Playful Posies & a Giveaway!!!

I am so excited to share this new quilt today!!  I finished this quilt a few months ago and it has been so hard to keep a secret because I absolutely fell in love with it.  So lets not wait a minute more.   Here she is and I call her Playful Posies :)

Playful Posies is being featured in Fons and Porter's Easy Quilts Spring 2015 edition.   It is now available wherever quilting magazines are sold ;)  This is my first time working with Fons and Porter and it was fabulous!!  Everyone was so nice and super easy to work with :)

I used Emmy Grace by Bari J for Art Gallery Fabrics for this quilt.  This fabric is one of the big reasons that I so love this quilt.   I can't get over how much I love this fabric line!!!  (I just might be hoarding some of it :)  I just love the colors and the playful prints, they so added to the feel I wanted to create with this quilt.

The quilt is made up of 9 Posie blocks that are offset with sashing.  The blocks go together quick and the quilt finishes at 58" x 58", a great big baby size ;)  I had so much fun making this quilt and when it came time to quilt it, I decided to really have some fun with it.

In the center of each block I quilted pebbling in the background and little feather medallions in the pinwheels.  This was my first time quilting those little guys and I am pretty happy with how they turned out.  It took a bit to figure out filling up the whole triangle evenly, but I got a little better with each one ;)

Then in the Petals of the block, I quilted double arches.   I have done a lot of single arches in squares but never double arches and not in triangles.  And oh my goodness, these were so much fun!!!  I really love how it makes each corner look like a complete petal ;)

And in the background, I went with my newly favorite feathered swirl.   I just love this design!!  For one it is super fun to quilt because it just flows, and for 2 it looks so pretty when it is done!!!

And of course, I used my favorite 402 Pearl So Fine Thread for all the quilting.  I love that So Fine Thread adds so much wonderful texture to the quilt while still blending away beautifully so it adds to the quilt design without overpowering it ;)  I am pretty sure  Pearl has become my all time favorite color to quilt with on white backgrounds and then it still blends away so nicely on the color prints so you don't have to change threads.  Yup, gotta love those neutral colors!!  (and it just so happens that So Fine is on sale right now, yippee!! Time for me to stock up :)  

And that is Playful Posies ;)   I hope you like it as much as I do.  If you make your own version of Playful Posies I would love to see it.  You can add it to my Flickr Group here or email me a picture of your quilt at happquiltingmelissa@gmail.com :)

And Yup . . . I mentioned Giveaway in the title of this post . . . Lets get to that ;)

So by now, you probably that I absolutely love So Fine Threads!!  They really are my "Go To" thread on the Long Arm and are fabulous for quilting on your home machine as well.   I am actually doing a large spiral on the home machine right now and am loving how So Fine is blending away and it glides through my home machine with the same ease as the long arm :)  It also is nice that I am a mere 35 minutes away from the Superior Threads warehouse and can go walk up and down the isles of color goodness for an hours ;)

So at my last visit, I chatted with my friends there and we cooked up a fun little giveaway for you!!!  You know how I was talking about those awesome neutrals . . . Where here are some of Angela Walters favorites ;)  This is the So Fine #50 Angela Walters Collection #1 and two (or 4) lucky winners will be winning 3,300 yards of So Fine Thread goodness!!!

Here's how to win here at Happy Quilting and then read on because there is more Giveaway Goodness at Superior Threads!!! 

You have two entry chances, the second being optional, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.  Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment  that tells me your favorite flower and what color variety you love best ;)  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Superior Threads love. You can follow them on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, or their Blog. You can Sign up for the Superior Threads Newsletter or you can visit their Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Superior Threads Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until January 23rd and I will announce a winner on the morning of the 24th :)

Alright . . .So that's how to win here.  But don't leave yet . . . Superior Threads is also giving away another thread pack at their Facebook page . . .Simple Click Right Here to pop on over.  All you have to do is Like Superior Threads and then enter your email address so you can be contacted if you win!!!  It's that simple and you are then entered for 2 thread giveaways!!!

And there is one more twist.   We thought it would be fun to throw in a Double Prize Pack Opportunity!!  So between the comments here at Happy Quilting and the Entries at Superior Threads Facebook page, if there is a total of 700 or more we are doubling the prizes!!!  That means there will be 4 lucky winners that will be receiving an Angela Walters Thread Pack!!!  Yippee Skippee!!

Alright, I will let you get to it now, start commenting and liking and lets get these prizes doubled!!

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Weekend :)

Linking my Playful Posies finish up to Sarah's , Amanda's, and Quilt Story ;)  .  Thanks ladies for hosting these fabulous linkys :)

Snapshots QAL - Let Them Eat Cake

Yippee, today is the first day of the Snapshots QAL!!!   And up first, block 1 . . . Let Them Eat Cake!!  Isn't it just so fun.  Seriously, I will admit, I really wanted a piece of cake to eat by the time I was done making this block.  It looks so yummy :)

Not only was this block a picture of cake, but it was also a piece of cake to put together ;)  No joke, I timed myself.  It took 30 minutes to sew this block together!!  Yup I spent more time pressing the fabric and cutting the pieces then sewing it together.  So fun and so fast!!  

So, do you want to make a yummy cake block too??  You can download the pattern right here and then don't forget to donate the $5.00 for the pattern to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital ;)  This is such an amazing cause and it is so fabulous that Fat Quarter Shop and Moda will be matching our donations up to $10.000.00!!  

Kimberly also made putting this block together even easier with this fabulous You Tube video.  Bonnie and Camille start it off with some special Cake Memories  as well ;)  So cute!!!

Be sure to  share all of your Snapshots progress on social media with #fqssnapshots and check out these fabulous bloggers for some Let Them Eat Cake inspiration :)  

Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms
Bonnie Olaveson of Cotton Way
Pat Sloan of The Voice of Quilting
Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet

Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life

Melissa Corry of Happy Quilting

Thelma Childers of Cupcakes N' Daisies

Pam Viera-McGinnis of Pam Kitty Morning

Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs
Stephanie Kendron of The Modern Sewciety

Natalia Bonner of Piece N Quilt
Greg Jones of Grey Dogwood Studios
Jessie Fincham of Messy Jesse

Thanks for popping in today ;)  Have a Happy Quilting (and maybe some cake eating) Day!!!

Blocks, Blocks, Blocks

So being sick last week kind of threw off everything I had planned and now it is all spilling into this week ;)  You know how it goes sometimes ;)  So even though the first thing I wanted to do when I started feeling better was to sew, I figured it was probably best to put away Christmas first!!!  Yippee for crossing that WIP off the list!!

Then, there was no guild in sewing together blocks, and blocks, and more blocks.  Yup, I have had some serious fun the last few days ;)

I finished up the nine 12" blocks for my Modern Building Blocks quilt ;)  I tell you what, after making all of those little 6" guys, these were cake ;)  They went together so fast and I am getting so excited to see this one all done.  Only 9 more blocks to sew :)

Edit - I have been asked where to buy Modern Building Block Kits.  There are several shops that sell them . . . Of my sponsors,  you can buy them from Fat Quarter Shop or Green Fairy Quilts.  Hope this helps ;)

Then it was time to start another little secret project.   This one I won't have to keep secret long, so I promise to share more soon.   It was so nice to cut up this beautiful rainbow of Riley Blake solids.   It just made me smile ;)  Gotta love a pretty rainbow to brighten a snow filled day ;)

And now, I have a new block to get sewing today!!!   The first block in the Snapshots Quilt Along that is.  It's called Let Them Eat Cake and I am pretty sure that as soon as I start sewing it together I am going to be craving a piece of cake ;)   The video for this block just went up, so you can check it out here ;)  I will be sharing more tomorrow  ;)
 

So that's been my last few days . . . What about you . . . What are you working on??

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day . . . let's have some fun :)

First, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!   The winner of the Bella Solids White Jelly Roll and Layer Cake from Green Fairy Quilts  is . . .   Number 192. . . Congrats LoveSewHard!!   I have emailed you :)

    

    

    

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Shabby Fabrics!!   Along with hosting the giveaway, Shabby Fabrics is giving all of my readers a coupon code for 15% off their entire order!!!   Just use the code TTGD15 at checkout and save.  Thanks Shabby Fabrics ;)    The code will be valid until 01/20.

And the Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is for a Bloom Modern Basics Square Pack by Michael Miller Fabrics!!!   That's 45 squares of polka-dot and houndstooth goodness in pink, red, and purple!!!  Love it!!!

  

You have two entry chances, the second being optional, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.  Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me something you have with polka-dots on it.    For me, I have a favorite Navy and White Polka-Dot dress :)  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Shabby Fabrics love. You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Pinterest, or Instagram.  You can Sign up for the Shabby Fabrics Newsletter (top right hand corner) or Follow their Blog,  or you can Visit the Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Shabby Fabric Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, January 20th, when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Around the World Blog Hop

First off, I have to say a Huge THANK YOU to each of you for all of your sweet comments on my new book!!  I can't begin to explain how much that meant to me.   I know I say it all the time, but you guys really are the greatest!!!

Okay, onto the Hop ;)

So last week I was tagged by my good friend Melissa (great name :) Mortenson in the Around the World Blog hop ;)  You can see her post to see where this all started and where it has gone.   The purpose of this blog post is to get a peek into some amazingly creative minds and lives of the awesome people in this industry.  So let's get to it.

I'm Melissa Corry.  I had my mom teach me the basics of quilting in 2003 as a hobby to keep me busy at night when my husband was studying for school.   I enjoyed quilting and would put the occasional blanket together for friends and family when they were expecting new little bundles of joy.

In 2010 I started my blog Happy Quilting and what was a hobby quickly turned into a passion.   I love this industry and am so grateful for all of the creative opportunities it has brought me that I never  would have thought possible.  I have been published in many magazines, 5 compilation books, and have my own little pattern line.   And probably my biggest new opportunity was that of writting a book!!!   I just posted on Friday that after a year of keeping it secret, I can now say I wrote a book!!!

 I am often asked how I come up with my designs and tutorials.   The answer is through everything!!!   I truly do find inspiration all around me.   Whether it is in a hotel lobby carpet, a lamp design, a buildings architecture, or in nature.   I almost always carry a graph pad or at least a scratch piece of paper and can be found doodling the ceiling of a restaurant or a door frame design.  That top images is the lobby floor from Quilt Market, I so want to make a quilt like this some day!!  Just look around you and you can't help but be inspired ;)

 I love this amazing industry and the constant creative nature of it.   I love that I get to play with beautiful fabrics, and color, and line, and honestly, I love the math of it too ;)  I was an accountant before I became a mom so the structure and numbers of quilting just seem natural to me.   And speaking of being a mom,( I have 5 kids ages 12-3)  that is probably the most common question I get.  How Do You Do it All??

Like I said, first off, the whole accountant in me wants to have everything organized, so life in the Corry household is pretty routine.  I think having a set schedule really helps me to be able to make time for my creative endeavors and having everything organized when I do sit down to sew saves me lots of time.   I went into more details on our daily ins and outs and how it all works with sewing in this post,  and you can see the details behind this picture ;)

But it must be working.   Because now that I have announced the book, I can make another little fun (and a bit crazy) announcement.   With the quilts I made for the book and other quilts for tutorials and such and a few more secret projects I made 52 quilts, (baby size or larger) last year!!!  Ya, That's like 1 a week.  

So indeed, I think I can safely say I love Quilting!!!  I can't wait to see what new inspiration, opportunities, and creativity 2015 will hold.  I am so excited for a new year, although I think the quantity might be a little less in 2015 ;)   Alright, enough about me . . . . Let's get quilting!!!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my little corner of this amazing industry.   For the next stop, I am tagging Christa of Christa Quilts.   Christa is an amazing quilter and shop owner and soon to be author as well!!  Christa and I have gotten together several times and I always love chatting with her.  She even came to my house once to visit ;)  So fun!!!  So be sure to pop in next week to check out her post ;)

I Wrote A Book!!!!!

EEEkkk!!!   I still can't believe I am writing this!!!  I Wrote a Book!!!!

You all know that I love the Irish Chain design, so when I decided to write a book, I knew right away that I wanted to take that classic design and give it a twist. Writing a book has been such an amazing experience.   The whole process has been crazy insane, crazy fun, and crazy unbelievable and all at the same time.

You see . . .  Last year about this same time, I was busily working on quilts, quilts and more quilts.   And the hard part was that I never got to show a lot of what I was working on, gotta love Secret Sewing.  This was my working triangle for 4 months ;)  Cut, Sew, Press, Repeat ;)  I made 15 quilts for the book amid quilts that I was making for other deadlines and quilts for the blog, because, ya know,  I didn't want to leave ya all just wondering where I went for 4 months ;)  Did you notice??

After a quilt was pieced it was time to quilt it and write it up.  Each morning, I got up early to write and write before it got to noisy, then at nap time I quilted and quilted and Barbara hand bound and hand bound (Thank You Mom!!!) and the stack of quilts grew and grew.  And then one day in late April there was nothing left to piece, nothing left to write and nothing left to quilt.  I was done!!!   Yippee!!!  The stack of quilts and my manuscript were packed up in boxes and sent off to Martingale, my publisher. (Who did an amazing job, thank you ladies!!)    You know I did a Happy Dance in the UPS store :)  And then, they were off and life went back to usual.  It was out of my hands, sans some editing, but once again, it just didn't seem quite real.

That is, until the day this showed up on Amazon.   Wow, wow, and Triple Wow!!!  Like seriously, that is my book with my name as Author on Amazon!!!!   Yeah, I totally called up my mom and made her look it up too.  And suddenly it was real.  I wrote a book!!!!

And now I get to share it with all of you which makes it incredibly real and I am so excited!!!  (and a little scared :)    I could go on and on but I promise to share more in the coming weeks ;)  I have some fun things planned, for instance . . . You have been asking for another Quilt-A-Long and now it's time!!!   I am going to be hosting an Irish Chain Quilts Quilt-A-Long leading up to the releases date and it is going to be so fun!!!   It will lead right up to the book release date and then we will have an Irish Chain Quilts Blog Hop at the book release!!   More details on these events coming soon!!!   

Irish Chain Quilts: Contemporary Twists on a Classic Design  will be released on April 14th, 2015.     It will be available in Local Quilt Shops, Online Quilt Shops  (I know several of my sponsors are carrying it, Thank You Ladies!!), at Martingale, and wherever Quilt Books are sold.    Wow, that still sounds crazy unbelievable, seriously can someone pinch me please ;)

If you would like a personalized and signed copy you can pre-order Irish Chain Quilts from my little Book Shop right here ;)    I have even listed it on Sale because well, this is just a happy day!!!!   Pre-ordered copies of Irish Chain Quilts will ship just as soon as I have them. (mid-April)


And before I sign off for the weekend . . . I just want to say a huge Thank You to you all!!  I would have never even thought this possible without all of the daily support and encouragement that I get from each of you.   You guys are the best!!!  Thank you for helping me make this dream come true :)

Linking up my biggest finish ever to Sarah's and Amanda's and Quilt Story  ;)

Teaching and Forgetting

Yesterday I spent the day at Quilt St. Geroge teaching some lovely ladies.   Sadly, I only remembered to take one picture all day before anything even stared.   I am totally blaming it on the cold medicine.  Yup, the cold is still hanging on.  Boo!!

I had a wonderful time teaching these ladies, and I think they really enjoyed the classes.  Everyone was very understanding of my slightly slower cold brain functions and  me losing my voice on and off.  It really didn't matter, because we were quilting, and quilting is fun!!!   We all had a great time and the ladies learned some great new techniques and tricks and that made my day ;)  I tell you what, sick and everything, Teaching is still one of my favorite parts of this whole quilting thing :)   I love it!!!
 

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day . . . let's have some fun :)

First, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!   The winner of the Custom Bundle from The Intrepid Thread  is . . .   Number 113. . . Congrats apple blossom!!   I have emailed you :)

    

    

    

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Green Fairy Quilts.  Along with sponsoring the giveaway, Green Fairy Quilts has currently a buy in bulk special going on!!!   These are some amazing deals!!  No coupon necessary :)  And Green Fairy Quilts ships free in the US and discounted to international.

And today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is for some fabulous basics, that I know we all need!!!  A Bella Solids White Jelly Roll and a Bella Solids White Layer Cake!!!!! 2 Pre-cuts for 1 lucky winner!!  Wow, that will speed up some background quilt making :)

  

      

You have two entry chances, the second being optional, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.  Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me what is your favorite color to use in the background of a quilt :)  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Green Fairy Quilts love.   You can follow them on Bloglovin, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram.  You can Sign up for their Newsletter which will ensure you catch all of their amazing sales, or you can visit the Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Green Fairy Quilt Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, January 13th when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Modern Building Blocks - The Little Guys

So remember back in November, when I decided I was going to make a Back to Nature version of Moda's  Modern Building Blocks pattern . . . and then in mid December when I finally cut out all the pieces for all 48 blocks.  Well things are finally starting to roll.  Over the Holiday, I kept sneaking off to my sewing room to make 1 or 2 more blocks.  Then Saturday, I pretty much had a Saturday Sew Day (which was so very awesome, as I only got to snatch bits and pieces of time throughout  December) and I managed to finish all 30 of the 6" blocks!!

I decided to start at block #48 and work my way back to block #1.  That way I would do all of these little baby 6" blocks first and not get hung up on some of the more complex ones at the end of the project.   And interestingly enough, I found some of the more complex ones to be my favorite ones to put together.  It really was great fun and getting 48 pieces to come together with lovely points in 6" just puts a smile on your face ;)  

Seriously, if you are on the fence about making one of these, they are so fun!!  I highly recommend doing all of the cutting first,  it is a bit tedious, but then you can just sew, sew, sew.   And no joke, these little blocks are addicting,  you really don't want to stop with just 1 block :)

And sadly, now that progress is going to come to a bit of a hult.  Because lucky me, I have caught quite the doozy of a cold.  I am hoping it won't last to much longer as I am teaching at Quilt St. George on Wednesday, which will be a little difficult if I feel like I am still swimming through the haze that is my brain right now ;)

So I best go climb back in bed and get some rest so I can be in tip top shape come Wednesday :)

Have a Happy Quilting Day :)   

Super Scrappy Triple Irish Chain - It's Finished!!!

Yippee!!!  It's all done and I love it!!!  I finished the binding late on December 31st, so this is my final finish of 2014!!!  The Super Scrappy Triple Irish Chain :)  That's 1936 little 2 1/2" squares all sewn together.   Now that is some scrappy goodness ;)

Clear back in August, I wrote up this tutorial for a Super Scrappy Triple Irish Chain Block and the amazing gals from the Beejeebers group each made me a block.   I love how each block is so very scrappy and represent quilts from all of my Bejeebers friends ;)  The ladies did such an amazing job on their blocks.

And then my blocks sat for a while, because I decided I wanted this to be a big 88" x 88" quilt and that meant I needed to make a few more blocks.   Finally, come December, I got to cutting and piecing and made those blocks.  Once the blocks were made, the quilt went together in a snap.  I am so glad I didn't wait any longer, because I just love this quilt!!!  

When it came time to quilt it, I decided I wanted to do something that added to the wonderful traditional nature of this design.  So I quilted arches on the four sides of each square.  It was so perfect and very easy as the gridwork was already done with the patchwork.  It was super fun to quilt, and I love the way it really adds to the quilt ;)   I debated about whether to use white, grey, or yellow thread as all looked great, so in the end I decided to use #517, Limone, as soft yellow So Fine Superior Thread, because I just don't use yellow that often and changing it up is always fun.  And it looks awesome ;)  

And just for fun to show you how much it has snowed here lately.   It is awfully hard to want to take pictures of your quilt outside when you know you have to wade through this ;)  But it looks kind of fun all on the white powder, and I love that you can really see that fun scrappy binding in this pic ;)  

So now, it's time to just cuddle up in front of the fire with my final finish from 2014 :)  A huge thank you to the ladies of the Beejeebers Bee for helping me make this quilt ;)  I really do love it oh so much.   So much, that you might find we make this block again this year but in different colors ;)

If you want to make your own Super Scrappy Triple Irish Chain, you can find the Block Tutorial Here.  I added a few instructions at the end to help with putting the quilt top together ;)  If you do make one, I would love to see it.  You can add it to my Flickr Group here, or email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com ;)

 Thanks for popping in today.  I hope you all had a Happy New Year and you have a very Happy Quilting Weekend!!!

Linking this finish up to Sarah's and Amanda's ;)