A 3G Sewing Day :)

There was no school yesterday, so during nap time Grandma came up and we had a three generation sewing day!!!  So much fun!!!  

I can't explain how happy it makes me to see my daughter just soaking this quilting up like a sponge.  She is currently working on a little quilt for her sister's birthday and already has another 5 projects or so planned when she finishes this one.  (Yup, quilter all the way :)

I so look forward to years and years filled with more sewing days like this one!!  It truly is Happy Quilting!!!

Quilting Along?? Did You See This???

First off, let me say Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for all of the kind and loving comments you sent my way over the weekend.  I can't begin to explain how much they buoyed me up, you are the greatest!!!  I still feel awful about making this error, but I am so grateful for how understanding everyone is being about it.

In case you missed it, I posted here on Saturday, that I found an error in the fabric calculations for the QAL. Horror!!!  It was awful!!!   Somehow, I completely forgot the sashing, in calculating the fabric requirements and the block sizes.  So I spent Saturday afternoon frantically adding more block options so we could have those nice bed size blocks and reconfiguring fabric calculations for all the size options.

The good news is that the print fabrics are pretty much the same, and the size options are now pretty much the same as well, you might just be making a different size block to get the same size quilt you were aiming for.   But, the bad news is if you have already bought your fabrics, you will most likely need extra background fabric.    The corrected fabric calculations have been put in the original Fabric Requirement post that you can find here.  

So if you haven't already, please go check it out, I would hate to have someone going off the old ones.  (Although,  if you wanted to continue without sashings you are allowed by all means, it just makes a very different design :)

So this post is meant to be a double check, to make sure that everyone quilting along is now on the same page so that we can move on forward.   I am so excited for this Quilt-A-Long and I know that we can get over this hump and have a great time quilting together ;)  And yes, I am so incredibly glad I realized this now, before we started cutting.  This was bad enough, that would have been a complete melt-down.

Oh, and in case you are still looking for fabric, the Quilt-A-Long Kits have been adjusted for the new fabric requirements ;)  Thanks to Julie for being so patient with me and redoing all of her kits ;)

          

     

Let's all have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Star Light Star Bright Quilt-A-Long - Changes in Fabric Requirements!!!!

I am so very sorry to all of you wonderful readers who are planning on participating in the Star Light Star Bright Quilt-A-Long, but this afternoon I found that I made an error in the calculations on the fabrics.  I forgot to add the sashing in the background.  When I found this I literally felt sick.  I can not begin to explain how frustrated and upset I am with myself for making this error.  I wish I could turn back the clock and start over.  But sadly, I can't.

So now, all I can do is try to fix this as best as I can so we can move forward.   Because forgetting the sashing also changes the size of the quilt, I have added some additional block sizes so that we can once again have those wonderful bed size quilts.   So now, you have even more to choose from.  

The good news is that if you have already picked your size, the print fabrics are pretty much the same.  It just might mean you are making a different size block.  So for example, the 3 x 3 layout to have a queen now you use the 28" block (a new size) instead of the 32" block.   And there was only a 4 1/2" difference in fabric for the print, so you would just have a little extra strip to add into the binding if you like.

The bad news is that you need more background fabric in all of the projects.  If you are doing the 1 x 1 layouts this is most likely not a big deal.  But as your projects get larger you are looking at a full yard or more extra.   I am so, so, sorry that this will cause some of you to go back to the store again.  If this is causing you a huge issue (like having to pay for additional shipping if you ordered online) please let me know and I will try to fix those problems as best as I can, including paying for your additional shipping.

You can find the New Fabric Requirements in the Quilt-A-Long Fabric Requirement Post here.  

Again, I am so, so, so, sorry!!!   Please, please, please, do not hesitate to email me with any questions :)

We will fix this together and move forward with the Quilt-A-Long and I promise we are still going to have so much fun!!!!

Class Finishes!!!

I am back from the Quilt St. George retreat and it was so much fun!!!  All three of my classes were just fantastic.  Each of the ladies in my classes were just wonderful. We laughed and sewed and laughed some more, and sewed some more. I made lots of new sewing friends and even got to meet, in person, some of the wonderful sewing friends I have made through this blog.  What a fantastic way to spend 2 days :)  Oh, and I even got to meet Dr. Bob from Superior Threads and earn my PhD in Threadology!!!

I love teaching!!!  It is just absolutely wonderful to be surrounded by quilting.  To hear the hum of so many sewing machines running all at once. (which did pop the breaker a few times, but I have realized that is just part of a quilting class ;)  I I love to see all of the different fabric choices and watch my designs come to life in so many different color palettes.  And yes, I leave each class thinking I need to make that particular quilt another three times because I have fallen in love with new color choices :)  Most of all, I love to see these ladies get so excited and have such a good time quilting!!

And while everyone was having a wonderful time with friends, they also worked real hard.  Seriously, those machines were humming.   And by the end of class, there were a lot of finishes to show for it ;)

Here are the finishes from the Braided Irish Chain class

And the finishes from the Starburst Class

And of course, I totally forgot to take my camera out for The Way The Crow Flies class.  I knew it was going to happen at some point :)  But those ladies did fantastic as well ;)

But like I said, these ladies worked hard and all their finishes totally shows it :)  All in all, an absolutely wonderful two days of quilting goodness!!!

And I even managed while in St. Geroge to finish up all the pre-work and get the Star Light Star Bright Quilt-A-Long started!!!  (Yes, I was up a little late on Tuesday night :)   The first Quilt-A-Long  post went up Wednesday morning and had all of the fabric requirements, schedule, and the Prizes!!!!  Yippee, I am so excited.  This is going to be such a fantastic Quilt-A-Long ;)  We are spending 2 weeks to gather or order fabric so you have lots of time to jump in :)  It is going to be so much fun and with 1 x 1 layout options you can squeeze it in easy :)

Have a Happy Quilting Weekend :)

Linking up these finishes to Amanda's and Sarah's :)

Star Light Star Bright Quilt-A-Long - Schedule, Fabric Requirements, and Prizes!!!

******  Note - The Corrected Fabric Requirements are now in this post.  Please note that these are different from the original posting.  (See here for explanation)  Again, I am so incredibly sorry for the inconvenience this is causing, I wish I could make it so like it never happened.  Please, please, do not hesitate to email with any questions you have.

It's here!!  The Star Light Star Bright Quilt-A-Long officially starts today!!!  Today's post is going over everything you need to know to Quilt-A-Long.   There will be a post each Wednesday from January 29th until March 12 with weekly assignments and then there will be a Parade and Grand Prizes on April 2nd.  So . . . onto a little rundown on how it's going to work!!

THE HOW TO

The Star Light Star Bright Quilt-A-Long is my own quilt design and I hope you enjoy putting it together.  The quilt-a-long will include 6 different sizes for the Star Light Star Bright block giving you multiple layout options.  You can also choose how many blocks you want in your quilt.  You can do a  1 x 1 block layout, 2 x 2 block layout, 3 x 3 block layout, and/or a 4 x 4 block layout.  This quilt will not be made by making one block at a time but rather a more assembly line process.  Once the units are done, then the blocks will be created.   I broke down the construction of the quilt into 7 weeks and then added an additional 2 weeks to get it basted, quilted, and bound.  The schedule will be as follows

Jan 15 - Intro, Fabric Requirements, and Prizes Announcement

Jan 29 - Cutting

 Feb 5 - Flying Geese

Feb12 - Half Square Triangles

Feb 19 - Building Block Centers

Feb 26 - Building Block Sides

Mar 5 - Building Block Corners
Mar 12 - Piecing Top and Grand Prize Linky

April 2- Star Light Star Bright Parade and Grand Prize Winners

So count on checking back each Wednesday to see what the next week's assignment will be.  You will want to try to keep up weekly as there will be prizes along the way!!   Be sure to take a picture of your finished weekly assignment so that you can link it up for the weekly prizes :)  Oh, and if you are new to quilting, no worries, this will be super beginner friendly! I will go through each step in great detail in the Wednesday posts.

CHOOSING A SIZE BLOCK AND BLOCK LAYOUT

So to start, you need to make some choices.  What size project do you want to make and with what size blocks. Check out this chart below to help you decide what size project you want to make and with how many blocks in it.  A 1 x 1 layout is 1 block, a 2 x 2 layout is 4 blocks, a 3 x 3 layout is 9 blocks (Kits provided for this layout) , and a 4 x 4 layout is 16 blocks.

Alright, have you chosen a size project.  Great, let's see what fabrics you are going to need.

THE FABRIC REQUIREMENTS

Regardless of what quilt you want to make you will need to choose fabrics to make your "star" which I refer to as print fabrics and fabrics to make up the background of the quilt ie . . background fabrics.   You will also need binding fabric and backing fabric for when you are ready to finish up your quilt :)  (Because we area all about finishes, no wip's here :)

Print Fabric Requirements

Use the chart below to determine the amount of print fabrics you will need.  In all layouts except the 1x1 layout the total number of fabrics are the same the number of blocks in your quilt.  The size of each fabric depends on the size of your project.  In the 1x1 layout, you will need to select 3 different fabrics.  The "Main" fabric is the fabric that makes up the "diamond" around the star.  The 2 star fabrics are the fabrics that will make up the star in the center of the quilt ;)

Background Fabric Requirement
  See the chart below for the amount of background fabric you will need for your particular size project.  ( 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)

Binding and Backing Requirement
Refer to the two charts below for the requirements you will need for binding and backing for your particular project :)

THE STAR SURROUND QUILT-A-LONG KITS

I have asked my wonderful friend and sponsor Julie from the Intrepid Thread, to put together some custom bundles together for Star Light Star Bright Quilt-A-Long.  And as always, she came up with some stunning options for you.   The Kits are made for the 3 x 3 layout and can be found in all 3 sizes (baby, picnic, and queen) in that layout.  Julie even gives you the option of choosing your background color :)    I went ahead and put each bundle into the quilt layout so you could get an idea of how they will look in the quilt. 

 And as before, These bundles are at a special Quilt-A-Long discount price, but  Julie didn't stop there. Use the coupon code HAPPYQAL10 at your checkout and receive and extra 10% off your order.  Yup, that's additional discounts on your purchase that you can use on your binding and backing as well as your already low priced kit, Yippee Skippee!!!    Thanks Julie!!

Anthem Quilt Kit

        

Carry The Torch Quilt Kit  

        

  

Finish Line Quilt Kit

        

Gold Medal Finish Quilt Kit

        

         

Winter Games Quilt Kit

        

Aren't these just fabulous. Julie has impeccable taste in fabric!! Good Luck choosing a favorite!! It was a super hard choice for me, but in the end I decided I am going with Anthem.  I am so excited!  And like I mentioned, you can choose your color background as well.  So don't be afraid to do something other than white, look how adding a background color changes up these kits ;)  Stunning!!!!

Carry the Torch with Grey

Winter Games with Navy

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 ;)  So how about this for a little motivation.

All those that finish their quilt top will be eligible for the Grand Prize.  The Grand Prize's are sponsored by The Intrepid Thread and Fat Quarter Shop and huge Thank You goes out to Julie and Kimberly for their generosity in these prizes.  Wan't to know what they are???

A $75.00 Gift Certificate that you can spend as you like!!  There will be 4 lucky Grand Prize winners, 2  winners will receive a Gift Certificate to The Intrepid Thread and 2 winners will receive a Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop.  Talk about some fun Shopping Sprees!!!  And if that whopping amount of fabric goodness isn't motivation, then I don't know what is!!

    

But . . . Sometimes it is hard to keep motivated when the end is so far away.  So for that . . . We have a little Weekly Motivation.  Each week you will be able to link up (You don't have to have a blog to link up, you can link to a flickr picture :) your completed assignment for a chance to win the weekly prize.    These Weekly Prizes will be sponsored by several of my Sponsors and will be so fun!!!

    

   

So ya,  there is lots of wonderful fabric to be won!!!  So keep up and sew on!!!

THE BUTTONS AND FLICKR

 Now down to the last of the nitty gritty.  First, If you are Quilting-A-Long and have a blog, It would be wonderful if you added the button to your blog :)   It really helps to spread the word and  the more that Quilt-A-Long the better!!!  If you have already added the button, thank you!!!

 

  <a border="0" href="http://happyquiltingmelissa.blogspot.com/p/quilt-longs.html" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik31iuIOx5j-Ee7SRPUDaK1NlO7WjKWbKG2e4qj0yRGSdaFZc-_7SHFFoFRQAVpLMUVP68DOTIzZawX1CxCs9U1witHdXU0wHFVQ1675V26NRgNrDDB8uCncq7SjKR9Z-09znebKY6bB0/s1600/SLSB+Button.jpg"/></a>

Second, I would love it if you joined the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Flickr group.  You can post your fabric here, your progress, ask questions, ect.   And it is a super fun place to get to chat along with everyone participating :)  

LET'S GET GOING!!

So that just about wraps it up!!! You have two weeks for this assignment, round up your fabric.  On Jan 29th you will be getting your cutting assignments.

Now I know that was a lot for one post, so if you have any questions at all regarding the Quilt-A-Long please do not hesitate to email me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.  I don't want anyone to not participate because they are confused by my rambling :)  And one last thing, please feel free to make your quilt your own.  If you want a different layout, great!  Want to add a border, perfect!!  What ever you envision, you make it, all will be eligible for prizes :)  Now . . .  Let's get Quilting-A-Long!!!