Garden Gala Quilt!!

Okay, I am a little embarrassed to admit, but I have only finished like 3 quilts this year.  Not to say I haven't been sewing . . . even more embarrassing, I  have over 10 quilt tops in the "to be quilted" pile and another 5 or so in some stage of piecing.  Things have just been a little out of whack for me.  (I am sure we can all relate to this year being a little out of whack ;)   So, when my Anniversary Sew Sampler box came, I decided that I wanted to make the project in it and have it done before the next box arrived :)   I hoped this little goal would get me back on track.   And I made it,and it felt so great to finish!!!!   So here is my Garden Gala Quilt ;)

Garden Gala is an exclusive pattern from the  Sew Sampler Box.  It uses 1 Bonnie and Camille At Home Jolly Bar and some background fabric.   I decided to add a center block, because you now I always like to mix things up ;)   I just love how it turned out!!!

Isn't that little border just to cute!!! And you know I am all about sewing Charming Baby Quilts right now :)   This quilt finishes at 48" x 48" and it is going to be just perfect for a new little wee one.  I have added it to my "waiting for a wee one to arrive" pile for a sweet little gift :)

And when it came time to quilt mine, I did an all over loose feather design.  I really love how relaxing and fast this is to quilt.  I just have so much fun looping those feathers all over the quilt, and it took me longer to piece the back and load the quilt, then it did to quilt the whole thing ;)  Which was just perfect to get me back on the Long Arm.  Now, I really want to start working through that pile of to be quilted :) 

Oh, and I figured some of you might also want to add a center block . . . so here are the extra fabrics that you need to cut to make that center flower block.  Just follow the same instructions for pieing and replace the G square with your 5th flower block :) 

And that is my Garden Gala Quilt ;)  And I am just so glad I made this little goal.   It feels so great to have a finish and is giving me motivation to quilt it all!   So hopefully, lots more finishes are going to be shared soon :)   And now I am curious, what do you do to get out of a funk??

Thanks so much for sharing this finish with me today!!! 

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

Tutorial Throwback Thursday - T-Shirt Memory Quilt

Well, today is officially our last day of Online School at Home and I am so excited!!!  Wow, just talk about a crazy way to end the school year.  But, at least we will have a lot of memories for 2020 school ;)   And so today, I thought it would be fun for our Throwback Thursday , to go back 7 years to the T-Shirt Memory Quilt!!!!    I just love how much can be wrapped up in a T-Shirt Quilt!!!

There are so many T-Shirt Memory Quilt's out there, but when I set out to make this one, I wanted it to be different than the usual 10 x 10 square patchwork square quilt.   So I fussy cut the patches on the shirts, and included pocket logos and rally towels and so forth.   This meant you can really make any size quilt you want with any size squares you want.   Then, it's all about adding scraps to start making things square so you can sew it all together.     And I walk you through how to do that process in the tutorial ;)  I just love how fun and scrappy it looks and how it allows you to really focus on the parts of the shirt that matter ;)    

And the great thing about adding Scraps to this T-Shirt Memory Quilt is that you can balance out all the craziness that comes from so many different T-shirt designs.  I tried to use more low volume scraps around the darker T-shirts and Darker scraps around the Lighter T-shirts. That really helped to balance things out.   I used a variety of scraps that I had, but realized the ones I like best are those that read as one color and have a smaller to medium scale print.   They aren't quite as busy and help to make the Shirt's pop instead of the scraps.  I would change out a few on this quilt if I had it to do over again ;)

But it's all good because my husband just loves his T-Shirt Memory Quilt!!!  I am so glad that my sweet Mother-In-Law, Barbara, saved all of his shirts so I could make this up!!!  And now, I have been collecting my Kid's shirts to make them a memory quilt when they graduate high school.  (And I have one doing just that next year, crazy!!!)    And oh, 2020 shirts will have memories wrapped up in them!!!

And that is my T-Shirt Memory Quilt Quilt!!!     I hope you have enjoyed today's Tutorial Throwback Thursday!!!      And if you have a stack of shirts that have just been waiting to be made up into a T-Shirt Memory Quilt quilt . . .  just click on any of the project name links for the free step by step tutorial.    And when you are done,  I would love to see your Quilts!!  You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com, post it to social media with #happyquiltingwithmc  :)   I can't wait to see your T-Shirt Memory Quilts!!

Thanks for popping in today!!! 

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

Charming Baby Sew Along - Check In and Bloomington Winner!!!

I just wanted to pop in today and see how you are all doing on your Charming Baby Sew Along Sampler Quilts??  There are already 16 gorgeous quilt top finishes linked up for the grand prize giveaway and I am sure there will be many more by next week.   You have one more week to finish up your quilt top to be entered into the grand prize as I will choose a winner on the 27th of May ;) 

And if you are a little behind . . . no worries.  You still have plenty of time to catch up ;)   You can visit any of these links for the weekly instructions you need to get your quilt top all sewn up!!!

Intro, Fabric Requirements, and Prizes Announcement

April 8 - A Star is Born and Color in the Lines 

April 15th - Dream Big and Hugs and Kisses 

April 22nd - Just Blooming and On the Move 

April 29th - Ring Around the Rosie and Shine Bright 

May 6th - To the Moon and Twinkle Twinkle 

May 13th - Quilt Finishing - Pieced Back - Grand Prize Linky

May 27th - Charming Baby Parade and Grand Prize Winner

And remember . . . you don't have to stop at finishing your quilt top!!!   Baste It, Quilt It, and Bind It ( Video Tutorials for newbies ) and email me a finished picture to happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com so you can be entered into the Parade of Quilts!!!   I have one entry so far and am hoping to get some more by next week!!!   Lot's of Happy Quilting this week!!!

If you have any questions on entering the grand prize or submitting your quilt for the parade, please don't hesitate to email me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com  :)

   

And last but not least . . . we need to choose a winner for the Bloomington Charm Packs and Aurifl Thread weekly giveaway :)   So without further ado . . . The winner is #26 . . . Congrats Lynn!!!
               

  

Thanks everyone for entering . . . And next week, we will draw for the Grand Prize and have the parade!!!   I just can't wait to see all your quilts!!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!! Let's have some fun :)

First, we need to announce the winner from last Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!  

The winner of the $30.00 Gift Certificate from Olie and Evie is . . .   Number #438 . . . Congrats Cindy Shelley !!!  I have messaged you :)    

    

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by  Lou Lou's Fabric Shop .    Did you know that Jamie makes a new Lou Lou Bundle every Tuesday . . . here are the latest, aren't they just gorgeous!!!  And speaking of Bundle goodness . . . Along with hosting the giveaway, Jamie is also offering all Happy Quilting readers a special discount of  15% off  Fat Quarter Bundles with the code happyquilting!!!  Code good until Friday . . .  Oh, so much fun shopping!!!

And for Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway,  Lou Lou's Fabric Shop is letting you Pick any Lou Lou  Bundle!!!  That's right, the winner will get to choose their favorite Lou Lou Bundle that Jamie has in stock!!!   Oh my goodness, how will you ever decide :)   What fun the winner will have this week!!!!   

You have two entry chances here on the blog, 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 song would you sing a Karaoke night?

 ENTRY 2 - Lets show Lou Lou's Fabric Shop some Love!!!!   You can follow them on   Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram.  Or you can follow their blog or  visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Lou Lou's Fabric Shop Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, May 26th, when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

You can also pop over to my Instagram and/or Facebook to enter there as well :)  

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

The Jolly Bar Book and Row Along!!!

I absolutely loved the first Jolly Bar Book, it is such a great go to book for whipping up quick quilts!!!  So when I saw that my good friends at Fat Quarter Shop made a Jolly Bar Book, Volume 2, I was so excited!!!   And guess what, they are even going to be doing a Jolly Bar Row Along!!!!   All you need is a Jolly Bar and some background fabric and you are ready to go!!!!

This is the Row Along quilt, and it uses one Jolly Bar of Bloomington by Lella Boutique!!  Isn't it just so precious ;)  I am all about making baby quilts right now, so this one will be a fun one to add to the mix!!!  The fun starts on May 29th :)

And you know, I always have to change things up a bit ;)  I like the symmetry of two butterfly rows so I took out the spools.  This will be my quilt and I am using Winifred Rose by Christopher Thompson for Riley Blake Designs.  I can't wait to get started!!!

Want to join in the Row Along fun!!  See all the details here ;)