Merry Christmas!!

This year has been a blessed one indeed!!!  Two marriages, two new members of the family, and tons of amazing memories!!   The "Christmas Letter" is going to be more of a "New Years Letter" so for today, I will just say . . . 

Vice-Veras Quilt Along - Getting Ready

Its that time of year . . . where we start gearing up for new Quilt Along's!!!  And this year, I am super excited to jump right in starting January 5th with the Vice-Versa Table Top Quilt Along hosted by my friends at Fat Quarter Shop!!!  This will be a fun and fast Quilt Along, with a finishing project by the end of the month :)   And I've got my Vice-Versa Table Topper Kit all ready to go ;)   

And you know I couldn't stop there . . . I mean, how can you not love all of these happy colors.   And if you are going to play with Charm Packs, why not play with Layer Cakes as well.  So I jumped in with the Vice-Versa Table Runner Kit as well.  This is going to be so much fun!!!  

So do you want to join in this January Quilt Along fun??  Grab your Vice-Versa Pattern (which is 3 patterns in one book, great deal!!)  and let's get ready to make our first finishes of 2026!!! 

Oh, and just because you know I always have to shake things up . . . I have been looking at the kits and the patterns, and am thinking about making some alterations to my projects.  We'll see what I decide by January 5th!

Thanks for popping in today, I hope you are all having a very Happy (and Merry) Quilting Day!! 

Sweater Weather for Snuggle Up!!

I have wanted to make my Sweater Weather  pattern with a dark background since I finished the original (the first original that is :)  So when my wonderful friends at Poppie Cotton asked if I wanted to participate in their Snuggle Up for Christmas Week, I knew that it was the perfect fit.  And here is my new  Sweater Weather quilt, isn't it just so cute!!!  Yup, I just love it :) 

This Sweater Weather quilt is made with Poppie Cotton Country Confetti and Seeing Spots Basics.  I used my favorite Blue Ribbon Dark Blue for the background and Pale Moon for accent and binding!!  The quilt is Fat Quarter Friendly, so for the blocks of this lap size quilt, I choose 8 Fat Quarters in varying shades of blue. And it turned out just so adorable!!  I am teaching classes for this quilt in Jan, Feb, and Mar, so it will be so fun to see both the original white background, and this new version next to each other.  It just gives it a whole new look!!      

Sweater Weather  is an experience beginner skill level pattern, and regardless of your skill level, you will love making this quilt!     The quilt is made of two separate blocks and then pieced in a alternating layout with a small sashing.    The pattern teaches techniques including strip piecing, stitch and flip corners and lots of tiny patchwork in that chain. And because the piecing of everything else beyond the chain is pretty large, the quilt blocks come together pretty quick!  

And when it came time to quilt this I opted for an all over large swirl :)  Because I custom quilted the original, it is fun to do an easy over all design for the new quilt so that when students see both quilts, they can get ideas of which way they want to go with their own quilting.  And I used a beautiful country blue thread that just blended perfectly in the background and pops in the white hearts.  So cute!! 

And that is my new  Sweater Weather quilt!!!       And I am just so happy to share it with all of you!!!   Now all we need is some of the White Stuff in the pictures to make it truly Sweater Weather ;)   But for now, I will just keep snuggling up in this quilt and dreaming of snow!!    If you make your own Sweater Weather 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 #sweaterweatherquilt ;)  I can't wait to see your Quilts!!!

Thanks for popping in today and sharing this new finish with me :)   And thanks to my wonderful friends at Poppie Cotton for creating the perfect opportunity for me to make this quilt that I have been imagining for a year ;)  

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

GO! Argyle Bed Runner and Free PDF Pattern!

Do you remember when I shared my new GO! Bolt Cutter?  Well, along with it's release, I got to make one of  AccuQuilt's samples for it, so fun!!   You see, it comes with a 5" Square die, so everyone got creative of what could be made with a 4 1/2" finished square!!  And here is one of them . . . the Argyle Bed Runner and there is a free PDF Pattern for it right here!! 

It was so much fun to use my new GO! Bolt Cutter to make this project!!! I love that it cuts fast, and was easy to set up on my dining room table as I haven't made a designated spot for it in the sewing room yet ;)    The GO! Bolt is a special new addition to the AccuQuilt Cutting team and will be a great addition to yours as well!!!  

And while there are a bunch of triangles in this project, the entire thing is made with squares pieced on point.  Then it is just a quick trim around the outside to make it into the runner.  So super easy, and super fast!  You could whip up the runner top in less than an hour, including the cutting!!!  And don't you love Allison Harris's Plaid Prints, I think they just went perfectly with the argyle design ;)  

And I decided it would be fun to quilt this on my domestic machine, just to shake things up.  I played with a decorative zig zag stich, and then when back and did a straight stitch in between those lines.   I love all of the yummy texture it adds to the project!!  And I have to say, it was great to quilt on my domestic machine again, its been a while for sure ;) 

And that is my Argyle Bed Runner!  It finishes at 13" x 64".  It would also look amazing as a table runner or on your counter top as shown ;)   So be sure to pop on over and get your free PDF Pattern so you can whip up your own!!  And if you do, I would love to see it!!  You can add it to social media with #happyquiltingwithmc and tag me @happyquiltingmc or you can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.  I can't wait to see your Argyle Bed Runner's :) 

Thanks for popping in and sharing this little project finish with me :)

I hoe you all have a very Happy Quilting Kind of  Day!! 

Jessi's Dress

So I don't know if you recall, but back in the summer, my daughter Jessi started making a linen dress.  Then life got a little busy with dating, getting engaged, getting married, and so forth ;)  But somewhere in all of that, Jessi did manage to finish her dress!! And it turned out so beautifully!!  Doesn't she just look stunning :)  

Our last bit of progress left off with needing to add the zipper in the back and hemming the full skirt.   And wow, did she do a great job on that zipper.  This dress fits just perfect and looks so pretty on her.    It is made with this Botany Linen Print from Alli K for Moda Fabrics.  Did you know that Moda Fabrics makes Linen Prints!!  They are a dream to work with and obviously, sews up into a beautiful finish :) 

And yes, that was a lot of hemming!!!   This skirt is super full and oh so much fun to swirl in.  Jessi was having fun dancing around the backyard ;)   You can find the links to this wonderful pattern we found on etsy in this post.  

I am just so proud of Jessi for making this dress.  Anything that is not 2D sewing is pretty intimidating to me, but she just worked her way through each step and has a beautiful finish to show for it!!!   And again, a huge thank you to Grandma for helping us through when we both got a little confused ;)  

And one more picture for fun . . .this is the newest member of Jessi and Trey's new little family.   Missy is a sweetheart and had so much fun running around during this little photo shoot ;)  

And with that, I wish you all a very Happy Quilting (and maybe a little sewing) Day!!