Tutorial Throwback Thursday - Peaks and Valleys Table Runner

Have you been enjoying all of the amazing pictures from Quilt Con??  I know I have!!! Quilt Con always shows such a vast array of Modern quilts and provides so much eye candy ;)   I just love it!!!   So for today's  Tutorial Throwback Thursday, I thought it would be fun to share a more Modern project.   This one I would say is Modern Traditional, it's my Peaks and Valleys Table Runner !!!!

Peaks and Valleys  is such a fun and fast table runner to make!!! And this particular throwback is actually not a tutorial, but rather it's just a free pattern that you can download and/or print right here ;)   But it is super easy piecing.  You all know how much I love HST's!!!  Well this project gives you lots and lots of practice at them ;)   It finishes at 14" x 50", so it makes a beautiful edition to a dining room table!!!!

Peaks and Valleys is made with yardage but you could easily use Fat Quarters as well!!!  It works best to use smaller scale fabrics as they are cut up tiny to make the angles work.   It would be awesome in Solids, or even Grunge ;)   Makes me totally want to make one in Grunge now, and maybe just make it two colors!!!!  The sky it the limit on the fabrics for this one ;)   

And when it came time to quilt my Peaks and Valleys table runner,  I decided to stick with the Modern look of Matchstick quilting.  And let me tell you, I am glad this was a small project ;)  Matchstick quilting looks so awesome but it takes a long time :)  You really have to be patient with it.   But still, so glad I did it.   And I love the variation of colors in the quilting. It just gives it all the more depth ;)  

And that is my Peaks and Valleys table runner.  I hope you have enjoyed today's Tutorial Throwback Thursday!!!    To make your own Peaks and Valleys table runner  just click on any of the project name links for the free pattern.    And when you are done, I would love to see your table runner!!  You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com, post it to social media with #happyquiltingwithmc  or or add it to my flickr group here ;)  I can't wait to see your Peaks and Valleys Table Runners!!!!

Thanks for popping in today!!!   I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!!

Little Lou Quilts!!!!

So if you have been following my blog for a while, you know all about my sweet nephew David, who was born 7 years ago and had to undergo open heart surgery.  He then spent the first part of his life in the NICU at Primary Children's Hospital, where he recovered and received the best of care.   Since that time, I have made a quilt for the Festival of Trees every year to help Primary Children's continue to give the best of care.

But when I was recently talking with my sister she mentioned how much it meant that when I visited the hospital I brought David's new baby quilt.   She told me how much comfort it gave to swaddle him in it, and how it has become a cherished keepsake that is hanging on his wall.  It has so many memories tied up in it ;)  

So when my good friend Jamie, from Lou Lou Quilt's contacted me with her new Little Lou Quilts idea, I was all in ;)  You see, Jamie's youngest sister deliever twin boys via emergency c-section at 29 weeks.   They are now just 3 weeks old and currently in the NICU.   Jamie, has seen through her sister's experiences , just as as I did, how much of an emotional roller coaster it is to have a baby in the NICU.   So she came up with an idea to give back . . . Little Lou Quilts!!!!  

Image courtesy of Lou Lou Quilts

So what is Little Lou Quilts, it is an effort to provide new handmade baby quilts for infants currently in the NICU.   What a wonderful comfort it will give to the parents and a treasured keepsake it will become.   And all you have to do is make a baby quilt, and we all know how much we love making baby quilts!!!!  There are more details at Little Lou Quilts .  It is such a wonderful cause and I am so glad Jamie is starting it and I hope you will consider joining in!!!!   I will be shipping these 4 quilts today.  They have all been stacked in my "for babies to be born" pile, and I can't think of a better way for them to be loved.   

 And of course, you could easily make a quilt from my new Charming Baby Quilts book and donate that!!!   They all go together fast and would make wonderful Little Lou Quilts!!!  Jamie's goal is 100 quilts this month, and each and every quilt will make a difference!!!  

In fact, I want to help motivate you so how about this . . .  Grab a Charm Pack or 2 (I know you have a stack of them ;)  and whip up a Charming Baby Quilt and then send it off to Little Lou Quilts!!  Send me a picture of your quilt (happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com)  or post it on social media with #charmingbabyquilts and #littlelouquilts.  At then end of the 1 month goal, (March 21st) I will draw a winner from all those that made a Charming Baby Little Lou Quilt to receive this awesome Prize Bundle of "Little" Quilting Goodness!!!!  . . .

 GIVEAWAY CLOSED . . .THE WINNER IS HeatherK   I have emailed you :)

I know quilters are just amazing and are donating to so many wonderful causes, so I just wanted to add this fantastic cause to the mix.   Please consider making and donating a  Little Lou Quilt this month ;)  And thank you, I love being a part of this industry because of all of you!!!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!! Let's have some fun :)

First, we need to announce the winner from last Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!  

The winner of the $25.00 Gift Certificate from Thousands of Bolts is . . .   Number #249 . . . Congrats eloise123061!!!   I have messaged you :)    

    

   

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop.   Fat Quarter Shop is amazing and they never cease to blow me away with everything they have going on at their shop!!!     And did you know they have a 24 Hour Flash Sale every day with 2 Flash Sales on Tuesdays!!   And not only do they have a daily deal, they have a Fabric Basic, Pattern, and Notion of the Month!!!!    And this month you will score big on all of them!!!  All Bella Solids are on sale!!!  Also, All Clover Products are on sale for the Notion, and All Cluck Cluck Sew Patterns are on sale for the Pattern.  (and she has so many fantastic patterns!!!)    Save 20-30% off of all of them for the whole month of February!!  So great ;) 

And for today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Fat Quarter Shop is giving away a beautiful Modern Farmhouse 10" Stacker by Simple Simon and Company for Riley Blake Designs!!! I just love this line, the colors and prints are so pretty!!  

You have two entry chances here on the blog, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.   Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me if you lived on a farm, what "chore" would you like to do best???  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Fat Quarter Shop love.   You can follow them on   Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, You Tube or at their Blog.  You can Sign up for their Newsletter which will ensure you catch all of their amazing sales, or you can visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Fat Quarter Shop Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, March 3rd, when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

You can also pop over to my Instagram and/or Facebook to enter there as well :)  

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

So Happy to Sew!!!!

I haven't sewn in a week!!!!   Between putting the house back together from the remodel, having my book arrive early , and having family visit all last week, I just couldn't get to my machine.     And of course, all three of those things were so incredibly exciting that it was totally okay not to sew.   But I tell you what, first thing this morning, I wanted to be sewing ;)

And as luck would have it, the first thing I found when returning to my sewing room was that I had miscalculated yardage and didn't have enough to cut out the center section of a new quilt.   So, scraps to the rescue.   I made an 18 1/2" square from 16 - 5" squares.  And you know, I missed my machine so much, I didn't even mind, in fact, I think it is pretty cute ;)

Gotta love just getting to Sew!!!! 

I am hoping things will get back to "normal" and I can spend a little more time stitching :)  Can't wait to share all of the new projects I am working on ;) 

Tutorial Throwback Thursday (on Friday) - Diamond Drop

So yesterday was Tutorial Throwback Thursday and I totally dropped the ball.   I have been crazy busy the last few days, and I just missed posting.   I am sorry.   But better late than never right ;)   So for Tutorial Throwback Thursday, on Friday, I thought Diamond Drop would be perfect ;)  (hence the dropping of the ball :)    And isn't it just so pretty!!!!

Diamond Drop is such a fun and fast quilt to make!!!  It uses Half Square Rectangles and I have a fun way to trim them up so your points are perfect every time .  It makes for a nice twist on the basic Half Square Triangle quilt ;)    It finishes at 56" x 75", so it makes a great lap size quilt.  

The Diamond Drop tutorial is written to be use 10" squares, but you could also use Jolly Bars and save one step of cutting!!!  And to your pre-cut, all you need is some background rectangles and a binding, which makes cutting this quilt out so super fast :)  

And the fun thing is, just like Half Square Triangles, once you have these Half Rectangle Triangles made, you have endless possibilities for a layout of the Diamond Drop quilt.   I shared a few alternate layouts for these in this post here.   Isn't it fun how different each quilt looks just by mixing up the layout of the units!!

And for the quilting of the Diamond Drop I used a favorite of mine!!! The all over Echoed Paisley design is always a perfect match for quilts with lots of points.  It gives it a lot more movement.  And I even made a Video Tutorial of how I do this free motion quilting on my home machine, just in case you want to quilt one like it ;)  

And that is my Diamond Drop  quilt.  I hope you have enjoyed today's Tutorial Throwback Thursday (on Friday) !!!    To make your own Diamond Drop quilt  just click on any of the quilt name links for the free tutorial.    And when you are done, I would love to see your quilt!!  You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com, post it to social media with #happyquiltingwithmc  or or add it to my flickr group here ;)  I can't wait to see your Diamond Drop Quilts!!!!

Thanks for visiting today and each day.   I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Weekend!!!