Peru was Amazing!!

 At the beginning of this month, we had the wonderful opportunity to take my Daughter (Jessica) and her Husband (Treyson) back to Peru.  You might recall, Jessica served her mission in Peru, and we were excited to go back and see the country she spent so much time in.  We spent 10 days in this beautiful country and traveled by plane, bus, and train across 3 cities and enjoyed so much amazing nature, culture, and food!! What an amazing trip!!  

We started our trip visiting Machu Picchu.  Well, I say started, it took two days to get here, but ya know, that's all part of the fun :)   The weather was perfect for our visit, and made for some stunning views of this amazing Inca Citadel.  And just look at all of that green, everything was just gorgeous up here!! 

And when I say "up here" I really did mean it!!   The Machu Picchu "circuit" we choose was Machu Picchu mountain.  That is 1600-1800 Inca steps carved from Granite to get to the top where you can overlook Machu Picchu.  And it was so cool to watch the clouds roll in and out over this amazing wonder of the world.  It was quite the hike, but totally worth it for the view!!   (but ya, I should be pointing a little more to the right :) 

We spent the next day of our trip in Aguas Calientes.  This was a day of mostly recovering our legs so we enjoyed strolling around town and along the river.  It is such a sweet little town just bursting with so many people.  Just incredible.  And we finished the day off at some Hot Springs, which was again, a lovely way to rejuvenate and rest after our previous days hike ;) 

Then we traveled to Cusco.  And wow, this was an amazing city, and can I just say, I am so glad I did not have to do any driving while I was there.  They are crazy and amazing drivers all at the same time.  We enjoyed a lot of shopping in Cusco, visited some gorgeous churches (first picture) and enjoyed some amazing meals, including my first taste of alpaca.  Pretty good I might add!  This is a city bursting with life and color, and I just loved being a part of it for a few days!!  

Then it was back on a plane to return to our original arrival city of Lima.  Lima is huge!!!   And again, I was so grateful for amazing uber drivers, because other wise, there was no way we were getting to our hotel.  Which happened to be along the coast.  We spent two lovely days walking along the coast enjoying the salty breeze.  And then above the coast (yes, more stairs to get up there) were walkways filled with lots of beautiful parks.  We also had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Lima Peru Temple and go to church in Lima where I understood about 5 words, but was so happy to share in the spirit of all of the lovely people there.  Peruvians are just so welcoming and kind!!  

All in all, it was just an absolutely amazing trip!!   I am so grateful we had this wonderful opportunity, and we just were so happy to get to share it with Jessi and Trey!!  Oh, and of course, you know I have a whole ton quilt design inspiration pictures.   It was just everywhere ;)  This was one of my favorites, I see 3 different quilts in this photo from one of the cathedrals we visited in Cusco.   And doesn't it just look so warm and inviting.  It really is the perfect way to sum up the trip.  

And now, I have had a week to get "back to it" and am almost feeling all caught up.   I will say, it was awfully nice to come home to my sewing machine in my new sewing studio!!  Such a happy place!  Thanks Peru for so many wonderful experiences and memories, it was amazing!!

Gearing up for a Happy Quilting Ultra Marathon!!

So if you have been following here for a while, you might recall back in 2022 when I participated in a Quilting Marathon.  I quilted 26 quilt tops in 26 weeks and promised at the conclusion that I would not let quilts build up on me like that again . . .   Well . . .  Here we are in 2026 and it looks like I am in need of an Ultra Quilting Marathon!  

 Closet #1 has 16 large quilt tops with their backing and bindings just waiting to be done.  

Closet #2 has 26 Quilt Tops (but at least some of these are small baby sizes that I can do super quick like :)  with their backing and bindings just waiting to be done. 

And of course, there are the additional 10 Quilt Tops with their backing and bindings that I haven't even gotten to hanging up yet.  

So that makes a grand total of 52 Quilt Tops that are waiting to be turned into quilts to be loved.  These are all the quilts that don't have "deadlines" so sometimes they get pushed aside and then forgotten about.   Until you look one day and realize there are 52!!!  

 So now . . .It's time to tackle an Ultra Marathon!!!  Not only do I have double the quilt tops from the last time I did this, but I am going to try and do it in about the same amount of time as last time!!   They don't call it Ultra for nothing ;)   My goal is to finish all 52 quilts by the end of 2026.  That is 2 quilts a week with 5 weeks of "we are out of town or at a family reunion or whatever the case may be". Ya know, because I am still human and all.   

This Ultra Quilting Marathon is starting May 18th and I will have two quilts to share by the 25th and we will start filling up this chart above with lots of pretty quilts that are ready to be snuggled in.   So here we go . . . 

Come Sew With Me . . . In the Garden or On the Sea!!

I am getting so excited for two big quilting events coming up!!   In September I'll be returning to the Garden of Quilts to teach quilting classes and enjoy all things quilty!!    Registration is Open and starting to fill up, so now is the time to plan your trip!!!  The Garden of Quilts will be held at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi Utah on September 16th - 19th, 2026 and hosted by Riley Blake Designs.  

And when you are signing up for classes . . . I would just love to see you in one of my 8 classes!!!  Here is a list of the classes I will be teaching :)   You can click on the links to find details about each of the classes and see some sneak peeks of New Patterns, coming soon,  So exciting!!  

Home is Where the Heart is taught Wed. Morning

Playful Posies taught Wed. Afternoon                      

 Twilight Stroll taught Thur. Morning

Turning Dusk into Dawn taught Thur. Afternoon

Turnovers taught Fri. Morning  

Alhambra taught Fri. Afternoon

Nordic Nights taught Sat. Morning

Braided Irish Chain taught Sat. Afternoon

    

And if you prefer the beach over the garden . . . you can join me for Cruising and Sewing!!  January 2027 I will be teaching on the Paradise Quilting Cruise to Western Caribbean.   This is my eighth quilting cruise and they are just so much fun!!!

I will be teaching my Crossing Paths Quilt.   This is a great quilt to get some practice on lots of techniques, while not having to worry about lining up a whole ton of point.   Great for quilting and cruising!!!    Crossing Paths is Fat Quarter Friendly and I know we are all going to have so much fun making this quilt while sailing the beautiful Western Caribbean!!  And wouldn't you know it . . . It is the $5.00 Pattern of the Month!!  

So pop on over and check it out.  I would just love to have you come and sew and sail with me!!! 

So much Happy Quilting to come!!!  

The Mummy Quilt in Frank and Friends!!

Today I am so excited to share a new finished quilt with you featuring Frank and Friends by My Mind's Eye that I was able to make for my wonderful friends at  Riley Blake Designs!!  This quilt is called the Mummy Quilt and it is a Free PDF Downloadable Pattern designed by our friends over at Riley Blake Designs!!  And isn't it just so cute!!!  I just love cute Halloween ;)    

The Mummy Quilt  uses a 10" Stacker of Frank and Friends along with a few accent fabrics from the line for the mummies and border.    Isn't it just so fun how the little mummy eyes roll around, its the little details that make all the difference.  And you know I jut love that Black and White diamond binding!  The quilt finishes at 55" x 64" so it is a great size to throw out on a sofa for Halloween!  

The Mummy Quilt  quilt is made with basic piecing, paper piecing, and a little bit of applique.   And I love that the paper piecing in this quilt is all with the same fabrics and the same size pieces.  It really allows you to "chain stitch" your paper piecing, my favorite!!   And the applique is just the eyes, so nothing to tuff :)  It is great for experienced beginners and experts alike!!  And you can have it whipped up for Halloween super quick as the alternate blocks are just the 10" stacker!!  

Once I had made up the quilt top, it went off to Riley Blake where they quilted it up with this gorgeous all over swirly stars design.    And yippee for yummy texture!!  

And if you love this quilt as much as I do . . .you can make your own!!  Like I mentioned earlier . . . there is a  Free PDF Downloadable Pattern for it.  So pop over, download, grab your 10" Stacker of Frank and Friends along with the few accent fabrics  and you are good to get piecing your mummies!!  

And that is my Mummy Quilt!  And wow, I just love the pictures the team at Riley Blake takes!!  Aren't these just so pretty!!   I really want to visit this fence line as I am sure, it has some amazing views :)  

Thanks for joining me today and sharing in this new finish with me. 

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

$5 Pattern of the Month - Crossing Paths!!!

It's May 1st and that means its time for a new $5 Pattern of the Month here at Happy Quilting!!!  And May is all about Crossing Paths.  And it is just $5 all month long!!!   

The  Crossing Paths 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 May.   This is such a fun quilt to make and really allows you to show off so larger scale prints.  It is rated for Beginner quilters and is Fat Quarter Friendly.  

Crossing Paths has 5 size options.   It is an extremely versatile deign and would look fantastic in just about any Fat Quarter Bundle you choose :)  And of course, you don't have to stick to a white background, make it your own.    And don't you just love the scrappy binding!!  

Crossing Paths has lots of great technique builders in the pattern including, No Waste flying Geese, Stitch and Flip, and Square in a Square.   And the great thing is, most of the entire block floats, so you only have a few points to worry about lining up.   So great!!   And it is just so fun to get such a huge scrappy look by mixing and matching all of the prints in your Fat Quarter Bundle ;)   And you just know how I like to use a darker background to make all of the soft prints pop!!  

And you can always mix it up and use low volume prints with a dark background.  Such a fun way to use up some of those low volume fat quarters that are always piling up ;)   Truly, it is just a wonderfully versatile pattern that you can grab just about any Fat Quarter Bundle and have a stunning Crossing Paths quilt !!  

  

And that is my $5.00 Pattern of the Month!!!  May 2026 is all about the Crossing Paths!!!   You are going to have so much fun 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 Crossing Paths 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 #crossingpathsquilt ;)  I can't wait to see your Quilts!!!

So are you ready to start making your Crossing Paths Quilts???  Pop over to my Etsy Shop, to pick up your Pattern and get Happy Quilting!!!!