Tutorial Throwback Thursday - Charming Tote

I am so excited that this week the library has been opened again, and my kiddo's have been able to start up their piano lessons as well.   This is huge with summer being in full swing as I love having a set time for reading and a set time for practicing piano each day.  It helps to fill up those wonderfully long summer days ;) And that also means, my kids are using their Charming Totes again, so I thought it would be great for today's Throwback Thursday!!!! 

These Charming Totes are so much fun to make and super simple as well.   And you can use them for everything from piano totes, to library totes, to church totes, and I have even had a friend text me that she uses hers for a grocery tote!!!   They finish at 18" x 16" x 4" so they really are a great size for toting just about whatever needs to be toted ;)  And all you need is 1 Charm Pack and 2/3 of coordinating fabric to whip one up ;)   And wouldn't it be fun to make a Charming Tote to tote around your Charming Baby Quilts!!!   Eeek, I just love Charm Packs!!!   

And truly, you can't make just one Charming Tote!!!   They are actually super fast to make assembly line, and make for wonderful birthday and Christmas gifts ;)    I have made so many over the years.  Here are links to totes I made in 2014, and some in early 2015 and late 2015, and some in 2016 and one in early 2018 and then some in late 2018.  Like I said, you can't just make one!!!!    And these are perfect for beginners and experts alike.  In fact, in 2017, I taught all of the amazing young women in my church how to make their own Charming Totes !!!   For a lot of them, this was their first time making a project on a sewing machine.  I was so proud of them and they all made such beautiful totes!!!     

And speaking of church, I just got word that we get to go back to a "social distance" style church in a week!!!  I am so excited, and it means I get to take my Church Charming Tote along with me ;)  And I even added key rings and pockets in the lining of this bag so it is super functional for me!!!   I just love it!!!   You can totally customize this tote any way that works great for you!!!  

And that is my Charming Tote!!!     I hope you have enjoyed today's Tutorial Throwback Thursday as much as I have!!!      To make your own Charming Tote  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 Totes!!  You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com or post it to social media with #happyquiltingwithmc  :)   I can't wait to see your Charming Totes!!

Thanks for popping in today and sharing this throwback with me!!! 

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

May Sew Sampler Box!!

It's a new month, and with that means another Sew Sampler Box arrived :)    And oh, I just love it!!!   The theme for May's Sew Sampler Box is Buds and Blooms and I am just so excited about what is blooming in this box.   As well as what is blooming in my garden!!!  I am not much of a green thumb, but last night I checked and I have strawberry blossoms :)  Yippee!!!   

Alright, back to the fabric blooming ;)  I am so excited about this beautiful Petite Bloomington  Layer Cake from Lella Boutique!!  This is the fabric I used for the A Star Is Born Quilt on the front cover of my Charming Baby Quilts Book, and it is just so pretty!!!   And I have already starting cutting out this exclusive Rose Garden Quilt pattern.  It is just so pretty!!!  And I am excited for another fast finish ;)    

And the notions for this month's box are awesome!!!   I just love scissors, of course, I already have lots of scissors, but I always love a new pair!!!   And these little Sweet Snips are going to be just perfect for cutting applique :)  And these Magic Touch Quilting Gloves are going to be so great!!!  A pair of good quilting gloves makes all of the difference when machine quilting on your domestic machine.  They truly are a must ;)   And last, but not least, you know I always love me some Aurifil Thread!!!   I can't never have enough ;) 

And with a new box also means a new Block!!   .This year we are working on the Greatest Hits Quilt and this block is Track 2  ;)   I have to say, I have no idea where this quilt is going, but I am really having fun with these crazy "low volume" backgrounds.   I mostly use solids in backgrounds, so this is a fun way to shake things up.   And yippee for Scrap Busting!!!!

And just a note, if you are wanting to get in on the new year of Sew Sampler boxes you have to get in line.  There is currently a waiting list as the box subscription is full.   But hopefully the wait isn't to long.  (I have been told new spots open up each week!!!) 


And that is the May Sew Sampler Box and I am so looking forward to June's Box ;)  I can't wait to see what Track 3's block will be ;)  

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 Chantilly Jelly Roll from Fat Quarter Shop is . . .   Number #286 . . . Congrats bmocy5  !!!  I have messaged you :)    

   

 

   

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Green Fairy Quilts.  Green Fairy Quilts is your home for pre-cut goodness and they always have amazing sales going on every weekend on a selected pre-cut or notion!!!   And did you know that Green Fairy Quilts has a Deal of The Day, I just love these!!!    Right now, you can save big on Moda Print Yardage, and Bella Solid Yardage!!!!  Awesome!!!

And for today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway, Green Fairy Quilts will be giving one lucky reader a  Shimo Layer Cake by Debbie Maddy for Moda!!   Isn't that just so fun!!!! Someone is going to be very lucky 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 Foreign Language would you like to learn??  (I am currently working on Portuguese :)  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Green Fairy Quilts love.   You can Sign up for their Newsletter which I highly recommend as it will ensure you catch all of their amazing sales!!  You can follow them on Instagram or Facebook,  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, June 9th, 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!!!

Bloom-Topia Quilt Along - Release 9

Well it's June 1st, can you believe it??   Summer is in full swing at our place ;)  And with a new month comes the Ninth Block Release of the Bloom-Topia Quilt Along hosted by the Fat Quarter Shop and I am super excited :)   These blocks are both a lot of smaller piecing, and you just know how I love that!!!  

So for Block 14, (which is actually 13A, whoops)  We are going to make 4 stars in a block, and then make 2 blocks total.  For the Star Points, If you want to make these the same way as the instructions you will need to cut 32 C rectangles from your background fabric, and 64 F squares for your 6 Print fabrics.    I choose to make the star points with HST's instead of flying geese to eliminate waste so if you want to do that you will need (32) 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" Background and Print Squares and trim the HST's to 2".   Whichever method you choose above, you will also need to cut 8 B Squares from Print Fabrics for the star centers, and 32 D squares from Background for the corners.      Then sew them into blocks with the below layout.  Make 2 blocks ;)  

And  for Block 15, (which is actually 13B, whoops again) we are again going to make 4 dragonfly units in a block, and then make 2 blocks total. And I changed the layout of my dragonfly blocks to not alternate the background and print pieces.   So for my version, you will need to cut 4 A strips and 32 E squares from the Background fabric.   And from the Print fabric you will need to cut (16) 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" squares and will cut 2 fans from each of those squares.  And then just piece it like the instructions and make 2 blocks.  

So are you joining in the Bloom-Topia fun???  If so, you can download the block pattern  and it is requested for each pattern you download to donate $5.00  to the Make a Wish Foundation :)  This is Fat Quarter Shop's annual charity QAL that is raising funds for an amazing organization.  What a wonderful way for us all to make a difference!  And wow, so much has been raised!!! 

And just as a reminder, if you are new to finding the Bloom-Topia Quilt Along, this is the layout I will be making and are the alterations referred to above ;)     I am using a Breeze Fat Quarter Bundle by Zen Chic for Moda Fabrics with Gris Grunge as the background!!! And there are still a few Bloom-topia Quilt Kits and Backing Sets available if you want to make your's like the original ;) 

And like always, Fat Quarter Shop has made an awesome  You Tube video tutorial that walk you through making the blocks.  There are some great helpful hints and you can see it put together step by step!!!   

Be sure to share all of your Bloom-Topia progress on social media with #bloomtopiaquiltalong and check out Fat Quarter Shops post for Release 9 for lots more Block Inspiration!!!

And that's it for the ninth release in the Bloom-Topia Quilt Along!!!!   I will continue to share a new set of blocks on the 15th and 1st of each month. So what do you say, want to come Bloom-Topia Quilting Along??  You are going to have so much fun!!!

And just to make it easy to find . . . Here is a list of all the places to find my alterations

Layout Fabric Requirements Alteration
Release 1 - Block 1 and 2 Alterations
Release 2 - Block 3 Alterations
Release 3 - Block 4 and 5 Alterations
Release 4 - Block 6 and 7 Alterations
Release 5 - Blocks 8 and 9 Alterations
Release 6 - Block 10 Alterations
Release 7 - Block 11 & 12 Alterations
Release 8 - Block 13 Alterations

Thanks for popping in today ;)  I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Day!!

Decades Past - A New Happy Quilting Pattern!!!!

I am super excited this morning to share my newest Quilt Pattern in the Happy Quilting pattern lineup ;)   It is called Decades Past and I just love the updated vintage feel to it!!!     And with big blocks and easy piecing, it will go together in no time and is perfect for beginners and experts alike!!!

Both the Hard Copy and the PDF patterns can be found  found in my Etsy Shop, and like all my new Pattern Releases, It is on Special!!!!  This week Decades Past will be marked down!!! The PDF Patterns are just $5.50 and the Hard Copy Patterns are $8.00!!!!

Decades Past uses some basic piecing units along with a fun technique for making the center squares.  You use triangles so there isn't near as much waste, but don't worry, I have left a little wiggle room so piecing is still super easy and a quick trim ensures perfect piecing every time.   And I even included a tiny bit of background overhang on the center of the block, so you don't even have to worry about matching up points when you sew the block together.  So great!!!!

This version of Decades Past is made using Prairie Sisters Fabric by Jina and Lori for Poppie Cottons.    I love these prints and how they perfectly matched the vintage modern feel I was going for!!!     But of course, it looks amazing in any fabrics!!  The small size quilts are Fat Eighth Friendly, and the large size quilts are  Fat Quarter Friendly, so you can just grab a bundle and get cutting!!!!

And when it came time to quilt it I went all out.  I quilted Wishbones in the sashing, Straight echoed lines in the X background, tiny swirls in the background, and echoed arches and pebbles in the center x.   It really was so much fun to play with all of these different quilting designs and it really made the design stand out all the more.   I used my favorite Pearl 402 So Fine thread which blended perfectly in all the prints and is just a lovely color on the background white !!!  This one really was so super fun to quilt!!!! 

And that is my new Decades Past quilt!!!!  I am just  so excited to be able to share this design in pattern form, it has been a long time coming but it was worth the wait ;)  So let me tell you a bit more about the pattern ;)

Like all my patterns, Decades Past has size options so you can make the quilt size that fits you ;)  You will find 5 size options, a Baby, Lap, Picnic, Twin, and a Queen size.  For the Baby and Lap size, you use a 12" block and it is Fat Eighth Friendly.   For the Picnic, Twin, and Queen sizes, you use a 16" block and it is Fat Quarter Friendly.   I just love using multiple size blocks so you don't have to piece a million tiny blocks for a queen quilt ;) 

And I had so much fun making the first quilt, I just couldn't stop and decided to make up a lap size version as well :)   I had to check out those 12" blocks right ;)  And isn't it just to cute for words!!!!

  

I used Nova by Basic Grey for Moda Fabrics and you all know I just love the purples in this line.   It really has so many beautiful colors that just pop and the prints were the perfect scale for these smaller blocks!!!    I just love this and have already decided it is going to be one of those that I keep just for myself :)  

And I already have a baby size version planned as well.   You only have to make 9 blocks for a baby size, so it goes together pretty fast, but you still totally learn the techniques of the quilt!!!   So this is the Lap version and I can't wait to start on that baby size ;)

 So let's have a few reminders to sum it all up ;)  Just  like all my patterns, this is a full color pattern that can be printed in either page format or book format.  It is filled with lots of wonderful illustrations to guide you along each step of the way.   You are going to have so much fun putting this together ;)  And of course,  if you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to email me ;)  

So that's all of it!!!  My two new Decades Past quilts and the new Decades Past Pattern !!!!  Again, the Decades Past Pattern (both PDF and Hard Copy) can be found in my Etsy Shop. 

And everything is on sale for the release of Decades Past!!!!   The PDF Pattern is just $5.50 and the Printed Pattern is $8.00!!!!  

Be sure to pick up your patterns and templates this week, as they will go back to regular prices on June 5th :)  

Thanks for popping in today and sharing these new finishes with me.  I am so very excited to be releasing this new pattern and hope you like it as much as I do.

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