Rocking it, Long Arm Style!!!

Note - If you are looking for the 100 blocks post you can find it here :)

So I am posting about my TNT today.  Yes, Yes, I know it isn't Thursday yet.  But I have a tutorial to post tomorrow for the Sew Red for Women Blog Hop and there was just no way I could wait a whole week to tell you the new thing I tried on Saturday.  So . . . I am posting a day early.  (Oh, and no worries, there will still be the regular TNT linky tomorrow, I will just be linking to this post :)

So Saturday morning I headed down the I-15 to beautiful sunny St. George.  But this trip wasn't to hang out on the beautiful red cliffs.  Nope, I had business to attend to.    I had an early appointment with a Long Arm Quilting Machine!!!!!!  Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!!!!!  In a word . . . . Awesome!!!!!

I started the morning getting to meet my good virtual Bee friend, and now good "I have actually met you before" friend Lindsay!!!  She was the one that made this opportunity known to me and what better than to Try Something New with a New Friend!!!!  Lindsay is a Total Doll!!!!  It was so much fun to get to hang out with her all morning and run back and forth between each other's machines.  I am pretty sure we did quite a few happy dances over our work, and it is always best to do a happy dance with someone else vs alone.  (Especially when you are in a public place, tee hee hee :)  Thanks Lindsay, you rock!!!!

So after the initial hugs and getting to know each other it was time to get to work.  First was "loading" the quilt on the machine.  And I got to say, this took longer than I thought it would.  I was just so excited (and a bit nervous) to get going, I didn't think about actually having to do the not so fun loading part.  It wasn't hard, just time consuming.  I compared it to pin basting a quilt :)  And it took about that long :)  But . . . Once you get through the sour it is on to the sweet.

So . . . Do all the long arm quilters stick their butt out when they quilt????  I think that is probably just me ;)    I decided that rather than using a pattern I would take a deep breath and jump into the deep end.  Yup, I went all out and did free motion, and I tried a new design!!!  And I have to say, quilting on these machines  . . .  So Fabulous!!!!!  You have so much freedom. You can do such a larger scale design then on a home machine.  And the fluid motion is so nice.  I was flying down the quilt in no time.  Ya basically,  I totally loved it!!!!

This is what I look like when I am concentrating.   Well that, or my tongue sticking out.  (Glad there wasn't a picture of that :)   So that is what I tried new!!!!  And it was so incredible!!!!  Looking forward to the next time :)

And now your saying, hey, wait, you didn't show us any pictures of your quilting.   And you would be right.  I didn't.  That's because I am saving the full reveal for the Blogger's Quilt Festival in a few weeks :)  But I will say I am so very happy with the results.  (As is my daughter who has been sleeping under it for the last few nights :)

Oh, and since it is Wednesday, and I just knocked a major huge WIP off my list, I figured I would include the rundown.  Things have been going gangbusters around here but as most of the completed projects have the word Secret before them I haven't been able to show much.   But look how much smaller those lists are getting!!!!!   Don't worry, I added 2 more quilts to the list, wouldn't want me getting to a stopping point :)



Designing Stage

• King Size Serenity Quilt
• Circle Meets Square Quilt
• Christmas Strips Quilt

Piecing Stage

• Jessi and Me Quilt 
• Moda Bake Shop Take it All
• DDD Baby Quilt

Quilting Stage

• Solids Quilt for Free Motion

Completed Stage

• Secret Project QQ
• Stars Quilt-A-Long 
• Secret Project 1B
• Sew Red for Women Blocks - See Tomorrow for Tutorial!!!
• Twister Toddler Twin Quilt - Salutations

  

100 Blocks Blog Hop & Giveaway!!!

Quiltmakers 100 Blocks Blog Tour has arrived and one of it's first stops is here, at Happy Quilting!!! Yippee Skippee!!!   And with that . . . here is my block :)  It's called Gear Works and I am so excited to finally get to show it to you all!!

This block was inspired by my sons.  A while back they were watching some cartoons and there were characters inside a clock.  They thought it was "so cool" how the cogs spun together.  (of course, maybe that had more to do with the fact that they were trying to get someone out of a cog before they got squished :) So I used that inspiration to come up with a block that created a  "cool big boy" bedspread :)  And here it is in a twin size bedspread layout :)

Or, if you wanted to make one for a little baby boy you just make a few less blocks :)  And you can add some color into the background as well for a fun little mixup :)

And the fun thing about this block is you can really speed up the process of putting it 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!!!

And I am super happy to get to share another little secret.  Remember this little stack of strips.  Well it is now transformed into a new quilt using this block in a really awesome layout.  It will be published in Quiltermakers Quilts from 100 Blocks!!  But it won't be out until the fall so you will have to wait a little longer to see that.  (But think totally awesome, It is one of my all time faves!!)

But you don't have to wait to get get Quiltmaker;s 100 Blocks volume 5!!!!  It's available now!!!  And since no blog hop would be complete without giveaways, you can try your luck and see if you can win a copy!!  I have 3 copies to giveaway to 3 lucky winners.

And for fun, those 3 lucky winners will each receive copies of my patterns!!!  Yippee Skippee!!!

   

So . . . .  What do you have to do for a chance to win?????

Simple . . .  Just leave a comment.  How about you tell me one of your favorite blocks to make :)

Easy right.  The giveaway is open to everyone and will end on Sunday May 6th and winners will be announced shortly after.

Oh, and by the Way . . . If you are stopping by for the first time, Welcome!!  You can tell by now that I like to use a lot of  ! and :) in my writing.  I am so glad you stopped by and hope you will come back often.  I have so much sharing my passion for quilting here.  If you would like, you can follow Happy Quilting and ensure that you catch all of the Quilty Goodness going on here :)

TNT Thursday - My Big New Thing!!!

So I have actually been trying my new thing for a while now but didn't want to post about it until I really got a feel for it.  What is my new thing I have been trying??   I'll give you a hint . . .

Did you guess it??  Yup, I got a new sewing machine!!!!  Well, new to me that is.  Obviously they don't sell the Artista new anymore.  My husband gave me this wonderful surprise for our anniversary.  He knew I had been wanting to upgrade from my little Bernette but it still worked great so I couldn't justify just ditching it.  So, being the great guy he is, he got rid of all the excuses I came up with and just set aside a nice allotment for me to choose a new machine.

So I choose and have been trying it out for a little bit and I love it!!!!!!  I love it, I love it, I love it!!!!!!!!   What do I love about it . . . .
     So much faster than my old machine.
     Has a perfect straight stitch
     Sews a whole heck of a lot quieter than my old machine.
     Has a larger bobbin so I can go a lot longer before changing my bobbin.
     Makes a perfect tension FMQ stitch.  (Seriously, I have done 3 quilts on it and it is a million times better)
     Has lots of fun stitches to play with, still needing to explore all these options ;)
     Can breeze through multiple layers, I so love this!!!  No more pulling fabric through for me.

 Now, I know some of you are going to ask Why this machine and why Bernina??  Well, first off . . . Why Bernina, well basically, I really didn't look at anything else.    My Mom always used Bernina, my MIL always used Bernina, I guess Bernina is in my blood.

Why this machine.  Well I was looking for a machine that had a larger harp space for when I am doing FMQ and was a bit more of a work horse.  That was the main focus.  The newer Bernina's with the larger harp space have all been upgraded to the BSR system (and I really wasn't looking to spend that much) so I immediately started looking at used machines that fit my 2 basic needs.  Quickly it was down to an Artista or an Aurora.  The Artista won out basically on price :)

And the cool thing about buying a used machine is all the extra little goodies that come with it.  Like this awesome Sew Steady Table.  This is one of those things that I wonder how I ever got on without it.  It makes quilting so much easier.  You just don't have to deal with near the tug and pull issues.   I also love that I can line up pieces on the table and they stay lined up!

It also has the super nice Bernina Walking Foot.  Now I had a walking foot on my old machine but this one puts it to shame.  I love how heavy duty it is, and I love having the measuring bars that attach to it!!

Lastly, and this might be my ultimate favorite thing about it, which is probably silly, but true!!   The 1/4" foot!!!!  Oh my goodness, does this make piecing so much more accurate!!!  You know before when you were trying to pay attention to a tiny line on your foot (I didn't even have one on my machine).  Now I just feed my fabric through keeping it even with the edge of the foot!!!   Heaven!!!!  My seams have never been so perfect!!  I love it!!!

And of course, there is lots more that I haven't had time to explore.   I really liked that this machine came with the embroidery unit as well.  When I have a few seconds I am going to sit down and figure that out.  I already have a project I want to embroider.  Guess that will be a future TNT :)

And just in case you are wondering, yes, she has a name.  This is Abby the Artista ;)

So that is what I have been trying (for the last month or so :)  What have you been up to :)  Link on up!!!

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Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

These blocks are just so exciting!!  I can't wait to put this quilt together, it is going to be so much fun!!!  So here are the latest Semi Blocks for my Dad's Quilt.

Laura made this super fun "Candy Haulin" Truck.  Who wouldn't love to be hauling an entire trailer full of candy!!!

Erica made this super dellightful "Toy Hauler" Truck.  With the beautiful weather we have been having here I would love to get out on that boat and soak up a little sun :)

And Karen made this super awesome  "Hay Balen" Truck.  My kids got a kick out of this one.  Ever since we actually sat and watched hay bales being created by the big tractor machine my kids have affectionately called them "Tractor Poops".   (It lifts up the back and out comes a hay bale, what else are they gonna call them :)   Now they can't get over the idea of Grandpa's quilt having Tractor Poops on it :)

This quilt is going to be so awesome!!!  I am hoping to have it done for Father's Day.  Well see if I am up late the few nights before :)

Salutations - A New Pattern

Well, here is one of those secret projects.  I have been writing a new pattern!!!  I call it Salutations and I am so very excited about it!!! Salutations is a Twin Size quilt measuring 72 x 84.

It has such a whimsical feeling to it, don't you think :)  The fabric is Riley Blake's Apple of My Eye and it was so much fun to work with!!  The prints are so adorable!!   Here it is out in the beautiful sunshine!!

I just love these windmills.  The pattern teaches you how to make them without using a paper template.  Bonus!!

I quilted it with an all over flower and loop design.  The lighting on this picture is horrible but you get the general idea :)

This pattern is a great for beginners and up.  It goes together fast (I got the fabric a week ago) and has so much movement to it.  It really is a lot of fun to make :)

So what do you think???  I hope you love it as much as I do.   And, if you do happen to love it, and want to make one for yourself, you are in luck!!!  Julie, at The Intrepid Thread, has made up a Salutations Quilt Kit featuring the same adorable Apple of My Eye prints I used!!  The kit also includes the PDF pattern for free.  What a deal!!!  So pop on over and grab a kit for yourself so you can get going on your own Salutations quilt.  I can't wait to see  them, although, I don't expect you to finish in a week, tee hee hee :)

And if you just want to purchase just the pattern you can find it at Julie's shop here or in my little Etsy shop here :)  Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I just love how all your support is continuing to make Happy Quilting grow.  I can't wait to see where it leads me next :)

Linking up :)

TNT - The Video Edition!!!

So what did I try new this week??  Did you see my guest post on Sunday???  I made a two part video series!!!  I called them Applique Basics - From Start to Finish.  And here they are :)

I am so excited about these!!  I created a new tab for video tutorials.  I hope you like them and that the information in them is helpful and informative.  I would love to hear your feeback on them.  I am hoping to put some more video's together in the next month and your thoughts would be greatly appreciated :)

Oh . . . and did you notice something a little different in the second video?? More on that tomorrow :)

So what have you been up to  Link up your TNT post here :)

   

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Rolling on Out!!!

The next truck has rolled off the assembly line.  Lindsay from For the Love of Cotton made this awesome semi!!!  She wrote to find out some specifics about my dad and when I told her he used to drive trucks in Canada when I was very little she opted for a Canadian flag on the box.  So awesome!!!

And I drafted up a little drawing of what I envision this little quilt to look like when it is all done.  I did forget to add the road into my drawing though.  (It will go under the wheels).  The big truck in the middle is my rough estimate of what my Dads truck looks like.

He actually stopped by this weekend so when he wasn't looking I ran out and snapped a shot.

Now I just need to figure out how I would to about putting it together.  I think I am going to try and turn it into a paper pieced pattern.  It needs a bit more work but it is coming along :)

Oh, and because I have had a few people ask, here are the dimensions for the semi I made.  It is 12 x 20 finished.  And the side goes over how you can slightly change it to avoid the Y seams.

  

And speaking of rolling on out, I better roll away from this computer and get some kids off to school.  Have a fabulous Wednesday!!!

Finalist!!!

So I found out that I am one of the Top 100 Finalists in the 2012 AccuQuilt Barn Quilt Design Contest!!!  I am so totally over the moon excited!!!

So here is the deal, The top 100 blocks are voted on over the next few days and the top 20 voted blocks move onto the next round to be judged by a panel of judges.  (So ya, a bit of a popularity contest, but hopefully I am more popular now then I was in high school :)  So here is where I ask you to go vote.

I was fortunate to actually have 3 blocks in the finals.  Here they are!!

#34

#40

#53

So voting takes place from today until Wednesday, April 18th.  So can you please take a minute and pop on over to AccuQuilt Barn Contest and vote.  (And if you wanted to vote for 1, 2, or all 3 of my designs that would be just peachy :)  But most of all just go vote :)

Oh, and if I make it to the next round, and then by some miracle I win it all, then I get to go to Nebraska to see the unveiling of the block on an actual barn.  How cool would that be!!!!!

I'm Guest Blogging - Sunday

I am guest blogging today over at Color Me Quilty!!!  Today is the first day of Pat's new Linky QED on the 15th @ CMQ.  Or Quilty Embellishment Day!!!  And she was so sweet to invite me to put together a little tutorial for her grand unveiling!  So I put together a little something of my favorite way to embellish - applique!!  So pop on over to check it out.  I am so excited about it, you will see why when you get there :)

It's Coming!!

April 30th to May 4th is the blog tour for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 5, and guess what, I am going to be a part of it!!!!!  Yippee Skippee!!!  I get to post about my block on the 30th of April.  I can't show you my block until then but I can tell you that it is on the cover!!!   

So grab a button and link it to this website.  quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures  This is where you will find the rundown on the entire blog tour and where to hop each day :)  There will be lots of fun prizes, and plenty of copies to give away, including a copy here on the 30th of course :)

TNT goes Old School

So for the Sew Bee Create group this month Lisa asked us to make some Union Star blocks.  She had even cut all of the fabric ahead of time for us.  So fabulous!!!    However, I was a little taken back when I looked at the instructions sent with to notice that it had us piecing the old school way.  You remember, piecing triangles instead of HST's.  And where the fabric was already cut there was no way to alter the pattern to do it New School.  So ya, It was a bit of a throw back for me.  Not all of my points are perfect, I guess I need to work on those old school methods some more :)

So that is what I was trying new.  Some Old School piecing.  Fun, but ya, I totally love my HST's  and am glad I don't have to do old school all the time.  Especially with tiny triangles :)

So what have you been up to???  Can't wait to see your links :)

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WIP Wednesday

So I feel like I have been going gangbusters the last two weeks (besides the little spring break getaway) but when I went to check on my WIP list I realized that most of it is all "computer stuff" and so there really isn't much to show.  Bummer.  I did get however get some cutting done.  

Remember this lovely stack??

Well now it is these lovely strips.  Yup, this one is going to take some major work to put together.  But I am super excited about it.  And this is the last you will see of it for a while.  Yup, another secret project.  

I also got my pieces cut up for my Sew Red for Women block.  My tutorial is next month and I am super excited to share :) Have you checked out this awesome Blog Hop??  It is such an amazing cause.

I finished up and sent off a major project , but like before, it's a secret, so I can't show it, and won't be able for some time.  But I am super excited about it.  You know when something just turns out just like you had in mind.  Oh, it makes me so happy!!!

So here is the rundown :)

Designing Stage

• King Size Serenity Quilt
• Circle Meets Square Quilt
• Secret Project QQ
• Moda Bake Shop Take it All

Piecing Stage

• Jessi and Me Quilt 
• Secret Project 1B
• Sew Red for Women Blocks
• Twister Toddler Twin Quilt

Quilting Stage

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

Completed Stage

• Secret Project MB
• April Bee Blocks

The First is a Flame!!!

My first Bee Block arrived this weekend.  Isn't it just so fun to get those little squishy packages!!!!  I tore it open to find this amazingly cool block!!   It is from Lindsay at Linz Sews and can I just say I love it!!!!!  How awesome is that semi all A Flame!!  So cool.

It is just going to be just perfect.  See, when I was a kid my Mom would make my Dad's shorts for him.  He would go with her to pick out fabric and he always picked out the "Wildest and Craziest" prints he could find. And you better believe he had a few pair with flames on them :)

Thanks so much Lindsay!!!!  It is just fabulous!!!  And Lindsay is such a sweetheart, she sent me a few fat quarters along just to say thanks for being the Bee Mama :)  She Rocks!!!  And a totally cool side-note, I get to meet this rocking lady at the end of the month!!!  Yippee Skippee!!!!