January Sew Sampler

 So I have finally been home for a few days so I managed to get my January Sew Sampler Box opened and the Pieceful Basket Block made!!!   This month the theme of the box is Embracing New Possibilities and while I would love to say I am all set to embrace English Paper Piecing with this amazing box of goodies, I might just accept that I am the worlds worst hand sewer :)    But someday . . . 

You all know I love, love, love Charm Packs!!!   And three charm packs of Sunday Brunch, EEEkkk!!!   I love everything BasicGrey does and this line is no exception.  I just love the wonderfully cheerful colors and the beautiful prints.  And while EPP might be a little out of my league, the Fresh Start Quilt pattern is one I can knock out of the park  ;)   

And the notions this month are really all about embracing English Paper Piecing!!!  Again, it's not one of my talents at the moment, but talk about a perfect kit to take on the road to learn how to be a better paper piecer ;)  There is everything you need . . . needles, thread, EPP Papers, and the adorable Hot Cross Buns pattern.   Some Day for sure ;)  

And we are month 10 of the Pieceful Basket Sampler and this months block has fun tiny patchwork in it  .  I think I am going to have just enough of my Milk and Honey fabrics to finish up my last 2 blocks and I just love how they pop on the Kona Lime Background   :)

And that is January Sew Sampler Box.  And now, I only have to wait a few days for the February one to show up.  Bonus for being to busy to open this one ;)  

Happy Quilting!!! 

Quilt Swirl and Quilting Swirls

 Yes, today's Wednesday works in progress include a Quilt Swirl and Quilting Swirls!!  

While teaching at retreat last week, I used my "down time" to work on a special project for the Jolly Bar Volume 5 book and I managed to finish the quilt top :)   I have all of the Jolly Bar Books and am so excited for Volume 5 to be released.  They are always such fun and fast quilt to put together.  Details coming in April!  

 I am also working on quilting my Wandering Star quilt with lovely large swirls.  I am teaching this class in three days and since my original is with my good friends at Moda, I am trying to get this second version quilted before class.  

Both the original version and this version are made with the gorgeous Seaglass Summer fabrics by Sweetfire Road for Moda.  And yippee, they are now available in quilt shops!!   I just love the prints and the colors of this line, especially the purples ;)   And just to keep it real . . .yes, I had this quilt top done on January 8th and am waiting until the last possible minute to get it quilted for class.  Deadlines . . .  they keep me hopping ;) 

And speaking of the Wandering Star Pattern . . . it is the $5.00 Pattern of the month ;)   The Wandering Star Pattern can be found in my Etsy Shop in both a Paper version as well as a PDF version. Wandering Star is an intermediate skill level pattern with 6 size options and is Fat Quarter Friendly. 

And now, I am off to finish quilting my swirls before I head out to teach today.  I have 6 classes in 3 days at my local hometown retreat.  It is going to be crazy fun :)  

Been Cruising and Teaching!!

Sorry it has been a little quiet around here.  I have been teaching the last few weeks and it has been oh so much fun, but also very busy!!  I spent the end of Jan to the beginning of February on the Symphony of the Seas with some amazing ladies!!!

We worked on my Summer Breeze quilt ;)

And guess what . . . we even had a quilt top finish by the end of the cruise!!!   So amazing, that is a lot of piecing and isn't it just so pretty!!!  I loved this kit that Stitchin Heaven  put together.  It really was just so delightful and it was so great to see so many ladies get so much done on their blocks.  They all did such an amazing job ;)  Cruising and Quilting is totally the most amazing gig ever!!!

And totally random, but a fun part about cruising is coming back to your room and seeing what amazing creations your room attendant created with towels.  I have seen the bear before but the penguin and the gorilla are totally new to me and so cool!!  

And along with teaching a group of amazing ladies . . . I also got to spend a wonderful trip with my sweetheart!!  This cruise doubled as a celebration of our 24th anniversary and I have to say . . . I  just love this man of mine ;)  

And one day after getting back from the cruise, I was teaching at another beautiful place . . . Bryce Canyon National Park.  Okay, so we were actually at Ruby's Inn right outside the park, but you get the idea ;)  This Quilty Friends retreat is held annually and I have been teaching at it for so many years.  It truly is a favorite of mine ;)  I love that at the beginning of the retreat, everyone brings their finishes from the past years class.  Here is a student's gorgeous Double Dutch finish!!! 

And on the last day of the retreat, everyone shares what they have been working on in classes the last few days.  We totally had a baby Playful Posies quilt finish while at the retreat.  How fun is that!!

And now I am back home, and getting ready to teach this week at  the Cedar Quilt Guild's annual retreat.  This one is my local hometown so I will have a little more time to pop in and out here and share all of the fun :)  Which is good, because I have a lot of posts to catch up on ;)

I hope you are all having a very Happy Quilting Day, Week, Month, and Year ;)

$5 Pattern of the Month - Wandering Star!!!

It's the second month of our new $5 Pattern of the Month Feature here at Happy Quilting!!!  Each month, I will choose one Happy Quilting Pattern that will be just $5.00  all month in my Etsy Shop ;)    And February is Wandering Star!!!   

The  Wandering Star Pattern can be found in my Etsy Shop in both a Paper version as well as a PDF version and both versions will be marked down to $5.00 for the month of February. 

 Wandering Star is an intermediate skill level pattern with 6 size options and is Fat Quarter Friendly.  The quilt is made with full blocks and then sashing around the blocks (and around the quilt for the Child, Picnic, and King)  to create the interlocking star blocks.     The pattern teaches you lots of techniques including half square triangles, stitch and flip, and no-waste flying geese.  

Need some ideas for your Wandering Star Quilt??  Here are some new arriving fabric collections mocked up . . .  Just to give you some fun ideas of what you can do with this pattern and play with colored backgrounds!!  My favorite thing about this pattern is picking out which prints I will use as the Accent Star and Accent Corner Fabrics.  It really is so much fun to see how much it changes up the quilt!!  

Here is the Queen Size in Chirp by Elano Amo with a White Paper Grunge Background.    Isn't that just so fun with the rust and pink prints pulled out for the accents!!!  I so want to make this version with all of the tiny cute birds ;)  

And this is the Picnic size in Vintage Charm by Dani Mogstad with a light blue background from the line.  Wouldn't this just be so adorable to take on a spring picnic.   Cute apples, florals, and word strips!! I just love pulling one color from the line and making it the background color, it always looks so great :)

And you know I love a good Dark Background!!!  This is the Lap size in  Cheddar at Twilight!!  I used all of the yellow and white prints for the piecing and pulled a beautiful navy's from the line for the background and binding.  Isn't it just stunning ;)   This would be a great lap size quilt for a man cave or if your school colors happen to be Yellow and Navy!!

And for a Valentines Day . . . here is Love Blooms by Lella Botique in the Bab Size with a Pink on White Dot background from the line.   Wouldn't this just be so sweet as a table topper for a Valentines party ;)  So cute!!   

And that is my $5.00 Pattern of the Month!!!   February 2025 is all about the Wandering Star  Pattern!!!     I really think you are just going to love making this quilt ;)   And of course,  if you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to reach out to me ;)  And when you make your Wandering Star Quilts I would love to see them!!!  You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com or add it to social media with  #happyquiltingwithmc and #wanderingstarquilt ;)  I can't wait to see your Quilts!!!

And I am so excited because I just finished a baby size that I will be sharing as soon as I get it quilted ;)  So are you ready to start making your Wandering Star Quilts???  Pop over to my Etsy Shop, to pick up your Patterns grab a Fat Quarter Bundle and get Happy Quilting!!!!   

Square Dance in Urban Folk

 Hello friends!! Today I am am just so excited to share with you a new finish!!! I had never really worked with a lot of Batiks until my good friends at Riley Blake introduced me to Expression Batiks!!! And ya, I have totally fallen in love with them. And all of the new collections that are coming out are just so beautiful. I knew when I saw this new Urban Folk Collection that it would make a perfect Square Dance Quilt for the fall!!

The Square Dance Quilt is Jelly Roll Friendly, so you can just grab a roll and get piecing. And what really makes all of those beautiful oranges, yellows, reds, and tans from the line stand out is the stunning blues in the accent and background fabrics. I pulled this Blueprint Matte print from the line to be the accent of all the interlocking squares and this super dark Midnight print for the background. I just love how it makes all of those warm tones just pop!! Just makes me want to curl up under this tree with a good book!

And while this might look a little complex, the Square Dance Quilt Pattern is truly is a beginner quilt with basic quilting techniques.   The block is super fun to make and super fast, and then you just use pieced sashing (that will totally nest on all the seams) to interlock the secondary squares. And you wind up with a super fun geometric quilt every time! This is the Queen Size quilt, but the pattern has multiple size options so you can make whatever size works for you ;)

And this was quilted with a gorgeous all over swirls leaf design!! My amazing MIL, Barbara did the quilting on this and it is just beautiful. And don't you just love how the navy thread just pops on the all of the color prints. So pretty!!

And that is my Square Dance Quilt featuring the Urban Folk Expression Batik Collection!! I hope you have enjoyed this post and make your own Square Dance Quilt!!! And if you do, I would love to see it! You can share your projects with me on social media with the hashtags #happyquiltingmc and #squaredancequilt and tagging @happyquiltingmc or email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com. I can't wait to see your Square Dance Quilts!!

Thank you so much for sharing this finish with me!! I just love that I have discovered the joy of quilting with Batiks and can't wait to make lots and lots more Batik Quilts in the future. Thank you so much to my wonderful friends at Riley Blake for making such beautiful batik collections!!! 

I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!