Baby Refracted and Something Special

I have a fun new finish to share today that I am so excited about . . . And keep reading to the end because I also have a Special little announcement that is equally exciting!!

So baby quilts are probably my favorite size quilt to make.  Sure they go together fast, but it is so much more than that.  I just love that while I am putting a baby quilt together I keep thinking about a sweet little wee one on it's way to a family I love.  This particular quilt happens to be for my twin sister who is expecting her first boy, (second child)  next week, and I am so excited for my nephew to arrive!!!!

When I asked my sister what type of quilt she would like she requested something that would match the Snuggly Squares quilt that I made her for her first little wee one.  It is hanging in her nursery and since these little ones will be sharing a room, it needed to be matchy-matchy, but as she requested, not to matchy-matchy so it shows variety :)

So, I pulled out my treasured Pure by Sweetwater fat quarters that I had been stashing away for just such an occasion.  They have that same wonderful brown, white, and blue vibe that Snuggle Squares has, except for pink of course.

My sister loved my original Refracted Quilt  so I used the tutorial but made a  baby size version.    And . . . since I thought some of you might like the baby directions as well (and I have had several requests for the original)  . . . I made up a PDF that includes the original and baby size version.  It can be downloaded for free here :)

I quilted an all over pattern of stars and loops to finish off that All Boy feel :)  Just in case you missed it, I shared a FMQing video tutorial yesterday of how to do this design :)

I am so excited with how this quilt turned out and can't wait to give it to my sister.  I will update a picture as soon as she receives it :)

And Now . . . How about that Special Surprise.  Next week is  . . .

My 3 Year Blogiversary!!!!

I can not believe it has already been 3 years. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed 3 years ago that Happy Quilting would be where it is today.   What an amazing journey.  I am so grateful to all of you, my readers, for making this such a wonderful experience for me.  It would not be anything without all of you!!  And now I just can't wait to see where things go in the next year. 

So we are going to Celebrate all week long!!!  From July 1st to the 6th will be the Happy Quilting 3 Year Blogiversary Celebration!!  Each day I will share a special project that marked a milestone in the Happy Quilting Journey.  Sort of a trip down memory lane :)  And of course, it wouldn't be a party without prizes.   So each day next week there will be a fantastic giveaway. Be sure to stop by each day for a chance to win!!!!   Thank you to all of my wonderful sponsors for celebrating with me :)

And  to add a bit more to the celebration, I am marking down all of my patterns!!   From today until the 6th each of my patterns will be on sale for $5.00!!!  (And just a little note, after this week of being on sale, they will increase in price to $8.50, so if you have been thinking about it for a while, now is the time to jump on it :)  You can find instant downloads of all my patterns at my Etsy Shop :)

So That's it for today!!!  See you next week for the Happy Quilting 3 Year Blogiversary Celebration!!!!

Linking this finish to Amanda's and Sarah's :)

Stars and Loops - A Free Motion Quilting Tutorial

Yup,  I have another little video for you today :)  This video walks you through the basics of creating a stars and loops all over free motion quilt design.  It's perfect for little boy quilts, especially those projects that have a bit of cowboy flair.   Hope you enjoy :)

Here is an example of the pattern :)

And here's the video :)

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

June's not quite over

And I have my bee blocks in the mail.  Yippee.  I tell you, this month has flown by.  I swear it was the 1st just yesterday :)

First, my blocks for the new bee I am in, The Bees Knees ;)  These blocks are for Sherri, who is crazy amazing and such a sweet person.  And she just finished her first book!!  Yippee for Sherri!!!  Sherri asked us to make some Christmas Trip Around the World Blocks.  This is my first time making these blocks (tutorial here) and it won't be my last.  These are totally addicting :)

Sherri sent these adorable Christmas prints to make the block with.  I just love the holiday colors, made we want to turn on some Christmas tunes while piecing them :)

 I pulled out my cherished Countdown to Christmas scraps to make a second block for Sherri.  I think this is still my all time favorite Christmas line!

For the Beejeeber's group, Susan asked us to make a Supernova block using bright colors.  I love the combo of colors used in the tutorial so I used the same :)  This was a great block to make and required some precision piecing which is always fun in my book :)

So my blocks are in the mail on the way to their partners, and with 5 days to spare :)

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!

While I was basting . . .

The other day I needed to baste a quilt so I let my wee ones watch a movie.  They were all sitting there happily enjoying the flick and I would pop my head out of the sewing room every so often to make sure everyone was okay.  Everybody was happy and enjoying the movie.  So imagine my surprise when I finished and went out to join the kiddo's to find my little baby girl with the remnants and the ink from the pen covering her arms and legs.

I immediately brought her upstairs and started a tub and I think she started to worry that she was in trouble so of course, she started to cry.  (For some reason, my kids still think that crying will get them out of trouble, I have never figured that one out as most often, it just gets them sent to their room faster)

 And then when mom just kept taking pictures she seemed to get a little confused so she switched tactics at that point to  stubborn pouting.   (Which made me laugh hysterically, and the whole, we don't play with pens teaching moment was over.)

She enjoyed the extremely long soak in the bath, the porcelain was stained a light tinge of blue (which I am hoping will come out in time) and there are still faint traces of the ink up her arms and legs.  

Just thought I would share this fun filled adventure to keep it real :)

Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

It's Here, Super Happy Dance(s)!!!

Last week a large white van pulled up outside Barbara's house  (she only lives 2 doors away so I could see it from the front window :)  and two fantastic men from Dave's Bernina started to unload these boxes.

Followed by these boxes.

And then those two wonderful men (father and son, so fun!!) set up this.

And before you know it, had this added this to it.

And then there was light!!!   It's on for the first time, so exciting!!!!

And wouldn't you know it, the first quilt top that just still happened to be in the WIP pile (shame on me) was my Tetris top :)  It is working perfect for our learning curve needs :)

Yup, pretty much happy dances all weekend long :)

So, did you do any happy dances in your sewing space this weekend ???