Cutting, Cutting, and More Cutting

This last Saturday happened to be the first Saturday that I was home all day for what feels like the whole summer.   And you better believe I spent it starting up a whole lot of projects!!!  I know I have mentioned it before, but I really enjoy cutting out quilts!!  I just love the feeling of starting something new and seeing all of those little tiny pieces and just get so excited to see them all come together.

So I started off with cutting out the pieced backing and the finishing sashing for my Snapshots quilt.   The backing and finishing instructions came out quite a while ago and I have been wanting to get this all cut out ever since then, so they were absolutely first on my list ;)

Next up, I pulled out some beautiful Bella Solids for an upcoming Moda Bake Shop Tutorial I will be putting together.  This one is lots of strip piecing so the cutting went super quick.  And if you are thinking, Melissa sure makes a lot of Red, White, and Black quilts, you are so right on.   It's back to school time for my Alma Mater and I try and make them one or two quilts each year at this time to be used for Homecoming events :)   And yes, the next picture is the second quilt for good old SUU ;)

And the kids were still happy playing at this point and I was on a roll, so I grabbed these gorgeous Grunge Basics in 2 shades of Red and paired them with some Black and Whites from Zen Chic's new Modern Backgrounds Ink and Paper.   And can I tell you how much I love these Modern Backgrounds!!!   EEEkkk!!!  I think I will be hording these for sure ;)  And I am so excited to see it come together in this quilt.  

I was totally on a roll at this point, so I pulled out these absolutely gorgeous earthy toned basics from Blank Quilting.   Can you tell where I am going with these blocks just by the way they are cut ;)  Yippee for Log Cabin's!!!  But of course, there is going to be a twist and I will be sharing a fun tutorial for this next month for a special little Celebration Hop!!!   More to come ;)

And just as I was finishing up the above and thinking it was time to put away my rulers and cutter for the day, the door bell rang and it was the UPS man dropping off these so fun Fancy and Fabulous prints for my next Riley Blake Design Team tutorial.  I figured, might as well ;)   So a quick press and cut and before you knew it, lots and lots of pretty rectangles ;)

What a Saturday of cutting, cutting, and then cutting some more.   I had so much fun!!!!!!   And with all that cut, I haven't sewn a stitch in the last 3 days as we have been getting ready for school to start (which isn't near as fun as cutting out quilts)   But as of this morning, all I have left to do is grocery shopping for lunches and then school starts bright and early tomorrow morning!!   And yes, I plan to sew up a storm with my last little wee one left at home.  (okay, I might cry a bit first at how big they are all getting, and then I will sew)     I think I will start on all of the bindings ;)  Don't they look so cute all in a row!!

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting  day!!!!

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 Hello Darling Layer Cake  from  Rustic Rooster Quilt Shop is . . .   Number #269 . . . Congrats Gene Black!!!   I have emailed you :) 

    

     

    

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Bear Creek Quilting Company.  Bear Creek has an amazing selection of fabrics and amazing deals on those fabrics!!  In fact, they just started their End of Summer Sale today and it will run through Friday.  Be sure to Check it Out for some awesome eye candy at fantastic prices!!!

And today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is for the highly anticipated companion to The Farmer's Wife.  Yup, it is the brand new The Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt book!!!!  I am so excited to start seeing blocks from this pop up all over blogland ;)  

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 if you had a farm, what would you grow/raise on it??  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Bear Creek Quilting Company love.   You can follow them on  Pinterest, Facebook (where they happen to be having a quilt kit giveaway right now as well) , or at their Blog.  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 Bear Creek Quilting Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, August 25th when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Happy Birthday!!! Happy Sale!!!!

So yesterday was my 36th birthday and it was a fabulous day spent with family, Yippee!!!!  In fact, it  was such a great day that now I want to continue the celebration!!!  So, I decided to do a little Happy Birthday Happy Sale!!!!!  So for this week only, all of my patterns will be 36% off!!!!  That is just $5.44 a pattern, so fun!!!  So if you have had your eye on a pattern for a bit, now is the time to snatch it up.   All 14 of my Happy Quilting PDF Patterns can be found in my  Etsy Shop.





And, I also happened to miss another Happy Birthday in all the summer craziness.  Last Month, Happy Quilting turned 5!!!!  I seriously can't believe I missed my 5 year Blogiversary.  That is kind of big ;)  I can't believe how far it has come and am so just loving every minute of it!!!  So, to celebrate  Happy Quilting's Happy Birthday, for this week as well, I am marking my already Sale Priced Irish Chain Quilts another 5% off :)   That makes a signed, personalized copy just $20.42 :)  You can find Irish Chain Quilts in my Book Shop here ;)

Thanks for joining me for the last 5 years!!!  They have been tremendous and I can't wait to see what the next 5 hold!!!!

Have a  Happy Quilting Day!!!!

Snapshots QAL - Like Riding a Bike

I can't believe we are already half way through August!!  Where is this month going??  Anyhow, it is indeed the 15th which means it's a Snapshots QAL  day!!!  And this is so fun, because August means we have passed the halfway point and it is all down hill from here :)  This month's  block is called Like Riding a Bike and it is simply adorable!!!

I loved riding my bike as a child and had one that looked similar to this, you know, with the big banana seat and the basket with the little plastic flowers on the front of it.  I spent a lot of time on that bike, and actually got a quite a few stitches when I fell off of it once and landed on my chin.  Good times ;)

If you sewing along or want to join in on the fun,  you can download the block 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 fundraiser!!!

This block was a lot of fun to make with lots of little intricate pieces.  Those pinwheels finish at 1 1/2".  So cute!!  So to help you along with all of that little baby piecing,  Kimberly has put together this  fabulous You Tube video that walks you through it step by step!!!  

Be sure to  share all of your Snapshots progress on social media with #fqssnapshots and check out these fabulous bloggers for some Like Riding a Bike 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 Day!!

O Canada

So last week, my family and I traveled up to Calgary Alberta for a special week of fun and celebration!!!   My Mother lived in Calgary from the time she was a little girl until she was married.  Most of her family still lives in Calgary and we used to visit Calgary when I was young every summer.  Sadly, it has been 11 years since a visit so it was high time ;)  Along with my family, my little sister, my older sister, and their families as well as my parents were able to make it for the week.   And my oh my, did we have a good time!!!!

We spent our first day at Banff and hiked Johnston Canyon.  This is not a hike for the faint of heart.   Not that the hike is hard, the kids all did it, but the heights can get to you ;)  We were constantly walking along these catwalks that were just sticking out the side of the cliff with this gorgeous river running below it.   Of course it didn't phase the kids at all, but I got a wee nervous a few times, and my poor sister who is afraid of heights . . . well, this was a huge accomplishment for her!!

The scenery in Banff was absolutely gorgeous.  I lost track of how many waterfalls we went by.  Just breathtaking!!!

And here is my little troop of hikers ;)  I was so proud of them, even the little ones hiked 5 miles that day.   And they sang Disney songs the whole way at the top of their lungs.  Ya, we got a few strange looks but we sure had fun ;)

The next day we spent at the Calgary Zoo.  The kids especially loved the dinosaur park and luckily, we went there first, because my camera battery died about 15 minutes into the zoo.  Way to go mom ;)  The following day we spent at the Calgary Wave Pool, but I didn't want to take the camera there, so no pics.  (that, and I avoid pictures in my swimsuit, tee hee hee ;)

And finally, we get to the purpose of our trip.  My Grandmother is turning 85 this month and all of her posterity got together to celebrate her!!!!   My grandmother is the one in the center in the fun hot pink blazer.   She is amazing and still such a firecracker at 85!!!

We held a wonderful reception for all of my Grandmother's family and friends.  My mom had these old snapshots blown up of my Grandparents from their earlier years.  Yup, My Grandma and Grandpa were quite the cute couple!!!

During the reception we had a little program and I was able to present my Grandmother with a little gift.  Remember that All In A Row Quilt that I made for a Moda Bake Shop Tutorial a few months ago, well, this was the purpose of it.   My Grandmother grew up in England so Ambleside was the perfect fabric for it.  She absolutely loved it ;)

And ya, I might have gotten a little emotional.   I love my Grandmother so much and I am so very grateful that I can use this fabulous love of quilting to share that love with her.

After dinner and the program, we ended up the night with a dance.   And boy, did we get down.  Oh so much fun, and the kids so got into it.  It was an evening full of love and laughter.

And when it was all said and done, we were all tuckered out but oh so incredibly happy!!

I am so grateful we were able to make this trip and spend so much wonderful time together as a family!!!  Thank Canada!!!