The Simply Charmed Blog Hop

Today's the day!!!  The secrets out!!!  Announcing the Simply Charmed Blog Hop!!!!!  Isn't Valentines Day great!!!  A day focused on telling those we love just how much they mean to us.  Fabulous!!!   And what better way to show someone you care than to give them something special made by you just for them!!

So that is why I asked some of my amazing friends from blog land to join me in bringing you the Simply Charmed Blog Hop.  10 days of Valentine tutorials and giveaways kicking off on February 1st.  So here are the amazingly talanted ladies that will be joining me!!!

February 1 - Melissa from Happy Quilting with the Knotty Little Apron Tutorial

February 2 - Heather from Quilt Story with the Heart Garland Tutorial

February 3 - Melissa from Lilac Lane with the Be Mine Tote Tutorial

February 6 - Angela from Cut to Pieces with the Pincushion Tutorial

February 7 - Amy from Diary of a Quilter with the Scrappy Nine Patch Table Quilt Tutorial

February 8 - Natalia from Piece N Quilt with the Trio of Pillows Tutorial

February 9 - Jessica from Twin Fibers with the Valentine Card Keeper Tutorial

February 10 - Katie from Swim, Bike, Quilt with the XOXO Zippered Pouch Tutorial

February 11 - Jane from Want It, Need It, Quilt with the Circle of Love Tutorial

February 13 - Corey from Little Miss Shabby with the Shabby Heart Pillow

February 14 - Happy Valentines Day and the Grand Prize Winner Announcement!!!!

Thank you so much to each of these ladies.  I have had so much fun working with each of them on this Blog Hop.   They are all so very talented and the projects they have created are just amazing!!!  Trust me when I say, you are all in for a treat!!!

The Simply Charmed title came about because each of us created our project using 1 Charm Pack and  added yardage if necessary but only for backing, lining ect.  The bulk of each project is made using just the 1 Charm Pack of Always and Forever by Deb Strain.   And trust me,  you are going to be amazed with what you can create using a single charm pack!!! 

And what fun would a Blog Hop be without Giveaways???

Thanks to the generosity of our amazing sponsors, there will be a giveaway along with each of the 10 tutorials.    So when the time comes, make sure to enter at each of the contributors tutorial post for your chance to win some major fabric cash.

     

Fat Quarter Shop has graciously sponsored the fabric used in making the tutorials.

They will also be sponsoring the Grand Prize of  a $200.00 Gift Certificate to 1 lucky reader.

Burgundy Buttons has graciously sponsored three $25.00 Gift Certificates for 3 lucky readers.

 The Intrepid Thread has graciously sponsored three $25.00 Gift Certificates for 3 lucky readers.

       The Green Fairy has graciously sponsored three $25.00 Gift Certificates for 3 lucky readers.

A huge thank you goes out to each of our sponsors!!!  They are a huge part of making this Blog Hop.  So pop on over to their shops (their icon's are links) and find the special Charm Pack or 2 for you.  (And whatever else might tickle your fancy :)  

And last but not least, we would love it if you joined the Simply Charmed Blog Hop Flickr Group.  This will be a place to show us your amazing projects made using the Simply Charmed tutorials!!!  We can't wait to see your own personal take on these special gifts :)

So are you ready to hop along with us???  Are you excited for February 1st?????  

Well then grab a button and spread the word!!  

Let's see how far we can spread the homemade love this Valentines Day!!!! .

<br /> <a border="0" href="http://happyquiltingmelissa.blogspot.com/2012/01/simply-charmed-blog-hop.html " target="_blank"><img src=" https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0A6_9xZWBCNckyZBC1aK85IZr73_1O-3E9z1YxpWTvymHIi_cDZIh2f_HRt13WMzKLaHH0VpigdQB4wC0hrokKJeA49yqXGvXs9hMBOzc5eAu3kEdk0hKDlokMI8OJ_czzcqO6Z88upE/s1600/simply+charmed-button.jpg"/></a><br />

Master Bedroom Quilt Colors

So I am sure by now, you have all seen the Blogger's Choice Bundles that have been popping up everywhere for the Quokka Quilts challenge.  When I saw it come up I figured it would be the perfect thing to get me thinking about really picking out some colors for my new Master King size quilt.  And I mean, come on, If I won the fabric for my bedspread all the better right :)  (Not that I think I have any chance of winning, there are some amazing color mosiacs over there, I feel sorry for those poor judges, tee hee hee)

So, I stopped and thought, and pondered, and started looking at color swatches.  I found so many ideas that I loved.  And then I talked to my husband (Since it is his bed too I figured he should get some input) and after some debate (he drives a tuff bargin) we came to the decision that we wanted something calming, relaxing, and in his words, no "girly" stuff.  I later clarified that "girly" stuff includes anything in any tone of pink, red, or purple and also includes any prints that have any form of a flower on them.  Which from my original color ideas left me with one option of a nice combination of earthy tones in the green tones of our walls.

So off to the Fat Quarter Shop I went to look for some fabrics that fit the "rules".  I went through every single fabric in the shop.  (Ya, it was so much fun!!!!!)  I can't believe how many great prints I had to "throw out" because they had flowers.  It is a little harder to shop for strictly masculine prints :)  But in the end, I was super happy with what I ended up with.  And here it is :)  What do you think???  Is it calming and relaxing??  Is it masculine and in no way girly??

Top of the List

So I am super excited today.  Why you might ask??  Because today I get to post that the 3 things that were on the top of my priority list from Wednesday are now done!!  Yippee Skippe!!!

First off, I finally quilted my little Jocelyn's crib quilt.  This quilt has been sitting in the corner of the sewing room basted for like a month.  Wednesday afternoon I decided it was time to get this little cutie quilted.  

On the sashings I quilted this cute little swirl.  I am really falling in love with this swirl for sashings.  I am not perfect at it by any means but it is a really relaxing stitch to quilt.  I love doing it and I love the way it looks :)

And here it is in her crib with her favorite bear.  I quilted echo flowers in the center of each of the 4 patches.  They also are not perfect but my daughter asked me to do flowers on the baby's quilt and who am I to refuse the request of a 2 year old :)

And you can't have a baby quilt picture without the baby.  Here is Jocelyn.  She is growing so fast and she still has all of that hair :)

Oh, and finishing this quilt just happened to be my One Thing One Week goal for Amy's link up.  Yippee Skippee for Amy and her motivation.  If you have never heard of this, you should really check it out.  Just click on the icon below to find out more :)

On to project 2.  I finished this customer quilt yesterday. The design is based on Natalia's Let Your Imigantion Bloom quilt tutorial but instead of layer cakes I use charms.  This was a super fun customer quilt because it was a bit of a throw back.  You See . . . . .

About 2 years ago I sold this little quilt.  (I had made a similar one for a friend and had cut extra's so I whipped up a second one :)    A few weeks ago I was contacted by the owner asking If I could make another quilt similar to this one for their new little arrival.  I was super happy to.  Luckily, I still had a lot of the same fabrics  (which she wanted) so it was fun to recreate the same look with a little twist.

 The customer requested an all over meandering quilting so that it matched the first.  I haven't done meandering in quite some time and I forgot how much I enjoy it.

And last but not least . . .Project 3.  Which happens to be Secret Project SC.  Which I can't show you yet, hence the secret part.  But I promise, it won't be to much longer.  More of that on Monday :)

And I will be linking these finishes up to Amada Jean's Finish it up Friday and Amy's Sew and Tell Linky's :)

TNT with Barbara Corry

So I have a bit of a change up for everyone today.  This edition of TNT Thrusday is being brought to you by my wonderful Mother-In-Law, Barbara Corry.  She loves the Twister tool as much as I do and bought the large one the same day I bought the little one.  This last week she finished 2 large Twister Quilts.  And these 2 quilts are rather special as they will be given away at her last school board convention this weekend.  Barbara has been serving on the School Board for 20 years.  What an amazing legacy, I can't imagine the amount of lives she has touched through her service.

The first quilt is this beautiful Fall inspired twister.  I love the colors!!  They are just so soothing!!  and I love how she alternated lights and dark prints to really make each whirly-gig pop.  

And the back.  Don't you just love the piecing.  I love that blue!!!

And second quilt is this light to dark twister.  I just love the way she laid this one out.  The overall look is just so cool!!! (Sorry, the picture isn't the best, it snowed and so I couldn't take it outside :)

And here is where the TNT comes in.  Barbara quilted each twist in this quilt with a different free motion design!!!!  Ya, that is a lot of different designs.  She so tried a whole ton of things new!!!

Aren't they just so much fun!!!!  She did an amazing job in the quilting!!!

Thanks Mom for sharing your amazing quilts with us. So that is what she did new . . . How about you???

So many projects . .

So I feel like so far this new year is going great in the quilting arena.  I have been doing a lot of behind the scenes work for an upcoming project that I am super excited about.  I finished up my 2 twisters, guest posted, and made both of my bee blocks including this new one yesterday.   

So why is my list of things to do so long?????  I will tell you why, because for every one project I complete I think of 2 more to add.  Oh well, it wouldn't be fun if I didn't feel like I had a million projects I was trying to juggle :)  Now just to keep track of them all.  I find I can't sleep when I have to many projects bouncing around in my brain . . . Thank heavens for the WIP Wednesday, where I can write it all down and make some priorities for the week :)


Designing Stage

• Lone Star for Grandma's 80th Birthday
• Twister Toddler Twin Quilt
• Solids Quilt for Free Motion
• King Size Serenity Quilt
• Jessi and Me Quilt
• Circle Meets Square Quilt
• 4th of July Table Runner for Sister-In-Law 
• Secret Project MB
• Secret Project QQ
• Moda Bake Shop On the Go
• Moda Bake Shop Take it All

Piecing Stage

• Stars Quilt-A-Long
• Secret Project SC
• Hugs and Kisses Quilt for Grandma
• Going Places Quilt

Quilting Stage

• Customer Quilt 
• Crib Quilt for Jocelyn

Completed Stage

• Baby Quilt for Special new Niece arriving in April
• Baby Quilt for Special new Niece arriving in March 
• January Bee Blocks

I am hoping to finish  both of my Quilting Stage quilts and do my Secret Project SC quilt this week.  If I manage to do some piecing on some of the other projects that would be fantastic.  But these 3 are top of the priority list :)