Fast & Fun Sampler Quilt Along - All the Details!!!

Can you believe it!  The Fast & Fun Sampler Quilt Along starts in just under 2 weeks!  I can't wait.  So today we are going over All the Details.    

THE HOW TO

The The Fast & Fun Sampler is my own quilt design and uses blocks from each of the 9 quilts in my  Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book.  I had so much fun working on the design for this quilt along and hope you love it as much as I do.  While the layout gives the quilt a fun medallion feel, it is actually put together as a row quilt.   It is a queen size quilt finishing at 92" x 92" and perfect for beginners and experts alike.   

There will be a post every Wednesday starting April 5th until May 24th going over all the piecing.  Then, On June 7th, there will be a Parade of all the finished quilts as well as a Grand Prize drawing on . 

A new assignment each week means we are going to be sewing Fast and having lots of Fun along the way.   But if life gets crazy and you fall behind, no worries.  The posts and PDF Links will always be on my blog so you can come catch up whenever it works for you!     The schedule will be as follows:

Intro and Details - Today's Post

 Dash and Diamond Blocks

Puzzle Box Blocks

April 19th - Treasured Blocks

April 26th - Jacks Blocks

May 3 - Dutch Days and Three O Blocks

May 10 - Aurora Block and Key Blocks

May 17th - Merry-Go-Round Blocks

May 24th - Putting it All Together

June 7th - Parade of Finishes and Grand Prizes

So count on checking back here on my blog each Wednesday for the new block assignment.  I will be sharing a Weekly PDF Download that you will use along with the block making instructions from the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book to complete the weeks assignment.  The two work together, so you will need a copy of my Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book to quilt along.  

 C&T Publishing is releasing this book tomorrow and you can order your copy there, or pick it up at your local quilt shop, or if you would like  a signed copy directly from me, that is an option as well ;)  And if you prefer E-books, you can get a digital copy of Fast & Fun Lap Quilts right here.   

But there is no need to sign up, just follow along each week, make the assigned blocks, and then share them  to be entered to win lots of fun prizes!   

And with that, we are ready to talk fabrics!

THE FABRIC REQUIREMENTS

Below is an image of the Fabric requirements along with the weekly assignments.   You can go here for a printable version.   You will need:  2 Layer Cake/10" Stackers , 9 Yards of Background Fabric and      5 1/2 Yards of Backing Fabric.  

You can choose any 2 Layer Cake/10" Stackers for this Quilt Along, they don't have to be any fabric brand or type!!!   And they don't even all have to be from the same line, mix and match as you desire.     You can even do a scrappy quilt and just pull 10" squares from your scrap bin.  Have fun making it your own!  

And as a special bonus . . .  Fat Quarter Shop has graciously offered to sponsor materials requirements for this QAL.   Just use the coupon code FAST10 at checkout to save 10% off Sitewide!!!  You can get your Layer Cakes and Yardage Cuts so you are all set to quilt along on sale! 

 (Excludes gift certificates, sale items, pre-orders and clubs. Other exclusions may apply. Coupon is not combinable with other offers. Can not be retroactively applied to previous orders. Expires Friday March 31, 2023 at 11:59 PM CST.)  

Also,  I will be showing everything with a white background fabric, but you don't have to use white, feel free to choose any color you like for the background and also, it doesn't have to be a solid.    The binding will be scrappy from our 10" squares so you don't need to worry about getting a fabric for that .   And when it comes to the backing,  we will be adding a pieced block section in it, so fun! 

And just in case you like to plan things out in advance, Here is a coloring page of the sampler.  You can download the coloring page here and fill it in with your chosen layout.  And if you want to see how a particular fabric will look in the design, simply email me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com and I can send you an EQ sketch of your chosen fabric.   

THE PRIZES

I am so very excited about the Prizes for this Quilt-A-Long!!  I don't know about you, but I know that I am highly more motivated to keep up and finish when there are Prizes at stake ;)

 All those that finish their Fast & Fun Sampler Quilt Top will be eligible for the 3 Grand Prizes.  The Grand Prize's are sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop and huge Thank You goes out to Kimberly for their generosity in these prizes.  Want to know what they are?

The three winners will each receive a $75.00 Gift Certificates to Fat Quarter Shop!   Talk about some amazing fabric Goodness!  How about that for motivation to quilt along!

       

But . . . Sometimes it is hard to keep motivated when the end is so far away.  So for that . . . We have a little weekly motivation.  Every week you finish and share your blocks, you will eligible to win a Layer Cake from one of my amazing sponsors.     

                                             

So there is going to be a lot of wonderful prizes to be won!  So keep up and sew on!
   

SHARING

 It's always fun when we share so we can see each others progress and cheer each other on!   It's also how you will enter to win prizes so be sure when you finish your weekly assignment to share it!  Here's how . . .    

If you use Facebook or Instagram  be sure and use the Hashtags #fastandfunsampler and #fastandfunsamplerqal  in your post.  Then we can all easily find and see each others work on social media and I will be choosing winner's from the hashtags.  

If you don't use social media, no worries.   Just email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com and I will post a picture for your with the hashtags included so you will be eligible for prizes as well.    

LET'S GET GOING!!

So that just about wraps it up!!! You have another week and a half to round up your fabric and the first blocks will be posted on April 5th!!!

And you can always find all the posts for the Fast and Fun Sampler on my Quilt Along page here.

And if you have any questions at all regarding the Fast & Fun Sampler Quilt Along please do not hesitate to email me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com or comment below.    And again, please feel free to make your quilt your own.   What ever you envision, you make it yours, all finished quilt tops will be eligible for the grand prize.  

Now . . .  Let's get Quilting Along!

I Made A Duffle Bag!!!!

 I am so glad I took on the 2023 Quilt Goal Challenge  from my good friends at Fat Quarter Shop :) And here is the end result, my very own, Get Out Of Town Duffle Bag and it just makes me so Happy!!!

I went into this project with "bag making experience" basically from my Charming Tote, which is next to no bag making experience at all.   I am glad that I planned this project around a quilt retreat so that I could have Barbara (my amazing MIL) sitting next to me whenever I was working on this.  She was able to explain some of the more in depth directions and terms that went over my head.   And slowly but surely, I gained more confidence and things started coming together.   Although, I still had to laugh when a few pictures were snapped within one minute as I went through a whole range of emotions.   It starts with panic and fear,  moves to total concentration (my tongue always comes out when I am super focused) and ends with a little bit of confidence and an almost smile.  

But, again, Barbara would calm me down and get me back on track.   And in the end, I even managed a few steps while she was in a class.   So I can say I totally learned a lot and was almost independent by the end of the process.   ;)   And now I have this amazing duffle bag to show for it!!!  And I love that even in this picture, there are still mixed feelings on my face.   Half total excitement that I made something so cool, and half considering if I would ever attempt this again ;)  

This is going to be my new Quilt Retreat/Teaching bag and I am so excited to fill it with all of my favorite quilting notions and fabrics.  

And this duffle is full of pockets so there will be lots of little places to tuck away everything I need at retreat.   There are fabric pockets on the inside of one side and mesh on the other side of the inside.  There are 4 padded pockets on the outside and one zipper pocket (perfect for my phone).  And I couldn't help but add the little Handmade Zipper Charm.   Because this was indeed handmade and I am so proud that my hands made it!!!!  

 

So now the question that everyone wants to know is. . . what comes next???  This was an experience, and I can share that while making the bag I could be quoted saying "I will never do this again" several times.  But now that it has been a few weeks, I am considering more duffels.  Especially because my girls all love it and want their own.   And besides, at least I have a clue what I am doing now, and the second one is always easier, right :)  So who knows, there just might be more Bag Making in my future Happy Quilting endeavors.  (Which truly, quilting the panels was my favorite part of the whole process! Surprise, Surprise :)  

And just in case you are wondering, here is a list of the supplies I used to make this duffle bag.  And super fun, all of the By Annie Products are 20% off this month for Fat Quarter Shop's Notion of the Month, just in case you want to make your own duffle ;)  

Get Out of Town 2.1 Pattern by Annie                            Multi Floral Daydream Fabric for Bag Outside

Ellipse Iris Oval Stripe Fabric for Bag Bottom               Pomegranate Endpaper Fabric for Coordinating

Cross Stitch Plum Yardage for Lining                             Soft and Stable White Stabilizer

Turquoise Lightweight Mesh Fabric                                Turquoise Fold Over Elastic

Eggplant 24" Handbag Zipper                                          Eggplant 30" Double Slide Handbag Zipper

White 1" Polypro Strapping                                             Pellon Fusible Ultralight Interfacing

1" Black Swivel Snap Hook Set                                      1" Black Strap Adjusters

1" Black D Ring Set                                                         Handcrafted Zipper Pull

So how about you????  Is there a project that you want to try that is outside of your usual fare??  Join in the Quilt Goals 2023 Challenge.   And use the #QuiltGoals2023 to share your progress ;)  I can't wait to see what your goal will be ;)   

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting (and maybe even Bag Making) Day!!! 

Quilt Auction for The Sandpiper Project

I was so happy when Monique reached out to me.  Monique is part of The Sandpiper Project, a group of amazing volunteers who use quilting to raise money for organizations and programs that serve children who have been diagnosed with critical diseases.   Monique's daughter is a Wish Ambassador after receiving her Wish in 2019, which prompted her to begin The Sandpiper Project to pay it forward ever since.   I am honored to be a part of the many quilters, textile companies, businesses and others who are a part of helping these children.  

So to aid in the cause, I have donated my Baby Scrappy Carpenter's Wheel quilt to be auctioned.   This quilt and your donations will help "Camp UKANDU", the largest and longest-running provider of medically-supervised camp programming available to families battling childhood and adolescent cancer.  How cool is that!!!  

The auction will be live for the next 4 days ending on Sunday, March 26th at 2pm pacific time.  And of course, if you want to help but don't necessary want to bid, you can always donate.  All the details for bidding and donating can be found here.    And for more details on this Baby Scrappy Carpenter's Wheel quilt, you can see this post ;) 

Thanks again to Monique for reaching out to me!!!  I am just so grateful that this amazing love of quilting can help to bring joy into others lives, especially those who are so affected by childhood cancers.   And to find out more about the Sandpiper Project and see how you can help, visit here ;) 

Thanks for stopping in and I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting day!!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

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

First, we are going to announce the winners of last week's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!  

The winner of the $25.00 Gift Certificate from Olie and Evie is . . . #163  . . . Congrats to jonescheriee!!  I have messaged you :)

    

         

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by  Lou Lou's Fabric Shop .    Did you know that Jamie makes a new Lou Lou Bundle every Tuesday . . . a Lou Lou Bundle is 8 fat quarters curated by Jamie and they are always gorgeous!  I love this new Springtime Bundle, isn't it just so adorable in it's pastel goodness!!!   And be sure to also check out all of Lou Lou's  Amazing Sale with over 2000 items at fabulous prices!!!    Such Fun Shopping :)  

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is for some shopping goodness!!  Lou Lou's Fabric Shop is offering one lucky reader a $25.00 Gift Certificate perfect to use on anything in the store, including the awesome Lou Lou Bundle pictured above!!  Just perfect!!!!

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 your favorite thing about Springtime??  

 ENTRY 2 - Lets show Lou Lou's Fabric Shop some Love!!!!   You can follow them on   Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram.  Or you can follow their blog or  visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Lou Lou's Fabric Shop Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, March 28th, 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!!!

Fast & Fun Sampler Quilt Along - Materials Needed!!

Well I said the Fabric Requirements would be released on Friday and here they are!!!!   You can download a PDF of the Fast & Fun Sampler Fabric Requirements here!! 

This Fast & Fun Sampler Quilt Along is going to be so much fun!  I so hope you will be quilting along with me.  And just in case you missed the last post, this sampler is made with blocks from each of the 9 quilts in my Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book and will finish at   92" x 92" making a lovely queen size.  

The Quilt Along officially starts on April 5th , so by then you will want to have gathered up:

2 Layer Cake/10" Stackers - You can use 2 similar layer cakes, or use 2 different ones, or just cut 10" squares from your scraps.   Whatever way you want to mix it up ;)  

9 Yards of Background Fabric - And remember it doesn't have to be white.  And yes, I know that seems like a lot of background fabric, but 1 1/4 yards of it will be used in the pieced backing we will be making. 

5 1/2 Yard of Backing Fabric - And yes, I know that seems like a small amount for a queen size quilt.  That is where the pieced backing will come in and use the extra Background fabric.

A copy of my Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book

(and no need for a binding fabric, we will be making a scrappy binding from our 10" squares as well)

I will be sharing more on this quilt along in the coming weeks,  but I wanted to make sure you had plenty of time to gather your Materials so you would be all set starting next month!!!  

Oh, and you can always check my Happy Quilting Quilt-Along's Tab for all the Fast & Fun Sampler Quilt Along links and the most up to date info. 

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Day!