Last Week - Going All Out!!!

So this is the last week of school.  Crazy!!!!  I am super excited for all of the fun things we have planned this summer but it is going to be busy :)  And, I lose my uninterrupted nap time (le sigh).  Which means I am going to be having a little less time in the sewing room.  (As most of us probably do in the summer time).  So, with that in mind, I went all out this week trying to tie up some little WIP's that needed some attention.

First off, I decided on a block for my Bee Month :)  (Appropriate as it is a week away).  I figured, I totally fell in love with this design I did for the Accuquilt Barn Block Contest (Which I didn't win but I had so much fun designing for it and totally appreciate all your support.) so why not have my amazing bee mates each make one and I will have an entire quilt in just over a month!!  Yippee Skippee!!!

And once I decided on the block, it was easy to decide that I wanted it in the Countdown to Christmas!!!  This will make such an awesome throw to wrap around in Christmas morning :)  I am so excited!!  So I immediately went to work on making a sample block.  And of course, as my Bee-mates are going to need a tutorial of how to make it . . . Coming Tomorrow on TNT :)

After the sample was all set and I was sure on sizing and so forth I cut up 11 sets to send out :) (which I mailed on Monday, Yippee Skippee for being on time )  I mixed up the colors so there will be backgrounds in red, green, black, and white.  I am so excited, I really think this will come together so cute!!

So with the bee taken care of I turned my sites to my 2 Braided Irish Chain's I am making as samples for my class in January ;)  (But I have to have them done by end of July for advertising purposes :)  I spent an entire afternoon cutting all of the pieces.  Yea, that was a lot of cutting and this picture doesn't show the strip piecing cutting either.  (Too bad they didn't have the Solid Jelly Rolls in the colors I was using, it would have totally been worth the extra few bucks :)

So after all of the pieces were cut I started working on the strip piecing.  That is a lot of strip piecing also, but I love how much time this saves in piecing!!!  So now I am on to pressing and subcutting.  I managed to get a few strips sub cut (See picture above) but still have a ways to go :)

I also finished up a few little projects this week.  Don't you love little projects!!  It is so good to feel the accomplishment of a great finish and only have spent a few hours to get it!!  I finished my bee blocks and sent them off in the mail (which I posted about yesterday) and I made the matching pillowcases for my daughters bedspread.  It's not like I could showcase the quilt for  Blogger's Quilt Festival without having the matching pillowcases, funny how that works to motivate me to cross another thing off the list :)  Love it!!

I also finished up another quilt but I can't show it yet.  But at least this one is only a 3 week wait, and there will be a tutorial :)  I am so excited to show it to you all.  It is one of my favorite finishes :)  (but then again, I say that about almost all my quilts :)

So . . . Here is the rundown.  With a little bit of summer schedule juggling I might just be able to keep moving things on down the line, hopefully :)  I guess it would help if I stopped adding things to the top of the line, but we know that isn't going to happen any time soon :)

Designing Stage

• King Size Serenity Quilt
• Circle Meets Square Quilt
• Snip and Clip Quilt

Piecing Stage

• Jessi and Me Quilt 
• Sew Bee Create Quilt
• Father's Day Rolling on Out Quilt
• Braided Irish Chain - Queen and King

Quilting Stage

• Solids Quilt for Free Motion

Completed Stage

• DDD Baby Quilt
• Stars Matching Pillows
• May Bee Blocks

Bee Blocks for May

**Note - if you are looking for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Post you will find it here :)

So I got my Bee blocks in the mail yesterday.  A little later than I normally like but hey, it is still in the month so we are all good, right :)

Karen asked for a beach themed orange peel block.  I loved working with these colors, and it was so fun to go through my scraps and pick them all out!!  And it was even more fun to make the block, but I totally love applique so no surprise there :)

Tony sent each member of the bee 4 solids and asked for anything improv or wonky.  Now this gets the creative juices flowing.  I decided on doing a 16 patch block and then slashing and whacking and spinning and sewing.  This is how it turned out.  I love that there is one (brown) square that never got touched.  Kind of fun how that works out :)

And . . .  I have had a few more of my bee blocks come rolling in from my month of the Beejeebers group.

Pat sent me this awesome semi :)  I love that it is hauling chickens and roosters.  I would hate to be following that on the freeway :)  And aren't those wheels just so cool!!

Danny sent me this awesome truck!!  I love the colors (Very Optimums Prime) and the fabric she made the trailer with is so cool.  It has maps on it.  My dad will love it!!!

Jamie Lee sent me this super cute patchwork truck!!  I love the little headlights on the top of the truck as well.  That trucker is probably a bit of a rebel :)

and lastly Colby sent this log hauling truck :)  I so love the fabric that she used for the logs.  It totally looks like they are actually timbers :)  So cool!!

So now I am just waiting on 2 more trucks!!!  Yipppee Skippee!!!  I best get to making that large semi for the center of the quilt :)  Father's Day will be here before I know it :)

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!!!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

It's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway day!!!  I love this day!!!  Now I know you have lots of places to visit so lets get right to it :)

Up for grabs is a $50.00 Gift Certificate to Green Fairy Quilts!!!  Judi's shop is amazing and has so much to offer!!

And for fun I will also throw in copies of my patterns to the lucky winner!!!  Yippee Skippee!!!

   

So what do you have to do for your chance to win???

Pop on over and visit Green Fairy Quilts and then come back here and leave a comment of what you would spend your $50.00 Gift Certificate on :)  (For me it would be the Summersville Bundle, love it!!)

For a bonus entry you can sign up for the Green Fairy Quilts Newsletter and leave me a comment that you did so or already receive it.

That's it.  Up to 2 entries per person.  Giveaway is open to international entries.  It will close on Friday, May 25th at 6pm and a winner will be selected randomly and 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 visited and hope you will come back often.  I have so much fun 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 :)  (I mean, look how close I am to 2000, help a girl out here :)

Market Winners!!

Have you seen all of the Fabulous pictures of Market???  Oh, I have had oodles and oodles of eye candy!!  So wish I was there :)  I guess there is always next year right :)

So let's have some Market Giveaway winners and make someones Market Weekend a fabulous one!!!

Thanks again to Fat Quarter Shop for Sponsoring our Market Giveaway.  And have you checked out the Jolly Jabber???  Kimberly has a whole slew of pictures from Market!!!  Yippee Skippee!!!

Okay, The winner of the Skyscraper Grand Hotel Fat Quarter Bundles is . . . 

And the winner of the High Rise Grand Hotel Fat Quarter Bundles is . . .

Congrats Kalynn and Heather!!!  I have send you emails :)

And thank you for everyone who entered.  And if you didn't win today you can always come back Monday and try again.  Yup, you better believe I am participating in Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day :)

Stars Quilt for Bloggers Quilt Festival Spring 2012!!!!!

The Spring 2012 Blogger's Quilt Festival is here!!!!  This is only the most amazing linky party!!!  It is such a great opportunity to check out so many amazing blogs and welcome new friends to your own blog.   Thank you to Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side for hosting this each Spring and Fall!!!!

For this edition of Blogger's Quilt Festival I am sharing my STARS Quilt-A-Long Quilt!!!  Finally, I get to reveal the finish work :)  I had so much fun designing this quilt and even more fun hosting this Quilt-A-Long.   I just love meeting new people and making friends through this wonderful virtual quilting world!!

And I am so excited to share that I can now say there is a Printer Friendly Version of this Quilt-A-Long!!!  I have been getting some requests so I bit the bullet and set to work converting 110 pages down to 18 :)  I have uploaded the PDF to my Google Drive where it can be Downloaded for Free :)

So, I started this Quilt-A-Long last September, had a baby and then managed to finish the quilt top some time around Feb/March.  Then it sat on the shelf waiting to be quilted. (for a while) Until the beginning of this month when I went to play on a Long-Arm Machine!!  I posted all about that day here :)

I decided to really give the experience of Long Arm Quilting an all out go so I did my own Free Motion Quilting.  I tried a new design for me and did echoed tear drops and swirls.  It was so much fun!!!  And I am so happy with how it turned out.  Not bad for a first timer I figure :)

And now that it is all finished I have made my 6 year old daughter the happiest little girl!!!  She has been waiting for this for a while so I am just ecstatic that she loves it so much :)  And don't you just love how the Heirloom line totally matches her walls!!  Fabulous :)  

And of course, I couldn't show pictures of the quilt on her bed with her old Cinderella pillow case.  That would just spoil the whole effect.  So yesterday I whipped up 2 new pillow cases.  They are the perfect finishing touches :)  (Although, now I am thinking about doing one more decor pillow with a star on it :)

 And one final thing about this quilt that was a mistake but turned out to be, in my opinion, totally awesome!!!  So when I loaded this on to the rollers of the machine I came up a tiny bit short on my backing but only in the one corner.  I told them not to worry, I wasn't to concerned about the back.  So I quilted away and then went ahead and bound it. This is what shows up in that tiny corner :)  Just in case I ever forget the line or who designed it, Love it!!!!  And who knows, maybe someday this quilt really will be an heriloom.

So that's my STARS quilt!!!  If you are new, thank you so much for visiting.  If you are a regular Happy Quilting Reader, Thanks for all of your support!!!  Enjoy Blogger's Quilt Festival :)

Oh, and one last little note . . .  Since I am now officially done with this Quilt-A-Long it is probably time to start a new one . . . What do you think, are you ready to Quilt-A-Long???

TNT Thrusday - Drawing and No Hands

So I tried 2 things new this week :)

First, I decided I wanted to draw a custom quilting design on my quilt.  This is totally new for me.  Most of the time I do an all over free motion "just go for it" kind of thing.  The few times I have done more of a "custom" design I have always just used the seams as a guide.  So I pulled out my water soluble marker and my 1" ruler and  about 5 hours later (not all consecutive) and a trip to JoAnn's to buy another water soluble marker (the first died out)  I was done.  The great thing about water soluble is every time you make a mistake just give it a little squirt squirt and you get to start over.  (Which I did several times :)  (oh, and I will be showing this quilt in a few more weeks, this is your sneak peak until then :)

Second, I gave my "hands free system" a try.   While I was up in Salt Lake sewing I chatted with Kati about her "hands free system" and if she liked it or not.  I had pretty much just put my little bar aside when the machine came figuring it couldn't make that much of  a difference.  Kati told me she loved hers and suggested I learn to use my left foot on the foot pedal so I could use my right knee on the bar. So I took her advice and tried it!!!   It took about 5 minutes and I was off!!!!!   I love it!!!!!!  I can't believe how much faster it is to shift fabric, sounds silly but true!!  I can't wait to try some applique with this, oh it makes me giggle just to think about it :)

So that is what I have been up to.  What did you try new this week?? Link on up :)

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Staring at Fabric

*** If you are looking for the Fat Quarter Shop Giveaway you will find it here :)

Sometimes I just sit in my little sewing room and stare at my fabric.  I am hoping we all do that and I am not a little crazy for just enjoying looking at it.  This week though, I have been staring at it hoping to come to some conclusions.  

My month for the Sew Bee Create bee is June and so I need to start getting some packages ready to go in the mail.  What's holding me up??  

Do I want a Christmas block with my oh so my favorite Christmas line ever???  I have seen so many amazing quilts in Countdown to Christmas and I so want one.  This might be the perfect time to break out this FQB. 

But then I think, maybe I want a cool shabby chic block to make a nice throw blanket for myself with these amazing prints from Daisy Cottage.  Don't you just love these beautiful tones??

I can't decide :)  Which would you do??  And fabulous block suggestions for either??  I am assuming if I decide on a block that it would be easier to pick a bundle :)

I also pulled out my Heirloom scraps so I could whip up some pillow cases to match my finished Stars Quilt-A-Long quilt.  More on Friday :)

And then I spent quite a while staring at fabric on-line trying to come to a decision on some new projects.  Do you remember my Braided Irish Chain tutorial??  Well I have been asked to teach it at the beginning of next year (I am so excited, and a little nervous :) I have altered the tutorial a bit to make the Queen size version  more of a square so it fits the queen bed a little better.  I will also be teaching a King size version.  Which means I need a Queen and King quilt to show.  That won't take long right :)

I took advantage of Burgundy Buttons sale last week and finally decided on Hello Luscious with Moda Bella White for the background for the queen size quilt.

And for the king size quilt I went with Reunion with a Moda Bella Slate background.

ore of a square I have also been doing some major quilting this week.  But won't be showing it for a few more weeks.  You know the drill :)

On to the rundown, I am so glad I can keep track of everything hear.  It is really helping me to stay on top of my projects (especially those with deadlines) and not let things fall through the cracks :)

Designing Stage

• King Size Serenity Quilt
• Sew Bee Create Quilt
• Circle Meets Square Quilt
• Snip and Clip Quilt

Piecing Stage

• Jessi and Me Quilt 
• Father's Day Rolling on Out Quilt
• Braided Irish Chain - Queen and King

Quilting Stage

• Solids Quilt for Free Motion
• DDD Baby Quilt

Completed Stage

• Moda Bake Shop Take it All

Market Giveaway with Fat Quarter Shop

So I am not going to Quilt Market, Le Sigh.  You can bet that I will spend the entire weekend wishing I were in Kansas City!!!  Maybe some day.  However, even though I don't get to go, I still get to know so much of what is going on.  How you ask??  Through The Jolly Jabber!!!!  Every year the fabulous crew at The Fat Quarter Shop give an in-detail day by day report of market on The Jolly Jabber.  It totally makes you feel like you are almost there :)  (almost)

So, to celebrate Quilt Market this week, Fat Quarter Shop will be sponsoring this totally amazing Quilt Market Giveaway!!!  Where there will be not 1 but 2 winners!!!

One lucky reader will win this beautiful bundle of fabric goodness.

And a second lucky reader will win this serene bundle of fabric goodness.

That's 2 Fat Quarter Bundles!!!  Yippee Skippee for celebrating Quilt Market!!!

So . . .  How do you get a chance to win one of these awesome Fat Quarter Bundles??


Easy, just leave a comment of what you most want to see from market??  A new fabric line, A particular booth, School house, Sample Spree, or simply that you are new to Market and want to see it all :)

For a bonus entry you can follow the Jolly Jabber (so you won't miss any of there awesome market updates) and leave me a comment that you did so or already are a follower.

That's it.  Up to 2 entries per person.  Giveaway is open to international entries.  It will close on Saturday Morning (19th) and a winner will be selected randomly and announced shortly after.

My Little Crafter's

As I said yesterday, my favorite part of Mother's Day is all of the cute adorable things my children make for me.  And so of course, being the proud Mother I am, I decided to share them with you all :)

This was made for my by my 9 year old son.  He said he choose this pattern because it was the easiest, Which made me laugh.  Doesn't look to easy to me.  Did you ever make one of these in school?? I never did but I always thought they were so cool.  They remind me of the old Spirograph toy I used to have :)   On the back of this is an original poem written by my son.  It will always be a treasure to me.

My (almost) 7 year old daughter made me an adorable book telling me all the things she loves about me.  Yeah, it got me a little teary eyed :)

This was my favorite page.  Sometimes I am not as patient as I should be during our little sewing sessions together so I am glad she sees past my little hiccups and still loves to sew.  (or sow if you are spelling it phonetically :)

My 5 your old made me this adorable little bean art!!!  He said he really liked gluing the beans but they don't taste very good.  Which also made me laugh :)  It has a cute little poem on the back about him being a little flower and helping him to grow.  Yeah, that totally got me crying :)

And my 3 year old (I still can't believe she is 3) made me a matching bean art.  (They go to the same school)  It appears she wasn't to keen on smiling that day :)  She is quite the little independent one.

Such fun Mother's Day Gifts from my little Crafters!!  (Along with lots of homemade drawings and pictures from coloring books, and little treasures they found lying around the house :)  I had a fabulous Mother's Day.  It is such a beautiful day for me.  How blessed I am to have such amazing little creations that call me Mom.  They look to me for guidance, support, nurturing, and above all, love.   I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!!!

Happy Mother's Day

I hope you are all having a wonderful Mother's Day!!!  I know I am loving every minute of it.  My husband is currently making dinner (love it) and after dinner I am told I get to open these :)   I think I mentioned it before, but all of the cute little homemade crafts from school are probably my favorite part of Mother's Day!!!!

So, I best make one lucky Mom's day and announce the winner of the Intrepid Thread Mother's Day Giveaway :)

And that lucky Mom just happens to be . . .  #75

Happy Mother's Day drmithome!!!!!  I have sent you an email.  

And a Very Happy Mother's Day to all of you amazing women.!!! Whether you have or have not had children, all Women have a Mother's Heart and that unites us on this special day!!!!