Almost Ready . . .

With Market less than a week away, you can bet I have been stitching up a storm.  Remember my Bitty Bits Mini from March that was going to have friends . . . Well I finished piecing up 2 such friends yesterday ;)  Now they just need to be quilted and bound.  I will be using these for one of my book signings to show how easily you can mix this pattern up with a variations of solids and prints ;)

And, I was super happy to find when I finish these two above mini's and the step out boards for making them,  all I have left is a table runner (which is half way pieced) and my Snapshots block that will be posted while I am gone!!!!   I made this list last week because I couldn't keep track of it all in my head anymore, and it is so much fun to see what I did in a week!!!!  Does anyone else just love making "To-Do" lists just for the sheer joy of checking things off ;)    Oh, and if you notice, at the very bottom I added Mailing my Irish Chain Quilt Book Pre-Orders yesterday, because it looks like they will arrive before I leave!!!  Yippee!!!

In fact, I am actually feeling so good about almost being all ready for Market, that I have decided to switch gears a little today and quilt up this Hazel Quilt!!!   Remember those squares I showed of Hazel last month.  Well I have had the quilt top done for 2 weeks but had to set it aside to get on top of market deadlines.   And I am so excited to get to finish it up.  Maybe, it will even be ready in time for Finish it Up Friday tomorrow ;)

I am off to a Happy Quilting Day, and I hope you have one as well!!!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!!!

It's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!!!  I so look forward to this day!!!  Now I know we just had Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day Yesterday (for those of you who are visiting for the first time, there is giveaway every Tuesday at Happy Quilting) but  Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day  is tradition!!!  With that said,  I know you have lots of places to visit so lets get right to it :)

I am so super excited for this!!!   And it comes with an announcement.   My brand new book, Irish Chain Quilts was set to release on the 19th but the soft release date was moved up to yesterday and copies of it are making their way to me now!!!!  So I want to share!!!!  Up for grabs is an autographed copy of Irish Chain Quilts: Contemporary Twists on a Classic Design!!!  And since so many of the designs in the book are super pre-cut friendly, I am adding in a Daydream Layer Cake by Kate Spain and 2 Blueprint Basics Charm Squares by Valorie Wells.   That will get you started on 2 quilts from the book!!!  Such Sewing Fun!!!!

So what do you have to do for your chance to win???  Simple . . . We are gonna run this the same way we do all of the Terrific Tuesday Giveaway's.  Which means it is essentially a repeat from yesterday, keeping it simple ;)

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 here telling me if you have ever made an Irish Chain Quilt or if it is on your "Quilty Bucket List".

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Happy Quilting love. You can follow Happy Quilting on Bloglovin, Email Updates, or RSS to get daily updates.  Or you can like Happy Quilting on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or Flickr.   Any one way will do . . . Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Happy Quilting Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until Sunday May 10th and  I will randomly select and announce a winner on Monday Morning :)

Oh, and by the Way . . . If you are stopping by for the first time, Welcome!!   I am so glad you visited and hope you will come back often.  I have so much fun sharing my passion for quilting here with lots of  free tutorials, giveaways, fabric eye candy, and of course, general Happy Quilting times!! And be sure to come back tomorrow for Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day :)

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day - 100 Blocks - Volume 11 Edition

Today's terrific Tuesday is going to be a little different . . .   Because today is also my day for the  100 Blocks Blog Hop and I am so excited!!!  So just follow along, and we will get to the TTGD part before to long ;)    I love 100 Blocks Magazine!!!  This is the 6th time I have had a block in 100 Blocks and I hope there will be many more to come ;)

This is my block and it's called Pavers Stone.  I designed this block in the Pittsburgh airport on my way back from Spring Quilt Market last year.  I was inspired by a carved design in the cement outside of the airport.   I couldn't wait to get through security so I could sit down with a pad of paper and sketch it out.  I just love the clean, simple lines of it ;)

And look how awesome it becomes when you put it in a block format.   I knew I loved this block on it's own, but when I saw the secondary design it created putting it into a quilt layout, fantastic!!!!

You can also change the background out to a darker color.   It makes the secondary design pop out all the more.  So loving this!!!!!

In fact, I just love this dark background so much, I just might be starting a little something using this block, a twist, and some of this.   I will share more soon ;)

Image courtesy of Moda Cutting Table Blog

And that is it for Pavers Stone!!!  Be sure to pop over to Quilty Pleasures for lots of other amazing blocks from Volume 11!!!  While you are there you can enter into some amazing giveaways as well.

And speaking of Giveaways . . . Let's get to TTGD!!!!!  

First, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!   The winner of Special Release Winter's Song Jelly Roll as well as the coordinating Pattern Book, Grand Portage from Bear Creek Quilting Company is . . .   Number #247 . . . Congrats Kathy Davis !   I have emailed you :) 

    

   

    

And on to today's

Like I said . . . Today is going to be a 100 Blocks TTGD Edition.  So  I have a copy of Quiltmakers 100 Blocks Vol 11 for one lucky Happy Quilting reader and I will throw in 2 of my PDF Happy Quilting patterns, the winner can choose their favorites!!   

        

And just like always, You will 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 includes the number 11.  It can be anything, as long as there is an 11 in it :)  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Happy Quilting Love!!!  You can follow me on Bloglovin, Email, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter :) Just be sure to leave a comment on how you showed your Happy Quilting Love ;)   

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, May 12th when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Thanks for Stopping In, Good Luck, and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Makin It Cute with Smitten for Mittens!!!

Oh my goodness, the dynamite duo of Me and My Sister Designs and It's Sew Emma have done it again!!!  You might recall back here when I Made it Cute with Hearts and Butterflies . . . well this time, they have got us all  Smitten for Mittens!!!!

When this lovely duo asked if I wanted to whip up a Smitten for Mittens Project I was all over it and I knew right away, that I wanted to make up scarves, because what goes better with mittens than scarves ;) 

But, I should correct myself, I wanted the kids to make scarves ;)  I hope that this would be a great project that some of the older ones could tackle, and boy was it so much fun for them!!!

 They started by surging a long strip to make the fleece and turning it right side out. (look at her using Grandma's serger like a pro, so proud of her!!)

Then a quick stitch across the two ends to hold it together and then some clipping to make a fringe and in no time flat, we had scarves.   Now it was time to Make Em Cute!!!

The fantastic plastic templates make them so easy to trace, especially for the kids!  We traced the designs on sheets of felt.

Then cut, cut, cut.   I have to admit, it was hard for me to not take over and help them with the cutting.  They don't cut the straightest lines, but I reigned in my need for perfection and reminded myself this was about them making them, not about the scarves looking perfect ;)

We then used craft spray (the same kind you can use for basting) and sprayed the back of the felt cut-outs.  It was funny to  me that I actually had to explain to the kids why they had to spray in a box :)

And then, they  just stuck the sprayed pieces on to the edges of the scarf and continued layering until all the pieces were in place.   So cute!!!

And then, of course, they had to model them for a bit!!!

I think they quite enjoy their new Smitten for Mittens scarves, don't you ;)

They wanted to pretend it was cold, I think they just look kind of sad, tee hee hee.

These were such a fun project for the kids to do.  The kids made both scarves start to finish in under an hour with very little assistance needed from mom and grandma.  They are just so excited that they made them all on their own!!! And now,  I can't believe I am saying this, but I want it to snow again so I can have them wear them outside!!!!

So be sure to pop on over to the Jolly Jabber and check out all about Makin It Cute with Smitten with Mittens.  Now you and the whole family can be uber cute when the snow flies again. 

Dot Dot Dash

I am so excited to get to share with you a new quilt finish today.  I called it Dot Dot Dash and if you can't tell, the name and the design was inspired by morse code.

Dot Dot Dash was made for the May/June Issue of Fons and Porter's Quilting Quickly.  And you can bet that even with all of those little pieces, this quilt goes together super fast.  Strip piecing really speeds  up the piecing process.  It really is oh so fun to make!!  Fons and Porter also has the pattern available digitally for those that prefer digital patterns over magazines.  

  

I used the absolutely gorgeous Mimosa Collection by Another Point of View for Windham Fabrics.  I absolutely love the fun bright colors and wonderful prints of this line!!!  It really was the perfect fabric to make this design really pop!!!   And using the grey's for the scrappy binding, so cute!!!

When it came time to quilt Dot Dot Dash, I tried something new and had so much fun with it.  Since this quilt is all about morse code, I wanted the quilting to look like "radio waves"  I started with one super wavy line and then just stared repeating it with a pretty loose organic echo.   It was so cool to watch how the loose echo turned into a wave that actually moved across the quilt.   It was so fun to quilt and I had the benefit of getting in another mile or so walking back and forth!!  It was exactly the look I was hoping for and I am for sure going to have quilt like this again sometime!!!

Doesn't the picture from the magazine just make you want to curl up on that couch with a good book??  Dot Dot Dash finishes at 60" x 72" so it makes it the perfect size to do just that!!  I hope you love it as much as I do and want to make one of your own.   And if you do, I would love to see it!!!  You can add it to my Flickr Group or email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com :)

Oh, and if you are planning on making your own Dot Dot Dash, Fons and Porter has made it even quicker and easier for you with this super fun video tutorial ;)    And when you get the blocks made and go to assemble it the quilt top, you don't have to follow my exact layout, I was just mixing it up.  So feel free to do the same and make yours your own individual morse code message ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I just love being able to share these finishes that I have had to keep secret for a while ;)  It makes it like I just finished them all over again :)

I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Weekend!!!


Linking Dot Dot Dash up to Sarah's and Amanda's ;)