangle Wedges!!  Aren't they just so pretty!!  Those are Sagewood Fabrics by Crystal Manning and she is quickly becoming a favorite designer of mine.  I just love her bold colors and beautiful prints!!  I cut out all of these fun wedges with my Starburst Ruler and now, it's time to sew them together.  So what do you think these wedges will turn into??  You can see a pretty big hint here :) 

And Project 2 brings us the curves!!!  You all know, I just love some curve pieing!!  I know, it sounds super scary and all that jazz, but really, with a little practice you can fly through it with ease ;)  I have a tutorial here for this 3 pin method of piecing curves.   And how could I not love piecing these curves in all of their purple goodness!!!  And these are actually for a new Happy Quilting pattern that I am working on, (yes, it will use my same curved templates  ;)  that hopefully will be ready to release soon ;)  Want another sneak peek??  

So excited!!!  And it is amazing how much progress you can make in a day with no interruptions :)  I have been enjoying some serious sewing the last 2 days, but now the kids are on a school break, so we will see how it goes for the rest of the week.   Either way, it is always fun to be starting new projects!!

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Day! 

Wedding Quilts - 3 Times the Joy!!

This was such a wonderful weekend!!! Truly the absolute best of times. We welcomed a new daughter to our family on Saturday as Michelle and Spencer were sealed for time and all eternity :)  And we are just so thrilled for both Spencer and Michelle!!!  

And of course, for such an amazing occassion, there had to be some amazing quilts to go with it!! I actually ended up making 3 for 3 times the Wedding Joy!!!  I started with this  adorable Fairy Garden Quilt to hang at the reception.  The tables were decorated with adorable Fairy Gardens and this quilt hung by the gift tables.  Isn't it just so cute :)  I was thrilled with how well it matched the theme ;)   

The wedding colors were dusty pink and dusty blue South Hill was the perfect prints for this quilt.  I just love how cute it turned out.   And using the scrap 10" squares for my binding, adorable!! 

When it came time to quilt it (and honestly, that was 2 days before the wedding :)  I wanted to add to all of the whimsy in the quilt so I decided on an all over combination of swirls, heart curls, paisleys, and pebbles.  I did this on a pretty small scale and I just love how much movement it added to the quilt. 

And that is the Fairy Garden Quilt for the reception.  Now the couple can hold on to it for a bit.  I think this would just be the cutest nursery quilt and it fits Spencer and Michelle's style just perfect.  I should clarify, I am not saying I need to be a Grandma in 9 months :)  But when the time comes, I think it would just be adorable.   And ya, Ill just say it, I am so looking forward to being a Grandma, but all in good time ;)    

Next up, the couples Wedding Quilt!!!   I love Spencer and Michelle and that they are both so perfectly quirky for each other!!  I know a lot of people were wondering why in the world I would make a Quilt for this new couples bed that has Gnomes, Frogs, Musthrooms, and a Dragon . . . but it is just perfect for Spencer and Michelle!!!!  

I used the  Chillin' With my Gnomies Quilt pattern by Kiley's Quilt Room with the Expansion of hovels, frogs, and mushrooms and then adjusted the Dragon Dreams Quilt Pattern by Apples and Beavers  so it fit in 3 "spaces" in the corner of the quilt.   I used a  Crossweave bundle by Moda and coordinating yardage.  I love how it made this quilt super soft and still so bright and happy!! 

 

And when it came time to quilt it (again, pretty last minute) I wanted to keep that soft texture of the crossweave so I did a generally large swirl.  I think it adds to the texture without taking away from the quilt design just perfectly.   And I had a little white space above the dragon head, so I added a little special signature in the quilt for the Happy Couple!!

And this quilt was draped over the gift table and now it is back home in Cedar and I will be taking it over to the couples apartment for them so when they come home from their honeymoon it will be their new bedspread.   I have to say, it just makes me smile every time I see it.  It is just so perfect for them and I am so glad they love it as much as I do ;)  

And I have one final quilt to share ;)   The week before the wedding I was teaching in Delta and I found this oh so adorable Dragon Dreams fabric from QT Fabrics in their local Mom's Crafts and Fabric shop ;)  Apparently they had just got it in the day before and I knew I could whip something special up with it.  Ya know, Panel quilts with a few borders go together in an hour ;)  

 

I quilted this with an all over (attempted) dragon scale design :)  I wanted to keep this super soft so I double batted the quilt and it is so perfect for snuggling up in now!!

We gave this to our son, Spencer, the morning of the wedding.  Just one last gift from Mom and Dad before he took this wonderfully amazing step in his life :)   And ya, he sure loved it.   Now it can just be a quilty hug from Mom and Dad whenever he needs one!

So those are my 3 Wedding Quilts!!   Dragons, Gnomes, Fairies, Toads, and Mushrooms!!!   So perfect for Spencer and Michelle!!!   We just could not be happier and look forward to watching you two grow in love and joy over the years to come ;)  

GO! Born to Shine Quilt and Free Pattern!!!

I am so excited to share a new finish today!!! I have loved this quilt from the moment I finished designing it and I love the actual quilt all the more!!!   I just love combining AccuQuilt BOB Dies and when the new new GO! Enigma Star Die, was released, I knew it would pair perfectly with the GO! Tangled Star Die ;)   I mean, who doesn't love all the stars!!!   And then putting the blocks on point, so great!!    So this is Born To Shine and there is a  free PDF Pattern for it, that you can download right here :) 

I used some beautiful Sparkler Basics by Riley Blake  in  Bear Lake, Navy, and White.  I was going for an "all boy look" for this baby quilt (oh, and an all girl one is in the works ;)    I just love the navy setting triangles, they really make the rest of the design pop and gives it a lot of movement ;)   And you know that I love the little bit of metallic in all of the Sparkler Basics, because ya gotta love shiny!!!  

  The Born to Shine Quilt finishes at 42" x 42" so it is a great baby size quilt.   It uses 2 blocks set on point, and of course, cutting them with the AccuQuilt BOB Dies makes it super fast.   Then it was just super happy piecing from that point.   And the layout of the blocks adds such a cool secondary design in the center of the quilt, it almost looks like curved piecing ;)  

  Below is a list of the dies I used, see which ones you already have in your die library and maybe add a few more ;)           

PIECING DIES

GO! Enigma Star10" Finished BOB Die (56427)

GO! Tangled Star 10" Finished BOB Die (55543)   

 GO! Setting Triangles 10" Finished BOB Die (55553)

   GO! Strip Cutter-2-1/2” (2” Finished) (55017) - Binding

And when it came time to quilt it, I wanted to do something with lots of curves and flow to accent all of the points in the piecing.   So I opted for a large swirls.  It's always a favorite and adds such yummy texture and movement.  Just so pretty!!!  

And that is my Born to Shine Quilt!  I hope you love it as much as I do ;)   Isn't this picture AccuQuilt took of it just so great!!!  I love seeing it styled in a home setting.    And if you want to make your own, you can download the free PDF Born to Shine Quilt Pattern Here.   And when you are done I would love to see it!!!    You can share a picture on social media with #happyquiltingwithmc and tag me at @happyquiltingmc or you can always email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.  I can't wait to see your Born to Shine Quilts!

Oh, and two fun little side notes . . . if you want to see this shared on YouTube, you can visit the Die Launch video.  It is shared towards the end of the show at 52:00 minutes in :)  And the second side note that I am so very excited about . . . Guess what design is on the packaging of the GO! Enigma Star Die. . . .Yup, GO! Born to Shine :)   Eeekkk, so very exciting :)  

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Day!!! 

$5 Pattern of the Month - Flower Child!!!

Its a new Month and a new $5 Pattern of the Month Feature here at Happy Quilting!!!  Each month, I will choose one Happy Quilting Pattern that will be just $5.00  all month in my Etsy Shop ;)    And March is Flower Child!!!   

The  Flower Child Pattern can be found in my Etsy Shop in both a Paper version as well as a PDF version and both versions will be marked down to $5.00 for the month of March.   And yes, this is a quilt that uses curves, so I highly recommend picking up a set of Modified Drunkards Path Templates while you are at the shop to cut out the curved pieces.  There is a paper template in the pattern but the acrylic templates are just so nice :)   And these are the same templates used for my Nordic Nights Pattern and Blossoming Stars Pattern, so if you already have the templates for either of those patterns you are all set!!  

 Flower Child  is an intermediate skill level pattern with 4 size options and has options for both Fat Quarters or Charm Packs and Layer Cakes.    The quilt is made with a large flower block that interlocks to create the secondary flower blocks.    The pattern teaches you lots of techniques including Curves, (that we put together with just 3 pins), half square triangles, and no-waste flying geese.  

Need some ideas for your Flower Child Quilt??  Here are some new arriving fabric collections mocked up . . .  Just to give you some fun ideas of what you can do with this pattern and play with colored backgrounds!!  My favorite thing about this pattern is picking out which prints I will use as the Accent.  It really is so much fun to see how much it changes up the quilt!!  

Here is the Picnic Size in Raspberry Summer by Sherri and Chelsi with a Bella Solid Admiral Blue Background.    Isn't that just so fun how that dark blue background just makes all of the happy prints in this line just pop!!!  I love it ;)   

And this is the King size in Piece and Plenty by Lori Holt with a Cream Shades background.  I really love how this plays up the vintage look of the pattern.  Just so cute and perfect for lots of happy patchwork!! 

And this one has my new favorite grunge color!!   This is the Lap size in  Botany by Ali K and I used Grunge Ballet Slipper (such a great color!!!)  for the Background and Grunge New Rouge for the Accent.  Isn't it just so rich with shabby chic goodness!!   This one just might have to get made in the next little bit ;)  

And finally, because baby quilts are always just to cute for words . . . here is Blush 'n Butterscotch by Simply Simon in the Baby Size And again, I think this one is just going to have to get made because it would made the cutest baby quilt gift!!  Just so soft and sweet ;)  

And that is my $5.00 Pattern of the Month!!!   March 2025 is all about the Flower Child Pattern!!!     I really think you are just going to love making this quilt ;)   And of course,  if you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to reach out to me ;)  And when you make your Flower Child Quilts I would love to see them!!!  You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com or add it to social media with  #happyquiltingwithmc and #flowerchildquilt ;)  I can't wait to see your Quilts!!!

And I am so excited because I have a Flower Child Secret that I will be sharing soon ;)    So are you ready to start making your Flower Child Quilts???  Pop over to my Etsy Shop, to pick up your Patterns  and get Happy Quilting!!!!