Introducing Shifting Gears QM Rocks The Blocks

** Note - If you are looking for the Precut Paradise Giveaway you can find it here :)

I am so excited to get to share my newest published quilt!!!  It is called Shifting Gears and it is part of Quilt Makers Quilts from 100 Blocks!!!!! 

You might remember from a few months back when I got to share my "Gear Works" block from the 100 Blocks Vol. 5.   

I also shared this little photo and said that I had another little secret quilt to share in the fall.

 Well, it's the fall, and this is the quilt!!!!

Can I just say I am so in love with this quilt!!!  The fabrics are mostly Emily Herrick's Hall of Fame for Micheal Miller and a few other Micheal Miller prints.  I love that these fabrics are All Boy!!!  I had so much fun designing this quilt.   I loved that the secondary block added to the original block created such a  great "gear" movement. And it was so much fun to piece together.  And thank you to Natalia Bonner for quilting it with an all over "circuit grid" pattern that finished it up perfect!!!!

Oh, and I wanted to share a little tidbit.  I shared this in my original Gear Works post but wanted to add it again in case you missed it before.

You can really speed up the process of putting  the "Gear Work" block together by strip piecing your rows together instead of doing individual blocks.

Just decide the width of the quilt and then strip piece your top rows, your middle rows, and your bottom rows to that length.

Then go back and piece your little "cogs" to create an entire row of cogs.

Then it is just simply sewing the rows together to recreate the block but creating 4, 5, or however many blocks at once.  And who doesn't love time savers!!!

Sadly, there are no ways to speed up the connecting blocks, but they are pretty simple and go together fast.

So what do you think???  I hope you love it as much as I do.   And how would you like to win a copy of the magazine so that you can whip up your own version???  Quiltmaker is generously donating a copy for me to give away to one of my fabulous readers.  Just leave me a comment, any old comment will do, and I will choose a winner on the 7th of September :)

Oh, and be sure to pop on over to Quiltmaker to see a list of all of the other fabulous quilters participating in Quilt Maker Rocks the Blocks and have some more chances to win a copy of this fabulous magazine!!!

A Little Quilting Drama

Don't you hate it when you are getting your free motion quilting groove on and then all of the sudden you realize there is a weird bulk that you can't smooth out.  You try and try, and nope won't smooth out.  So you flip you flip to the back to see what the issue is and suddenly realize with horror, that your backing has flipped back and you are quilting the edge of it into your quilt back!!!   Grrrr!!!!  I can't tell you how many times I have done this!!!!

I swear, I check this over and over while quilting.   I pin around the edges of my quilt to avoid it.  I trim  fabric before starting.   Yet somehow, I still manage to sew my excess backing to the side of the quilt.  Yup, time to pull out the seam ripper :)  Please tell me I am not the only one that does this ;)

(I will be showing this quilt soon, I promise :)

Welcome Precut Paradise and a Giveaway

Today, I am so excited to introduce to you the newest member of the Happy Quilting sponsor family.  So a huge welcome to Precut Paradise!!!!  Dayna Greenleaf has been putting in some long hours these last few months to get Precut Paradise up and running and this week marks the celebration of Precut Paradise's Grand Opening!!!! 

Precut Paradise has so much to offer.  You would never believe it is a brand new shop by their wonderful inventory.  By the chosen name of her shop, you can guess that Dayna focus is on providing Precuts!!  I love precuts, oh the time they save!!   And you can find all the latest and greatest precuts from Moda, Free Spirit, and Riley Blake.  Charm Packs, Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, and  Bundles!!!!  Ah, precut love!!!

                    

                 

  

Dayna has precuts galore, but she also has some other fun little tidbits in her shop.  Like a Rainbow of Kona Solid yardage. Don't you just love to look over a rainbow of solids and come up with wonderful color combinations!!

Dayna's Precut Paradise also offers some fabulous yardage, Quilt Patterns, Books (of course focused on precuts) and Quilt Kits.  And she even offers long arm quiltling services at a fabulous price!!!  So ya, basically something for everyone!!!

  

And one of my absolute favorite parts of Precut Paradise . . . The Daily Deal section!!!  It is just so exciting to check each day and see what will be the Daily Deal that you can take advantage of.  I mean come on, who doesn't love a sale!!!  (Little Black Dress Jelly Roll's happen to be the current daily deal and let me tell you, I have been playing with this fabric the last few days and it is fabulous!!!!)

So pop on over to Precut Paradise and see what Dayna has to offer.  She is so excited to start this new shop and I just know she will appreciate your visit ;)  Thank you to Dayna and Precut Paradise!!!  I am so excited to have you as a part of Happy Quilting!!! 

 And . . . .  as part of their Grand Opening, Precut Paradise is sponsoring a fantastic giveaway!!!   One lucky Happy Quilting reader will be getting a wonderful package from Precut Paradise with not 1 but 2 precuts!!!  A Riley Blake Bohemian Festival 10 Square and Rolie Polie!!!  

So what do you do for a chance to win this fantastic giveaway???  Well, you get to know Precut Paradise a bit :)  So you can have three chances to win while you get to know Dayna's new shop :)    (please, leave a separate comment for each for a total of 3 comments max :)  

1 - Visit Precut Paradise and then come back here and leave a comment of your favorite item in Dayna's new store.  

2 - Be a follower of Precut Paradise's Blog and leave a comment. 

3 - Like Precut Paradise on Facebook and leave a comment.  

So that's it :) The giveaway will close on Thursday the 6th of Sept. and I will announce a winner Friday Morning.   Good Luck to all and Happy Quilting!!!

TNT - The Bee Block Version

I love being a part of Bee's!!!  Each month they challenge me and I almost always get to try something new!!!  I highly recommend trying one out if you haven't done so already.    This month had me trying new things with each block.  (And yes, I am just finishing my bee blocks with a whole 2 days to spare :)

First, Cherie requested a Carpenters Star block.  This is a stunning block and Cherie has so many beautiful color combo's for it!!  She wrote up a fabulous little tutorial for it here in case you want to do your own :)  I love these blocks that are all about perfectly precise points.

The new thing I tried with this block was making larger HST's for trimming.  When I was ready to trim these I had to check the directions 3 times to make sure I wasn't trimming them to small.  I kept thinking there was way more fabric than normal.  And that is because there was.  Cherie's directions had us make our squares 3/4" larger then the HST size instead of 1/2" larger.  And I have to say, I really liked it!!!  I found trimming when much faster because I didn't have to be so precise and most of all, it made me feel like I was actually trimming for a reason.  I think I might be doing my HST's with the 3/4" give in the future :)

The second bee block I put together was for Lindsay and she requested a Polaroid block.  This was such a fun block to put together!!!  You chain sash everything so it goes together super quick.  I used this fabulous tutorial  to put it together.

My favorite part of this block was picking the "pictures" to fussy cut.  And while I was fussy cutting I decided to try something new.  I was getting frustrated trying to make sure my images were centered and having to constantly keep checking the measurements.  And then I saw the masking tape I use when basting and WhaLa.  2 tape marks along the edge of my designated measurement, no more centering headaches.  Perfect!!!

So . . . That is what I have been trying new this week :)  2 little tricks to speed up your cutting :)  So what have you been trying new this week??  Link on up!!

What's On the Agenda

Well the kids are in school.  And I must say, I am loving the regular routine :)  I love spending oodles and oodles of time together in the summer but I sure love the day to day  dependable routine that is school :)  And my third started Kindergarten yesterday afternoon which means he isn't so lonely during nap time anymore.  (He was really missing his brother and sister.)  It also means that nap time is now completly interruption free.  Oh, I am so excited, sewing machine here I come :)

So, what's at the top of the list for this week??

First off, I need to finish up this little beauty for my niece.  (Don't you just love Little Black Dress!!)  I have the blocks all made I just need to sew them together, border it, baste it, quilt it, and bind it :)  We are visiting for labor day so the goal is to have that all done by Friday :)  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can ;)

Then, next on the list is working on my Fab Little Quilt Swap project.  My partner loves a rainbow of colors so I think I will be digging through my new scrap bin drawers :)

And I will be using this little template to aid in my creation.  If it comes out the way I envision it in my head, I will be totally excited :)

And lastly, If I really manage to be productive, I might just bust open my layer cake of Mama Said Sew  and get to some cutting :)  I am so excited to play with these prints!!  Love them!!!

And so nothing slips through the cracks . . . here is the rundown :)

Designing Stage

• Circle Meets Square Quilt
• Turnovers Quilt
• Modern Squares Quilt

Piecing Stage

• Jessi and Me Quilt 
• WIC with MSS Quilt
• Sew Bee Create Quilt (waiting on 1 block)
• Braided Irish Chain - Queen and King (a tiny bit of progress)
• Ashlyn's Quilt
• Fab Little Quilt Swap Mini

Quilting Stage

• Solids Quilt for Free Motion
• Tetris Quilt-A-Long 

Completed Stage

• Refracted Quilt
• King Size Serenity Quilt
• August Bee Blocks