Tetris Quilt-A-Long Finishing Up and Grand Prize Link Up

**  NOTE  - This post is part of a series of posts for the Tetris Quilt-A-Long.  If you would like to join you can find a list of the post links here :)

Need detailed instructions on "how to play"??  See this post :)

It's the end of the Tetris Quilt-A-Long!!!!  Time to finish those quilts up!!

But before we get to that, Let's first announce a winner of the Week 6 giveaway who gets the Cherry Christmas Jelly Roll. And Mr Random Generator says the winner is . . .#16 - Lyndsey- Congrats!

So now moving on and . . .

FINISHING UP


Start by sewing your 6 quilt blocks together.  This is just like putting together your blocks but on a large scale.  Just be sure to match your seams.  (And from the looks of the flickr group a good portion of you have already done this step, check!!)

So now, you are ready to start adding borders.  Now as far as borders go . . . please do whatever you like.  I will give you a few suggestions, but please, don't feel like you have to do it this way.  Just finish up your quilt the way you like.  (And if that means no borders, that's fine to :)

IDEA 1:

Start by adding a thin border to the top and bottom of the quilt. (Maybe 1 1/2" to 2 1/2") I liked the idea of going with the white since those were my missing spots color.  When I do borders I just use Width of Fabric strips and then trim the excess.

Then add the same size to the left and right.

 Make sure to press these little borders nice and crisp or they will look a little wonky.

 Then you can add a thicker black border (3" to 4").  Once again, add the top and the bottom first and then after pressing add the left and right.  And that's Idea 1.

 IDEA 2

Idea 2 starts the same with a thin border on the top and bottom in white again.

But, then you can change it up a bit. You can add a larger border to the left and right (8" - 9").  This will make your quilt a little more of a standard size quilt.

Then you can add the black border (3" - 4") to the top and the bottom and then to the left and the right just like you did in the first idea.  And then your top is done!!

IDEA 3

And then if you want you can get super creative like some of the amazing quilters in our group.  Like the way Danielle added a large sashing to the right side and then added a "next piece" block to give it that Tetris look!

IDEA 4

Julie also added the side sashing but then she took it a step farther and added some extra white blocks to the top with a few extra pieces to make it look like you are ready to add the very next piece.  So cute!!!!

So to sum it up - however you want to finish your top is wonderful - the most important part is that you finish your top!!!   (the Quilt-A-Long Flickr Group has lots of great inspriation :)   I am so excited to see everyone's creative take on their finish!!

GRAND PRIZE LINK UP

Okay, so now your Tetris Quilt Top is done.  Yippee Skippee!!!     And now you can enter to win one of the Grand Prize's :)

The Tetris Quilt-A-Long Grand Prizes are sponsored by the Intrepid Thread and a huge thanks goes to Julie for her support!!!.

So, as a refresher, the Grand Prizes that you can win are. . .

A $75.00 Gift Certificate that you can spend as you like!!

A Build your Own Bundle Certificate that you can use to create the perfect Fat Quarter Bundle for you!!

Or a Complete Fat Quarter Bundle of La Dee Da by Erin McMorris!!!

There will be 3 lucky Grand Prize winners.  Their first will be allowed to choose their prize, and so on. 

So what do you have to do for a chance to win one of these amazing Grand Prizes?  Simple . . . Just link up your completed quilt top at the end of this post :)  You can link to a blog post or a flickr picture, or whatever.  You will have until the evening of Monday the 10th of Sept. to link up.  (that gives you 2 weeks for those that need a little catch up time :)

And Don't forget to add your quilt top to the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Flickr group!!!   I am so excited to see everyone's Quilt Tops!!!  

TETRIS QUILT-A-LONG PARADE

Now, you only have to have your quilt top done to enter into the grand prize link up . . . but I wanted to encourage you to finish these quilts and not set the quilt top in a pile of "to be quilted" so . . . I am planning a little Parade for the 11th of September :)  The parade will be for quilted and bound Tetris Quilts!!  So, if you would like your quilt to be in the Parade, please send me an email (happyquiltingmelissa @ gmail . com)  with your favorite Tetris Quilt picture attached as well as the name you would like your photo listed with, where you are from, and a blog or flickr link if applicable.  You can email me anytime from now until the 10th and I will get you added to the Parade!!!

I am so looking forward to September 11th!!!  Grand Prize winners will be announced followed by an amazing parade filled with all of your beautiful quilts!!!  So excited!!

So now what do you do???  Finish up those quilt tops, Link them up, and then email me your finished quilt!!!!   

Rosy Lullaby - Published (Squeal)

I am so excited to get to share Rosy Lullaby with you!!!  I designed Rosy Lullaby to be a simplistic and adorable pattern.  The fabric is from the Song Bird line by Carina Gardner for Riley Blake Designs.  Isn't it just beautiful!!!! The quilt goes together quick and is perfect for when you want to whip something up for an adorable little girl (or boy if you wanted to use blue and green :)

Image courtesy of McCall's Quilting

Now,  the publishing process takes a little while and it is really hard for me to keep these things under wraps. So you can imagine my excitement when I was sent the cover image and found my little Rosy Lullaby inserted on the front cover as the PLUS addition ;)  Squeal #2!!!

Image courtesy of McCall's Quilting

And then it gets better!!!!  McCall's decided to use the basis of my quilt as their Web Bonus feature!!!  The Web Bonus is a free download of the Rosy Lullaby Twin Size version!!!  So now you can whip this up in a twin size for free!!!   Squeal #3

Image courtesy of McCall's Quilting

The final thing I am super excited about this quilt is that I quilted it myself.  Now I have quilted a ton of quilts before but this is the first one that I quilted on my own that was being published.  And I have to say, I was pretty happy with how it turned out :)  (Squeal #4!!)

Here is a detail shot of the quilting :)

So ya, basically a lot of squeals going on over here today.  Maybe even a happy dance or two :)  And with that, I wish you all a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Monster Quilt equals Long Arm!!!

Yesterday I got to visit Let's Quilt to do a little long arm action for the second time!!  And once again, I had so much fun!!! It was nice to have a little experience under my belt from the  first time so that I felt a little more confident, and subsequently was a little quicker.  This time I was working on a king size quilt and it was a monster. Sadly, I can't show you the quilt (It will be published next year) but I can show you the back :)

After playing around with several designs in my head and on paper, I finally decided to go with this concept. I really like the way it creates a patchwork look and it really lends itself to the quilt design.  And it was oh so much fun to quilt.  It's not perfectly even by any means, but I am super happy with how it turned out.  Each of those little squares are about 7"'s.  So fun!!!

Now I just need to make some more monster size quilts so I have an excuse to go back down and play again.  Oh, I know, maybe I could finish the King and Queen size versions of my Braided Irish Chains ;)  So many projects, so little time :)

TNT Thursday - My Pickled attempt at Pickling

So this weeks TNT is a little different for me in that it has nothing to do with quilting.  It did however, keep me from spending as much time quilting :)  So here's what I tried new :)

I do not have a green thumb.  In fact, I would say it is much more of a brown thumb. And normally our little garden produces so little that we can eat it right as we pick it.   But . . . for some reason, this year, I have cucumbers coming out of my ears!!  So, since we can't eat 20 cucumbers in a week, I decided to try my hand at making pickles.

I found this recipe at Crazy Mom Quilts and thought it sounded easy enough.  But, when I got to the store I found that they were out of mustard seed, and didn't have red pepper flakes or canning salt.  So I decided to improvise.  Instead of canning salt I used regular salt and instead of the spices listed I just used Pickling Spice.  (It said on the label that it worked for pickles).

So after 24 hours of refrigeration we have pickles!!!  They are crispy, green and look delicious.  However . . . when you bite into them they are spicy!!  Seriously, these pickles bite back.  I think I should have stuck to the exact recipe and left out the pickling spice, or not used so much of it.

But I am not to worried.  I have already found at least 15 little cucumbers that should be ready in a few days.     I will be trying again soon, and this time I will find a store that carries the remaining ingredients I need and follow the recipe :)  And since this is all gardenish I am linking up to Debbies Herbal Table :)

So what have you been trying new this week???  Link on up :)

Studio Tour

Today my little sewing space is being toured at the Moda Bake Shop!!!  So if you want to see a few shots of my happy purple space go ahead and pop on over :)

I just love that when I sit here I have my current WIP to the right of me, my future projects stacked in the cupboard above me and fabric inspiration all around me :)

Tetris Quilt-A-Long - Week 6

**  NOTE  - This post is part of a series of posts for the Tetris Quilt-A-Long.  If you would like to join (and have a chance to win one of the grand prizes sponsored by The Intrepid Thread ) you can find a list of the post links here :)

Need detailed instructions on "how to play"??  See this post :)

It's Week 6 of the Tetris Quilt-A-Long!!!!  The last week of blocks!!  (But were not done yet, we have borders, and putting it all together next week and then a parade on the 11th of September :)

But before we get to the pieces for week 6, Let's first announce a winner of the Week 5 giveaway who gets the Modern Quilts HYB. And Mr Random Generator says the winner is . . .#6 - Lisa Marie- Congrats!

So now  . . .  on to Week 6!!!  (It's our last week of blocks!!!!)

First, Print off your grid!!

Now, color in your Tetris Pieces

Nothing fancy needed, just fill it in as if you were playing.  Here's my grid for this week.

Now lay your fabric out to match your grid.  Now for those that did the Tetris Color Charm Swap, you might be running a little low on squares. You might need to swap out colors or get a few prints from your stash.  Just FYI :)

And now just sew your squares into rows and then your rows into your Week 6 Block!!! (For detailed instructions on sewing a grid/patch block together see this post :)  

Yippee Skippee!!!  Block 6 is done!!!  You are done with all of your weekly blocks!!!  And now you can enter to win the last weekly prize :)

The Weekly Prizes are sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop and a huge thanks goes to them for their support of the Tetris Quilt-A-Long.

This weeks  prize is a Cherry Christmas Jelly Roll by Aneela Hoey for Moda.

So what do you have to do for a chance to win this beautiful Jelly Roll??  Simple . . . Just link up your Week 6 block at the end of this post :)  You can link to a blog post or a flickr picture, or whatever.  Just make sure to link up by next Tuesday morning as I will be announcing a winner at the beginning of next weeks post :)

And Don't forget to add your Week 6 Block to the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Flickr group!!!   I am so excited to see everyone's Week 6 block!!!  Yippee Skippee for the last weeks block!!!!

So what are you waiting for . . . Get your Tetris sewing on!!!

100 Quilts for Kids Blog Hop

So have you heard about 100 Quilts for Kids??  Are you participating???  Do you need some inspiration??  

 100 Quilts for kids is an annual charity quilt drive co-hosted by Katie Blakesley of Swim, Bike, Quilt and the DC Modern Quilt Guild.   They make it super simple.  Just make a quilt or 2 and donate it to a child in need, locally if you can.  Easy right!!!  Then link up your quilts anytime from now until Oct. 15th for a chance at some great prizes.  And best of all you can smile, knowing you used your skills for good. 

If you haven't guessed,  Today is my stop on the 100 Quilts for Kids Blog Hop. Yippee Skippee!!! And for my stop I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite "quick" tutorials.  These tutorials help in making adorable quilts  that will be treasured.  They also have the added benefit of whipping up in a day or 2 at most.  Perfect for those of us (most likely all of us) who are pinched for time.  

The first tutorial is Refracted!!!   This is my newest tutorial and it goes together super  fast.  Like as in I put this larger version's top together in 2 days, including cutting.

The only difference is that you wan't a kids version.  So instead of making 25 blocks, just make 10 with 10 fat quarters and sew them in  a 3 x 3 layout with an extra block to piece into the back :)  It might look something like these :)  Girl Version, Boy Version, or Rainbow.   Any way equals totally cute!!

The second tutorial  is Ribbons!!  Now obviously you don't have to use Christmas fabric.  Just pick your favorite Kid friendly Jelly Roll.  You can follow the tutorial exactly to get a slightly larger kids quilt or if you like just omit the solids and use just the 1 jelly roll.  The quilt will come out at appx. 50" x 50", perfect for a little one to cuddle up with.

The third and final tutorial is the Disappearing 9 Patch Variation.  This is a super fun way to create a sashed look without actually having to sash, which saves a ton of time. 

So if you haven't had time to make up a quilt or 2 for the 100 Quilts for Kids Project why not whip up one of these??  This is a wonderful charity event!!!  So what are you waiting for . . .  get quilting for the kids!!!  

Little Helper

I have been waiting to share this photo for a week now.  I had to wait until I had posted the tutorial.  Now that it is up, I get to share :)

This little lady loves to roll around in my sewing space and keep me company.  She can really get moving on the wood floors and laughs and laughs when she runs into the walls.  So you can imagine that it only took her about a one second delay moving from the wood floors onto my quilt.  Let me tell you, basting when you have to keep pushing your little helper out of the way every ten seconds is slightly more difficult, but totally adorable :)  Wouldn't you agree :)