Two Jelly Baby Quilts!!

So you might recall from way back here, when I made two Baby Quilts for National Sew a Jelly Roll Day.   Well, I am super excited to have finished quilting and binding both quilts and now I can share them!!!!   So first up,  Petal Pop!!!!   And can I just say, I love this quilt!!!!

I have wanted to make the baby size version of my Petal Pop pattern for some time, and I just love the way the blacks and pinks from Lella Boutiques Farmer's Daughter line just make those beautiful Petals Pop ;)  I am always drawn to the pink and black combo for baby girl quilts, and I really love it in these prints!!!

This has always been a favorite pattern of mine and is a favorite in classes as well ;)  It goes together super fast with the Jelly Roll strips and uses a variation on a log cabin to piece, which is always fun!!!   And doesn't it just look so cute in the baby size!!!   I love the giant flower right in the center :)

And when it came time to quilt it, I went with some seriously small custom quilting ;)   And I am just thrilled to pieces with it ;)  In the background I used some favorite fillers (echoed paisleys, swirls, curls, and pebbles) combined to give it beautiful movement.  Then in between the petals I did some 4 leaf flowers, and finally, in the Petals, I gathered up my nerve and gave Feathers another shot, and I just love, love, love them!!!!   They were the perfect design for this and really give it that final elegant touch :)

And of course, all of that tiny quilting adds so much wonderful texture.  I might have sat and ran my hand over the quilt like 20 times when I took it off the longarm.   So fun!!!

And that is my Baby Petal Pop!!! And I have to laugh, because this has been on my list to do for some time, and already, I want to add it right back on the list to make another one because I just love the way this one turned out!!   That "To Make" list never gets any shorter ;)

Because the Baby Petal Pop only uses 1/2 of the Jelly Roll Strips, I had some left over strips :)  I also found myself with some leftover time on National Sew a Jelly Roll Day.   So . . .  I pulled out a favorite Shortcut Quilt pattern from Fat Quarter Shop and before you knew it, I had a second Jelly Baby Quilt . . . The Jelly Roll Slice quilt.

I just love making Shortcut Quilts, they are so fast and so fun!!!  And this quilt was the perfect pattern to use up all of those leftover strips and make them pop ;)  I just love the low volume background that used up all the extra white strips.  So pretty!!! 

And I love that using up the "leftovers" had me try out a color combination that I wouldn't automatically jump to.  Yellow isn't a go to color for me, but I have to say, I  sure do love the way it came together with just the black and tan.   So pretty!!!  

And when it came time quilt it, I wanted to make those flowers in the prints pop just a bit more, so I quilted it in pink to complement the roses :)   And I just love that extra girl touch it gives the quilt :)  And I tried a new design for me.   I was aiming for echoed flowers, kind of like the feathered swirls I do, but instead of feathers, more of a petal shape.   And then I just kept echoing the petals to fill up the desired space.   

It was a super fun design to quilt and it filled up the space fast, which was pretty good for this one as it came at the end of a marathon quilting day ;)   And I love all of the texture it creates as well, but I kept the petals on the larger side so it will still be soft and snuggly!!

And that is my Baby Jelly Roll Slice quilt!!!   And now I just need a sweet little angel to come along to give it to.  I don't know of anyone yet, but that's all good, because I always like having baby quilts ready for a special gift ;)  

National Sew a Jelly Roll day was so much fun, and I am so hoping it is a long standing annual tradition.   Thanks for popping in today and sharing these Jelly Baby Quilt Finishes with me!   

I hope you have a very Happy Quilting weekend!!!

Longarm Quilting Workbook

I am always on the look out for a good Free Motion Quilting book, so I was super excited about the Longarm Quilting Workbook by Teresa Silva.  And what made me so excited about this FMQ book is that it is geared towards Longarm Quilting!!!  Just like FMQing on your home machine, there is a learning curve on a Longarm and I didn't get a whole lot of "training" on it when I bought it.  I think like most things, it is learn as you go. 

And that is why Chapter 1, First Steps was so exciting for me!!!   This chapter goes over all of the things I wish I would have known to ask when looking to buy a longarm.  I know I get questions all the time on why I bought the machine I did, and this section really breaks that down.    Teresa also goes over fabrics, threads, batting, rulers, marking tools . . . pretty much everything you need to know to get started.  I am so excited with this chapter and all of the wonderful tidbits I am learning from it!!! 

Chapter 2 is what you would expect to find in a FMQing book.  Lots of wonderful quilting Motifs.   These motifs are pretty basic and easy to learn and work perfect in quilting.   I felt like as I flipped through this section,that I had tried almost all of the Motifs with good success and really represent a quilters "toolbox" of quilting motifs. 

And along with those basic motifs, I love that Teresa gives you ideas of some variations to add some pop to the design.  For example, if you have been around for a bit, you know I love quilting Ribbon Candy in borders and sashing, but I had never through to add a swirl in the Ribbon Candy.  How fun is that!!!

And then we get to Chapter 3, which I have to say is what truly made me fall in love with this  Longarm Quilting Workbook.    Doodling & Drawing takes those 20 basic Motifs and variations on the motifs, and teaches you how to combine them into quilting masterpieces!!!
 

It is easy for me to get overwhelmed with Custom Quilting and resort back to my favorite all over fillers, but this chapter really helps to show that those Custom Quilting jobs are just All Over Fillers quilted in specific places.   It walks you through breaking up spaces and seeing them filled with lots of amazing designs.  I am so excited to learn more about Doodling my way to worry free Custom Quilting ;)

Chapter 4 has 3 pieced projects that walk you through beginning to end of how to put that project together, including the quilting of course.  I wish there would have been a few more projects in this section but its a FMQing book, so I am okay with that ;) 

And finally, Chapter 5 is a Gallery of Teresa's beautiful quilts!!!  And I love this section because it is just full of that "Custom Quilting inspiration" and walks you through Teresa's thought process on each project.  You really get an idea of how she sees the quilts and decides what to quilt where, which is super helpful!!!    And can I just say that I love that this workbook is Spiral Bound . . .  Love that!!!

I am super excited about this book arriving and adding it to my Quilting Library!!   It's such a wonderful new resource for me, and if you are one of those folks who have emailed me Longarming Quilting questions you might find the Longarm Quilting Workbook to be an excellent addition to your quilting library as well ;)  

And now that's enough typing about Longarm quilting . . . It's time to get going on some actual longarm quilting action!!!  It's going to be a fun filled afternoon ;)

Hope you have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Roundabout Quilt Along - Building Blocks

**  NOTE  - This post is part of a series of posts for the Roundabout Quilt-Along.  If you would like to join (and have a chance to win one of three $75.00 Gift Certificates from Fat Quarter Shop ) you can find a list of the post links here :)  Here is the schedule

August 30th -Intro, Fabric Requirements, and Prizes Announcement

September 13th - Cutting 

September 27th - Flying Geese

October 11th - Half Square Triangles with Goosed Corners

October 25th - Drunkards Path

November 8th - Building Blocks - That's Today

November 22nd - Piecing Top and Grand Prize Linky

December 13th - Roundabout Parade and Grand Prize Winners

  

Now, first off for this week, we need to pick a winner for the Drunkard Path Assignment.   And great job to everyone on their beautiful Curves!!!    I now those can be intimidating but everyone did such a fantastic job!!!

The Drunkard Path assignment winner who will be receiving a  First Romance Jelly Roll from Shabby Fabrics is . . .

#11 - Susan!!! - Congrats :)

  

And here we go!!!  I am super excited for today because now you get to see all of your work over the past month and a half come together into incredible Roundabout Blocks!!!   So, so, so fun!!!!   And just a quick note before we start, this weeks assignment is Big!!!  Especially if you are doing some of the larger layouts.   And the assignment on Nov 22nd is really small in comparison.  So . .  .if you can only get a few, or half , or however many of your blocks made in the next 2 weeks, no worries!!!  Link those up and then continue to work on them into the coming weeks ;)  But with that, I will say that finishing next weeks assignment early gives you more time to work on finishing your quilt for the Grand Parade, so try not to put off a majority of your blocks.  How's that for basically saying, do what you can :)

Okay, so let's get going.  

THIS WEEKS ASSIGNMENT - BUILDING BLOCKS


PICKING YOUR PIECES

Start by gathering the pieces you will need to make 1 Roundabout Quilt Block.  You will need 4 of the Goosed Half Square Triangles, 4 Flying Geese, 8 Drunkard Path units, and 1 Center Square.   All of the print fabrics in each of the units should be the same :)

BUILDING THE SIDE UNITS

And with that, we are ready to start sewing.  We will start with the Drunkard Path Units.  Layout 2 Drunkard Path Units as shown below.  Place the right hand unit onto the left unit with right sides together.  Be sure to Align the curved seams and pin in place.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.   Press the seam allowance open to reduce bulk.

Repeat this process with your remaining 6 Drunkard Path Units to make 4 Half Circle Units total.   Then gather your 4 Flying Geese Units to move onto the next step.

Layout a Flying Geese Unit and a Half Circle Unit as shown below.  Place the Half Circle unit on the Flying Geese Unit with right sides together.  Align the edges and pin in place.   Stitch a 1/4" seam along the edge.  Press the seam allowance open to reduce bulk and give you a guide for later ;)

And when stitching your 1/4" seam along the edge, be sure and stitch right along the seam line where the background fabric and print fabric meet at the top of the curve, even if that means you have to move in or out a bit from the 1/4".  This will give you perfect little arches :)

Repeat this process with your remaining 3 Drunkard Path and Flying Geese Units to make 4 Side Units total.   And with that, you are ready to start Building the Block!!  So exciting ;)

BUILDING THE BLOCK

Gather your 4 Goosed Half Square Triangle Units, 4 Side Units, and 1 Center Square.  Lay the units out in a giant 9 patch or 3 rows of 3 units as shown below.   Take care that the Print Goosed Corner of the Half Square Triangles is on the inside of the block and not the outside.

Place the second unit in each row onto the first unit with right sides together.   We will be aligning the edges and pinning each set of units and then stitching a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.   But see the 2 seams that say "Pin Trick"  . . . This is how you want to pin them. 

Stick a pin directly through the bottom of the background fabric "V:" that is created in the seam allowance of your Flying Geese Unit.  (If you pressed to one side, you can use the threads as a V guide).

Now, stick the same pin through the seam allowance of your Print Goose 1/4" in from the edge of your unit.  You don't have to measure this perfectly, just eyeball 1/4".  We are pretty good at being able to tell where that is after sewing a million 1/4" seams right ;)

And then stand the pin up straight so the points you just went through are aligned perfectly and then use a second pin to pin the units in place.  Then you can remove the pin that is standing up straight, and repeat the process for the second Pin Trick seam.

Then align and pin the remaining edges of your units as shown in the "pinning" picture and then stitch a 1/4" seam along the pined edges.  When stitching, be sure and stitch right along the bottom of the V that you used as a pinning guide.  This will ensure that the point you just lined up perfectly will be stitched perfectly as well and you will get a nice clean intersection of pieces. 

And also as your stitching and come to the end of your curved pieces, your stitching should end up right on top of your curved seam line.  If you have to move in or out just a bit from the 1/4" seam for the last 3/4"ish  of the unit, go ahead and move to make sure you are stitching right on top of the end of the curved seam line.

And once your three units are stitched, lay them back out again in your giant 9 patch.  Then place the first and second (now stitched together) units onto the third unit in each row with right sides together.   Once again, use the Pin Trick on the 2 designated seams, and then align and pin the remainder of your units.

And again, stitch a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge of all three rows, taking care to stitch directly on top of the end of the curved seam and along the bottom of the background "V" to ensure everything lines up just right :)

Then move over to your iron to press.   Press the top and bottom rows Open to avoid bulk, and Press the middle row inwards, towards the Center Square.   And as always, if you don't like to press seams open, you can always go Outwards with the top and bottom row to allow the rows to next.  I just like mine nice and flat ;)

And now it is pretty much repeating the same process to Sew the Rows together as we used to make the rows, just on a larger scale.   Place the Middle Row onto to the Top Row with right sides together.  Once again, use the Pin Trick on the 2 designated seams, Align and Pin the seams of the Center Square, and then Align and Pin the remainder of the row.

Then stitch a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge taking care to stitch directly on top of the end of the curved seam and along the bottom of the background "V" to once again,  ensure everything lines up just right :)

And then there's just one more pinning left.  Place the Middle and Top Row (now sewn together) onto to the Bottom Row with right sides together.  Once last time, use the Pin Trick on the 2 designated seams, Align and Pin the seams of the Center Square, and then Align and Pin the remainder of the row.  Then stitch a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge taking care to use the same stitching guides as mentioned in the previous picture.

Now it just needs to be pressed.  Once again, I like to press my seams open to avoid build and give me my V guides for piecing the quilt top later on, but you can press to the side if you prefer ;)

DONE!!!

And just like that, you have an awesome Roundabout Quilt Block!!!

You can choose to continue stitching one block at a time, or you can move to assembly line style and add in a whole bunch of chain stitching.  Either way, just keep Pinning, Stitching, and Pressing and enjoy seeing your Roundabout Quilt Blocks come together ;)

And a quick note about your finished blocks . . . I know a lot of quilters like to "square up" their blocks at this point, but I highly recommend you don't.  There are so many seam allowances around the edge of this block that you don't want to accidentally cut off.   We will be using the same "pin trick"  when we sew the blocks into the quilt top to ensure that we get perfect points, so you really don't need to "square up".  With that said, if it is a step that you love, go ahead, just be sure to take extra care and watch that you don't lose the 1/4" seam allowances for the Flying Geese Points and the HST Points ;)

And with that, you are ready to now enter to win the weekly prize :) 

The Weekly Prize is sponsored by Olie & Evie and a huge thanks goes out to them for their support of the Roundabout Quilt-Along.

This weeks prize is for for some sweet treats!!!  The winner will get to choose 3 Moda Treats of their choice!!!   I just love these, so perfect for some cute patchwork!!!

    

So what do you have to do for a chance to win some sweet Treats?  Simple . . . Just link up your Roundabout Quilt Blocks. (However many you get done, notice I didn't post a pile of mine, ya, still working on it ;)   You can link to a blog post or a flickr picture, or whatever.  Just make sure to link up by the morning of Wednesday November 22nd when I will be announcing a winner in the next post :)

If you don't get any of your Roundabout Blocks done by November 22nd 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 a busy week, no worries!!!  Just link up when you can :)

And Don't forget to add your beautiful  to the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Flickr group and to post it on social media with using #roundaboutquiltalong.    I am so excited to see all of your Blocks, I just love seeing all of the pieces from the past weeks come together!!!

So Pedal to the Metal and let's get stitching!!!!   Oh, and if you have questions, don't hesitate to email me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.  Have a Happy Quilting Day!!

An InLinkz Link-up